Veterans Day 2.0
What has the power to shut down part of JFK Airport, the Number 7 Subway Train, and one of the busiest intersections in New York City?
A bold new campaign to support veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
I've told you before about the isolation many troops feel when they come home from Iraq. It's a shock to realize you've been fighting a war while for the average American, life has gone on basically unchanged. For many veterans returning from war, it can be hard to reconnect with friends, family and community.
So today, as people gather nationwide to honor all those who have served, I have a very exciting announcement to make. IAVA is launching a historic, groundbreaking Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign aimed at easing the transition for veterans returning home from combat. Created by veterans, for veterans, this innovative media campaign is like nothing America has ever seen.
Check out the ad featuring Iraq Vet and Purple Heart recipient Bryan Adams here:
We're going to make sure that today's veterans find the community and the support that they have earned. These PSAs, which will soon be running nationwide, were created in partnership with the Ad Council. You might not know the organization, but you definitely know their campaigns - these are the folks responsible for "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk" and "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste." This new campaign will be just as iconic and just as effective.
Sure, it's a powerful ad. But what is this PSA going to do to help vets?
It will bring them together and connect them with the veteran's hall of the future. Veterans coming home have told us again and again, the thing they need most of all is to reconnect with other vets. So this innovative campaign links veterans to a new private social network, exclusively for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, at www.CommunityOfVeterans.org.
For many veterans, they are in Baghdad one day and Brooklyn the next. They don't come home to a community full of people who have also fought in Iraq. CommunityOfVeterans.org will be a place they can build bonds with people who understand where they're coming from. The website will also provide veterans with a searchable database of vetted resources - including everything from free counseling to help with your home loan. In addition, they'll get access to specials for vets only--from sporting event tickets to free music.
We've all heard horror stories about vets struggling to find their place after coming home from combat. This historic campaign will save lives, and it will finally turn the page on how veterans were treated in America after Vietnam. This is the welcome home that our newest generation of heroes has been waiting for.
But there is still more to do after Veterans Day is over. Our new President will have to move boldly and quickly to support new veterans and their families. And he'll need the support of every single American--no matter who they voted for or where they stand on the war.
And there is something you can do right now. Please help us spread the word about this historic campaign. On Veterans Day, forwarding this link is an easy, 2.0 way for every American to do something to support our newest generation of veterans. Share this video. With your help, we can make every day Veterans Day.
-You can learn more about how we shut down part of JFK, how we produced the ad, and about the personal stories of the wounded Iraq veterans featured in it, here.
This morning I was listening to NPR and heard a very moving piece by a Vietnam vet about when he was coming home; then there was a story about an Iraq war widow who did a short documentary on 6 widows, and started a program for them. Another story about some Iraqis who are settled in Detroit and their stuggles at assimilation came next.
I realized (not for the first time, but anew) that if it weren't for NPR we would hardly know that there was a war on, or its human consequenses. Sometimes I can hardly bear the stories of the wives and mothers talking about their witty, smart, and loving husbands/sons who they will never see again. One of the widows this morning described her anticipation of receiving her husband's clothes, hoping to reconnect with his scent. She opened the box and his clothes smelled like Tide, having been laundered before their return. For some reason that achingly human story reached me so deeply.
There is something wrong when every statement, article of clothing, and smile or frown of a candidate is discussed ad nauseum over and over and over again during the election cycle, as though we could all squeeze out some drop of meaning from it. But the war, which was waged against international law, and under false pretenses, and which has immeasurably enriched OUR current regime's friends while killing untold numbers of people, wrecking our stature abroad, and hobbling our ability to deal with crises at home -- goes unexplored at any depth.
The biggest victim in all of this mess is our military -- its soldiers and their families. Thank you for putting this out there. I am going to thank NPR as well, for the great job they are doing at putting a human face on this catastrophe.
November 11, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well said.
You are so right. If it weren't for NPR, it would be difficult to recognize that we were a country at war. There are seldom any other reminders.
I was disappointed that TPM had not featured this story on their HOME page. After all, it is Veteran's Day. Ending two wars, at least to me, is a major priority for this administration and should remain a strong goal for all liberals.
It is equally disappointing that there are only 2 comments on this thread, including my own.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day
Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
This should be a day of Remembrance.
November 11, 2008 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush and many others, on both sides of the aisle where there were few who had anything at stake got our troops into an unpopular war. That isn't honoring the troops, that's using them for political purposes.
For 5 years I've seen how cheap patriotism is; an American Flag lapel pin (made in Taiwan), $1.50 at K-MART; An "I Support the Troops" car magnet (made in China), on Sale at Walmart $2.59.
Mitt Romney's sons serving their country by campaigning for Dad. Oh, don't let me forget the patronizing "Thank you for your service" bullshit.
The controversies surrounding how these troops were mistreated by their government, and the five and dime patriots so prevelant today are both a national disgrace.
November 11, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rich man's war, poor man's fight. People don't want to remember the vets, John, it makes them feel guilty.
November 11, 2008 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink