I don't want free things for Veteran's Day

Or fake discounts.

Or a sale.

(I'll admit that I liked the free Starbucks last year.)

So many retail shops all of a sudden give a hoot about veterans in November.

What I really want is us, as a country, to embrace all veterans and to support them after they have served if they need the support.

Tens of thousands served in Iraq and Afghanistan. And so many came back not being the same person, either mentally or physically, as they were when they left. Many came back to endless red tape and a society that is so much talk than action.

Politicians LOVE talking about veterans. Many of them had no problem sending them to war when they were active duty.

Most folks speak highly of veterans, yet they don't support them politically.

It's time to hold politicians accountable.

And it's time to hold our society in general accountable.

And retailers? I think you need to do a better job as well. Support veterans all year.

Thanks so much for reading.

The pain of bigotry

 
It happened this week.

A same-sex marriage was recognized in Arizona.

In the form of a death certificate.

Of course the state of Arizona needed a little nudging from a federal judge.

I can only imagine what Fred McQuire was feeling as he picked up the accurate death certificate recognizing his marriage to his late husband, George Martinez.

Fred and George had been together 45 years.

What's all the fuss in denying couples marriage? What's the hurry? We should wait and think this through and see what the real harm will be?

The reason this was important, aside from being the right and just thing, was that now Fred can receive Social Security benefits and veteran benefits.

Bigotry continues to inflict pain on couples all over the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said that they will look at some state marriage equality decisions this month.

Meanwhile, many couple, like Mike and I, just wait. Although our marriage is legal in many states, it is not legal where we live.

So we will keep fighting. We will keep demanding equal marriage, and I personally will call attention to those in political power who continually fight against marriage equality.

Thanks for reading. 

In memory of 37 sailors

It's been 25 years.

May 17th will be the 25th anniversary of the USS Stark tragedy.

I was 21 years old. Enjoying an evening out in Manama, Bahrain. I came back to my ship and it was gone. The USS Conyngham had left to go support the Stark. We were instructed to board the USS LaSalle not really knowing what was happening.

Two Exocet missiles had been fired by an Iraqi air force jet. One exploded. 37 men died. 21 were wounded.

Arriving early the next morning I was shocked to see the Stark listing with a huge amount of smoke coming out of her. Once we got back to the Conyngham many of us immediately headed to the Stark. People were exhausted. Body bags were filled. Fires still needed to be fought. The smell shocked me. Everyone just jumped in. The fires continued for almost 24 hours from the moment of impact.

My one friend on the Stark survived. Three of his co-workers did not.

I never know when a memory is going to hit me from that day. My thoughts and memories of that day run deep and all over the place, as they do for anyone who was there.

I've always remembered. My shipmates rocked it that day. I saw bravery and courage and selflessness.

This blog post is in memory of the 37 people who were killed aboard the USS Stark on May 17, 1987.

Doran Bolduc, seaman, 29
Bradley Brown, bosun’s mate, 28
Jeffrey Calkins, fire controlman, 20
Mark Caouette, seaman, 26
John Ciletta, seaman, 21
Bryan Clinfelter, seaman recruit, 19
Antonio Daniels, operations specialist, 21
Christopher DeAngelis, electronics technician, 23
James Dunlap, communications specialist, 20
Steven Erwin, sonar technician, 22
Jerry Farr, radioman, 36
Vernon Foster, senior chief petty officer, 33
Dexter Grissette, radioman-seaman’s apprentice, 19
William Hansen, fire control technician, 22
Daniel Homicki, gunner’s mate, 36
Kenneth Janusik, operations specialist, 19
Steven Kendall, operations specialist, 30
Stephen Kiser, electronics mate, 36
Ronnie Lockett, signalman, 30
Thomas MacMullen, gunner’s mate, 30
Charles Moller, electronic warfare specialist, 27
Jeffrey Phelps, seaman recruit, 21
Randy Pierce, data systems technician, 28
James Plonsky, gunner’s mate, 22
Kelly Quick, electronics technician, 20
Earl Ryals, signalman, 25
Robert Shippee, fire control technician, 35
Jeffrey Sibley, signalman-seaman’s apprentice, 21
Lee Stephens, operations specialist, 23
James Stevens, torpedoman, 27
Martin Supple, electronics technician, 27
Gregory Tweady, fire control technician, 36
Vincent Ulmer, seaman, 21
Joseph Watson, electronic warfare specialist, 25
Wayne Weaver, electronics technician, 22
Terrance Weldon, operations specialist, 20
Lloyd Wilson, fireman apprentice, 24

Thank you for reading.

My email address is vegandude@msn.com if you'd rather send comments directly to me.

Happy Veterans Day? Really?

I am a veteran.

It's that time of year again. The annual Veteran's Day parade in Denver. Lots of commercials thanking our veterans and inviting them in for a special deal.

Meanwhile, the reality of how veterans are treated and what some of their lives look like is heartbreaking. Join our military, go to war, leave your family, experience unreal horrors, come back, and good luck. Have a nice day. Thank you very much.

Did you know that on average, 18 veterans a day commit suicide? This number doesn't include active duty personnel who commit suicide. That is a whole other blog post.

Did you know that one in four homeless people are veterans? It is estimated that on any given night there are 131,000 homeless veterans on the streets.

In Colorado, the unemployment rate for veterans is 10%, much higher than for other people. Imagine coming back from Afghanistan, having the same level of education you had when leaving high school, having some type of trauma, and then being on a job search.

In many communities, those that want to help have taken the situation into their own hands. At Stand downs across the country thousands of vets are served meals, given free health care, accepted into drug or alcohol rehabs, given help with a job search, and told that someone cares about them.

"Stand down" is a military term for a temporary halt in an offensive. There was a recent Stand down in Denver. Hundreds of vets were served.

Listen to any politician and you will hear wonderful things about veterans. Many of their actions are nothing close. As more and more folks return from war and leave the military, the situation seems to get worse. All of this talk of budget cutting and nobody wants to talk about how that affects our veterans. It is complete BS.

There are many ways that we can help our veterans. You can look in your own community for a local group. One of my favorites is the Wounded Warrior Project which serves veterans and active duty folks. Those returning from war wounded (in any way) have an even tougher time adjusting. You can also see if there is a Stand down in your community. There are 60 nationwide. I assure you that once you volunteer at one of these you will change some one's life (perhaps even your own).

So you get the idea. Regardless of where you stand on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, regardless of whether or not you know a veteran, and regardless of what your political belief is, our veterans need help.

Thanks for reading. If you would like to know more about the Wounded Warrior Project you can click below.

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/