By Fang Wong
Google
the term “National Debt,” and you will quickly
receive the search results for millions of websites.
Most deal with the very serious issues of government
overspending and the accumulation of more than
two centuries of federal deficits. Yet very
few bring up the biggest national debt of them
all — that which America owes to her veterans.
Nov. 11 — Veterans Day — marks the perfect opportunity
for us to take an historical audit on just how
much this nation owes her heroes.
Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer is one who America
owes an enormous debt. Humble by nature, but
heroic by deed, Meyer drove a humvee into an
Afghan valley that he knew was heavily populated
with well-armed enemy insurgents. Outgunned
and outnumbered, Meyer and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez
made multiple trips to the hot zone, killing
insurgents as Meyer manned the turret.
Disregarding serious shrapnel wounds that he
received, Meyer left his vehicle several times
searching for pinned-down comrades and coalition
forces.
He found his comrades shot to death, but with
the assistance of Army Capt. Will Swenson, Meyer
carried their bodies and gear away from the
village.
As he received his well-deserved Medal of Honor
from President Obama, Meyer requested that his
fallen colleagues be remembered.
Our debt to these heroes can never be re-paid,
but our gratitude and respect must last forever.
For many veterans, our nation was important
enough to endure long separations from their
families, miss the births of their children,
freeze in sub-zero temperatures, bake in wild
jungles, lose limbs and, far too often, lose
their lives.
Military spouses have had to endure career interruptions,
frequent changes of address and a disproportionate
share of parental responsibilities.
The children often had to endure changes in
schools, separation from friends and, hardest
of all, the uncertainty of whether or not Mom
or Dad will live through their next combat mission.
I recently had the opportunity to testify before
a joint Congressional committee on Veterans
Affairs. I reminded our lawmakers that it is
not in the nature of America’s warriors to complain.
Warriors endure. Warriors make do with less.
Warriors finish the job, no matter how hard,
no matter what is asked.
Warriors need advocates, and that is why The
American Legion exists. We are here to serve
veterans, their families and our communities.
Veterans need each other, but, more importantly,
our country needs our veterans.
You cannot fight a war without warriors and
while the utopian idea of a society without
war is appealing, let us not forget that wars
have liberated slaves, stopped genocide and
toppled terrorists.
The American Legion shows its support for America’s
heroes through its Family Support Network, Legacy
Scholarship Fund, Operation Comfort Warriors,
Temporary Financial Assistance and the National
Emergency Fund, just to name a few of our programs.
But you can show your support simply by saying
“thank you” to the next veteran you meet.
You can show your support by hiring a veteran
in your workplace, visiting a VA hospital or
donating to a veterans program.
Homelessness is another issue that affects veterans
disproportionately. Too often today’s tattered
citizen of the street was yesterday’s toast-of-the-town
in a crisp uniform with rows of shining medals.
This is hardly the “thanks of a grateful nation.”
We can do better. We must do better.
Fewer than 10 percent of Americans can claim
the title “veteran.” And while the great military
phrase “uncommon valor was a common virtue”
has been so often repeated that it risks becoming
a cliché, it is no less true.
In 1789 George Washington said, “The willingness
with which our young people are likely to serve
in any war, no matter how justified, shall be
directly proportional as to how they perceive
the veterans of earlier wars were treated and
appreciated by their country.”
We must ask ourselves, as a nation, are we serving
veterans even half as well as they have served
us? CV
Fang A. Wong, a Vietnam War veteran of
New Brunswick, N.J., is national commander of
the 2.4-million member American Legion, the
nation’s largest veterans service organization.
For more information, go to www.legion.org. |