Katrina Peterson
North Wildwood, NJ

“With the soul of each veteran there is probably something that says “Bad war,good soldier”. Only now are Americans beginning to separate the war from the warrior.”

Every soldier puts his/her life on the line for us Americans. They deserve to be taken care of when they return from the war. People of today care more about the future and NOT the people who lived in the past and jeopardized their lives for us citizens of America.

A teacher once told me that the blood of the veterans that lay in our soil is the freedom that the US citizens have now. There are people now who do care for the veterans but not many. The ones who do care, support benefits and other necessities for veterans when they are welcomed home from war. For example, there are people who can help with their medical bills,compensation,pension,healthcare,vocational rehabilitation,employment,education,life insurance, etc.

We Americans often take for granted the very things most deserve our graditude. Also, this nation will remain the “land of the free’ only so long as it is the “home of the brave.” The veterans who put their lives on the line are the people who are the bravest of the USA, and they are the ones who are so proud of their country. They are the people who will put forth their all for our country.

Whatever one thinks about the politics if war, this much is true: U.S. soldiers fighting wars, defending our country and preserving freedom are deserving of far more than our gratitude. Did you know that there have been over 20,000 Americans wounded in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and as many as 200,000 homeless veterans, one third of the adult homeless population? Against these odds, veterans and military charities need to accomplish as much as they can with our donations.

Why honor our American veterans? They deserve a better life after they return home from defeating other human beings who want to come to America, take over and destroy our wonderful,free country.

“I firmly believe that any man or woman’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he/she holds dear, is the moment when he/she has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle…..Victorious !”