EDITORIAL: Don't wait 'til the 11th hour to celebrate veterans
Nov. 11—While the Treaty of Versailles marked the official end of World War I, the actual fighting stopped seven months earlier, when Allied and German forces stopped shooting — on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
It was an armistice, a peace. Nov. 11 became Armistice Day. But as history keeps reminding us, peace is all too temporary.
Decades later, Armistice Day needed tweaking — instead of "the war to end all wars," there had been another World War, increasing presence in Southeast Asia and a Cold War taking hold. Hundreds of thousands more had served in the military, and a more inclusive day was needed — so the day formerly marking "peace" became a day to honor all of our country's Armed Service veterans.
What if — along with the salutes and flags and gratitude — we took this day to focus on helping our veterans find peace, as we know that, for many, the struggles and conflicts follow long after they've received their discharge orders.
We have heard the harrowing statistics of how veterans are at higher risk, as much as 50 percent higher, to die by suicide, especially in the 18- to 44-year-old age range. We know that veterans face homelessness, mental health disorders, substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury at disproportionate rates when compared to civilians. We're just beginning to learn about the impact of environmental exposure at military bases at home and overseas.
Veterans should know the peace of having a roof overhead. This is a newly positive front because, while there are approximately 33,000 homeless veterans on the street, this number is 11 percent less than where it was in 2020, and 55 percent less than it was in 2010, according to a recent Military Times report.
Veterans should know the peace of mind that comes with physical and mental health support. On this, the Department of Veterans Affairs still has a long way to march. So we must move them forward by holding them accountable. We know caring for all veterans may present challenges, but we must hold the VA to a higher standard.
Doctoral candidate Rebecca Burgess made the case this week in the Independent Women's Forum that the VA doesn't even know how many veterans they have; the numbers vary by as much as a million people in VA reports.
We must act soon. We're losing our older veterans quickly.
For many of us, "The Greatest Generation" shaped our idea of who veterans are, but only 167,284 of the 16 million who served in World War II live today.
Vietnam-era veterans number 6.4 million, according to the 2020 Census, and are the largest group of living veterans with an average age of 71.
About 1.2 million veterans served in the Korean War, and about 2.5 million served post 9/11.
Today, we celebrate veterans, and we honor the peace they've won for our country, time and time again. But we also should focus on helping our struggling veterans to find personal peace as well — and not wait until the 11th hour to do it.
