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Editorial: Divide and Conquer

By VVAW

Recently Congress has taken to pitting vets of different wars and different eras against each other. Unfortunately, the leader of Vietnam Veterans of America, Bobby Mueller has seen fit to go right along with this tactic.

Claiming that there is not enough money to take care of the aging World War II veterans population, Congress now claims it cannot fund service for non-service connected medial problems without putting the whole system in jeopardy. Adding his two cents worth, Mr. Mueller chimed in that the 1st priority was service-connected disabilities, especially those of 'Nam vets; he added that non-service connected problems of older vets should not be handled by the VA.

Just to remind Congress and Mueller, the VA was set up to care for all vets. When we were drafted or enlisted that was one of the promises (among many) held out for us. If the government didn't want to adhere to it, they shouldn't have promised medical care back in '42. Maybe they should have thought ahead and only drafted 2 million instead of 16 million, but then we might well be talking German instead of English.

Coupled with the promises is the hard fact of proving a service-connected disability. Look at the problems Vietnam vets are having with Agent Orange poisoning or delayed stress. In these cases, often a vet will be dead if he must prove that the problem that the problem is service-connected and wait for help from the VA.

Vets have more in common than not; we need to stick together. In 1976 VVAW members seized the Statue of Liberty to protest the removal of Korean vets from the GI Bill as well as demanding jobs and education for all vets. We were proud to be fighting for other vets from other wars. There is money to deal with our problems—and it's right in the present budget. Cut aid to the contras; cut aid to various two-bit dictators; cut the MX or B-1 programs or get rid of star wars.

The simple fact is that the government must deal with the problems of the past warriors before filling some Latin American dictator's bank account or buying some Pentagons bureaucrat's pet boondoogle.

—VVAW National Office

VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR NATIONAL OFFICE HAS CHANGED IT MAILING ADDRESS TO:

VVAW National Office
P.O.Box 408594
Chicago, IL 60640