Cold War Veterans Blog

How Should We Honor our Veterans

Bradford County Fla.

Before he spoke at the July 4 Veteran's Memorial Pathway service, Col. Mike Duren said the U.S. has three holidays where many citizens pause for a moment and consider the sacrifices of the nation's veterans. Those holidays, he said, were Memorial Day, Veteran's Day and the Fourth of July. But perhaps U.S. citizens should consider its veterans on some other the other days in the year as well, Duren said.

But what more would such consideration call for? What form should that consideration take? What do the vets themselves have to say?

"I don't think that we can do any more other than to respect our veterans and honor them by flying our flag," said Keystone Heights American Legion Post 202 Commander Joe Haire. "That's the only way that we can honor our veterans as a people."

Perhaps not the only way. A good veterans benefits plan can also help. The new post-9/11 GI bill, which congree recently passed, allows education benefits to cover the cost of an education at a vet's state university, complete with a housing allowance and $1,000 a year for books.
Keystone Heights resident Fred Pitts was in the Army from 1966 to1969. He is now a life member of AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America and a current member of the American Legion.

Pitts said other than a veterans job training program at AT&T, he didn't use any veteran's benefits that were available at the time.

"Most veterans that I've talked to, this era of veterans, I think they feel respected." Pitts said. "Whether people like or dislike the war they respect the guy fighting the war. There's definitely been a change since the Viet Nam era. I can see it by the different places that I go to. Some of the airports have veteran's lounges, or welcome centers. It's not like World War II, when you saw signs that said "Dogs and Sailors keep off the grass."Still, Pitts added it's always nice to hear someone say "I really appreciate the work that you're doing."

Veteran's benefits are a good indicator of the level of social respect, Haire said. He was happy to learn recently that a new tower facility will be added to Gainesville's Veteran's Administration hospital, for example. This will increase the facility's capacity by 231 new beds and drastically cut down on the waiting time for veterans in need of hospital care.

"Veteran's now have a variety of benefits," Haire said and started to name them off., including eyeglasses, VA hospital and out-patient medical care, and prescription medications, provided on a sliding scale.

"I don't think I personally have any complaints at all," Haire said. "Others might not think so. There may be problems in some cases, but once they get into the system, they are treated very well."

Still, there may be room for improvement, in either benefits or social concern. Opinions differ, for example, on media coverage of recent deficiencies at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. Wounded Iraqi vets were discovered to be living in shabby conditions when some buildings at the the once-revered medical center were discovered to be in ill repair. Christy Mach, Co-Director at Lake Area Ministries, said there was no clear consensus on how many veterans and veterans' families the local food pantry sees, but everyone who works at the pantry, she said, agrees that they see them.

Mach said LAM does not get donations or grants to feed veterans per se, though they often get contributions from both AMVETS and the American Legion who assume that food supplements will be provided to their constituencies.

Keystone resident Troy Merrett is in the National Guard and has served two stints aboard, both in Iraq.

These days, he's working as a drywall contractor in Keystone Heights, but he's going overseas again soon. This time, though, he's going to Hungary and he'll only be gone for a month.
"I'm proud to serve my country, I'm glad to be in the guard and I enjoy it," Merrett said.
Merrett is trying to decide whether to stay in the guard for six more years, or "...do the Florida 30." If so, he will have 16 more years to go before retirement.
Merrett is elegible for veteran's benefits and takes advantage of medical care, which are extended to him but not to his family. He goes to the Gainesville facility, he said and felt that the doctors there were taking excellent care of him.
Merrett had heard about the post-9/11 GI Bill passed about a month ago and said that he would be interested in the revisions to the GI Education benefits. Merrett said that he and fellow guardsmen talk about their benefits packact and everyone seems pretty content.
"The only problem I see that they are having is completing school in a timely manner, but the government is paying for it while they're there." Guardsmen get called to active duty frequently, he said, and it's hard for them to finish college.
Merrett said his experience with public attitudes was very good.

"Several times, I've been in restaurants and someone came up to me and asked if they could buy my lunch. Even here in town. I've had a lot of thank yous."
He said it has also happened to some of his friends in Orange Park as well.
Douglas Rudd was a career officer in the Air Force, "I don't think there needs to be any more holidays for veterans," he said. But he has one or two complaints. "People need to remember that it's not just World War I, World War II and Viet Nam Vets who need attention. There were important things done in peace time, too."

Rudd would like to see more emphasis on the military role in Twentieth Century cold war history.

"There were people pulling constant alerts in tanks and submarines and in the air. There were missiles in silos where there were always soldiers on watch.
Rudd flew in the Looking Glass missions, with the Strategic Air Command out of Offit Air Force Base.

"The command was airborne for over thirty years," Rudd said. "From the 1960s to the 90s, there was always someone flying protective missions in the skies over the U.S. I missed many a Christmas, and many a birthday," Rudd said. "That, too, took its toll."
Rudd also flew for Operation Nightwatch, which was a presidential post. "If there had been a nuclear attack, the President would have controlled what he needed to control, from our aircraft," he explained.

It was these military operations, Rudd believes, that drove the Soviet Union bankrupt as it tried to keep up militarily.

"Americans don't realize just what went on quietly during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s while they slept. But it was because of that Western-Soviet conflict of checks and balances that the Soviet Union fell."

Rudd also said he had heard that the GI education benefit wasn't as good now as it was for Viet Nam era vets.

A few years ago, vets began to point out that the education benefit hadn't kept up with the cost of a college education. Even with the benefit, vets were struggling to get a college degree. The new post-9/11 GI bill is designed to fix that.
Rudd also said that since he didn't use the full sum of his own education benefits, he would have loved to transfer the remainder of his allotment to his wife or kids or wife. The new bill fixes that too, GIs are now allowed to make that transfer Still, Rudd's education benefit hit an end-date sometime in the 90s and is no longer available to him or members of his family.

Now, the GI benefits are also available to Reserve and Guard members who have been activated for more than 90 days since Sept. 11, 2001.