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what does veterans day mean to you? we have a special line set up if you are a veteran or family member of one. call us at (202) 748-8000. current members of military, (202) 748-8001. all others at (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. please make sure to include your name and where you are from. we are on facebook.com/c-span, on x, @cspanwj. today, president biden will be at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery. we will have that live at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now or c-span.org. earlier this week on the senate floor, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell marked veterans

and paid tribute to them. here is a portion. [video clip] >> this weekend, i am with parades and gatherings. solemn ceremonies and phone calls to loved ones. america will mark wednesday by expressing -- veterans day by expressing our gratitude to the men and women who have served our nation in the armed forces. veterans day is much more then a once a year observation. it is a reminder of our daily obligation to honor their service, uphold our promises to care for them when they come home and do everything we can to equip those defending our nation today and tomorrow for success. so, today i am reminded of some letters i have saved in my archives. there are letters my father sent

home to my mother from his own service in patton's army in 1945. with nazi germany on the ropes, with peace within reach, my dad was already seeing firsthand the sorts of threats that would define the next half-century of american history. the parts of his letters that made it past army sensors, he told us how the russians were going to be a big problem. today, america faces threats every bit as grave. like those of the 1940's, our adversaries today are not being shy about their efforts to win the next half-century of competition with america and the west. host: we are taking your calls on what veterans day means to

you. if you are a veteran, that number is (202) 748-8000. also for family members of veterans. current nilla terry members at (202) 748-8001 -- military members at (202) 748-8001. everyone else, (202) 748-8002. a thank you from the rookies with some veterans receiving a special thank you from students at hollywood elementary school in stevensville, michigan who demonstrated their appreciation for those who served in the armed forces during a ceremony on friday to celebrate veterans day. let's start with your calls. anthony is in the los angeles california and a veteran family member. go ahead. caller: good morning. ♪ [singing] host: let's go to maria in liberty, mississippi. caller: happy veterans day to my

brother, calvin spears. host: how lovely. what service is your brother in? caller: he was retired from the marine corps. host: what has it been like for you to be a veteran family member? caller: it has been great. it is great to know my brother served in the marines. it is a great feeling. host: thank you so much, maria. a recent national press club event, the v.a. secretary dennis mcdonough discussed the ways the v.a. has been changing its practices with the hopes of providing better care for veterans. here's a portion from august. [video clip] >> we are fitting our care for service into veterans lives, not expecting veterans to build their lives around us. if we are going to keep our promise to vets, we need to meet them where they are when they need us without exception. we have reached out to vets and

listen to what they wanted using a veteran centered design approach, we developed tools to ensure vets and their caregivers have positive, productive experiences when engaging the v.a. we overhauled v.a..gov to make it the digital front door for all services the v.a. offers vets. medical appointments, applying for education benefits, all go through that same front door. the new v.a. health and benefits mobile app gives vets access to the digital front door, meaning that's with a smartphone can have all their -- vets with a smartphone can have services in the palm of their hand wherever they are. while a that is waiting to pick up a kid from school, on a lunch break, watching a football game, they can refill a prescription,

send a secure message to their doctor, take a quick appointment, access their travel reimbursement and more. it is working. not perfectly, but it is working. we have seen a staggering 3000% jump in that -- vet virtual home visits since 2020. nearly 28 million home visits at that time. by offering care into that pot -- vet's lives and alongside focused processes and technological advances, we decreased average wait times in nearly 60% of our facilities. host: that was v.a. secretary dennis mcdonough earlier this week at the national press club. let's go ahead to maria in liberty, mississippi on our veterans and family numbers line. are you a veteran or family member of one?

caller: i am a family member. host: go ahead, what is your comment? caller: i would like to say thank you for everybody that served in the military services. i also have a nephew that served in the navy. host: on princi in norfolk, virginia on our family members. go ahead, percy. caller: america, i am a proud veteran of the united states military -- navy. i was -- i will salute the v.a. for their vast improvement in providing care for me and other veterans. host: percy, can you tell us about where you went with the navy? caller: i did several throughout the mediterranean. i had a good experience. learning skills that provided me

with great distinctions in my efforts to improve people's lives. my life was improved by joining the navy. my efforts paid off. host: what has the experience been like as a veteran? caller: it has been up and down. i have had setbacks as far as ptsd and things the v.a. was very helpful in helping me get through that. and provided additional training and so forth, allowed me in open school and teach logistics. i credit the navy for a great deal of my success in life. host: ok. let's hear from duke in stonington, maine. caller: good morning. i'm calling in memory of my father, elliott sheppard, from

stonington, maine. he served in the navy during the korean conflict. he was very proud to have been a veteran. he was the commander of the post. he was proud to be in the parades and stuff. he was adamant about getting those flags out on the veterans lots. the memorial, that was his top priority. he and a bunch of his buddies did that. i was very proud of him that day. he really took his navy time there and being a veteran very seriously. i think all the veterans out there. thank god we have got them, i do not know where we would be without them today. host: what was it like growing up in a military family? caller: well, we had quite a sense of pride for the military and the fact my father was in it and stuff.

he tried to instill that in us, it was something to be proud of. and, we were. it was great, it really was. host: ok. i want to point here now to -- excuse me, gallup research showing confidence in the u.s. military is at its lowest in over two decades. you will find that here it says public confidence in the u.s. military continues to decline, drops have been seen across party groups but republicans remain the most confident with independents least likely to express confidence each year -- to express confidence this year. here is a chart showing u.s. confidence in the military from 1975 to 2023. you can see that decline here --

these are people for -- who have a great half's and military dropping to 60% here. i want to go to another piece of tape at an event on helping vets who have been impacted by toxic contamination while in service. president biden highlighted what other actions his administration has taken for veterans. here is a portion from august. [video clip] >> we are helping connect veterans to registered apprenticeship programs so they can transfer skills they learned in the military to good paying jobs at home now that we are having the largest building boom in 40 years. the v.a. is lodging transition assistance program for organizations that help veterans find jobs when they leave the military. the unemployment rate for veterans has -- is now at 2.8%.

2.8%. [applause] pres. biden: we have made that a priority since we got in office. i signed an executive order directing the v.a. to cut red tape and give veterans who need assistance at home more flexibility and picking who will be there caregiver. earlier this summer, i went to north carolina and signed an active -- signed an executive order, the most comprehensive set of administrative efforts to secure -- by making it easy for military spouse to find a job in the federal government, expanding access to childcare for military families. when i first took office, i signed the american rescue plan which invested $17 billion for veterans health care including

mental health care and suicide prevention to deal with the fact that more veterans, more veterans have been and continue to die of suicide then in battle over the past two decades. more veterans die of suicide. all of the stories i heard in my home state, people would call up looking for help. my husband, he needs help. get back to you. 17 a day dying of suicide nationwide. 17 a day. even one veteran dying of suicide because he could not get the help immediately is one too many. host:nce again, we would love to hear your stories about yourself if you are a veteran or veterans in your life. for veterans and family members, our numbers are (20 7-8000. current miliryt (202) 748-8001. everyone else at (202) 748-8002.

if you want to text us, that is (202) 748-8003. if you make sure to include your name and whe y are from. let's hear from kevin in north myrtle beach, south carolina. are you a veteran or family member of one? caller: i'm a veteran. host: can you tell us about your service? caller: yes. every day that i am here, the end of the day -- i watched the hearing on veterans affairs and jobs. and i really think that it makes no sense that we sugarcoat what is going on with us as far as veterans. the v.a. -- i am a single parent right now. i have two minor kids. the v.a. has put me out my home.

i am homeless. i have gotten 23 numbers from a social worker, and none of them could help me or my family. i spent my almost 23 years in the service and i am getting after absolutely nothing from the v.a. that i'm supposed to. the v.a. has totally destroyed my life, because somebody pushed a button and took my incapacitated child out of the system. i have four kids. one in walter reed, the v.a. is sending out my kids. you tell me where the irony of me being satisfied with the v.a. -- where my supposed to be? my incapacitated child could have died because they took her id card and her neurologist, she

has a machine in her chest that regulates her medicine. they would not let her on post to get that updated. you tell me where the v.a. is helping me at right now. i am in a hotel right now with my kids. i do not condone incompetence in grown people, and the v.a. -- everybody is patting their self on the back how they are supposed to be helping us, but they are really not because they are not being attentive to people out here that has been waiting 5, 6, 7 years just to get a bba here. the bba judge i went to for my hearing lied to me and my 15-year-old son. they lied to me and my 15-year-old son blatantly. everything that i say, i have got in writing that they wrote that the v.a. wrote. like it was right. host: kevin, i want to highlight

what you are saying with a piece from nbc news that shows many veterans are struggling right now. the headline, showing the veterans crisis line is fielding a record number of cries for help. that is the suicide hotline, which has received more than 88,000 calls, texts and chats in the month of march, the highest amount of monthly contact it has ever had. let's now hear from john in illinois. are you a veteran or family member of one? caller: hi, this is john from head which. i marine core veteran -- i am a marine corps veteran. my oldest brother was stationed in japan. my middle brother was stationed in germany. i taught -- i got four of my former buddies to join the military. we came back with all of her fingers and toes, we are

blessed. the guy on the phone is living in a hotel, so he is not homeless. i want to talk about emilio -- i grew up with kara mel. i went in boot camp with emilio. i would like to tell you a story about meeting his daughter. i was not a veterans function in illinois when november. i looked across the grinder and saw an old man and a beautiful young adult daughter. i knew it was emilio's daughter. mine stinks told me that. after the pomp and circumstance, i walked across the grinder and introduced myself. i said, are you emily?

she said, i am renée. i said, i was in the marine corps with your daddy and i hugged her. i was trapped in the hug. i did not know what to say. finally, i looked in her eyes and said, every marine that was ever in the marines with your daddy thinks about him every day. she looked back at me in the eyes and she told me, i think about him every day, too. she hugged me back. i would like to tell you a story about carmel harvey. the family moved for the industrial jobs. when we were young bucks and punks before our teenage years, we played war. we played war in the swamps around wolf lake. carmel coming from west virginia had a particular bird call that he used as a signal.

he had a hillbilly warcry from west virginia that he brought with us, that we practiced as kids. his citation signed by richard nixon says that they got in a fight for protecting a downed helicopter. in this firefight, a round hit carmel harvey's gear and lit up one of his hand grenades. this fella was going to explode and die. he jumped up and the citation says he gave that warcry, that hillbilly warcry he practiced thus as children -- he practiced with us as children. the hand grenade exploded and he passed. this is what the citation says signed by richard nixon, a low came over that battlefield long enough for us to pull back our wounded and long enough for the

enemy to retreat. i want to give to brent, he is a air force see and rescue man right now. i would like to give a shout out to michael camp, a captain in the marine corps right now. our united states marine corps. every veteran listening to this broadcast should be proud as hell, even that fella that is homeless in south carolina. stand up today and be as proud as hell as you can be today because today and memorial day are our days. the 363 days a year, we blend in. you do not even know we are veterans because we all look alike. veterans come from all sizes and colors and shapes. that is the wonderful thing about the military. we all fit together. we have one mission, that is

kind of what is lacking in society today in america. host: thank you so much for sharing those stories. let's hear more from sabrina in asheville, north carolina on our line for all others. go ahead, sabrina. caller: i am fourth-generation military family. i have got members of my family that are in every branch of the military. this is what i can say. for the last 50 years, military and their families have suffered in ways that are unacceptable. i do not know what has happened to our military. i do not know why they are more difficult on military and military families than they are -- i do not know why they have been practicing their policies, but as a society, we need to be paying attention to how we are

treating people. that is all i have to say on it. the need to start acting better when it comes to these positions. host: we have a comment on x from mlb that says what veterans day means. it means that we should do something besides thank veteran, even if it is just for y. send a get well card to a local veterans hospital, volunor an hour a week, do not run past the veterans with the red poppies outside the grocery store for tending you do not see them. now, let's hear from gloria in tennessee on our veterans and family members line. are you a veteran or family member of one? caller: i am a family member. host: tell us about your family. caller: a proud family member. my family has honorably served this military.

i am in my 70's and we have served every generation. my father, everyone of his brothers, we have served. my dad was a tailgunner in world war ii in england, france, germany. my uncle, i am not sure where he was. his letters to home always started somewhere in the south pacific. he was a navy man. on my mom's side, my uncle obie was a marine. he served. my nephew, john -- host: can you turn down your television volume? i want to hear clearly the rest of your story. caller: my family has proudly, proudly served and honored our country and has been ready all the way through to my nephews. i went to say in response to the woman before me, i would like to

write -- i wrote a poem years ago. i call it, one race, human. it goes, hindu, muslim, christian, jew, nonbelievers, including you. in the eyes of our creator, we are sister and brother. get on with your life and accept one another, for in our own family we very seldom all agree. but, one thing we all agree on, to love and accept our full life song. i think more people today should look at that, just like the wildflowers was put on this earth. all the flowers, all the trees, they are different colors, different sizes, but they are all beautiful. why can't we accept humanity that way? that is the way my dad and my uncles after serving in the military, they come home and we are all the same.

we all bleed red. it does not matter what package you are wrapped in. i think that really helped me to be able to raise my son and my daughter to honorably respect people for who they are. if you do not like them, do not like them for what they do, not for what they are wrapped in. host: let's hear from cj in minneapolis, minnesota who is a veteran. which branch did you serve? caller: u.s. navy. host: ok, go ahead. caller: yes, i am a veteran, from a family of eight generations of military service. host: wow. caller: my grandmother, my uncles served -- i had five uncles who served in world war ii. i only got one uncle that talked about it and he made it into a joke.

they don't even talk about it at all. the bottom line was, my two sons -- one son served and got messed up pretty bad. he is ok now and going through the v.a. and doing all of his stuff. i am pretty sure he is listening to this. he listens to your show religiously for years. i am pretty sure, he probably listening now. my other son, he has been in the army. he is still active. he told me, my older son who was in iraq, he told me something i did not know about how many veterans committing suicide. when he was in there, he saw it. i was shocked, because it did not make the news. all of i went, wow. i was never in combat. i joint -- today is my anniversary date, to be honest with you. i joined in 1976 under jimmy carter.

that was the best time to be in the military, because he kept us out of war. when i came home, the people was mad at jimmy because he kept us out of war. they handle things diplomatically all the time. he knew the power that he had, but he was a 20 year naval admiral. because he served in the navy for 20 years, he understands the devastation of war and he never wanted to take us down that path unless he had to. so, i got more respect for him than i do obama because obama was a pure politician. he was a good politician, but he was a politician. jimmy was not. he was an honest man. people claim they want honesty. when they get it, they do not like it because it is not sugarcoated and it is plain and straightforward, to the point. with that being said, on my

anniversary day when i first got out, i did not realize i had joined on a special veterans day celebration. four years, it never dawned on me about this day. it wasn't until the last five years in minnesota that they started doing things for veterans, like giving us -- this day, we could go to a restaurant and free food, no matter what. applebee's was the one that started it when nobody else was doing it. applebee's did this for five years and when they caught on to what applebee's was doing on apple -- when applebee's, the grocery stores, the gas stations started getting in on giving us something on this day for free. host: you mentioned you had several members of your family who were world war ii veterans. i wanted to point out the v.a. announced yesterday that all remaining living world war ii veterans are now eligible for no

cost v.a. health care and nursing home services. that means that all world war ii veterans who served between december 7, 1941 and december 31, 1946 are eligible under this expansion regardless of their length of service or financial status. these veterans will not have to pay co-pays, enrollment fees or monthly premiums and the v.a. is reaching out by phone and mail to encourage world war ii veterans who are not currently enrolled in the v.a. care to apply today and those who do enroll they also keep their private providers, medicare and most other insurance meet their health care needs. let's hear from david in lynn, massachusetts who is also a veteran. david, can you tell us about your service? caller: hi, in listed in the marines in 2003 out of high school. i spent most of my time in first battalion marines.

i was in the battle of the lucia, the fall of 2004. being aboard the uss nashville when israelis invaded lebanon, there was the first time i had been in combat i met a lot of people displaced by war. our ship did not get involved other than taking up refugees and taking them to cyprus. i have been thinking about the battle because of everything going on in the middle east and this veterans day, i am concerned for the palestinian people. how did that experience affect you? host: how did that experience affect you? caller: it was rationalizing. they are no different than anybody moved by any conflict in human history. when i got out into thousand seven, i became active in the antiwar movement. i ended up speaking at the winter soldier conference in 2008. i was not politically active for

a chunk of time after that. lately, i have been. host: ok. beverly is in sarasota, florida and is a family member of a veteran. go ahead. caller: yes. i would like to remember my husband, seymour, who served in world war ii as an attorney at nuremberg at the trials. he was involved in the inquisition of robert e. lee -- robert lie, who was responsible for the map of the nazi party and the personnel in the nazi party at the trials. i just wanted to remember him. he passed away at 91 years old.

he never really talked about the honors he was given. i wanted to remember him today. host: beverly, i am so sorry for your loss. it sounds like you two had a great life together. let's hear from donnie in as is hippie who is a veteran. caller: yes, thank you for having me. host: go ahead. caller: i would like to thank you for allowing us vets to call in today, i appreciate that. host: thank you for your service. caller: thank you for your power. the young lady showed on the screen a wild ago about the world war ii vets, i would like to add to that. if she could look it up, we have a caregiver program for us elder vets. host: it is from the v.a.?

caller: it is from the v.a., called the caregiving program. they will not put it out. i am going to use your show right now to maybe help some veterans and families. it is called the caregiver program. it is your world war i, world war ii, iraqi vet, any of them. you need assistance at home, you can apply for the caregiver program through your primary care doctor. it will help you get a ramp in your home, help you in your showers, give assistance with a family member who is a vet. for the gentleman that was in the hotel with his kids, they also can get help because if he do not have an attorney or anything and cannot afford it, all he has to do is reach out to the governor of his state.

the governor of his estate can viral -- can file the paperwork. i have been through this approximately since 2003. i know a lot about it. i am not an attorney or anything like that. i have a group on telegram i help vets out. if i could, i would like to tell you and maybe i can help more vets, and i would. on telegram it is rpnchat. real people, real news. you can look it up on google. host: speaking of -- i didn't look up what you mention, the v.a. caregiver support options. you are able to find information about that on the bas website with support for -- v.a.'s website, as well as legal advice and services are listed on here.

the department of veterans affairs caregivers support program offers clinical services to caregivers of eligible and covered veterans enrolled in the v.a. health care system. the program's mission is to promote health and well-being of family caregivers care for our nation's veterans through education, resources, support and services. thank you for pointing out those resources, donnie. robert is in south carolina and also a veteran. which branch did you serve in? caller: i served in the army for 20 years. host: go ahead with your story. caller: i would like to request --i had a -- that served in the army in vietnam, 1968. he was killed over there. two bronze stars, purple heart. i would like to reach out to

some of the guys that he was with at the time. if you do not mind me reading this award. host: what was your brother's name, robert? caller: that is what i am asking for. host: go ahead. caller: his name was james noah. he was assigned to charlie company, fourth battalion, 23rd infantry, 25th division. he was killed in vietnam as a real man covered the platoon to get away. he earned two bronze stars and a purple heart. i just want to know if there was someone in that unit that is still around today.

give me a call so i can discuss more about him. host: all right, let's hear from diane in st. paul, minnesota who is a family member of a veteran. caller: yeah. my family started out with my five uncles and my father serving in world war ii. i had an uncle that served as a marine. they were in the navy, all of them were in the navy. we are a navy family, still is. my uncle was marines. he served in the korean war. he was the one who was on the engines. now, i got nine other people who have served in the united states marines and the air force and the navy. one of them was my daughter.

i have five nephews. i now still have two of my nephews over there in the middle east on a ship now. like i say, we are a veteran family. that was the way my family started out, getting off the farm because all of us were farmers in arkansas. now, they still are military people. one thing i am concerned about, i have one nephew who is out of the service now, but he is not able to get the service he needs. he needs mental health service because the folks that come back home will not talk about the wars. they will not talk about those things. only thing he talked to me about being in the war was my father, he was the captain's mate on the

ship. in my opinion, he had it better than anyone else. he was his cook, he did everything for the captain. when the shift moved, he moved and he enjoyed it. nobody else talked about it. i thank you for the opportunity to talk about it and i am still praying for my two nephews on that ship over there in the middle east. we do not need another war. thank you very much. host: our question today is, what does veterans day mean to you? on x, death clock says a commitment to supporting veterans i remember when jon stewart w finally able to get republicans support burn pit legislation. in a senate hearing on the pentagon 2024 budget request, secretary lloyd austin -- here is a portion of his testimony from this year. [video clip]

>> our joint force stands ready to meet any challenge. you can see the forces redness after russia's unprovoked invasion of ukraine. we simply deployed to poland to nace does -- to nato's eastern flank. we closely monitored and remained --while the rest of the force by design is preparing for future contingencies. this budget will help us maintain with $146 billion in funding for operations, training and maintenance. this budget invests in improving our resilience in the face of climate change and other 21st century threats. we are going to remain the strongest ella terry in the world. as we mark the 50th anniversary of our force, i am proud of the brave men and women who choose to wear the cloth of our nation. we owe it to them and their families to take the best

possible care of our people. over the past two years, we have made moves easier, cut commissary prices, made childcare more affordable. this budget funds other key steps to increase quality of life of our teammates, including the largest military and civilian pay raises in decades. we are pushing hard to eliminate suicide in our ranks, including immediate steps to hire more until health professionals and improve access to mental health care. we are working toward a military free of sexual assault. we worked with congress to improve the response to sexual assault and related crimes under the uniform code of military justice and those reforms will be implemented by the end of this year. host:ack to your calls. let's hear from lester in sandy, oregon on our line for family members of veterans. caller: i am a grandson of a world war i soldier. army.

my dad and his brother served in the united states ay world war ii. the brother, they were rangers in the army. one was a paracher. my dad was the guy that dropped the front end the boat off t let the soldiers off in normandy in d-day. my dad came back with one of the highest metals in the uned states of america. his brother was in the navy. they are gone n. anyhow, i am a supporter in my hometown that i grew up in. i am on the board for the vetens wall to get your name put on the wall. i am also in charge of the parade today. am one of the people in

charge. l i can say is, i do not care who you are, what you are. you served our country, you died for our country, darn it if i am not going to back you up. i am from a world war ii hero. what i would say is, waving the american flag means a heck of a lot to me. host: your line is breaking up a bit. i wanted to go to another comment from steven anderson who says, happy veterans day to all my veteran brothers. enjoy this day, we deserve it. it is days like this we do not have torepublican or democrat, just brothers in arms once again. happy veterans day. jim is in tucker, georgia on our family line. caller: yes. it is a solemn day for veterans, for sure.

some gave all, and all gave some. all salutes to the veterans who are real americans. my dad was in the navy. he picked up a very lucrative career in the navy in photography. so, he used that skill set in life to provide very well for his family, for my brothers and sisters and mother. also, what i want to say is, kudos to your producers for having moscow mitch on earlier. [laughter] that guy, for all the military stands for, i do not have the word for him. i can't believe that he would cry all these crocodile tears and not support somebody like merrick garland for the justice.

it is ridiculous to hear him. my point is, i got a big laugh whenever moscow mitch went on. kudos to your producers for having him on in the beginning. i got a good laugh out of that. seriously, to our veterans who do so much, who put everything on the line, it is amazing. you think about it, prior to world war ii, our military was probably not even in the top 20 militaries in the world. after world war ii, we are number one and have been that way ever since. it is amazing that we have to put so much into our military that we are basically the worlds policemen, that is a difficult job. i never served, i never had a war to go to. the gulf war was a little bit out of sync on that. i never had a war to go to.

i would have joined in a heartbeat if we had a war. my generation was fortunate. i was after vietnam and before the gulf war. i did not have a war to go to. i know the guys that are in there now, they are working really hard. it is a difficult job. kudos to them. host: the army as well as other branches of the u.s. military have struggled to recruit. here is an article from pbs newshour that the u.s. army is launching a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting to reverse enlistment shortfalls, focusing more on young people who spent time in college or are job hunting in their careers. a major part of this is the formation of a professional force of recruiters instead of relying on soldiers randomly assigned to a task. the army secretary saying, we

have not been recruiting well for many more years than one would think by looking at the headlines in the last 18 months, adding the army has not met its annual goal for new enlistment contracts since 2014. last year, the army fell 15,000 short of its enlistment goal of 60,000 while competing with higher-paying companies in a tight job market. let's go to peter in melbourne, florida who is a veteran. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: hey, my name is peter from melbourne, florida. i was a vet. in the vietnam war. my dad and his brothers served in world war ii. long story short, when i got out of service, i was not wearing a vietnam hat and all this kind of stuff. anyways, long story short, i was wearing a hat when i was visiting my grandson in texas

and going shopping. it was during christmas. people work, hey, thank you for your service, blah, blah, blah. i was visiting. now, i can see that he looked at me in a different light because he did not associate veterans and this and that. a lot of times, you do not know what it is all about. anyways, i go out of my way when i go shopping if i see a guy with a hat on that has served. i go over there and speak with them and tell them, thanks a lot. that is about all i got to say. host: it is interesting you should mention that, peter. there is an article from the hill.com that younger veterans feel uncomfortable when told thank you for service. this is a survey that found a majority of younger veterans say

they feel uncomfortable when they are told thank you for your service, the survey found sperry gets between military members and their older counterparts and how they prefer to be reckoned as for their service. how do you prefer to be recognized for your service? caller: people look at me and go , hey, he did his part in keeping the country afloat. to appreciate the guy himself for running the motor on the boat. that is important. host: ok, thanks peter. tom is in south carolina and is currently in the military. which branch are you serving in, tom? caller: good morning, ma'am. i wanted to make two quick comments. first of all, i was coming home last night and i noticed that my next-door neighbor already has out there christmas decorations.

what in the world with that have to do with veterans day? i would like for the people to count today the homes that they drive by with any sort of decorations thanking our veterans for being what they adorn. the second comment i want to make -- please understand what i'm saying now -- i hear this so much. thank you for your service, thank you for your service. how about, thank you for your sacrifice? i encountered a veteran one day at a shopping center. i stopped him and he was with his wife and children. i stopped and told him, you know what? i want to thank you for your sacrifice, not your service, because you can bet that your wife and your children have sacrificed greatly, not to

mention you. that is my second point. why don't we have some kind of decorations at our houses to acknowledge the service and sacrifice? why don't we say to our veterans, thank you for your service, because if they have never served, guess what? oh, well. that is me. i am done. you have a great day. host: craig says on facebook, recognition othe great sacrifice and service of generations face guarding our nation is something that is sorely needed today. ricky is in until adelphia and a veteran -- is in philadelphia and a veteran. caller: good morning, ma'am and thank you for receiving my call. i served in the u.s. navy. veterans day means a lot to me.

for me being an african-american, i joined because you did not like buffalo soldiers, tuskegee airmen, you know what they did to serve and sacrifice for our country. you know, gave me the return to join the military, serve my time. like most of my friends are veterans, you know. i feel good about that, you know. i pretty much can relate with veterans, doesn't matter which branch, which color. we went through the same thing during the military. one thing i want, our government trying to do to help out the

homeless. it do not make no sense to me. a veteran should be homeless, you know, the sacrifice that they did for this country to be homeless. i know me in philadelphia, there is a big homeless community for veterans, like veteran homelessness in philadelphia. at times i see a veteran, i try to tell them to go to the v.a., maybe the outreach floor in philadelphia, try to help them get help. you got some veterans -- host: the v.a. actually keeps detailed statistics on veterans homelessness.

i want to give a couple numbers. their goal for the veterans administration was in 2023, the v.a. was placed 38,000 veterans experience and homelessness into permanent housing and ensure at least 95% of those veterans did not return to homelessness during the year and of those that did, the v.a. will ensure 90% are we housed or on a path to rehousing and engaged with 28,000 unsheltered veterans to help them obtain housing, other wraparound services. their last update was on september 30, 2020 three and progress to date of those 38,000 , 35,148 veterans have been permanently housed, representing 92.5% of the goal and the v.a. is on track to meet and exceed its goal by the end of the year at 96.6 percent of those veterans housed so far have remained in housing, just under 1200 veterans have returned to

homelessness, 3.4% of the veterans housed. thanks for highlighting that issue. cindy is in st. petersburg, florida and is a family member of a veteran. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i was a caregiver for my father for eight and a half years. i helped him live to 101 years old. he was a veteran -- he served in world war ii, in the korean war. he was in special ops. he hung out at helicopters and airplanes to take aerial pictures and mapped out for the bombers to keep them out of the harm's way. i wanted to talk about the aid and attendance program, if you could look that up. host: sure. caller: my dad received an extra

$1500 for that program. dad helped me get him a handicapped van -- that helped me get him a handicapped van, toiletries, his personal items. it helped pay to put a roof over his head. it also helps spouses who are married to veterans and are struggling. you have to qualify for it. he did qualify. if you could look that up. host: i just did, cindy. i am looking at the v.a.'s website, the aid and attendant benefits household. these benefits provide monthly payments added to the amount of a monthly v.a. pension for qualified veterans and survivors. it says if you need help with daily activities or you are housebound, find out if qualify

and here are these qualifications. there are several eligibility requirements. thank you for flagging that. go ahead, i cut you off. caller: you can go ahead. that is what i wanted to know. i wanted to help the veterans out there. it is so hard for me to keep the tears back. so, if you could please go one further with the eligibility and let everyone know about that. host: what was your father's name, cindy? caller: jack. jack stiles. host: ok, thank you, cindy. as cindy was mentioning, some of those eligibility requirements is that you need another person to help you perform daily activities like bathing, feeding and dressing or you have to stay in bed or spend a large portion of your day in bed because of illness or if you are a patient in a nursing home, there is lots of mental or physiab