National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers



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Care of Veterans

A Peace and Justice Statement
October 23, 2003





The National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers, meeting in New York City, October 20 to October 24, 2003, and after prayerful reflection, issued the following statement concerning the care of veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq and other recent conflicts:

As veterans of the Vietnam War we know too well the struggles that were necessary to obtain adequate care for the illnesses and wounds of that conflict, especially those caused by post-traumatic stress disorder and exposure to Agent Orange. Now we note with dismay the struggles of new generations of veterans to obtain adequate care, and a continual down-slide in the commitment of our nation’s leaders to supply our veterans with the level of care they deserve.

Care for those "who have borne the burden of battle" and their families is not an optional act of charity to be funded or not according to the impulses of the moment, but an intrinsic cost of engaging in war.

Therefore we call upon our elected representatives to include full and comprehensive funding for the care of veterans and their families as an integral part of any and all legislation that funds military operations that produce veterans. As people of faith, we are familiar with Jesus’ injunction that no wise king goes off to war without fully counting the cost. Care of veterans and their families must be counted as a cost of was from the very beginning.

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