Veterans Day: may they all come home (and always HAVE a home)

I saw some of Springfield's Veterans Day parade today as marchers kicked off from State and Federal Streets.

Only a few blocks away, at Worthington St. shelter, I knew that more than a quarter of the homeless men and women "living there" are veterans.

Most are Vietnam Era vets, but the Veterans Administration says there are more than 2,000 vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are homeless right now in this country.

War-- especially the kind of wars we're fighting right now-- seem to take the ground out from under the feet of those who serve.  Many never find their footing again.



Maybe next year, with some special outreach to those homeless vets, they can be included in the day's events.

This lovely video is of a returning soldier being greeted by his dog.  The next video is of returning soldiers surprising their kids.  Yes, it's a bit manipulative, but  it helps us civilians remember that it's real people with real families who are sacrificing-- and being sacrificed-- in these unnecessary and unending wars,