THEIR MEMORIAL DAY ON BOTH SIDES

Memorial Day is for the families of service men and women who have passed, but whose memory remains.

For them let’s help the service men and women today live their best lives.

I’m thinking of those who didn’t die in service to their country, but those who are dying as a result of their service.

I remember them on this Memorial Day.

From militarytimes.com

 

Veterans Affairs leaders are increasing their efforts to sideline legislation that would extend disability benefits to “blue water” veterans from the Vietnam War, saying the move would set a problematic precedent for future complaints.

“We know it is incredibly difficult to hear from Blue Water Veterans who are ailing and ill, and we have great empathy and compassion for these veterans and their families,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie wrote in a letter to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee last week.

“However, we urge the committee to consider the scientific evidence, impact on other veterans, and costs associated with this legislation.”

The legislation, passed overwhelmingly by the House in June, would grant presumptive exposure status to nearly 90,000 veterans who served in ships off the coast of Vietnam during the war.

 

 

The Guys

Every Army guy knows Jody.

They sang about him, marching to the song, until they were convinced everyone back home was Jody.

 

Ain’t no use in lookin’ down

Ain’t no discharge on the ground

Ain’t no use in going back

Jody’s got your cadillac

Ain’t no use in calling home

Jody’s got your girl and gone

Ain’t no use in feeling blue

Jody’s got your sister too

 

The point they were trying to make with this marching song was your home was the Army, not where you came from.

Some people took to it better than others, but everyone was present and accounted for.

Then things changed.

 

When our guys were drafted for the the Vietnam War they saw things that made them speechless, too. The soldiers, airmen, and sailors exposed to Agent Orange didn’t come home speechless, though.

They talked and talked, but their words often fell on deaf ears.

What did they say?

A recent interview with an American boomer soldier guarding the DMZ in Korea said the authorities didn’t believe him. They said he wasn’t in Korea, and if he was, Agent Orange wasn’t there.

Turns out he and Agent Orange were both in Korea at the same time, but no one listened. Years later he was dismissed by an officer with these parting words, “You’re a disgrace to the uniform.”

Then he won his appeal. Ron Weber fought the good fight and prevailed over the system that denied him.

A Korean War Marine stood beside Weber. He’s been on the Agent Orange case for decades. His children have suffered and died from the effects Agent Orange had on him.

These two men from two ground wars in Asia share one goal: that others shouldn’t have to all the work they did to get their cases heard.

 

Memorial Day Handle

People join the service for every reason under the sun and they all land in the same place:

The service.

Now they have a reason for being, a duty, and they do it.

Some fight for their lives during their service, some afterwards.

As a blogger and an Army veteran I don’t post breathless breaking news from one catastrophe to the next minute by minute.

My readers can testify that I’d rather be boring than sensationalistic.

Posting this chart on active duty military deaths is not taking a swing at sensationalism.

It is to point out the self inflicted deaths.

Suicide is trending higher than Accident or Hostile Action?

Those are the two categories that go beyond normal life where you get sick, or murdered.

An accident in the service might be the same as a civilian accident, except they have more possibilities of an accident due to the deadly stuff they handle and do.

 

 

On this Memorial Day think about the soldiers on the edge, sailors looking for a reason to believe, Marines who feel like quitters, and send hope their way.

No one wants to walk into another house with a shrine to a fallen family member, no matter how or where.

This Granddad says hold a baby and promise them a better future, then make one.

It starts with giving the folks we trust with our safety the tools to do the job in the field and at home.

Make it a virtue to call for help when they’re feeling lost with no way out.

Be a good example and call for help when you need it.