Our opinion
If you enjoyed the democratic election we had Tuesday, thank a veteran.
Our brave men and women who have protected this country since its inception are the ones to whom we owe our freedom.
But for many veterans, the fighting is not over, even after they come home.
Every day, 22 veterans lose their battle to post traumatic stress on American soil. That is one veteran every 65 minutes.
Veterans groups have tried to raise awareness of this across the nation to mobilize any possible remedy to stop this awful trend. Returning heroes from foreign conflicts cannot be left to die, and many who do suffer in silence.
We need to provide an environment where veterans can come home and have the proper programs needed to return to civilian life.. Often those veterans are given the gift of a Quilt of Valor, which is meant to comfort them and keep them warm during dark times. We need to make sure we are offering that same protection to them, but for the mind and soul as well.
Randall West tried to capture the essence of this in his poem, “The Trials of the Veteran.”
Behold the aging soldier. He’s grown longer in the tooth.
He wears the scars of battle that had squandered all his youth.
Although his war has ended, he finds much to his dismay.
The demons that now haunt him just don’t seem to go away.
He performed his duty proudly as he served his time in hell.
The nightmares still upset him, but he hides it very well.
He tries to carry happy thoughts when he lays down to sleep.
But they all will soon turn ugly ‘cause his wounds are far too deep.
Outsiders just don’t realize what may happen to these vets.
Their memories often fill them with a ton of life’s regrets.
Try to keep them in your prayers so peace is what they find.
So many of them can’t go on and they often lose their mind.
We cannot allow this to continue. As our new and returning representatives take their offices after the election, we implore them to use their resources to establish counseling services and outlets for our veterans to get the help they need.
They certainly deserve it after the price they have paid for all of our freedoms.