My dad was a Vietnam Veteran, who died entirely too young at 56 thanks to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, likely caused by the inhalation of chemicals sprayed on him while on one of his three tours of duty. This weekend, my FaceBook page will be full of memes reminding me to thank a soldier, visit a cemetery and put my flag out. A couple of people will even take the time to write personal posts on my wall, thanking me for my dad's service.
This is all lovely, but, as the child of a veteran, really, it does nothing for me. It gives me no comfort. Honestly, it feels kind of awkward. My dad served in what is probably the least understood military action in history. He suffered physically and emotionally and my mom, brothers and I lived constantly in the shadow of his service. He was also kind, generous, funny, loving and made the best french fries in the whole world.
So, I ask, rather than taking the time to copy a picture on your social media saying how much you support our troops, take a couple extra minutes and email your senators and representatives and demand actual support for our veterans. Tell them it's unacceptable that disabled vets are waiting nearly a year for their claims to be reviewed. Demand increased funding to the Veteran's Administration so they can actually truly support our veteran's health care needs when they return from service. Demand that if we are going to spend untold money sending these beautiful, brave, bright young men and women into harm's way that we will spend as much caring for them when they are home. Insist that active duty service people are paid a living wage so their family doesn't rely on public assistance for groceries.
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Call a Veteran's Administration hospital and see what they need for the comfort of the vets. That box of books you are done with may be very much appreciated in one of the long term PTSD units. Contact the USO to donate a care package to a soldier who's family can't afford to send him or her one right now.
Just do something to let our troops and our veterans know you truly care about them and leave the memes to Grumpy Cat.
