WALL: Veterans hit it repeatedly
Last Wednesday I was driving along I-90 to one of my many appointments at the Veterans Administration hospital in Spokane and saw the procession escorting the “Wall that Heals” and the “Wall of Remembrance” to Hayden.
My first reaction was one of honoring and remembering many that I served with, and all those that have died as well as those that were damaged in other ways while serving and protecting our great nation.
My second and immediate reaction was anger at how our veterans are treated by the Veterans Administration and specifically by the VA hospitals and clinics. Anger at the elected officials of both parties who never miss a chance to get in front of a camera, microphone or audience to express their support for our veterans. They are all dishonest, disingenuous disgusting politicians, posturing for their constituencies.
If anyone, including the politicians and for that matter representatives of our media, really are interested in how we “honor” our veterans, I would suggest they take an hour or so and travel to the VA Hospital in Spokane located at 4815 N. Assembly St. First try to find a parking space, especially if you are handicapped and using a wheelchair as I am. The parking is totally inadequate for a medical facility as large as VA Spokane. On the way in please notice the massive custom stone and wrought iron fence surrounding the entire complex. Each stone “post” is crowned with a very expensive looking large carriage light.
Once at the main entrance continue on around to the last possible entrance to the building. The main entrance has been closed for months while the hospital is enlarged. For the able bodied and the young it’s a long but doable walk from the far reaches of the parking lot. For the old and/or disabled and weak it is a nightmare.
Once inside one only needs to walk from end to end of the first floor. Often there is no place for Vets to sit so they stand or sit on the floor while waiting for their turn to receive medical care. The lines are often long. Old infirm vets from World War II, Korea and Vietnam shuffle from appointment to appointment. Administrative staff seem genuinely annoyed if they are forced to interact with a Vet.
The interior and service on the first floor seem like a scene from a quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describing a Soviet hospital in the former Soviet Union.
Honor our Vets? — Absolutely and every day. But let’s get real. It’s very easy to get teary eyed while kneeling at “the Wall.” It’s something else to actually provide decent medical care to those who served who are now in need.
Take a drive and see for yourself.
BILL BROOKS
U.S. Army Security Agency Veteran, 1968 - 1972