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The observance of what would become Veterans Day began on Nov. 11, 1919, with a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson marking the first commemoration of the day, one year earlier, when fighting ceased on the battlefields of Europe, ending World War I.
Armistice Day would mark the end of “the war to end all wars.”
Of course it did not. Today we are surrounded by monuments to that war and the ones that followed: the War Memorial Natatorium in Waikiki; the Arizona Memorial and USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor; the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl; and the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials at the state Capitol, to name a few. Yet to be built are the memorials of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But today is not Memorial Day. Today we honor all — the living and the dead — who donned the uniform of our country and took a vow to defend the United States against all enemies.
Our country places a profound value on that vow, and it’s fitting that we expect our veterans to be treated with a distinctive measure of respect and care.
That commitment has been sorely tested recently.
Veterans in Hawaii, many carrying the physical and mental scars of battle, find themselves facing new challenges.
For veterans seeking medical care at VA facilities in Honolulu, the average wait time for a primary care appointment last year was an appalling 144 days — a consequence of high demand, with an aging veteran population and more recent war wounds.
Veterans left homeless because of economic straits, substance addiction or mental illness were reduced to wandering the streets, shamefully neglected.
It has taken national outrage to begin correcting these problems.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, under heavy fire here and across the country, has made some progress. As of Nov. 1, most wait times for pending medical appointments at VA facilities in Hawaii are under 30 days, according to the VA.
A national effort called the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, spearheaded by federal agencies and first lady Michelle Obama, calls on the country’s mayors to end homelessness among military veterans in their cities by the end of the year.
As reported by Star-Advertiser reporter Dan Nakaso in today’s paper, the city and organizations like Catholic Charities Hawaii and U.S. VETS are trying to find shelter and a permanent home for the last identified 55 homeless military veterans on Oahu by Dec. 31. It’s an ambitious deadline, but reflects the belief that real progress can be made. Indeed, at the beginning of the year, there were 149 homeless veterans without such services.
Nonetheless, there’s a risk that these gains are temporary and could soon be lost.
An independent assessment of VA health care, released in September, found that the veterans could face even longer wait times in the future as the VA, a vastly complex organization, struggles with “an unsustainable trajectory of capital costs” and other challenges.
As for homeless vets, it’s not clear what will happen on Jan. 1, after the deadline passes to reduce veteran homelessness to “functional zero.” It would be wise for the city, state and private organizations to sustain the momentum created by the artificial deadline and, more important, a teamlike coordination of effort and resources. The acute shortage of affordable housing in Hawaii and high cost of living will remain problems for the foreseeable future. Without continued support, more veterans could slip through the social safety net.
It should go without saying that Congress and the executive branch, which often have been too willing to send our troops to war, have a solemn obligation to support them on their return. Necessary funding of veterans services should not suffer collateral damage in the political wars on Capitol Hill.
Currently there have been calls for the U.S. to act more forcefully against the murderous terrorist organization ISIS in Syria and Iraq. President Barack Obama, who once vowed to bring all our troops home from the Middle East, recently committed to sending 50 Special Forces troops to Syria.
Such moves should raise red flags. It must be remembered that the cost of a war doesn’t end with the building of monuments. It extends for years beyond, carried by those who served.