Veterans Day - a day to respect and honor those who served

Veterans Day observances can be pointed to as bright spots for those who have served in the military, since the veterans are sought out for one kind of honor or another. In recent years, veterans can count themselves more appreciated in many ways, such as Honor Quilts, the state medals for World War II (2000), Korea (2003) and Vietnam (2007), and others saying "Thank you for your service." These mean recognition that someone is a veteran. Memorial Day (Decoration Day in some southern states) is also positive, but mostly for those who died in service.

All of this is good in a world which most recognition of military service appears to be negative. Honorable military service deserves positive recognition.

In reality, it should be recognized that, in the U.S., with a single exception, recognition and respect for those who rose to the occasion to defend the nation vanished quickly after the need for the defense of the country was no longer obvious.

That occasion was World War II, and the reason is possibly numbers - the veterans and their families just about outnumbered everyone else.

The soldiers of the American Revolution fought for The Articles of Confederation. In too many cases, those soldiers died or were grievously wounded. Fighting against Unjust Taxation, the veterans were disappointed by institution of new taxes. Those resulted in the Whiskey, Shay's and Fries's Rebellions in which the veterans were up against the new government.

According to information in "America's First Veterans and Revolutionary War Pensions," by Emily J. Teipe (2002), military regulars were often in a terrible plight. In 1777, the government had stopped issuing pay to soldiers.

Apparently, the Revolutionary war veterans were little respected until the War of 1812. Finally, Congress passed pension legislation for indigent veterans in 1818. There were service pensions for all veterans in 1832. As one reviewer reported, a non-indigent veteran could get a pension for military service, but only if that veteran lived forty-nine years after the end of the war.

The War of 1812 was a little different, but after the American Civil War, many of the veterans were not particularly respected for their service. Mustered out where they were serving when the war ended, many had a great deal of trouble returning home, even if they had anything to return to. Many Confederate veterans, with nothing left for them at their homes, went west. There were state aid societies, but the need was greater than the possible relief.

World War I veterans, in 1924, were authorized by Congress to receive a "Bonus Payment" to compensate for wages lost while doing military service during the war. But payment was deferred until 1945. However, the Great Depression led to the "Bonus Army War" in 1932. About 20,000 destitute, or nearly so, veterans and their families had set up camp in Washington, D.C. They began converging on the city in May to support a bill to make the bonus payments early. In July, The House passed the bonus payment bill, but the Senate killed it. On July 28, the "bonus marchers" were ordered to evacuate the area. The refusal brought in the U.S. Army with tanks, bayonets, swords and tear gas. In 1935, a bonus payment bill was passed by Congress, which overrode President Roosevelt's veto.

Fast forward to today, and we find veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, many, if not most, from the National Guard, being deployed over and over again. Many have had a couple of tours in Iraq and a couple more in Afghanistan. With years in a hostile foreign environment, they return to the ranks of the job seekers and try to fit in with a society which has often changed immensely while they were gone. It is obvious that those who rose to the Call to Arms are not being positively and effectively supported.

Some have said a people can be judged by the way its most vulnerable citizens are treated. But it is at least equally true that a nation can be judged by the treatment of those who rose to defend a people or a nation when that defense was needed.

Recognition on Veterans Day is a positive start to honoring those who have responded to the Call to Serve. More can and should be done.