Armistice Day is upon us. I remember my grandfathers – both WW2 vets – calling the November 11th date that, well before I had served myself. Although in the United States it was already technically Veterans day having changed the name of the day of remembrance of the end of WWI federally in 1954. But to the elders in my family it would always be Armistice Day. 11 minutes of silence on November 11 at 11 a.m. However, today, Veterans Day, seems a hollow observance given that so many vets are suffering.
When a servicemember signs up, they are told repeatedly that their service will be rewarded and that the country will always take care of them. But when you consider that 23 percent of homeless persons and 33 percent of all homeless men are veterans, can we really say we’re taking care of them? If you truly are appreciative of their willingness to raise their hand in oath of service to the country, understand what a large percentage of veterans are up against.
The challenges a vet faces, especially as they age, are more often than not peculiar to their service time. Currently the statistics for veteran health are not great. The latest stats show 17 vets committ suicide every day. That’s a company size in a week, a battalion in a month. Of veterans deployed in post-9/11 operations, 47 percent who suffer from PTSD or major depression are NOT seeking support. Given that it’s an average 18 days for treatment at any given VA facility and the average mean distance between a veteran and VA mental health services are at minimum 15 miles away (for instance for me it’s more than 40 miles away), just the sheer logistics of getting help is hard.
Add to that that many vets hold a personal or professional stigma towards care and generally do not trust doctors, and there’s a perfect storm of elements blocking our vets from getting the help they need. The nomadic element to their service – whether one time or a lifetime – can create a less than trustworthy relationship with medical providers. For many vets who do access the service, it’s the first time they may have a regular care team.
So this Veterans day, perhaps keep silent the ‘Happy Veterans Day’ or ‘Thank you for your service’ and write a letter to your government reps to do better by Veterans. Hell, we should be doing better by everyone, but on this holiday it brings the spotlight to veterans. When Whether your relationship with the day is a free day off of work, or just annoyed that there will be no mail service, or you stand in silent ceremony at 11:11 hrs., I humbly ask that if you dare to utter a ‘Happy Veteran’s Day,’ or ‘Thank you for your service,’ to someone, please make it meaningful. To make it meaningful, perhaps consider supporting an organization that helps veterans.
Below are some links to make it easy, if you like to support those supporting Veterans. If there’s one you support that’s not here, be sure that the funds they are using are mostly going to help veterans and not hold up the organization. There Are some big-name groups that hold up warriors in their name, but aren’t really holding up Vets, just themselves. So, be discerning, friends.
If you’re interested in my own struggles, as a vet and a Witch, I wrote about that over on my Patreon. And in the meantime, please pray for peace…everywhere.
Black Veterans for Social Justice
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Works Cited:
Staff Report, Sound Off, Supporting Those Who Served On Their Terms, Web, 11/10/23
Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans, October 18, 2010, Web, 11/10/23