(5/23/98 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)
by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
Memorial Day is fast approaching, the national holiday to honor and remember America’s slain soldiers. While we remember the fallen, I am concerned that we may be forgetting the survivors that came home. I recently learned of yet another case of insufferable treatment given to one of our soldiers. A veteran, who joined me at a recent town hall meeting, told me that the Veterans’ Hospital was simply "waiting for him to die." Naturally, his statement troubled me.
This gentleman is a survivor of the Vietnam Conflict and now can’t get appropriate and prompt medical attention. Since Vietnam he has aged and become wise, but unfortunately has been diagnosed with cancer. The Veterans’ Administration Hospital and Health Care System was created to serve men like this former soldier. However, the system is failing. This courageous soldier informed me he had recently been given a professional medical prognosis of five years to live. Seeking treatment at the Veterans’ medical facility has forced him to "wait in long lines for poor service." Moreover, he had recently visited a doctor for a routine checkup and was scheduled for two additional appointments to monitor the status of his health. The visits were scheduled six months apart. They gave a man with a terminal condition two examination dates that span a whole calendar year. With so few years promised, the medical facility should have given him more time for treatment and more care, as each day of life is critical and valuable. Unfortunately, the Veterans’ medical system is under funded, overburdened, understaffed and perhaps dangerously close to useless for a man like---this soldier.
It is a tragedy that these men and women who served their country, in the prime of their lives, cannot get basic medical attention. If this is the way we treat our veterans of foreign wars, how will the active men and women in today’s armed forces feel as they look to their futures?
Each generation has faced a military threat: The Gulf War exposed soldiers, many African American, to chemical weapons, poisonous gases, and Gulf War Syndrome. Veterans are people. They may be your neighbor, your postal worker, your uncle, aunt, father, or brother. Some have fought and been seriously injured for this country in the name of democracy and liberty. Many have served and supported the directives of this government at home and abroad. They have fought to maintain international boundaries and peace efforts. These brave and courageous people have risked their own lives to ensure the safety of millions of people they have never seen. Some may not agree with such acts. However, many would say bravery and courage are the tools of free men. Regardless of one’s view, the fact remains, that they put their lives at risk for all of us, and for generations yet unborn.
Therefore, part of my mission in Congress is to develop legislation that will support our veterans in life. It is not enough to honor the valor of the fallen. We must embrace the survivors---to give them every chance for a rich and fulfilling life. Their sacrifices of military service were too great for these soldiers to return home to find a health care system that does not treat them with respect and dignity. We must all remember that without these hometown heroes no pursuit, of life, liberty, and happiness is or would be possible. Let’s collectively take a moment to reflect and honor those who have made tremendous sacrifices that touch and concern our lives in a most fundamental way.
This fall I will host a forum concerning medical care for veterans. The forum will be complete with experts from the Veterans’ Administration, the Department of Defense, Veterans’ Hospital health care officials from all service areas including, but not limited, to psychological services, and representatives from the TRI CARE program. As we memorialize our soldiers and honor their deeds, please join me in making sure our veterans are provided the services they need and the recognition they justly deserve.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.