I have been thinking about Memorial Day and what has been going on with the VA.
The problems with the Veterans Administration and the concerns that Veteran care issues are not being dealt with appropriately, make me wonder if there is still a hangover from the Vietnam War era. Let’s hope that President Obama will be able to clear up the difficulties our Veterans face in getting the care they need.
Letters from Vietnam
Revised 2014
When my brother served
as a Marine in Vietnam
he wrote me
about horrors of the war,
about finding
mutilated bodies
of his fellow soldiers,
about chicken coops
used by the Viet Cong
to cage and torture
their prisoners.
The American public
knew this too,
yet their heartlessness
towards our troops
when they returned home
battle weary and scarred,
needing peace, but finding derision,
was shameful.
My brother formed an honor guard
with Marine veterans
for brothers and sisters in arms
who have fallen.
As he folds the flag
and presents it to the family,
his face reflects
the pain and suffering
that is still with him.
Our living veterans
and those we have lost,
should be honored,
not just on Memorial Day and Veterans Day,
but cared for and cherished
the rest of their days
for serving their country
for putting their lives on the line
for us.
Dr. Hoult, poetess laureate of Culver City, may be contacted at HOULTight@aol.com
