Our Veterans

Statement

Memorial Day is in honor of veterans who gave their lives in defense of America. But Veterans Day is to honor all veterans, living or dead, past and present. It began as Armistice Day, declared by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, to commemorate the end of World War I. In 1945, WWII veteran Raymond Weeks of Birmingham, Alabama, began a personal crusade to expand Armistice Day into a state holiday honoring all veterans. In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas, shoe store owner named Al King launched a campaign to make it a national holiday. Just one year later, in 1954, he succeeded. It helped that the President was a retired army general from Kansas named Dwight Eisenhower. So be sure to fly your flags today. And if you see someone in uniform, this is a great day to say "Thank you" for protecting America's freedom. Then again, any day is a great day to do that.

We're bombarded with media-created heroes, in sports, music and movies. But the greatest American heroes are real. They're the men and women of the United States military, past and present. They took on the duty of protecting our freedoms, our homeland and the defenseless around the world. They knew it might require the ultimate sacrifice, but they didn't turn away. There is nothing partisan about supporting our veterans. No matter where you are on the political spectrum, your right to express your beliefs is protected by them. When they come home after giving so much for us, the very least we can do is to provide them with the best health care possible to treat the wounds they received on our behalf. It's been tragically obvious that they are not getting the care they deserve from the Veterans Administration. Worse, some of the people entrusted with providing them with care have knowingly denied it, covered up the terrible consequences, and even enriched themselves out of money set aside for veterans. Too often, bureaucrats who abuse the public trust have been allowed to keep their jobs and even collect lavish pensions. It's always wrong, but when our veterans are the victims, then the only taxpayer-paid retirement the culprits deserve is a prison cell.

Our next President needs to take the executive power seriously and hold the people under him to account. Congress also needs to demand accountability. I know that the national debt is out of control and spending needs to be cut. But a reminder to Congress: you don't slash your top priority. And providing timely, top quality health care for our veterans should always be a top priority.

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