By Gema G. Hernández

This summer I have the honor of serving as the chairperson for the Hispanic Congressional Caucus Veterans Summit in Washington. My role is twofold, first present the contributions of veterans, specifically African Americans and Hispanic veterans, and secondly, to identify for the Congressional Caucus the challenges our veterans face as they age in a not so friendly environment. The first part of the task was easy and rewarding because I found that 33 out of the 36 Congressional Medal of Honor winners were Hispanics. This brought home the lack of information and knowledge we have about our veteran community. It also reminded me that when it is time to serve the country the color of my skin, the person’s accent or musical preference does not really matter. What matters is if they are willing to sacrifice for the greater good of many.

Veterans’ contributions were easy to identify, especially now that we have become keenly aware of what is meant to be free and the price we pay for that freedom. Easy to identify were the sacrifices every single veteran offers this nation even those that were not wounded, those who happened to come home physically untouched by the battles from the first military confrontation through the present conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia. For particular reasons the committee wanted to highlight the sacrifices made by Vietnam veterans. The committee felt that as a country we need to pay back for the indifference we demonstrated during that conflict. Still today we don’t fully understand the nightmare this special group of veterans experienced.

It is easy to present a very strong case of why this nation through its elected officials needs to honor all veterans. We agree that honoring veterans with parades and celebrations is important, but most importantly the committee felt that it was time for the nation to honor veterans with laws that protect their dignity, ease their eligibility process for program and services, fund veterans services properly, and as they age offer them options other than nursing home placements and allow them to be eligible to receive disability pensions at the same time they are allowed to qualify with service connected disabilities. When you put your life on the line, bureaucratic jargon and rules should not be used to exclude veterans for what they have earned with their sweat and blood.

Defining the best mechanism to honor veterans is not as easy as it seems because to truly honor these men and women we must forget budget constraints and concentrate on improving the quality of life of those who have contributed to the quality of life and freedom we enjoy today. The committee’s feelings were unified when it came to recommendations for funding, special programs and health care at the level required to meet all of the veterans’ needs. While the total cost of implementing the recommendations was considered, the overwhelming emotion is not to allow that final number to detract from meeting the needs of our veterans. Balancing the federal budget on the backs of our veterans is not an option.

For the committee there were no gray areas. It was clear that when you ask some to put their lives on the line to protect freedom and democracy the least we can do for them is not to use financial criteria as the main filter before the country pays back for the gift veterans have given to all. Imagine for a second that our military age cohort begins to bring to the recruitment office a calculator and when they are called to action, instead of signing in the dotted line to protect freedom, they begin a series of calculations of the economic loss these years of service will have on their entire lifetime’s income. Instead of signing, our soldiers decide to bargain, decide not to serve and legally begin to postpone year after year after year their services to our great nation. Imagine that this nation begins to lack soldiers because every single potential soldier before enlisting calculates the financial impact service his or her country will have on his or her life and his or her family’s future.

What we are doing to our veterans deserves to be reconsidered at the highest level of the political ladder. Now more than ever it appears we are going to need our service men and women, now more than ever we need to reevaluate the policies, procedures and protocols that prevent veterans when they come home for achieving the American dream promised to all. Without veterans there is no American dream possible because there may not be an America to come home to. If we break our part of the contract by not providing for their health, their financial security and their welfare, we begin to tear the fiber of this nation.

I believe we do a disservice to our veterans and our men and women in uniform if we, as a nation, use our calculators after they have been wounded or after they have served with courage and bargain with their health and financial benefits. Instead of removing barriers to services we add invisible barriers to eliminate, dilute, or never give protection to them because it costs too much or because there are other national priorities. Veterans have families too. They have needs and the least we can do for them is to make sure the safety net is there when they come home. The committee recommendations will be issued in March to the entire Congress and to all 50 governors. It is my hope that the same dedication, love and commitment we committee members put into the document is reciprocate.

Until such a time when veterans are honored in the fullest sense of the word with programs and services to match their valor, let us remember this Veteran’s day those who did not make it home and those who, even though they came home, they came with the memories that are haunting them for life.