No Permanent Majorities In America
Cartoony Politics in Canada
Being President 101
Failure To Blow Election Stuns Democratic Party Faithful Mourn End To Losing Tradition
Hope Is On The Way
The Future Is Upon Us
Illinois Outdoes Itself
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The White Collar Lament
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If The Shoe Fits Hurl It
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Crazy Like A Fox
Out With The Old
Remember The Empty Chairs At Holiday Tables
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The Gaza Rules
Harper's Weekly
The Mortgage Thieves Return
Bringing A Bit Of Fairness To The American Workplace
Bye-Bye 2008: Things I Want To Forget
The Fierce Urgency Of Now
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The Perils And Joys Of Self-Esteem
The Future Of Civilization
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Moral Clarity In Gaza
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Talking About Sex-Ed That Works
The Time Is Now
Et Al Ad Nauseam: 2008 And All That
The Generational Theft Act Of 2009
Pay Rod Gives Democrats Fits With Senate Choice
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Gaza: The Dove'S War
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Season's Readings
Old Acquaintances
A Social Trauma For Obama: Youth Crime
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Eric Holder And All Political Prisoners
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A Clean Start
Year-End Odds And Ends
Team Obama Dabbles In Drama
The Gamble in Gaza -- Interview With Aaron David Miller
Cal Thomas-Bonus
A Respite From Reality
One Nation, One People-God Bless Us Everyone
Dr. Leavitt's Scary Diagnosis
Teaching Economics
Richardson's Exit And The Vetting Process



They Gave All, For . . . This?
Joe Galloway 11/11/2008
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It is autumn, and the air is crisp and cool at night at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

It gets very quiet at The Wall around midnight. The tourists have gone home, and are all tucked into bed.

A homeless Vietnam veteran patrols the black granite panels. He tells us that he has cancer and is having a hard time getting any benefits from the Veterans Administration. He lives in a mission that houses those who have nowhere else to go, but the doors don't open until 11 p.m.

He sees my interest in Panel 3-East, the third panel to the east of the apex of the memorial, and he asks if I was there at the Ia Drang Valley battles that contributed 305 of the names that are on that panel.

I nod, and he grows animated. Oh, I know these guys well. Or at least I know their names. He begins calling the roll to prove it: "Henry T. Herrick, John Geoghegan, Willie Godboldt, Travis Poss, Carl Palmer, Wilbur Curry, Thomas C. Metsker . . ." Twenty, then 30 of the names trip off his lips. "I tell people about them when they ask."

So do I.

We slip a few bucks into his hand for something to eat and he wanders off into the night, heading for the mission and a cot where he can rest his head until 7 a.m.,
when he and the other homeless are shooed out to begin another day of waiting for something good, finally, to happen to them.

I hope that he lives long enough to collect some benefits and get some medical help from the VA, although given the six- to eight-month backlog in processing veterans' claims, there's no guarantee that he will.

I stand before Panel 3-East and slowly scan those names, remembering their stories, their hometowns, their wives and children, remembering, too, how and where they died and what it all means.

Did they die so that a brother veteran can die waiting in line for a little help from the nation that sent them all off to war in the prime of their youth? Did they die so that four decades later, an American president and his cronies could start another needless war in a far-off land, a war that to date has dragged on almost as long as the one they fought in Southeast Asia?

Did they die so that wounded veterans of that war could come home to a lot of "Welcome Home" greetings and a lot of "Support Our Troops" bumper stickers, but facing the same fight that America's veterans have always faced when they try to get treatment and benefits from our Army and our Veterans Administration?

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Veterans Honor COLOR
By Parker - Florida Today * Posted 11/10/2008 12:00:00 AM
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Veterans Honor COLOR
© Copyright 2008  Parker - All Rights Reserved.

Posted By: John Handforth  on Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thank you, Joe.

I don't always agree with you, but this time you were wonderful.

Posted By: Jeff  on Tuesday, November 11, 2008

All of the blood given for Vietnam and Iraq was for nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  And every bit of it was predictable.  And the goose-stepping, Bible-thumping goons among us continue to vomit forth:

"Patriotism."   And that simplicity excuses it all.

Posted By: Matt  on Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Shame on you, Joe Galloway, for insulting the men and women of our armed forces. For implying that they serve not because they believe in something bigger than themselves and are willing to sacrifice for it, but because they are incapable of making a living on their own. For impugning the sacrifices they have made for freedom here and around the world. Perhaps you should ask a veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan whether he believes his work there is for nothing.

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