A Vietnam Vet Speaks on How We are Failing Our Returning Troops
(Guest Post by Terry Kindlon)
In 1968, as a 21 year old wounded Marine Sergeant, I got great medical care in a sparkling Navy hospital where I was treated with dignity and respect. When the Marine Corps decided that my injuries required a medical retirement I was quickly set up for a disability pension and introduced to a VA representative, right there in the hospital, who designed a plan for me that paid every single cent of my education, together with my living expenses.
While I was in college, this older, grandfatherly counselor from the VA would swing by once a month to tell me I was a nice kid, that he was proud of me and to say "keep up the good work." Same deal in law school where there were three other disabled vets in my class (including the extraordinarily talented and dedicated Ray Kelly, who's just finished a term as President of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) whose education was also being fully funded by the VA, and, of course, there were also dozens of regular, non-disabled vets who were able to go to law school because of the GI Bill. The VA even paid for my bar review course and sent me a check for $50 to cover the bar exam fee.
Because the VA did what it was designed to do I've been able to have a good life, to practice law, to become the father of seven remarkable kids and grandfather to four more. Not only that, but my taxes have now repaid the government's financial investment in me hundreds of times over. As equations go this is kind of a no-brainer.
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