Each Memorial Day, we are greeted with the obligatory family barbecues, car sales and mattress blow-outs. We have our parades, American-flag bedazzled clothing items and lots and lots of beer.
That’s not to say that we don’t remember our fallen heroes (who are the real reason we have a holiday to celebrate in the first place) — but Memorial Day, much like any other banking holiday, is now a commodity.
Whether it’s Veterans Day or Columbus Day or Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there is always the expected outcry that Americans do not understand the importance of our holidays. Historical purpose behind these seeming secondary observances gets lost in all of the red, white and blue confetti. Do we really comprehend the “memorial” part of Memorial Day?
A quick Google search will tell you that Memorial Day was established to remember the fallen men and women of the U.S. Military. However, while all the Memorial Day sales roll in, veterans who survived the peril of war are struggling to make ends meet, some receiving sub-par benefits or none at all.
An April 29 Huffington Post article addressed a recent push from U.S. senators for President Barack Obama to fix a massive backlog in veterans’ benefits. The article goes on to say that the administration has attributed the severe backlog to a primitive form of paper filing — something that is just not acceptable in a digital age.
The backlog has prevented disability claims from being dealt with for up to 642 days for veterans in New York City, according to the article, and the national average wait time ranges from 316 to 327 days.
Other news of poor conditions in VA hospitals lends greater questioning into whether America is treating its veterans with the respect that it attempts to dole out healthily on days like Memorial Day. For instance, a CNN report from December 2012 indicated that a Pittsburgh VA hospital may have caused multiple patients to be diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease, a potentially fatal pneumonia. The hospital appeared to have a problem with its water supply that was causing the disease to manifest in patients.
While the federal government continues to fumble in ensuring veterans’ affairs are functional and helpful, smaller systems of aid, like that available at ASU, offer veterans assistance in re-assimilating themselves in society.
Recognizing the needs of our veterans and remembering those who died in service are equally crucial. As another Memorial Day comes and goes, it’s important to remain educated about the struggles still faced by a veteran community that incorporates multiple generations, including the college-age generation.
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