Veterans’ Day observances are taking place across Michigan today.
On this day, many vets are still struggling with old wounds and new obstacles to getting help.
Joe Mishler is the chairman of the McFarlan Veterans Memorial Park in Flint. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968.
Mishler says many of his fellow vets come home from wars overseas, only to run into problems getting their benefits from the Veterans Administration.
“Just cause you go and serve and come home…doesn’t necessarily mean your problems are over,” says Mishler.
It’s not just a problem for veterans home from recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many Vietnam vets are upset that Congress recently allowed a provision of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 to expire.
Many veterans and their families may now be prevented from getting help with illnesses tied to the herbicide used to defoliate the jungles of southeast Asia.
