Veteran’s Day

Forgive me, I’m not at all sure whether Veteran’s Day was yesterday or today… My family, like a lot of American families, has a strong history with the military. My mom, dad and brother all served. My grandfather spent WWII in India, my uncle in Vietnam. I even have a great-uncle who flew U2 spy planes for the Air Force. (wink wink Mom!) I even considered it for a while (albeit a very short while), back when I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life, (Do I now?), and I scored high enough on that military aptitude test to keep the recruiters calling.

Today, I received an email from an organization called Survivor Corps asking me to blog about Veteran’s Day and their efforts to raise money and awareness for injured troops. Survivor Corps began as the Landmine Survivors Network and evolved into Survivor Corps as their mission broadened to include services to victims of global conflict and war.

The traumatic effects of war, left unaddressed, will have far-reaching negative consequences for service members, their families, and their communities. Based on our ten years of global experience helping survivors of conflict overcome trauma and give back to their communities, Survivor Corps founded Operation Survivor to provide the same kind of life-changing support to American veterans and service members. ~Dani Sevilla

The email got me thinking about veterans and what it means to “support the troops.”  “Support the troops” has got to be one of the biggest cliches of our time. Sure, slap a yellow sticker on your car and you “support the troops.” Isn’t there a better way to support the troops? By actually supporting the troops? I don’t know very much about Survivor Corps, but they look like a good place to start. Asking your senators and representatives to support veteran-friendly initiatives in Congress is, too. I read in the NYTimes about an initiative to give caregiver benefits to injured soldiers’ family members who quit their jobs to stay at home and take care of them. Having worked as a nurses’ aid and a registered nurse, I know how difficult, physically and mentally, it can be to care for the ill and disabled. It is a full time job for these family members and they deserve support.

How about a book recommend? Fortunate Son by Lewis B. Puller, a Pulitzer Prize winning autobiography of Puller’s experiences in Vietnam and trying to live after horrific wounds and alcoholism. Consistently rated at 5 stars, it is an emotional read, especially when you know the author committed suicide only three years after its publication. Soldiers need our help and understanding.

How about a documentary recommend? Section 60, now airing on HBO, pays tribute to the fallen soldiers of Iraq and Afghanistan through footage of Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery. Created by the same filmmakers who made Baghdad ER (which I mentioned here), Section 60 is a moving and memorable look at the mourning process. Soldiers’ families need our help and understanding, too.

My brother went to war and came home healthy, as healthy as one can come home from war. He was one of the lucky ones. Let’s not forget the rest.