Call From a Soldier

 I know from experience with my husband just how frustrating dealing with the Veteran's Administration can be.  There are those who have come home from war with wounds both visible and invisible who must rely on the V.A. to meet their continuing need for medical care.  Unless you have experienced the trial of trying to obtain services from the V.A., you can't imagine how frustrating the process can be.  I truly believe it is purposely designed that way to cause some looking for services to give up, and stop seeking the help they need.  Some of the stress of seeking needed medical care can be due to individuals who are employed by the V.A. who for unknown reasons seem to enjoy making obtaining their benefits difficult, because those individuals are not caring people, in fact they enjoy the power they wield over service members.  No matter what the reason, the frustration and stress should not exist for those who have borne the burden of the last twelve years of the present conflict.

Call From A Soldier

I received a call from a Soldier today.

He was struggling and found himself again in dismay.

As I listened sadness swept over me, many times for these brave I have made defense,

Sometimes the way we treat our Soldiers just doesn’t make sense.

We ask so much, take so much then profess great care.

But when it comes down to it, the burden they have to bear.

We make them wade through paperwork and bureaucracy without end.

We appoint them an advocate, but really for themselves they must fend.

“Jump through this hoop, sign here, and go to that corner and stand.”

There are so many requirements and so many demands.

Everyone knows that to these valiant warriors we all owe,

How is it then that in the end we become the foe?

When they reach the brink of what they can shoulder,

They tend to give up, walk away, as their resentments begin to smolder.

I wonder often if the system is not of such a design,

As to so discourage a Soldier that they give up in time.

When an enemy stands sinister and dark at the door,

The whole world looks to these men and women and implores.

Leadership with lofty words sends them out,

Their mission is the enemies of freedom to rout.

Of all the debts that the people of a nation share,

Is there one like we owe to these men and women that can compare?

I received a call from a man who used to be a Soldier today,

He was struggling and again found himself in dismay.

Dedicated to Jared Campbell and all those who have so nobly served with him, may this nation always remember and respect what they have given.  March 2011.