Article: Flanders Field

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Flag
(Image by Glyn Lowe Photoworks.) Details DMCA

It's Veteran's Day Truthseekers. We no longer wear paper poppies to remember the fallen at Flanders Field, or other battlefields. Very few towns hold parades down Main Street to honor our service men and women who served our nation. Is this change merely a reflection of cultural change, or is it that we are uncomfortable with the wars of choice over the last 50 years?

We cringe at the sight of young men and women who've come home with missing limbs, permanent scars, feelings of guilt, and psychological trauma that may never be resolved. They limp home to a broken Veterans Administration and the empty promises of an indifferent administration. To confused relatives and poor job prospects.

It is hard to find honor under the circumstances. No wonder veterans are committing suicide at the unheard-of rate of 22 a day.

In light of this, you should read Gregory Kreig's piece at Policy.Mic. Here's a sampling:

"Americans love to stand up for their troops. They do it at ballgames every weekend, when teams introduce a veteran or wounded warrior. The crowd cheers, the vet waves and then it's back to the game. That just isn't good enough. Not even close. Not for the men and women who risked their lives for their country.

"There are 2.8 million veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars back in the U.S. today. They face unique challenges that require unique solutions, and they deserve more from us than a few passing moments of approval. On this Veterans Day, let's resolve to really honor America's fighting men and women by guaranteeing these four things:
"1. Find a job for every veteran.
"After more than a decade of bloody conflict, the men and women who fought two long post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are home now and having a harder time finding jobs than non-veterans.

"'When people look at veteran unemployment, they tend to judge it against civilian unemployment, but veterans are a proven capability,' Meg Harrell, the director of the Army Health Program at RAND, told U.S. News & World Report. 'In my mind, I never want veteran unemployment to be at civilian unemployment [levels].'"

Visit the article and read the other three guarantees. It is the very least...the absolute minimum we owe these men and women for the sacrifices they have been forced to make due to controversial -- if not outright illegal -- government policies.