Would You Volunteer for Veteran Outpatient Care?

With all the maimed and mentally scarred troops due to come back as the war progresses, I am wondering what percentage of Americans would be willing to freely volunteer their time at a VA hospital or perhaps volunteer to care for disabled vets at their homes.

Would you keep your phone line open if the legless vet down the street needs a ride into the city?

Would you spend a day a week for a year talking to your maimed soldier/neighbor and listen to him talk about the horror of war? There'd be no point to it except to make him feel better. Would you be able to sit still and nod your head while he talks about the horror of the Iraq warzone?

I wonder how many warmongers actually give a crap about the guy who gets hit by a mortar and comes home with no hearing, no jawbone, and no speech capability. Would you be willing to spend any significant time learning sign language so as to communicate with him?

If all the flag waving were true, wouldn't you be willing? Or is he just a dumb shmuck who is now disabled and therefore useless to America?

I'd have no problem at all giving a Vet my free time... as it is now I live in a house with 3 combat vets who have all brought home "purps". 2 of them are Nam vets, and 1 of them is a gulf war vet. Allthough they're my family... I can't imagine it being much different caring for another vet.

Anyhow to answer the question... If I had more free time I'd love to care for a vet. It's because of them I sleep easy at night, so i'll return the favor anyway I can. Eventually I too will enlist, but for now I made a promise to my family to go to college first, so thats what I'm doing.

microcosm: God bless you. My post above had way too much vitriol in it but you have reminded me that there are Americans who care. A friend of mine has been trying to get the VA to fix his face which was smashed on a mission in Panama and is still trying. The guy lives with chronic pain simply for being a full-on patriot Pat Tillman type and now he's paying the price bcause of stupid lack of concern for wounded vets.

I really wish there was a plan in place where Americans could volunteer to help Veterans. Just to have an organized plan to welcome these guys home not just by the military, but by the nation as well. They just seem so short changed.

--oh wait, they do have a plan: Give change to any old homeless dude. Chances are, he fought in some war.

Originally posted by smallpeeps
microcosm: God bless you. My post above had way too much vitriol in it but you have reminded me that there are Americans who care. A friend of mine has been trying to get the VA to fix his face which was smashed on a mission in Panama and is still trying. The guy lives with chronic pain simply for being a full-on patriot Pat Tillman type and now he's paying the price bcause of stupid lack of concern for wounded vets.

I really wish there was a plan in place where Americans could volunteer to help Veterans. Just to have an organized plan to welcome these guys home not just by the military, but by the nation as well. They just seem so short changed.

--oh wait, they do have a plan: Give change to any old homeless dude. Chances are, he fought in some war.

This may help, have your friend go to the Vet center near you to speak with the veterans there. Does this friend have it documented of the injury in the military medial records?

Does this friend have it documented of the injury in the military medial records?

Well, he got his face bashed with a rifle butt in the 80's. The VA wants the details like where were you, what was your mission, etc before they will pay for the nerve-reconstruction he needs. The Corp will not release the details of his mission as there was a level of deniability involved. He could push it, but doesn't really want VA doctors digging in his face anyway. He'll pay for it himself once he gets the cash.

It's just a damn shame that vets are not treated better upon their return. The military corporations will re-fit choppers and planes, but they won't spend much to re-fit humans. When I heard Rummy do his soft-shoe around the armor issue for these Iraq vets, I was outraged.

In my opinion, when a vet gets wounded, they should have the rest of their life taken care of. They should get free job training, reserved jobs and all the medical care they need. They've paid the ultimate price short of death. Fixing broken war-vets is much more important than stupid issues like Indian casinos or gay marriage yet we waste tons of dollars lobbying for these issues.

Being an Air Force Vet., I live relatively close to a Vet. hospital in Salem, Va. I often voulnteer for those guys who are basically confined to the the same. I have to tell you the truth, if I were the head Ubangi, I would make all teenagers regardless of their respective age put in "x" amount of hours. The reason I say this is because these guys would break your heart if you were to actually sit and talk with them for a while. Most have arms or legs missing and there are a good number with Phyc. problems due to their service to for our great country. If the teenagers were to help these folks out they would learn in a hurry what the ravages of conflict and war are all about and at the same time, maybe they would catch on to the fact that these guys and women gave their personel best for us and one day they might have to do the same. Back on topic...The people who run the Px @ the Salem V.A. were charging for these guys to eat until a bunch of us stepped in and let them know what they were doing was just flat out wrong. In summary, I feel that it would be a good idea for everyone who loves our way of life and the freedom our country provides to donate as much time as they can at any V.A. facility. These brave men and women would more than love to see you which is something you cannot buy with money.