Forgetfulness day

Memorial Day has its origins in the period immediately following the Civil War, as a day to decorate the graves of those who had fallen during the conflict. The date of May 30 was originally named by retired Union Army Major General John A. Logan, who said it should be “designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion… ”

Observance of the day eventually expanded to include all those who have died in service of our country, and its name was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. But the advent of the all-volunteer Army and the custom of using every holiday to create a long weekend have conspired to repress public consciousness of just what it is we are supposed to be remembering. The former limits the number of families personally affected by military deaths, while the latter provides us with a bright, shiny distraction.

Despite the fact that this Memorial Day comes more than five years into the second-longest war in this nation’s history, we seem to be particularly sunk in a great national forgetfulness this year. A recent poll asking people how many of our troops had died in Iraq found that only 28 percent knew that the number is now close to 4,000.

There are, of course, exceptions. We do have neighbors who must sit anxiously at home while loved ones serve third, fourth or fifth deployments in Iraq. Others, sadly, wait no more. And there are still others who have been woefully forgotten: the tens of thousands of veterans who have returned home disabled by the war, some of them physically, still more of them mentally, and some of them economically. They find themselves unable to support themselves or their families, without work and without adequate medical care.

Over a year after shocking stories broke about the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed hospital, little seems to have improved. In recent weeks, emails were unearthed showing a deliberate attempt by the Veterans Health Administration to hide the skyrocketing number of military suicides from the public. And according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, one in three homeless are veterans.

A number of bills addressing some of these issues, including one introduced by Hillary Clinton that would facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury, have been proposed but appear to be languishing in committee in Washington. Senator Jim Webb has managed to get one, a new GI Bill that would expand educational benefits to returning vets, close to passage by including it in the emergency supplemental spending bill currently before Congress. But Senator John McCain and President George Bush oppose it, saying they are concerned that it will encourage troops to drop out of the ranks. It is also finding opposition among the “moderate” Blue Dog Democrats, one of whom quipped, “Some of us oppose creating a new entitlement program in an emergency spending bill, whether it’s for butchers, bakers or candlestick-makers.”

One small detail, fella: being a butcher or baker—or Congressman—doesn’t involve risking your life for your country. These people are reluctant to cough up $780 million, or less than half a percent, out of a military appropriations bill of more than $180 billion. And it’s short sighted: a 1988 Congressional study showed that the original GI Bill returned $7 for every dollar invested in terms of productivity, consumer spending and money coming back as tax revenue.

So somewhere in between the picnics and the flea marketing, you might consider contacting your representatives in Washington and asking them what the heck is going on with the GI Bill, an overhaul of the veterans’ healthcare system and the like.

Meanwhile, to Sgt. Catalin D. Dima of White Lake, NY; Pfc. Anthony A. Kaiser of Narrowsburg, NY; Staff Sgt. Justin R. Whiting of Hancock, NY; First Lt. Louis E. Allen of Milford, PA; Lance Cpl. Jacob W. Beisel of Lackawaxen, PA; Staff Sgt. Paul A. Sweeney of Lakeville, PA; and to all the men and women who have died in the current conflict or in America’s previous wars, we would like to say: we remember.

Also in this issue:

• Welcome to Little Texas

Dr. Punnybone

Damage Control