Stars and Stripes letter: What happened to honor?

[lebkuchen]

What happened to honor?

What happened to honor when this nation’s career warriors were promised that if they gave 20 or more years of their lives in defense of this nation, they and their dependents would receive free health care for life and Congress refuses to live up to that promise?

This was the law of the land until 1956, when Congress subtly changed the wording of the law.

Congress hides behind the false assertion that this promise was made illegally. The promise served its purpose, it was the primary deciding factor in making the military a career as these warriors were told that their pay was substandard because they were earning delayed pay in the form of lifetime health care.

The nation saved billions and billions of dollars over the years by not having to recruit and train a new military force every three or four years as these careerists believed their leaders, remaining on duty to form the very backbone of the nation’s military forces. The promise was validated as late as 1995 in numerous government documents.

What happened to honor when the president tells these warriors while on the campaign trail that “promises made will be promises kept,” and then, once elected, does everything in his power to insure Congress does not honor the promise?

What happens to honor when the Supreme Court refuses to even hear our warriors’ pleas?

The president and Congress know that soon none of these old warriors will be left, and then there will be no moral need to keep the promise. These warriors honored their part of the promise to the nation, and they only ask the nation to honor its promise to them.

If this promise is not kept, can we really believe our current forces’ promises will be honored for their sacrifices?

Air Force Capt. Ronald J. Shaw (retired)
Orem, Utah

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=27904

[flamin lib]

1. The GI bill

was the greatest program since Social Security. Every returning soldier who got a degree on the GI Bill paid many times the tuition in increased taxes because of the education (s)he got. It's a money making proposition, not to mention a promise in exchange for risking life and limb in defense of our country.

The Republicans are so shortsighted in their program cuts. Cut Medicaid and the sick show up in the emergency room where the hospitals are REQUIRED to treat them at 5X the cost of Medicaid care.