Independence Day for Today’s Vets

We celebrate America’s independence on the Fourth of July, but what is America doing to protect the personal independence of the veterans who fought to keep our people safe and free?  

That’s a troubling question.

Nothing’s more important to the personal independence of newly discharged veterans than a good job. Yet unemployment among our country’s youngest veterans shot past 20% last year. After going to Iraq and Afghanistan over and over again, one out of five can’t find work.

That’s shocking, shameful! And, as they cope with the difficult trials of settling back into civilian life, too many suffer the indignities of dealing with a government that’s still unprepared to deal with the numbers of returning vets.

Unemployment is even higher among vets who carry the scars of war on their minds and bodies, those most likely to contact the National Veterans Foundation. Disabled vets are hard for the U.S. Department of Labor to count, and not knowing the truth may be convenient to bureaucrats.

While no one has the statistical data, we sure hear the human truth every day over the phone on NVF’s Lifelife for Vets™.

One such source of truth was Jared, a hero we’d do well to remember on Independence Day. Jared took a Taliban bullet in Afghanistan’s mountains. He suffers brain damage, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.

A few months ago, I wrote to NVF’s benefactors about the way the American Dream is crumbling under Jared’s family as a result of his new war to get benefits he earned and desperately needs to get his life back on track.

He suffers terrible nightmares and sleepless nights, flashbacks to combat, fear of crowds, even driving on the road – all typical symptoms of PTSD. The brain injury complicates things.

NVF helped Jared to get his medical discharge and to establish a disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). There are still some issues that need work, however; and a year with insubstantial benefits really messed up Jared’s life.

Today’s job market isn’t helping Jared’s situation, drowning out all the glorious speeches he heard about duty and honor ... especially when joblessness among young and disabled veterans exceeds that among those who never wore a uniform.

In a very literal way, Jared gave you and me another Independence Day this year, but his family takes food stamps to the supermarket. After all the family sacrificed, they resent the need to do that. And it’s no sign of the personal independence that Jared earned and desperately craves.

Did you or I plan this ghastly “welcome home” surprise for heroes like Jared? Of course not! Jared did everything he was supposed to do on his part. A great soldier, he did his duty faithfully and believed our country would always be faithful to him and his family.

But Jared’s faith has been shaken. And his story puts a human face on an American tragedy – the face of an American hero disdained by his country.

This isn’t partisan politics. Jesse Brown saw and understood that face when he headed the VA under a Democratic Administration. Under a Republican Administration, Tony Principi did the same. We have another champion in General Eric Shinseki, who heads the VA today.

But we cannot expect one single leader to guarantee the personal independence of the heroes who gave us the independence we celebrate on the Fourth of July. That requires a whole country! It takes personal devotion from you and me!

Have a great Fourth ... and fly the Flag for our veterans!