The word “veteran” tends to prompt the image of a grandfather or great-uncle who served in Korea and tells stories, both heroic and horrific, of the war.
However, veterans are not limited to the stories our grandparents tell us — MSU’s campus is filled with student veterans who served in wars more recent to our time.
As most students complain about how much homework they’ve been assigned for a week, others are carrying the weight of the memories that many people could not fathom.
The mental makeup it takes to serve in the military and defend our country in a war is one that not a lot of people can say they posses. Veterans from students’ grandparents’ time and their own time have fired shots at innocents, taken lives and witnessed fellow U.S. soldiers losing their own lives.
With how much money is dedicated to national defense, the same amount should be given to soldiers and veterans back home who need help and care.
Many who do survive the battlefields come back with more than physical injuries — the mental trauma, including mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder .
Symptoms of PTSD for soldiers returning from combat include gruesome nightmares and flashbacks, trouble sleeping and the feeling of emotional numbness.
According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 11 to 20 veterans who served in Iraq suffer from PTSD in a given year. Twelve out of 100 Gulf War veterans have PTSD in a given year and about 30 out of 100 veterans who served in the Vietnam War have suffered from PTSD during their lifetime.
Veterans sometimes return home only to find themselves on the streets. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, an estimated 49,993 veterans are homeless on any given night. About 12,700 veterans who served in Iraq are homeless, though the number is constantly increasing.
While we do have one day of the year dedicated to these valiant men and women, one day doesn’t feel like enough to thank them.
People should always keep veterans, and current soldiers, in their thoughts and prayers as a way of saying thanks, but that shouldn’t be the only step they take.
To take it a step further, people should simply try and lead the type of life that these troops, veterans and those lost in the fight, have dedicated their lives to defending.
Veterans deserve respect more than one day of the year. Their sacrifices deserve more than a parade or a ceremony. This respect and gratitude should carry into our everyday lives, even if it’s done by simply thanking the veteran you see wearing their medals.
