Nov 11

[Cat]

Remember this day ,salute it ,fly the flag,and respect the meaning

[mrs. red]

I completely agree... and thank a Vet or a soldier that is serving if you see one!

[pdh3]

Great thread!  Most of us needed to be reminded. I live in a military town, so I know many verterans and active duty men and women. I'm going to make it a point to express my admiration, and gratefulness.

[Chicago_510]

I took part in a motorcycle ride yesterday to benefit the Illinois Veterans Home.  It was a 40-50 mile ride from our local Harley dealer to the veterans home.  I'm not sure what the final count was, but I'm guessing that there were well over 1000 motorcycles that took part.  It was pretty amazing.  As we were riding, there were motorcycles as far as I could see in front of me and behind me.

They colected money and gifts for the vets.

The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois was there and he said something that should apply to everyone...

He said that Veteran's Day comes once a year but said he had a feeling that to everyone at the ride, Veterans' Day is every day.

I think people sometimes throw the military in with politics.  I think no matter what your political beliefs, you should support the US Military.  These soldiers defend our country no matter which political party is in office.  If it weren't for the US Military, we wouldn't have the right to discuss which political party we like because we probably wouldn't have the freedom to choose a political party because WWII would have turned out very differently.

And despite what a certain politician might say, people don't join the military because they are uneducated, they join because they are proud of our country and they want to preserve our way of life.

[GreatOwl]

[Cat]

Who will take the flag from my tired claws,so it will not fall...CAT

[2NJSons_Mom]

[nonesuche]

To and For our Veterans I thank you

Allow me today to state a few facts that matter now and will matter for all of those serving currently in the Gulf to protect our freedom and our safety as a country.

If not for the first Gulf War I have no doubt mr none would still be with us today. Many of the chemicals he was exposed to were carcinogenic accelerants, few are also aware that every tank we have deployed in the current war is covered with a carcinogenic covering containing uranium. So any and all servicemen crawling in and out of those tanks or in a certain radius when a tank is hit, are exposed to that spent uranium. Anyone working in our bomber jets is also exposed to spent uranium cast off from spent shell casings, or those stockpiling those spent shell casings.

That is only one risk, there are so many more. So it's no longer taking a bullet for your country, it's taking timed-release bullets for your country.

Mr None died after having been denied SSA disability, despite having filed these forms timely and being told by SSA it was the most complete application they had ever received. Even with assistance from our state senator it took over 5 months to finally receive word back he died too soon before approval. The VA Hopsital played a duck and weave like none I have ever seen too, you have to detail your request for specific services one by one, there is no umbrella for services freely given by the VA staff. They try to trick you into having to detail out each specific service you need down to individual prescriptions, a wheelchair, yada-yada-yada. All designed to make you give up for the red tape is so tedious. Then they also require you to be examined by their physicians, even with scans or elaborate tests from your physicians on 'paper'. Mr None's appointment took 4 months to secure, it was two days post his death.

THIS is what our veterans are being afforded, THIS is how they are being treated post giving their lives literally for our country. It doesn't matter what political affiliation or party you belong to, we as voters enjoy our freedom and safety due to the sacrifices made by our servicemen.

Take the time to give them a gift, to thank them, write your senators and congressmen today and tell them you will only vote in the future for those who support adequate care and services for our veterans.

I think our veterans deserve this, I am hoping all of you will as well.

[justinsmama]

The horror of any war endures long after the conflict has been resolved.

[nonesuche]

I would agree Justins, that is true.

My issue is more that with the advent of high-tech tools for war, we have minimized some risks like hand-to-hand combat, but increased others such as the carcinogens I detailed.

Our allies in the first Gulf War have published latent studies detailing the impacts of these exposures as carcinigens and also as impacting immune systems, such as Australia and Britain. Our country however denies this exists and has failed to publish any defining data on latent studies plus the head of oncology for our nearest VA Hospital detailed there have been NO latent studies to me one-on-one in a meeting.

So we traded risks, this is all, but my concern is our veterans and their families as well as we citizens are clearly being lied to. The first ever class action suit by veterans against the US Army was launched this year regarding the elusive Gulf War Syndrome. More to come I feel sure.....

[pdh3]

The Veterans Administration and the myriad of red tape is a national disgrace. These men and women deserve so much more. I hope the lawsuit is successful. I did'nt even know anything about it. I hope the media will pick up on it, and let America get educated about what's going on.
How can we help, none? I am really upset reading about all this. If these soldiers are being exposed to carcinogens, why not make it easy for them to get medical care if the worst happens, and they get sick from the exposure later on? We don't allow factories and other businesses to get away with it. Why would we allow the military to be so callous? We have OSHA for the civilian population. Why is there no protection for our military personnel?
I'm furious. I admire our military men and women so much, and I am just appalled that there is such a callous attitude about their health and well being, when they give so much to their country already.

[nonesuche]

pdh3-
You raise some very good points, great comparison to OSHA too. It isn't just mr none by a long-shot, the halls of the VA hospital were lined with pitiful veterans receiving marginal care.  Would you believe that the head of a cutting edge clinical trial at Duke is also head of oncology at the VA Hospital? So even though he had examined mr none and all of his cat scans and pet scans, mr none still had to go back to the back of the VA line and be examined all over again? That is a colossal waste of our taxpayer dollars IMO.

To date I have found if you contact your elected representatives direct, they do listen and aides take your calls. What I think goes much further is to write a letter of concern/complaint also expressing your intent to vote only for candidates who campaign and deliver on platforms for quality healthcare and services for our veterans.

We can make a difference, one voter at a time.

[justinsmama]

And who had the bright idea to use uranium covered materials? Better still, who was the wonderful administrator who approved its use? Those people and their agencies need to be held accountable.

[nonesuche]

And who had the bright idea to use uranium covered materials? Better still, who was the wonderful administrator who approved its use? Those people and their agencies need to be held accountable.

Justins, after this crackerjack from the VA called playing head games with me trying to duck and weave, he even said "can you detail which services you need?" and was completely unwilling to even say what he was entitled to as a veteran? Well I called our senator's office right away, for that cracker sounded like a used car salesman, and was told the reason WHY he acted that way was due to a recent overhaul in that VA hierarchy due to FRAUD ??????????

Accountable? I don't think ANY of the VA is accountable, not one of them. They justify the use of the uranium coating as making it harder for radar tracking of our tanks, somehow it jams the radar?

My favorite was that I had the decency to call the day post his death to cancel the appointment with the VA doctors, thinking that perhaps some other poor veteran could get moved up in the interminable food chain there and actually get in to see a doctor. Well some other cracker from the VA clinic called me right back, daughter answered and he demanded to speak with me. Seems he just wanted to confirm with a call back that he had died, when I asked why and would they please move another vet into that spot, his response was "oh I can't do that, I have to submit this to someone else and it takes up to a week to call someone to then change their appointment".  

Oh and not one of them ever said we're sorry he passed away, not one.

[justinsmama]

               

[Cat]

Yes I have seen the VA>The Government is cutting funding for head and limb trauma.How nice.Don't forget agent orange.I watched friends in horrible pain,since a terminal cancer patient was a risk of becoming an addict.I scored painkillers to help someone close to me.The va didn't care.I help people today get their social security benefits,since it is a game.These are earned benefits,not gifts.It is a national discrace.It really ticks me off.Cat

[yapperz1]

I have been doing my family tree. One of the interesting findings was the soldiers who served during the Civil War were given Land Grants based upon their rank.
What do our soldiers & veterans get today???? Nothing but a hard time & shoddy medical care at best.
My husband is a veteran & I have made it a practice to always say
Thank You whenever I see a soldier. It's the least I can do considering what they have done for our country.