Letter: Government ignores some veterans’ health

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 | 7:02 a.m.

I wholeheartedly share Tom Harper's concerns and sentiment in his May 20 letter, "Wonder who cares about the soldiers' lives." Not the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney apparently believes that our soldiers' lives are simply an expendable aspect of his war initiative on behalf of Halliburton and the Military Industrial Complex.

We had no justifiable reason for our preemptive invasion of Iraq, based on such contrived rationalizations (lies). Being a war veteran of the Korean era (U.S. Air Force) and advocating on the behalf of the older generations of American war veterans, I certainly appreciate Mr. Harper's concerns. There has been biased devaluation of the wartime service for certain war veterans.

The veterans who served some 56 years ago during the Korean War and those who served later during the Vietnam War, and who all managed, however, to return without being shot, blown up or wounded are not appreciated. Now apparently our commitment to war duty, to service and country is being devalued by classification in service categories - discrimination against the war veteran who returned from the war without being wounded.

Not having a Purple Heart means co-payments for medications and/or medical treatment. The only exception is for veterans living on poverty incomes of $10,579 or less. American war veterans are being treated as if our war service was for a Third World country.

The United States of America is rich and wealthy - more than able to spend $500 billion on Iraq. Now tell me that the United States of America and its government cannot afford to take care of the medical needs for all of our American war veterans. If you really do care, write to your congressional representatives. Tell them that you care about our soldiers' lives and the quality of care to be given to all war veterans, indiscriminately and without exception, for all, cost-free!

Victor Lyons, Las Vegas