Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Oregon Department of Veterans Director Jim Willis wants to ensure that service men and women who are exiting the military are treated as well in the future as they are now.
Willis was keynote speaker at a dinner Friday night held by Sweet Home Veterans of Foreign Wars and veterans groups to commemorate Veterans Day and the veterans who have defended the liberty of this country.
“They defended the liberty of every man, woman and child and deserve our respect,” John Emma said in opening the event.
The observance allows an opportunity to honor veterans, who fought to preserve American liberty and especially those who gave their lives doing so, VFW Commander Howard Ruby said in prayer. He prayed for the wounded to recover and resume productive lives and for the families who have lost loved ones and who are separated from their loved ones.
“Their sacrifices too are very great,” he said.
Attendees at the dinner included Chamber of Commerce President Dave Furtwangler, Mayor Craig Fentiman, City Manager Craig Martin and Eli Harris, an Afghanistan veteran and Sweet Home paramedic, along with officials from state veterans organizations.
Willis, a retired Oregon State Police lieutenant colonel, is a Vietnam veteran and recipient of many awards from veterans organizations. He also hails from Linn County, currently residing in Albany. Growing up there, he said, “I have many great memories of this community.”
He remembers, when it was still Albany Union High School, coming to Sweet Home to wrestle, “so I could get my butt kicked by the Sweet Home wrestling squad,” he said. After wrestling here, he added, his team looked forward to going to Lebanon and Corvallis where they had a chance.
The “War to End All Wars” ended 90 years ago, on Nov. 11, 1918, Willis noted, and only one World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, 107, of West Virginia, is still alive.
“For Mr. Buckles, Tuesday will still be Armistice Day,” Willis said, but war has continued since then, so it will be Veterans Day for 24 million American veterans.
Among those veterans, 7,500 women had boots on the ground in Vietnam, Willis said, but much has changed since then. More than 100,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, “many in direct combat.”
The men and women who serve “are the people who hold this nation together,” he said. “The decision to serve changed their lives and probably changed our lives. The oath is not to a plan, not to a king. It’s not even to a state.”
It’s an allegiance to the Constitution, a radical concept even today, Willis said, but they have kept it for more than 200 years, offering all in defense of it.
“A veteran is a person who has made out a blank check to the United States of America for any amount up to their life,” Willis said. They paid the price for freedom. They know the cost, and they have deep pride.
“We honor their service and pride,” he said, even now as a new generation of veterans must have a smooth transition ensured at home.
“We should work hard to meet their needs,” he said, of both the vets and the growing number of women among them, while not forgetting the homeless veterans.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has and will coordinate with other agencies to not only get the homeless veterans off the street but also to help restore and heal their spirits and get them the jobs they need, Willis said. The number of them is declining, and it is his and the department’s intent to keep that number going down.
Veterans have had a number of successes since 2000, Willis said. VA funding is up by 100 percent. A new GI Bill is coming, clear signs this nation values its veterans. The nation doesn’t have a blank check to match that given by the veterans, but it does know their value.
“Those who wear the military uniform cannot forget, nor can their families,” he said. Forty to 55 percent of U.S. forces serving now are National Guard or active reserves.
They’re going to leave Iraq while staying in Afghanistan, he said. “There’ll be a shift to other issues.”
The job of veterans right now, while the issue is front and center, is to make sure these returning soldiers are treated as well in the future as they are when they get home to the parades and adulation, contrasted to the tough reception for Vietnam veterans.
“It didn’t happen when I came home,” Willis said. “I’m not going to cry in my beer (about it), but we’re sure not going to let it happen to another generation of vets.”