I Spoke with a Veteran Collecting for Disabled American Veterans [View All]

[Kathy in Cambridge]

Last night, I went to my local Stop n Shop and there was a guy my father's age (70ish) collecting money for the Disabled American Veterans. We struck up a conversation and I asked him if he knew about the cuts to Veteran's Benefits and he said emphatically that he did. We spoke for about 10 minutes, and said that GIs returning from Iraq are waiting over 3 months for appointments. I spoke with him about the thousands of war casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan overflowing Walter Reed hospital to the point where they have to house them in area hotels. He said the VA hospital up in Bedford MA is filled to the gills, but they may close that hospital next year!

We also spoke about how the government cut combat pay for the soldiers and benefits for the families. He has three sons in the military, and hears the common tune how families of the deployed soldiers have to go on welfare and food stamps to survive. He was a nice, soft-spoken gentleman but seemed pretty angry.

I think that any peace march needs to include Veterans like this man and some of those that have returned to the nightmare of the VA Hospital system with sickness and physical impairments. The Democratic presidential candidates need to address the forgotten soldiers and families of Bush's wars. These folks will probably become the most outspoken critics of the regime.