jvi Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Thanks to those who fight or fought for the world to be free, we would not be here without them, Jim. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted November 12, 2021 Share Posted November 12, 2021 We call it VETERAN'S DAY down here, but the same sentiment. But chances are we would be here without them. But "here" wouldn't be all that great. But, if Americans really cared at all about them, they'd put hard pressure on their representatives to figure out a way of funding the proper care they deserve so they wouldn't have to rely on charity. Whitefang 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvi Posted November 12, 2021 Author Share Posted November 12, 2021 Sadly. sadly , many Canadian vets are facing similar issues . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 All my thoughts and prayers to Canadian and American Veterans, especially those struggling with disability, depression, and PTSD. I have studied it for just a few minutes, and just sharing this to set my left and right limits for understanding these holidays, and it appears that Canada's Remembrance Day is more closely aligned to the US's Memorial Day (and not necessarily Veteran's Day). Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces. Similarly, Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in UK Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. Canada is not part of the United Kingdom anymore, of course. Canada is an independent country and part of the North American continent. Canada was a dominion of the United Kingdom till December 1931. Wiki: "In Canada, Remembrance Day (Jour du Souvenir) is a statutory holiday in all three territories and in six of the ten provinces. Nova Scotia recognizes the day separately under their provincial Remembrance Day act; but Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec do not treat the day as an official holiday in any capacity." Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. 😐 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 Not to be the turd in the punchbowl (that's Sgt.Pepper's job) but ... As a veteran, I tend to pay attention to some things others may not regarding these things. For example, my wife didn't notice the following: In our little gated community of 50 some odd houses averaging $500k - fully 20% of them have 'Disabled Veteran' cars out front. Lexus, Lincolns, Mercedes mostly. And while PTSD is a very real thing - I'm not sure that a psych disability would explain such a statistical aberration in such a small sample. Because I have not, in 9 years seen one wheelchair, prostheses or any other indication of a physical disability among any of the residents. Now, I know what I am suggesting sounds outrageous - that the VA would cut benefits to deserving vets and heap them upon undeserving ones. And for that reason, I ignored it for a long time. Until I read articles stating that there are scams at the VA to get a 'disability paycheck'. So, while past presidents have sworn they would end homelessness among veterans, and did nothing, I am concerned that there seems to be yet another problem with the VA. And, to be perfectly honest, not every person who I served with did so out of love of country or family. When I did, the choice was to serve or move to Canada. Now, thank God, we have a volunteer military. Which, based on a story I just this minute saw, does not appear to get paid enough to provide nutritional meals to their families. MODERATOR - feel free to delete my comment and/or me if you believe this was political or outside 'the rules'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said: Not to be the turd in the punchbowl (that's Sgt.Pepper's job) but ... As a veteran, I tend to pay attention to some things others may not regarding these things. For example, my wife didn't notice the following: In our little gated community of 50 some odd houses averaging $500k - fully 20% of them have 'Disabled Veteran' cars out front. Lexus, Lincolns, Mercedes mostly. And while PTSD is a very real thing - I'm not sure that a psych disability would explain such a statistical aberration in such a small sample. Because I have not, in 9 years seen one wheelchair, prostheses or any other indication of a physical disability among any of the residents. Now, I know what I am suggesting sounds outrageous - that the VA would cut benefits to deserving vets and heap them upon undeserving ones. And for that reason, I ignored it for a long time. Until I read articles stating that there are scams at the VA to get a 'disability paycheck'. So, while past presidents have sworn they would end homelessness among veterans, and did nothing, I am concerned that there seems to be yet another problem with the VA. And, to be perfectly honest, not every person who I served with did so out of love of country or family. When I did, the choice was to serve or move to Canada. Now, thank God, we have a volunteer military. Which, based on a story I just this minute saw, does not appear to get paid enough to provide nutritional meals to their families. MODERATOR - feel free to delete my comment and/or me if you believe this was political or outside 'the rules'. So, Lexus, Lincolns and Mercedes are "disabled veteran" cars? That's pretty good disability compensation! Unless you're referring to either a window sticker or special license plate. I'm thinking some fat cat found a way to obtain those in order to park his lazy a-ss where he shouldn't, but an actual disabled vet could if his car displayed those. And too, get special consideration from a host of other people as well. And yes I agree something ain't right as far as the VA goes. And most of it ain't the VA's fault. They can only provide any care or services to veterans that they can afford to. And I think it's shameful that in this, supposedly the wealthiest nation on Earth, would on one hand, promote the idea that those who serve and have served are "heroes", but those injured heroes are left maybe homeless, suicidal and have to rely on charity while billions of tax revenue dollars are spent...where? Foreign aid? Pork barrel projects? WHERE? Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 Texas issues license plates that specify “Disabled Veteran” upon request. I assume most get them but some don’t. Maybe only for one car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 As a veteran, I have not seen that the VA hands out disabled statuses easily. I have medical rights at VA, (but I don't use them), but they seem to steer towards NOT granting people disabled status. If the veterans in question are Agent Orange victims.... their illnesses could be hidden from view. Just know that our Government killed WAY MORE Vietnam Vets than did Charlie! I'm guessing the $500K houses and high-priced cars were NOT paid for with VA money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 19 hours ago, DanvillRob said: As a veteran, I have not seen that the VA hands out disabled statuses easily. I have medical rights at VA, (but I don't use them), but they seem to steer towards NOT granting people disabled status. If the veterans in question are Agent Orange victims.... their illnesses could be hidden from view. Just know that our Government killed WAY MORE Vietnam Vets than did Charlie! I'm guessing the $500K houses and high-priced cars were NOT paid for with VA money. Yah. The only VA benefits I took advantage of was the GI Bill College Tuition. The folks in my neighborhood I'm referring to are much younger than us Vietnam Era guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 God bless all the vets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 22 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: Texas issues license plates that specify “Disabled Veteran” upon request. I assume most get them but some don’t. Maybe only for one car. Civilians(and too, probably vets) in Mi. can get license plates with the "handicapped" symbol on them or handicapped tags to hang on the rearviews from the Secretary of State office(our version of the DMV) but must provide documents from their doctors for proof of need. I imagine there's little difference with obtaining such plates from the VA. The SOS office will provide a form for you to have your doctor fill out and sign. Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said: Yah. The only VA benefits I took advantage of was the GI Bill College Tuition. The folks in my neighborhood I'm referring to are much younger than us Vietnam Era guys. FYP, thanks for your service! I too took advantage of the GI bill to go to college..... went 5-1/2 years (2 years after I graduated)....they finally kicked me off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 I’ve never understood the term, Happy Veterans Day. I am a Vietnam Veteran. There was nothing happy about being in a War Zone.. All Veterans with Disabilities are not Homeless & Poverty stricken… Some actually struggled with their Disability all their working years & worked their asses off just as hard at their Civilian job as they did serving their Country in times of War…. To say they didn’t earn their VA Compensation is an insult to Veterans of Foreign Wars.. It makes no difference if they drive a Beat up Ford or a shiny new Lexus… If you have a beef against the Government giving out undeserved Compensation you should be looking at all the Forms of Welfare, the, so called, free Stimulus Money the Govt is sending out or $1,000,000.00 they want to give People who broke our Laws & illegally entered our Country… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 52 minutes ago, Larsongs said: All Veterans with Disabilities are not Homeless & Poverty stricken… Some actually struggled with their Disability all their working years & worked their asses off just as hard at their Civilian job as they did serving their Country in times of War…. To say they didn’t earn their VA Compensation is an insult to Veterans of Foreign Wars.. It makes no difference if they drive a Beat up Ford or a shiny new Lexus… If you have a beef against the Government giving out undeserved Compensation you should be looking at all the Forms of Welfare, the, so called, free Stimulus Money the Govt is sending out or $1,000,000.00 they want to give People who broke our Laws & illegally entered our Country… 1st. Nobody said ALL disabled veterans are homeless or poverty stricken. But there does seem to be a rising number of veteran homelessness and suicides with the claim that crisis intervention to prevent them is either scarce or if available is difficult to obtain. And of course we know there are many(too many, as I would say only ONE homeless veteran is too many) and others struggling to return to normal and stable civilian life. 2nd. I also don't recall anyone here suggesting ANY veterans didn't earn their VA compensation. I only read someone claiming their belief that some people having "disabled veteran" license plates weren't really disabled veterans. But you might recall that for many years, Viet Nam veterans didn't receive many VA benefits that previous war veterans did due to the congressional oversight committee claiming the conflict in Viet Nam wasn't a "real" war, but just a "police action". Finally, by the end of the '70's, that situation was corrected. And several Viet Nam vets I worked with started getting their due recognition and also invites to join the V.F.W. A few said they tried to join after returning home but were refused because of that reason. Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 I'm too am a Vet, and I do receive generous disability compensation from the VA. I ask you guys to please keep this discussion civil and respect each other, don't let it turn south. If you have to, PM each other. Lets give each other the respect we deserve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 3 minutes ago, Big Bill said: I'm too am a Vet, and I do receive generous disability compensation from the VA. I ask you guys to please keep this discussion civil and respect each other, don't let it turn south. If you have to, PM each other. Lets give each other the respect we deserve. I agree… My Post was supposed to be linked to the Guy who lives in the $500,000 - 50 home neighborhood where Half the Cars have Veteran Disabilty License Plates… God Bless All who Served… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 LS & BB....Thank you for your service.....and LS.... welcome home. The 'happy part' is that we came home! (mostly in one piece). I don't mind being told "Happy Veteran's Day" and I ESPECIALLY like being told "Welcome Home, Brother", which tells me the guy is also a Vietnam Vet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 2 hours ago, DanvillRob said: LS & BB....Thank you for your service.....and LS.... welcome home. The 'happy part' is that we came home! (mostly in one piece). I don't mind being told "Happy Veteran's Day" and I ESPECIALLY like being told "Welcome Home, Brother", which tells me the guy is also a Vietnam Vet. Welcome Home Brother… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 3 hours ago, Larsongs said: Welcome Home Brother… Thank you, Brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 15 minutes ago, DanvillRob said: Thank you, Brother. US Army - Cha Rang Valley 67-68 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 18 minutes ago, Larsongs said: US Army - Cha Rang Valley 67-68 US Army Artillery, Fox Battery/16th Arty & Alpha Battery/2nd Battalion/12th Artillery - 1970 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 On 11/18/2021 at 4:44 PM, DanvillRob said: US Army Artillery, Fox Battery/16th Arty & Alpha Battery/2nd Battalion/12th Artillery - 1970 865th Engr. Detachment - Chemical Gas Production Specialist - Medical Oxygen & Welding Oxygen & Acetylene… for 3 months til our WWII Gas Generating Plants broke down & no Parts were available…. I was transferred to the Motor Pool & was assigned to drive a Diesel Fuel Truck.. I delivered Diesel Fuel from Qui Nhon to the Cha Rang Valley & surrounding ROK, USAF, Army Units & smaller Army Camps… Fuel Trucks weren’t allowed in any type of Convoy.. I always travelled alone with an M-14 & an M-79 Grenade Launcher… On my 10th month after R&R to Sydney, Aus. I was reassigned again & became a Permanent Guard for my remaining tour… Either Guarding captured VC enroute to POW Camps or sitting in Towers Guarding Supply & Oil Depots all night long…. Christmas Day 1967 - Dec. 1968…. Thank you for your Service… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 9 hours ago, Larsongs said: 865th Engr. Detachment - Chemical Gas Production Specialist - Medical Oxygen & Welding Oxygen & Acetylene… for 3 months til our WWII Gas Generating Plants broke down & no Parts were available…. I was transferred to the Motor Pool & was assigned to drive a Diesel Fuel Truck.. I delivered Diesel Fuel from Qui Nhon to the Cha Rang Valley & surrounding ROK, USAF, Army Units & smaller Army Camps… Fuel Trucks weren’t allowed in any type of Convoy.. I always travelled alone with an M-14 & an M-79 Grenade Launcher… On my 10th month after R&R to Sydney, Aus. I was reassigned again & became a Permanent Guard for my remaining tour… Either Guarding captured VC enroute to POW Camps or sitting in Towers Guarding Supply & Oil Depots all night long…. Christmas Day 1967 - Dec. 1968…. Thank you for your Service… Sounds like a tough job.... driving on the highways there was not fun..... I was stationed right on Thunder Road, (Highway 13, I think), at a couple of Fire Bases, (Thunder II; Thunder III and Thunder IV). Mine sweeps often didn't find every mine in the road, Later on, was sent to Quan Loi with the 1st CAV....and when they went into Cambodia, (Operation Fishhook), my Battery went with them for support. Think about it..... that was over 50 years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted November 20, 2021 Share Posted November 20, 2021 46 minutes ago, DanvillRob said: Sounds like a tough job.... driving on the highways there was not fun..... I was stationed right on Thunder Road, (Highway 13, I think), at a couple of Fire Bases, (Thunder II; Thunder III and Thunder IV). Mine sweeps often didn't find every mine in the road, Later on, was sent to Quan Loi with the 1st CAV....and when they went into Cambodia, (Operation Fishhook), my Battery went with them for support. Think about it..... that was over 50 years ago! Sometimes it feels like it was so long ago, then there are times it seems like I’m still there…. It almost seems like it was in another life.. Sometimes it plays back in my head like movies… One thing for sure, it’s unforgettable…. God Bless… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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