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Nimmo Speaks: Words from On High

By VVAW

Speaking recently about veterans, Head of the Veterans Administration Robert Nimmo said, "what has to be recognized by those people (vets) if they want to be realistic, is that there are more words in the dictionary than 'more, more, more." While the remarks were aimed at vets in general, they were specifically directed at World War II vets as the Reagan Administration searches desperately for a way to weasel out of a long-standing obligation of the government to provide care for veterans once they have passed the age of 65.

With an increasing number of World War II veterans approaching the age of 65 the VA can see that their case loads may will be in for a rapid rise. And with the Reagan Administration trying to funnel every possible nickel into the military and away from every service program possible, the VA is scrambling to figure out how to reverse a tradition of healthcare that is many years old. Free medical care has been provided to veterans over the age of 65 without question in the past.

The problem is not that vets want "more," a fact that Nimmo would know if his background showed anything more than being a wealthy cattle rancher crony of Reagan. Vets are fighting to hold on to what we've won in the past and to hold the government to the promises it has made to veterans.