Veterans deserve our very best

July 20th, 2009

Our country has been involved in many wars, conflicts, police actions, or whatever else you want to call it. The men and women who bear the brunt of this is our military. Veteran’s have been both praised and hated for their involvement in whatever theater or action they were involved in. World War I and II veterans were praised and welcomed as heros. Vietnam and Korea veterans were very wrongly blamed and hated for their service.

All of our veterans, no matter which era they served, peacetime or wartime, deserve to be praised and held as heroes. Our veterans deserve the very best in health care, they deserve the very best in benefits, they deserve more than the blame-game played against them every day. These men and women have gone to fight and die for this country either in a righteous war or a politician’s folly. In either case, they were doing what must be done. Our president said, “Go” and they went. Very few came back.

Some were killed and identified, some were and are still missing in action (MIA), some were prisoners of war (POW). Some believe we still have POWs in Vietnam, and this is very possible. I agree we need to honor not only the living veterans that have returned home, but also those who have not returned. We need to honor those who were prisoners and treated worse than any animal, denied the basic necessities and dignities, beaten and tortured, plus many more atrocities I can not even imagine.

In Muskogee, there has been some controversy about flying the POW/MIA flag at the Civic Center. Councilman Jim Ritchey stated that Muskogee already flies the POW/MIA flag at the Batfish War Memorial Park. To me, this is the perfect place for this flag to fly. I realize this is not the only place it can fly, but it is a fitting place. Where better to remember the POW/MIA of all wars than a war memorial?

I’m not opposed to the POW/MIA flag being flown anywhere else, mind you, but since it is already being flown by the city at the war memorial, wasn’t it a bit of an over-reaction at the city council meeting on July 13?