Editorial: Veterans issues in spotlight

Friday, Aug. 15, 1997 | 11:31 a.m.

THE Disabled American Veterans' annual convention at the Las Vegas Hilton Saturday through Thursday comes at a time when the public has begun to forget that wars maim.

Not since the Vietnam War began winding down in the early 1970s have large numbers of disfigured soldiers returned home from overseas. The Persian Gulf War earlier this decade took less of a toll and therefore was less jarring to the general public.

But forgetfulness can be corrosive.

Over the next five years, funding for veterans' hospitals and clinics is expected to decline by $3.1 billion, the result of a balanced-budget agreement that cuts taxes by more than 25 times that amount.

That could produce dire consequences for those who served. Veterans from World War II and Korea are in their 60s and 70s; they deserve additional care, not less. Many Vietnam veterans have either reached their 50th birthdays or are older. In a short period of time, they also are going to put a strain on veterans' health care facilities.

The convention at the Hilton will focus on ways to restore funding.

"We intend to make our concerns known to the president (and to) the legislators attending the convention," said Gary Weaver, assistant national director of communications.

One way to drive the message home is to help the public remember what it means to sacrifice.

In his Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography, "Fortunate Son," Lewis Puller did that.

Puller, a Marine infantry officer in Vietnam, lost his legs and most of both hands after igniting a booby trap while running along on a trail near Da Nang.

His memory of it is searing.

"I thought initially that the loss of my glasses in the explosion accounted for my blurred vision, and I had no idea that the pink mist that engulfed me had been caused by the vaporization of most of my right and left legs," he wrote. "I did not realize until much later that I had been forever set apart from the rest of humanity."

Many years later, Puller, the son of a legendary Marine, took his own life.

The tragedy of Puller's book is that his wounding was not an isolated incident. There have been periods of American history when such dismemberments were not uncommon. Worldwide, the story continues.

And now, many who underwent war experiences similar to Puller's are gathering in Las Vegas for DAV's 76th annual meeting.

There will be lighthearted moments, like a film tribute to Elvis, whose performances at the Hilton are what many fans still recall when they think of him, even 20 years after his death.

But an underlying message -- that sacrifice deserves care -- carries a serious tone that we hope will resonate with the public and with elected officials.

We welcome the Disabled American Veterans to Las Vegas.

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