How often does this happen? Well, I guess it would be once every century.

11-11-11

My father got through college thanks to ROTC. When it was time to graduate, he was just in time for the Korean war. My parents were married in 1951 and actuallly spent their first year together in Japan where my father was assigned to a desk and my mother worked as a civilian clerk/typist for the Army.

Dad was a “lifer” — he transitioned from active duty Army to the National Guard and eventually retired as a Lt. Col.

His military service earned him and my mother medical benefits so they were taken care of in the final years of their lives. They couldn’t have made it any other way, as private insurance would have been out of their financial reach.

My wife also gave the U.S. Army her service, acting as psychiatrist to the 82nd Airborne Div. at Ft. Bragg, NC. Unfortunately, by the time she had need of her service medical benefits, the country had changed the rules and she wasn’t eligible for anything except service-related illnesses.

And so we arrive today with veterans who have served in the continuing Middle Eastern wars suffering injuries and disabilities without any aid from the country they served.

Our government has failed the valiant men and women who served them. The irresponsible incursions into multiple conflicts has ruined our once-strong economy and abandoned the people who have served honorably.

I found these cartoons recently — remnants of an earlier time almost a century ago. Yet they seem relevant today.

Fair weather patriots think they support our troops with empty gestures — flying flags and putting bumper stickers on their vehicles.
True patriots support our troops by working to get them the benefits they deserve from the country they protected.

Observe Veteran’s Day by actually helping the veterans.

WADE