Our veterans have been fighting abroad for our freedom; the last thing they should have to do is fight for a job at home.
When I got out, there weren't too many job opportunities for snipers.
My father was a veteran. He fought in World War II. He was a patriot. On the other hand, he had no illusions whatsoever about how Uncle Sam had mistreated him and other black soldiers.
I've never had to spend any time in the VA hospital, so I really can't speak for those guys.
I'm trying to raise awareness for veterans.
As veterans we should be smarter about how we talk about things.
I have a history with domestic violence myself. I have toddlers in my home, and I'm a gun owner. And, as a veteran, I'm a member of a community that has a very high suicide rate. So all of those things have touched my life.
One of the things that ties people together, whether they live in a rural or urban area, is the really big number of people who have served in the military. Veterans issues are very important in the district.
Veteran causes are an extremely important issue, especially the transition from military to civilian life.
No veteran should have to wait for claims. If there's anybody impatient here, I am that individual.
The last point that I'd make. I had a hearing. I had all of the veterans groups in front of me. And I said to them, tell me when a veteran gets in to the V.A., understanding there are waiting lines and real problems, when a veteran gets into the system, is the quality of care good?
For every veteran who goes through a divorce, a wife goes through one, too. For every veteran alone in the basement, there is a wife upstairs, bewildered, isolated and in despair from the dark clouds of war that hangs over family life.
You know when you hear the 22 suicides a day it's a big part of your question. But when you hear the 22 suicides a day that should never be.
Like many of his fellow skyjackers, 49-year-old Arthur Gates Barkley was motivated by a complicated grievance against the federal government. In 1963, the World War II veteran had been fired as a truck driver for a bakery, after one of his supervisors accused him of harassment.
Oh yea, I was a conservative. I was probably hard-line, preoccupied with how much money I would make and how far I would go. But I began seeing a lady who directs a homeless clinic in Fargo. One of our first get-togethers was to a Salvation Army dinner, where I met some jobless Vietnam veterans. It started my transition, opened my eyes.
I want to create an informed and respectful dialogue about the opportunities and challenges facing our veterans.
Our family lives military and veterans issues in a way few others do.
Too many veterans are poor or near poor and homeless because of it.
