Op-Ed Columnist - NYTimes.com:
"There is something shameful — dishonorable — about relegating these warriors to the background. We sent them into hell and we owe them, at the very least, our grateful acknowledgement of their tremendous efforts and boundless sacrifices. There is no way to do that without paying serious attention to them."
I said this would happen. I said it last year and the year before that. I've said it ever since the day I got out of the Navy. You can put all sorts of magnetic 'Support the Troops' ribbons on the back of the car but most people would rather not see the tragic aftermath of the war that we sent these children to fight for us. The stink of war surrounds these veterans and it offends the citizenry. It has happened after every war this nation has fought...I would be willing to bet that Revolutionary War soldiers were quietly ignored in their villages in the years after the war.
This is why Bush/Cheney tried to prevent photographs of flag-draped coffins and why Bush had to be pressured into visiting VA hospitals. You're right: Nobody wants to know; they want to think it's all war movies and bumper stickers.
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