We must continue to provide support to our veterans.
Both my father and father-in-law were WWII veterans. Most of my uncles were veterans, too. For their generation, serving in the military was a near ubiquitous experience, and they were welcomed home with praise as they got on with their lives.
I grew up during the Viet Nam era, and joined the Air Force shortly after the end of the Viet Nam War. I saw first hand the scorn many Viet Nam veterans endured. Many had great difficulty adjusting to civilian life due to the hostility they felt from some members of society.
Fortunately, today we no longer treat our veterans with contempt. But due to the relatively small size of our military, most citizens do not personally know many veterans. Thus, many of our veterans may be ignored, not out of maliciousness, but simply lack of awareness. Also, the nature of our recent wars has created a large number of veterans with significant long-term injuries, including injuries that are mental or emotional.
So I will support our veterans in two broad means:
- Recognition of the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to our nation.
- Support for veterans who have long-term injuries, including mental and emotional injuries.
