Taylor - Courier - [Speaking Out] Veterans shamed by government bumblling

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Published as a 'Speaking Out' piece in the Courier News, Sunday, June 11, 2006

Veterans shamed by government bumbling

Today, I lie in my hospital bed at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Iselin-Edison in the fourth-floor telemetry ward, convalescing from military complications I received in the Republic of South Vietnam on March 17, 1967.

In the wake of this Memorial Day, as I think about my fallen comrades, I am compelled to respond to the recent comedy of errors perpetrated by the grossly inept bureaucracy known as the Veterans Administration.

Allow me to state my reasons for writing this heated missive, and I hope it will receive some forward and positive response from my entire New Jersey congressional delegation, because it is high time and appropriate that action needs to be taken against the horrible atrocity tragically perpetrated against American veterans both male and female.

I regard service in the U.S. military as a major highlight of my life's experience to date. Nothing in my judgment is more noble than to have the ability, opportunity and privilege to be able to serve your nation when requested to do so. I come from a long line of Taylors who hailed from Hanover County, Virginia, but I also acquired another trait of the Taylors that has served me in good stead -- I will fight injustice and mistreatment, no matter the odds against me.

We as Americans are blessed to live in a nation of plenty, and as the Bible says, "To whom much is given, much is also required." I cannot idly lie in this hospital bed without recoiling with anger and revulsion against a bureaucracy like the Veterans Administration's obvious ineptitude.

Now to the issue at hand. On Memorial Day weekend, we are supposed to look back with fond remembrances of our fallen comrades with pride, appreciation and homage, but instead, America is forced to accept blatant mediocrity. The No. 1 travesty is that states such as Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio should join collectively with our New Jersey congressional delegation to form a power-packed aggregation of dissenters to demand a probe in order to completely overhaul the Veterans Administration, because of the wanton disregard of the disabled veterans living in these respective states.

In other words, those organizations, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled Veterans of America, American Legion, AMVETS, which profess to love freedom and fairness, should urge America's Fourth Estate (electronic and print media) to continue investigative reporting to get to the bottom of this comedy of errors so America's disabled veterans can receive justice and their fair share.

Simultaneously, for too long there has been a major silence of responsibility that needs to be appropriately addressed. It is simply not enough to celebrate Memorial Day and permit the Veterans Administration to keep getting away with its incompetence over and over again.

The No. 2 travesty is when more than 26.5 million veterans have found that their private records, containing identifying information including names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, as well as some disability ratings, have been stolen. This represents a lack of security measures needed to protect this sensitive data. It is time for a complete congressional overhaul led by the aforementioned states in question.

Further, permit me to suggest that Congressmen Michael Ferguson and Bill Pascrell Jr. serve as co-chairs of this important bipartisan committee to clearly examine this total injustice against men and women of valor, because it is not about being either a Democrat or Republican. It's about supporting a united America in support of all veterans who have served courageously.

If you have any further comments, please contact the Rev. Richard L. (Rick) Taylor, the co-host of Radio WKMB ("Know Your Community Program") 1070 AM, broadcasting from 120 West 7th St., Plainfield, NJ 07060.

The Rev. Richard L. (Rick) Taylor
Plainfield

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/OPINION02/606110324/1010

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