Veterans Appreciation Day Speech

by Lt. Col. Robert M. Bowman, USAF, ret.
President, Institute for Space and Security Studies

         We are gathered here to honor our nation’s veterans.  All Americans, regardless of political persuasion or attitude toward ongoing wars, want to express appreciation to our veterans, whether they’re from World War I or II or freshly back from Iraq or Afghanistan.  But it’s not enough to just say “Thanks for all your sacrifices.  Here’s a free meal once a year.”  No, we must work all year long to see that our veterans are taken care of.  We must have full concurrent receipt so that disabled veterans do not lose their compensation.  We must see that returning veterans, especially those wounded in combat, get prompt and effective medical care.  I’m dying from a rare and incurable cancer.  The doctors say I most likely got it from Agent Orange in Vietnam 36 years ago.  Yet the VA took decades to accept responsibility for Agent Orange cancers.  Now they’re doing the same song and dance with our veterans suffering from Depleted Uranium poisoning.  Over 130,000 from the first Gulf War are disabled, and tens of thousands more are being exposed to it today in Iraq.  Our veterans do not deserve red tape, foot-dragging, and buck-passing.  They deserve to get prompt high-quality medical care at no expense to them or their families.  We must see that those who gave their lives are acknowledged and indeed honored, not swept under the rug.  We must see that those who survive and return, prone to domestic violence, divorce, and suicide, get the help and counseling they need to reenter the civilian world.  Personally, I believe that the best thing our government can do for us combat veterans is to quit making more of us. When I came back from ‘Nam, we were spat upon and called baby-killers.  Thank God that doesn’t happen today.  The people in the peace movement have finally learned to distinguish between the brave young men and women who risk their lives in foreign lands and the chicken-hawk politicians who send them there.  Yes, today all of us are united in respecting and honoring our veterans.  Fellow veterans, I salute you for your service, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.