January 24, 1955 Ira Hamilton Hayes, a Native American (Pima)
who was one of six U.S. Marines to raise the U.S. flag at Iwo
Jima, dies of exposure. With that entry in my "Day in History"
blog one of the most under-discussed problems in the United
States is laid painfully bare. Recently when Democratic
presidential hopeful, John Edwards, stated that about 200,000
veterans are homeless on any given night he was assailed for not
knowing his facts. His knowledge and their homelessness are both
reality and nothing new. We in the United States have failed in
our responsibilities to help the veterans of both popular and
unpopular wars. Those that seem almost condemned to serve in the
military can expect little for their service. Veterans' benefits
seem an easy mark for the fiscal conservatives since the quiet
complicity of anti-war liberals inevitably follows. The
liberals' penchant for peace (anti-war) is translated into non-
support for those who have fought in the wars. The conservative
end of the spectrum has no