1

Ashlyn Shiplett, CJ Lowder, Bradley Burchfield, Hunter Dennis Composition 2 Tamera Davis 31 March 2014 Abstract This paper will be looking at the benefits of and history of benefits for veterans. It goes over the importance of benefits for veterans, and why we should be benefitting our veterans. Veterans are the most important people our government should be taking care of. They should have the highest benefits than anybody in this country. Our government gives our veterans physical and mental support. This paper talks about personal stories, and different blogs that allow veterans to share their stories. It talks about why our group chose to write about the veterans, and why we should benefit them. This paper talks about the Department of Veteran Affairs, and what benefits it gives them.

Veterans: A Debt Unpaid What does a veteran mean to you? What do you think when somebody talks about veterans to you? Everybody thinks, Im sure, that they are a people that come home from the wars because they got hurt. They arent just people who get hurt; they are the bravest people in this country. They go overseas, in unknown territory, and fight for our freedom and our country. They are the bravest and strongest of people in this country. Most people do not have the guts to go overseas and do what they do. History of the Veterans What do you believe a veterans benefits should be? I believe that a veterans benefits should be above anybody elses, and anybody who has common sense would agree with me also. Few would probably disagree with me that veterans risk a lot when they go to war. Why shouldnt their benefits be above anybody elses? Veterans fought in wars; they risked their lives to fight for our country. A country that I am sure quite a bit of people could care less about. I feel that veterans are not as well taken care of as well as they should be. For example, the veterans hospitals, some are good, and some are bad. There are improvements that could be made to some of the benefits. These heroes have lasting mental and physical wounds. The Department of Veteran Affairs is one of the largest departments in the United States government. This department was created in the year 1930 to be able to better address the needs of veterans. Known as the VA, the Department operates hundreds of medical centers throughout the country and provides benefits to a population of 23 million veterans (Cox, 2011). This system is one of the most comprehensive systems in the United States to help with the assistance of veterans. This benefits system traces its roots back to 1636, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians. The Pilgrims passed a law which stated that

disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony. The Continental Congress of 1766 encouraged enlistments during the Revolutionary War by providing pensions for soldiers who were disabled. (Va history). Veterans get quite a bit of resources through the Department of Veteran Affairs, that ranges from education to medical care. They are designed to help them settle through the transition that veterans face. For example, the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers throughout the country provide free healthcare to veterans wounded psychologically or physically overseas. Overall, the VA spends about $50 billion on medical care for veterans, and as long as a veteran can show that his or her problem was uncured during their military history, he or she is eligible to collect disability (Cox, 2011). Direct medical and hospital care given to veterans in the early days of the Republic was provided by the individual states and communities. In 1811, the first domiciliary and medical facility for veterans was authorized by the Federal Government. In the 19th century, the nations veterans assistance program was expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for veterans, but also their widows and dependents (Va history). The health care system for veterans has grown tremendously from previous years. The health care system has grown from 54 hospitals in the year 1930, to include 152 hospitals, 800 community based outpatient clinics, 126 nursing home care units, and 35 domiciliaries. Domiciliaries is medical care that takes place in a home, kind of like home health. After the Civil War, many state veterans homes were established. Since domiciliary care was available at all state veterans homes, incidental medical and hospital treatment was provided for all injuries and diseases, whether or not of serviced origin (Va history). Veterans get quite a few resources and benefits through the Department of Veteran Affairs. Our government is trying to take care of them, but I feel that they arent taking very

good care of them. The government could definitely take better care of them. Veterans should be treated like kings and queens when they get home, they definitely deserve it. They risk their lives day in and day out, get physically and emotionally scarred. Dont you think they deserve to be treated like kings and queens? The Personal Stories There are many personal accounts from veterans of the various wars. The internet makes sharing these stories so much easier for veterans. There are whole blogs dedicated to specific wars, and the American government has even created projects dedicated to preserving the written and oral accounts of veterans and their time at war. One such site is www.accesskansas.org. It was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Korean War as told by veterans that live in Kansas. Retired Col. Paul E. Idol shares his story of his experience during his two years in Korea. Col. Idol tells of how he was drafted into the army and his time in basic training. He sadly lost his mother unexpectedly during basic training making his time in basic even that much more difficult. Paul Idol eventually was transported to Korea aboard the General C.C. Ballau, a WWII Kaiser built Liberty ship. Col. Idol describes his trip saying it had to be one of the worst experiences of my military career, including my time with a rifle company during the war (2002). 4000 troops, many of them seasick, all packed together in a small area took the trip in 16 days. Paul goes on to tell about how he was given orders to train as a combat medic. He was transferred to Eta Jima, a small island near Hiroshima, where he was given better accommodations and got to eat in mess halls. Afterward he was sent by train to a seaport for shipment back to Korea. He wrote, [a] large sign in the dock area read Through this port pass

the best damn soldiers in the world I was hoping the sign was right (2002). He was transported by boat and then train again to the war zone. Col. Idol was assigned to a unit that was on the front line. He tells of how he slept in bunkers and tents. He was there for six months while peace negotiations were going on between the United Nations and the communist forces. Eventually a treaty was signed and there was finally a cease fire. He stayed on to continue training and maintain the boundaries. After a few more months he was able to finally go home. He tells of how he was worried that something could still happen to keep him from reaching home, but he did make it home leaving several friends in Korea forever. Paul states that [t]his fact would creep back into my life 45 years later (2002). Another good blog is www.anothersource.org. This blog is dedicated to stories from veterans that suffer from Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mike A. shared his story of his time as a Navy corpsman during Vietnam. He talks of how he suffered from survivor's guilt, a symptom of his PTSD. He questions why he was spared while others were not. He talks of how it effected his daily life after returning home from the war, and how he has learned, with the aid of his Vet Center, to overcome the guilt. Mike shares his experiences during the war as a medic. Telling of the medics that were there before, during and after him who lost their lives. He also shares how he also had some good moments as well. One such moment was while he was treating a young Vietnamese girl who suffered from napal burns. Her skin grafts weren't taking hold. He decided to leave a light layer of soap suds across the burns thinking this would offer a layer of protection from infection while still allowing air to get to the burns. This ended up causing the grafts to take hold while soothing the girl's pain. It's stories like this one that helped Mike with his PTSD. It reminded him that

there was good during the war and not just bad. These stories and many others serve to remind future generations of the experiences our veterans had during the many wars our country has been in. The United States Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect and preserve the oral history of America's wartime veterans. This project is open to veterans in the U.S. Military who served in any capacity during a war from WWI to present and are no longer serving. It is also open to U.S. Civilians who served in support during wartime as well as volunteers or organizations that interview veterans and collect firsthand accounts. These stories that are collected are available to researchers and the general public to use for projects and papers. Why We Should Get Involved Thousands, no, millions have given up their lives, or perhaps their families, houses, and sometimes their sanity. We, as a country, have those men & women to thank for the free country we live in today.

So very many people have given up everything. They dont have their comfy, soft beds from furniture showcase, the privilege of being able to get up in the night to check on their sleeping newborn, or go & stop at McDonalds on the way home from work. These people are so selfless that they would willingly give up their lives in order for the rest of the USA to live our lives.

Vietnam, WW II, the Civil War, etc. If we didnt have men & women willing to sacrifice their lives for us, where would our country, maybe even the rest of the world, be today? WW I, the Revolutionary War, Iraq. All of these have been terrible, bloody & devastating. All the people who have died in these deserve to be mentioned. Their lives, family, sanity. Shouldnt we give

the respect they need and I know what some will say we do give them the respect they need its called veterans day thats all they need, well that is wrong! These men and woman deserve the best of help and most of the time they are not willing to ask for it. This is why we have to step in and take charge and start programs like wounded warriors project, and the veterans housing projects. Today so many of us have the choice to join the military and fight or stay at home and live are comfy lives as most of us will in the future. The men and woman that have been to war for this country deserve a whole lot more than they are getting. Still to this day we have veterans coming home to no job, no place to live, and plainly no way to make a good living except for their discharge pay after the fact or later on in their retirement years. Some of these people have lost limbs of their bodies, some have lost the sanctity of their minds from being over there and fighting every day. They deserve the best in every way we should make sure that every soldier returning back to the United States has a home, a job, and even before that that their family is taken care of while they are gone. Why have we as the American people let this happen once again, and by that I mean just like Vietnam we are not welcoming are soldiers back home with open arms. Instead they have to immediately start working or even again join the military. This is why we need to start up more programs like wounded warriors project except maybe we need to broaden are horizons on the subject a little bit because we need to pay these men and woman back tenfold for what they have sacrificed for this country no matter if it is time, sanctity, limbs, or even worse a life

Charities That Support Veterans American soldiers are directly responsible for the freedoms that we all enjoy daily, and they dont deserve to be left out in the cold. There are a lot of different ways to get involved and

make sure that these veterans arent forgotten. Veteran charities are the most effective way to make sure that veterans are well taken care of when they return home from battle. Most people dont believe they should have to sacrifice their hard earned money to someone else even though these veterans put everything on the line to make sure that they all stayed safe. Some veterans didnt come home with any long lasting injuries however some did and we should make sure that these wounded soldiers are able to live their lives to the fullest. Veterans dont always just suffer from physical injuries, almost every soldier has some kind of psychological disability when they return. Wounded Warrior Project serves veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound, co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001 and their families. On that date, America watched in horror as approximately 3,000 people died including hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers. Many warriors note a sense of duty to volunteer for the military following these tragic events (WWP 1). Veterans endure a lot of hardship in their lives and they deserve our undivided attention. It is not just wounded soldiers that suffer when they return, their families often feel the brunt of the struggles because they are forced to have to deal with the expenses of medical issues. Families of these heroes should not be responsible for the medical care costs. We should do our part to make sure that these veterans and their families are compensated for the sacrifice that they have made. Insurance for injured veterans is sometimes hard to come by and very expensive due to the condition of these wounded veterans. In recent years, lawmakers and veterans groups have focused largely on making sure the Department of Veterans Affairs is prepared to fulfill the basic medical needs of the wave of new veterans: ending the benefits backlog, improving mental health care and expanding outreach efforts (Shane lll 1).

Veterans dont just suffer from physical or mental illness, some veterans have trouble finding jobs when they return. Veterans have trouble finding jobs when they return because they dont have a college degree. Soldiers dont go to college because they are too busy defending the United States, and when they are done they are just dumped out on the street with no skills to make money. With over 20,000 Americans wounded in the ongoing Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and as many as 200,000 homeless veterans which account for one-third of the adult homeless population, veterans and military charities need to accomplish as much as they can with our donations (AIP 1). It is sad that we allow our veterans to suffer the way that they do when they return. We should all give a little back to make sure that all veterans thrive when they return back to everyday life. We as Americans should all pull together to make sure that these heros dont go without the medical attention that they deserve. I encourage everyone that reads this to get out there and support our veterans and do everything in your power to make sure that they dont suffer. The brave men and women that have served in defending this great nation dont deserve to be left out in the cold, so get out there and do what you can to help.

10

Reference Page Cox, C. (2011, Octo 24). The troubled history (and future) of veteran's benefits. Retrieved from http://harvardpolitics.com/ Department of Veteran Affairs. (n.d.). Va history in breif. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/

A, Mike. The Torment of a Distant War. Anothersource.org. 08 Mar 2010. Web. 26 Mar 2014. <www.anothersource.org> Idol, Paul. Memories of the Korean War: From Farm Boy to Soldier. Heartland Heros. 2002. Web. 26 Mar 2014. <www.accesskansas.org> Veteran's History Project. 19 Feb 2014. Web. 26 Mar 2014. <www.loc.gov> "How We Serve - Wounded Warrior Project." How We Serve - Wounded Warrior Project. Ed. Wounded Warrior Project. Woundedwarriorproject.org, 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mission/how-we-serve.aspx>. Shane lll, Leo. "Helping Wounded Vets Move from 'surviving' to 'thriving'" Most Read. Stripes.com, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.stripes.com/helpingwounded-vets-move-from-surviving-to-thriving-1.265084#.UzHr402Ybct>. American Institute of Philanthropy. "Charitywatch.org Veterans Deserve Better from Charities." Charitywatch.org Veterans Deserve Better from Charities. N.p., Aug. 2006. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.