By Kathie Costos

November 11th, 2003 is Veteran’s Day. The newest generation of our military, do not have time to think about the day they will be called “Veteran”. They are far to concerned with the mission they are on at this moment so many miles away from family and friends. Those who have gone to war before them know the term all too well. World War I and World War II veterans were honored and assisted in their return to civilian life. From the Korean veterans through the first Gulf War, they were not honored and had to fight for what little assistance they could finally receive after many years of battling the bureaucracy. Memorial Day is the day this nation is to honor those who lost their lives in service to this country. Veteran’s Day is the day to honor those who served and returned. It was an acknowledgement of the fact that they risked their lives, gave up personal pursuits, left their families and friends to do what many others would not do. While Memorial Day has its place and the names of the fallen are carved into stone as well as the hearts of those they left behind, there are many more that do not hold the place in our thoughts or the prayers of this nation. Their names are not carved into stone as a testament to their sacrifices. They do not march in parades. They are not remembered on Veteran’s Day nor are they among the ranks of those served by the Veteran’s Administration. They are forgotten. They are remembered with sadness by the families who can never forget them while the rest of the country never hears their names. These are the names of the dead who did not die in war. They died because of war.

They died because of wounds that the eye could not see or that the mind could comprehend the depth. They died because they could no longer live with the time they served the will of this nation. The wars they participated in were long over yet the battle within them raged on until they could fight no more and surrendered to the sadness. They committed suicide. Most of them had what is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. It causes isolation among many other things with walls built to protect while keeping all outside reaching them. The saddest part is that there was no need for them to suffer in silence or shame. There is treatment and medication for this illness and there have been many that went on to live with the illness instead of simply surviving with it. I wish I could say that all they had to do was seek treatment but I am afraid I cannot. There have been far too many cases where the system let them down and help was no where to be found without a long battle. These men and women lost their will to fight before they sought treatment that was denied. They had nothing left to fight the system with when their claims were denied. They once spent years fighting the enemy defending what the country deemed necessary only to lose the battle when it came to fighting for themselves.

PTSD has cost lives, ruined marriages, damaged families and caused emotional harm to children. Some have committed crimes due to uncontrolled anger and dependency on drugs and alcohol when self medication was the only way they could make it through the day living among the “civilized” population. They served the country and because of their illness was not treated they now serve time in our jails. They live on our streets and pray there is room in the homeless shelter for one more night to protect them from the cold, when once they protected this nation. They are separated from family and shunned by friends they once longed to see while fighting in foreign lands. Suicide seemed the only way out of the illness for others. All because the help they needed when they needed it was denied by red tape and cut backs in the very same system that was designed to help them. Some have found the treatment and continue to heal with support and understanding. They are the fortunate ones that no longer live a life of simple existence but have begun to live again, experiencing the joys, hopes and dreams that so many take for granted.

The questions is, what are we going to do about it when this new generation of warrior needs help dealing with wounds no eye can see? What have we learned? What can we do for those who still linger trapped in the system seeking help? First we need to contact our congressmen and women, our senators and the President. We must demand that the Veterans Administration be supplied what ever is needed and demand accountability from the administration as well. We must also change our attitudes toward mental illness. It is so much easier to understand a chemical imbalance or biological abnormality in the body than we understand the same condition in the human brain. Mental illness should not be a something to be ashamed of, not seeking help should be the only shame associated with the illness. We must also honor all who serve this nation without regard to our own personal view of the merit or lack there are of it. We must also be there when the wounds of the warrior need to be treated with or without the injury in plain sight. To put a flag on our house or in the hallowed ground of a cemetery is not enough. To attend a parade is not enough. We can and must do more. Donate clothes to the shelters around the country so they have decent clothes. Adopt a service man or woman who is serving in another country by sending letters and care packages. You can get a list from a veterans group or from your local city hall. You can also do something more. Pray for them and let them know you care enough about them to do it. I would like to see a bumper sticker that says IN OUR PRAYERS EVERYDAY.

A CASE OF DISGRACE

By Kathie Costos

I am not smart enough to know if the war in Iraq is a good thing or not. Time will tell if we sent our troops to face death was worth it or not. I can tell you that they are to be honored no matter what your position on the war is. Their acts are no less brave. Their commitments to the needs of America are no less of value. The blood they shed in Iraq and Afghanistan is no less painful to their families. They are to be honored now and later.

Honor is something that the past veterans in this country did not and still do not see. Their stories are hidden in shadows and their lives are trapped in a battlefield of red tape, cutbacks, and misplaced priorities. On any given day, 271,750 veterans in this country are homeless according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. The statistics they have on their web site are sickening. (www.nchv.org)

• 23% of the homeless population is made up of veterans.
• 33% of homeless males are veterans.
• 47% are Vietnam Era
• 17% are post Vietnam Era
• 15% are pre Vietnam Era
• 67% served this country for three years or more.
• 33% were stationed in a war zone.
• 25% have used VA services.
• 85% completed high school/GED compared to 56% non-veteran homeless.
• 89% received Honorable Discharges.
• 79% reside in central cities.
• 16% reside in suburban areas.
• 5% in rural areas.
• 76% experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems.

It goes even further than reported by the coalition. There are women homeless veterans. There are women homeless veterans with children. To have even one homeless veteran in this country is a case or disgrace.

On the Senator John McCain web site (www.senate.gov/~mccain) there is a listing of "Pork funding" in the amount of 4.6 billion dollars in the War Appropriations Bill. The President has promised Africa money to fight AIDS, which is a noble thing to do, however while our military puts their lives on the line all over the world, we must ask if it is a wise thing to do. The following is just a portion of the Pork Funding listed:

• $110 million for modernization of the Agricultural Research Service in Iowa. (While in Iowa there are 3,725 homeless veterans.)
• $369 million for humanitarian food aid to developing countries.
• $231,000 for DIAKON Lutherean Social Ministries in Allertown PA for abstinence education in different counties.
• $1 million for Geisinger Health Systems in Harrisburg PA. (While in PA there are 11,700 homeless veterans)
• $2 million for St. Petersburg College FL for Pinellas County EpiCenter. (While in FL there are 13,450 homeless veterans)

Again the list goes on. There are homeless veterans in states that seek to attach funding for special projects to the supplemental War Appropriations Bill! According to the NCHV (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans) there is an estimated 500,000 veterans homeless at some time during the year and the VA is only able to reach 10% of those in need while 460,000 veterans are without services. The VA is drastically under-funded to handle the needs of veterans from past wars and is certainly not prepared to deal with the needs of the next generation of war veterans.

Here in Boston we have the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans located on Court St. (www.neschv.org) that serves homeless veterans from the New England area as well as veterans from other parts of the country. According to their web site they provide for 250 residents on any given night with an over flow of about 70. Programs such as this are under-funded and there are not enough of them. They are a full service shelter dealing with not only providing a roof over the veterans' heads and a meal in their stomachs they assist with their other needs as well. It is a full service facility to provide the veterans with whatever support they need to return to self-sufficiency and permanent housing. We did not take care of the Vietnam veterans while they served and not after they came home. There was no public outcry to provide services for readjustment problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Too many veterans needed the Veteran's Administrations help and our support yet they did not get it. What about this generation?

We need to realize that there will be more, too many more, returning troops with wounds unseen. They face death on a daily basis even after the "major fighting" has ended. Public support for our involvement is eroding while the casualty figures are still low but continue to rise on a daily basis. Will we allow our frustration to erode our support of them? Will we allow our elected officials to attach funding to a war budget that has nothing to do with the war or our veterans? We need to have the funding for their support increased to assure them that their service was not in vain. We need to do for them just a fraction of what they did for us. Think about it and contact your senators and congressmen to do something other than fund their special projects while you have homeless veterans in your own state. Look at the web sites listed and if it does not outrage you that this is happening then you have leaned nothing from history and are destined to repeat it.