Veterans

Last night as Codi and I got a chance to sit down and watch the New Hampshire debate from Sunday night, gotta love Tivo, I got to thinking. Then as we were turning in for the night we were watching the local news in Houston. A story was delivered about the troubles with the Veterans Affairs hospital in Houston. The story continued on to talk about how many of our soldiers are treated as heroes when they come home, but once real life settles in we forget about them. When the ones who were wounded go to receive treatment at the VA hospital there is even more trouble for them and also getting the deserved disability compensation is a nightmare.

I myself am a disabled veteran, and I know from first hand knowledge how hard it is to get the compensation and benefits from the VA. I feel for these men and women who give so much only to be treated so badly by a department of our government who was set up to help them. I know that there is time to process paperwork and such, but it shouldn't take several months and even years for this to happen. My own case took almost a year and later the re-evaluation took several months to hear anything. Thankfully, I am able to work and provide for my family and don't have to worry about how I am to pay my bills or where my next meal will come from while I sit and wait on the VA to make a decision. My heart really goes out to these disabled veterans who are worse off than I am.

Earlier this morning I submitted a question to Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney regarding this issue. He has said that he is planning on changing our broken government. I asked how he would help the veterans who desperately need the immediate assistance and what he would do to fix the very broken Department of Veteran Affairs. I know his camp is very busy today trying to get as many votes as possible to win the New Hampshire Primary. Hopefully, an answer will come from the question and when/if it does I will post it.

Next time you see a soldier or a veteran disabled or otherwise tell them thank you for their service to our great nation. Regardless of their appearance they sacrificed for our freedoms and the deserve to know we care.