Veterans Day 2007
November 11th is Veterans Day in the US, a national holiday set aside to honor the men and women who have served in America’s armed forces and to acknowledge the debt we owe them.
For many of us it's a time for reflection, a time to remember those comrades-in-arms with whom we served, to reflect on friendships made, places we visited, and to honor those who never came back home.
Today is also the 25th anniversary of the official opening of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. This stunning memorial designed by the brilliant young architect Maya Lin movingly commemorates the 58,195 dead or missing without glorifying the war.
However, a new study shows that US veterans are more likely to be homeless than those in the general population, as many as nearly half a million veterans at some time during 2006, and that as a whole, veterans tend to have less access to health care and other supportive services than they need.
This surprising and disturbing study was done by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, based in Washington, DC. The study also that as many as 66,000 of those vets were chronically without shelter. And while veterans comprise only 11 percent of the American population, they make up one of every four of the nation’s homeless.
These people are veterans of different conflicts, including WW-II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, and Lebanon. Research indicates that those serving in late Vietnam and post-Vietnam era are at greatest risk of homelessness.
Regardless of how you may feel about war, which most veterans actually abhor in the first place, these people stood up for their country, and don't deserve this kind of treatment by the very country that they served.
The photo:
This is all memorabilia left over from the past, and only comes out about once a year. You can see the details by clicking here. My son was the photo assistant.
For many of us it's a time for reflection, a time to remember those comrades-in-arms with whom we served, to reflect on friendships made, places we visited, and to honor those who never came back home.
Today is also the 25th anniversary of the official opening of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. This stunning memorial designed by the brilliant young architect Maya Lin movingly commemorates the 58,195 dead or missing without glorifying the war.
However, a new study shows that US veterans are more likely to be homeless than those in the general population, as many as nearly half a million veterans at some time during 2006, and that as a whole, veterans tend to have less access to health care and other supportive services than they need.
This surprising and disturbing study was done by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, based in Washington, DC. The study also that as many as 66,000 of those vets were chronically without shelter. And while veterans comprise only 11 percent of the American population, they make up one of every four of the nation’s homeless.
These people are veterans of different conflicts, including WW-II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, and Lebanon. Research indicates that those serving in late Vietnam and post-Vietnam era are at greatest risk of homelessness.
Regardless of how you may feel about war, which most veterans actually abhor in the first place, these people stood up for their country, and don't deserve this kind of treatment by the very country that they served.
The photo:
This is all memorabilia left over from the past, and only comes out about once a year. You can see the details by clicking here. My son was the photo assistant.
We as a country have turned our backs on these men and women who have given their everything. Their limbs, their hearts, their minds and their lives. The least we owe them is permanent shelter, health care and our undying gratitude.
Thank you Lexi, for posting this poignant reminder about those who gave their all. Take a moment, just a moment to stop and remember, and if you know a vet, tell them thank you for their service.
"They came back different if they came back at all"
it is sad that the ones who gave so much remain to be in this dishonorable circumstance...what should the nation do? I think looking in from outside we should never cease to make their lives return to normal, if that can happen...
its an actually very sad statistic to even have the veterans become homeless....
in a sense i think the bitterness of wars ugly side has hurt them in their inmost being...that is why perhaps they have to search for their peace...albeit elsewhere...or endlessly....
On a deep dark night
Looking for the enemy
Hearing noises of the night
I don't think of you
My little man
Creeping through the jungle
On a bright moonlit night
Looking for the enemy
Hoping for a fight
I don't think of you
My little man
Now the tour is over
Memories seem like dreams
Reflections of those nights
When I didn't get any sleep
I only think of you
My little man
Now, daddy looks at you in your sleep
And tries to dream a dream
Of a world where you will never lose any sleep.
Written from the heart by William Nick Sr.