Thats why we are providing lower income students access to affordable internet so homework and just be homework. Cox alongith these other Television Providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. Families, all others welcome to dial in. What is the most important issue for veterans . Before we get to that, an update on the Midterm Election and where the balance of power stands. This morning, look at the u. S. House. Democrats have 192 seats. Republicans have 211. There are a number of how seats in the west that have yet to be called. That number will change. The balance of power in the senate has come down to three races. Arizona, nevada and georgia. We will continue to update you on election day throughout the program and throughout the weekend and into next week if it takes that long. Looks like it might. They could come town to the state of georgia, which is in a runoff in the election taking place on december 6. There has been a race called in oregon. The Associated Press headline. Tina kotek wins the governors race. The republicans thought they may have had a chance for the governors seat but he goes to democrat tina kotek. For the conversation with veterans and their families this morning we want to start with leo shane from the military times to talk about military veterans and the Midterm Election results. How many veterans were running the cycle . Guest almost 200 veterans, the largest field we have seen since 2012. It shows some of these younger veterans are starting to come into politics, work their way up through state races and local races and put an impact on the national scene. Guest what issues were they running on . Guest its funny. This is a big part of their campaigns and identity but veterans dont usually run on that many Veterans Issues or military issues. Its another line in the resume. Quite a few campaigns talked about v. A. Care and access. The pact act, the toxic exposure legislation was a key point in a lot of materials. For the most part they are running on the economy and public safety, the same issues we are seeing other candidates run on. Its a matter of getting to tell people i also served. Thats an experience line that shows unqualified to be in office. Host how many one their seats . Won their seats . Guest we are looking at 94 veterans at the start of next year. That would be the biggest we have seen since 2017. The first time we saw a substantial increase since 2017 as well. A good sign some messages are resonating. This Younger Generation of veterans, the war veterans are starting to come into their own and take a position in congress with their issues and experience. Host is that 94 total including incumbents or just new members who are veterans . Guest that is 94 total. Incumbents andy veterans and and veterans and sitting members who did not have races this year. It is not a huge number. It is a good portion of what congress is, but it was as high as 200 in the mid90s. About 400 in the 1970s. Thats a reflection of the demographics of veterans in our society for the volunteer military in the 1970s. Almost 75 of congress was a veteran. The military. As we shifted away from that, as a smaller portion of america has served and lived the military life we have seen the numbers slowly drift down. Guest you see more women elected since those years, etc. Guest this will be the larger class of womens veterans weve had in congress. Only seven, but its been a steady uptick in recent years. We have five incumbents. Three just one reelection. Won reelection. Two new female veterans are coming in. Those are more viewpoints we have not seen in the past. We have been male veterans with military expense. Now women are moving into some of those jobs that used to be closed. Issues like sexual harassment, sexual assault. Talking about what its like to be a woman in the military and how to recruit and retain those individuals. Host how many of those running and won are democrats versus republicans . Guest pretty tilted towards the republican side attitude one ratio. At a two to one ratio. There are more republican veterans than democrats. I did not get the count last night but somewhere around 25 or 26 are democrats and the rest of republicans. One of the selling points for veterans on the campaign trail and among the advocates pushing for veterans and congress is the party labels should not matter as much. They have worked on a mission. They can sort of put their heads down and get the work done. We have seen that anecdotally but we have seen some of the polarization of Congress Play in there too. Quite a few republicans ran this year where folks who questioned the Election Results of 2020. 55 of the veterans he ran said they voted against certification of the election or had Public Statement on the campaign trail questioning bidens legitimacy. It does not isolate you from those political whims but the hope is there is Common Ground on military issues, Veterans Issues and the unity of american issues. They can Work Together when they get to congress to find some sort of joint answer or Common Ground. Guest what are pressing issues Congress Needs to deal with when they come back to finish out this term and the new congress, the 118th congress . Guest the defense budget, the veterans budget in the rest of the federal budget. That will be a fun fight if there will be a changeover in power of the house and senate. Will republican control want to make any decisions now before they have the control of the agenda next year . The big veterans issue is the pact act. This is 300 billion in spending. It could impact one in five veterans in america. The implementation starts in january. We have seen smaller portions, some screening about exposure injuries, health care issues. We will see tens of thousands of new disability claims hit the v. A. Starting in january. They will need to start working through that. Oversight of that, their real scrutiny if the v. A. Is executing the new authority right, if theyre getting claims done in a timely manner, that will be the focus of lawmakers when they get back. Host leo shane follows these issues for the military times. Militarytimes. Com. You can follow on twitter. Thank you as always. Guest thank you. Host lets get to our conversation with all of you. Veterans and families, we want to hear from you as we mark veterans day 2022. Where the issues you are concerned about for all concerned about . For all others, what Veterans Issues are important . Derek from seattle, a veteran. Where did you serve . Caller in the first gulf war. I was driving one of those trucks that transported people with ieds. I am here now. I am disgusted with republicans and a lot of people in the military. They join up, they owe. These election deniers, they are not part of the constitution. A lot of veterans participated in the insurrection on january 6. Those are traitors. In the old days they would have been put in front of a firing squad and shot. Trump, what he said about john mccain and veterans. These republicans now, look at many veterans and activeduty were involved caffe of people were involved in overthrowing our government. I am sick of them. They need to be shot. Host lets not condone violence. John, king george, virginia. When did you serve . Caller friday the fourth of october, 1974, omaha, nebraska. I was in the military for 35 years. I was hoping i could talk to leo shane. Host what questions do you have . Caller i hope hes watching. Military times. What type of subjects do they put in their various military newspapers . I did talk to him last year during november. My mom died last year from coronavirus. The other question i would as is has terminated the Iraq Campaign medal. I got the first serving in iraq 15 years ago. There are other medals they terminated. They ended the Vietnam Service medal. We have a lot of vietnam vets. That is one of the subjects i would have liked to talked with leo shane about. I think they moved to arlington, virginia from springfield. Hopefully i can talk to him and see of these issues can be put in their newspaper. Host thanks. Ed, jacksonville, florida. Thank you for calling in. When did you serve . Caller vietnam for two and half years. I served in afghanistan and served in iraq. I got all my tshirts. Host how many years did you serve in the military . Caller a total of 40. Once i got out of vietnam i went into the National Guard fulltime. Most my deployments with the National Guard. The first 30 years was with the activeduty component. Addressing the issues, the issues with the guard. Theres a difference between the active component and the tricare in the guard. The guard takes the short end of the stick. Their prices are different for the cost benefits and stuff like that. That is one of the issues i would like to see addressed. Host in what way . Explain to folks what tricare is if you can. Guest it is a Health Care Program taking care of veterans. When the military Service Member leaves, hes entitled to tricare. It is like Medicare Part d or whatever. What happens to guardsmen, if they are carrying the tricare when they leave, their premium got tripled. The activeduty component does not do that. Host ok. A veteran injectable, florida. For veterans and families, listen to the v. A. Secretary. He was at a recent event in washington and discussed efforts to improve trust in the Veterans Affairs department. Listen to what he said. [video] the bottom line is that we are trending positively on trust. What is trust what does trust incorporate . I want to remind you. Timeliness. Outcomes, effectiveness. Third, emotion. Meaning do you feel respected when you come in . I feel quite good. You hear that little minnesota there. Aggregate. My kids are laughing at me. In the aggregate above 91 for outpatient scores. Thats pretty well. The particulars, we have work to do. For example, the younger you are, the less you are to trust us. The more diverse you are, the less you are to trust us. The more female you are, the less you are to trust us. That signal tells us what we have to get better. Host Veterans Affairs secretary Dennis Mcdonough in washington. The tomb of the unknown soldier in washington, d. C. That is what you are looking at. Later this morning the Vice President , the second cinnamon settlement and the first lady will participate in the annual wreathlaying ceremony. We will have coverage at 11 00 a. M. Eastern time right here on cspan, on our video app cspan now, or demand at cspan. Org. We are spending todays washington journal talking with veterans and their families and all others about the issues that are important to our nations military and veterans. Mary from st. Petersburg, florida. You are a Family Member. Go ahead. Good morning. Caller good morning. I wanted to comment. I was very upset about the first caller who called in. I watch quite often just to see what people are thinking. I used to be a long time democrat. My husband was a marine. He passed away in 1992. I i wanted i wanted to say im astounded at the hypocrisy of the democrat leadership. They seem to forget they are constantly calling names and accusing republicans host before we go down this hole, as a military family, why is it you relate more to republicans now the democrats . Caller it is the only party that is making common sense. I just like to see common sense and problemsolving. When trump was running in the primaries i did not vote for him. I hated him. I could not stand to watch his program the apprentice. He has a bad personality but he did the best job of running the country ive ever seen, and i have been watching president. I was very young but my parents i think they were for Adlai Stevenson and eisenhower won. Now we like ike because he is our president. This is not trump, not the first election that divided us. Host we want to stick to Veterans Issues this morning. Ken in the story it, oregon the story, oregon austoria, oregon. Caller i went back over to vietnam in 1968 to 1969. I served six years from 1965 to 1971. I wanted to Say Something about john kerry. Now, im a proud vietnam veteran. I am glad i got to serve two years over there. I would have stayed longer but i got into a helicopter crash. On the other hand, john kerry was a swiftboat commander. He got into a little skirmish with the vc. He pulled all of his men back. Loaded them up on this swiftboat and hightailed it like the coward that he is. Then when he got discharged he went to march on washington, d. C. With Vietnam Veterans against the war. Threw his medals over the fence at the white house. I have no respect for that traitor. Other than that, i wish the veterans my son served in the gulf war. Im 75 years old. He served in the gulf war it is doing quite well. So did my soninlaw. They were both over there in 19911992 era. I want to wish the veterans a gracious veterans day. It is not a day we like to remember, especially the war. We came home with it. Most of us still have it. [laughter] that is all i have to say. God bless you. Host steve in oregon, also a veteran. Caller yeah. Another vietnam vet from oregon. I was a marine rifleman over there. I wish the last guy you cannot buy a gun before you have live fire training. Evidently the firefights with the viet cong did not count there. I dont know. Dont what ptsd thinking about the far lefties have done here in oregon. Not exactly a happy veterans day with that. Host veterans day brings back memories you try to forget . Caller i got knocked out and lost some hearing over there. I did not quite get what you said. Host i was saying veterans day brings about memories you would rather forget, it sounds like. Caller well, i dont know. I am 75. This has been my life and i dont know what parts to start taking out. Anyway, yeah, a salute to the far lefties of oregon. You really put a slap in the face of veterans. Host debbie in milford, new hampshire. What are your concerns about Veterans Issues . Caller i wanted to take the time to thank every single veteran for their service. Keeping us safe and realizing we have really any privileges. Sometimes we get caught up in politics and division. We should be thankful and grateful we live in an amazing nation. Host as he heard from leo shane earlier, there is work to do for congress on Veterans Issues. Louisiana republican senator bill cassidy recently discussed a bill he says he would improve a bill that would improve have Veterans Affairs tracks those leaving the military to make sure they are taking advantage of their full benefit. Listen to the senator. [video] imagine you are a 24yearold person getting out of the military. You are excited. They give you heaps of paper. You can have all these benefits. Turns out they dont really Pay Attention to it. I had a law a bill signed into law that would ask the v. A. To call a veteran three times in his first year of separation. Call them up. Listen, do you know you have educational benefits . Do you know you have job training benefits . How is your Mental Health . Most suicides from veterans happened in the First Six Months after they leave the service. They dont know where they are going. They lose the camaraderie. Depression. Then it goes down. With this, how is your Mental Health . Not so good. If we can interrupt the cycle of a person excited and then falling off, catch them, bring them up, get the Mental Health services, we can stop that bad cycle. Host this morning we are bringing you live shots of arlington cemetery, the tomb of the unknown. This is where the president typically honors the nations veterans on this day. It will be the first lady and the Vice PresidentKamala Harris and the second gentleman taking part in the ceremony. The president is in egypt for the United NationsClimate Change conference. At 11 00 a. M. Eastern time is when you will see the wreathlaying ceremony take place. You can watch it here on cspan on our mobile app, or ondemand at cspan. Org. We are talking with veterans this morning and their families about the issues important to them. Michael in roanoke, virginia. When did you serve . Caller 1977 to 1997. Host what did you do . Caller i was an aircraft mechanic. Host where did you spend most of your service . Caller all over. Desert storm, iraqi freedom campaign, japan, germany, italy. Host on this veterans day what are your concerns or most important issues you would Like Congress to address . Caller i only have one issue with the v. A. What happened to me was i went to the v. A. Because i needed to talk about some things i saw in combat. I went. To make a long story short, i voluntarily went to the other side of the v. A. And the caffe over the weekend. This was nine years ago. Did not think anything of it. I want to buy a gun. Theres a form we have to fill out about having issues. They told me i have been involuntarily admitted to an institution as far as Mental Health and denied my right to buy a gun after 20 years of service. I just want to talk about i voluntarily went. For any veterans out there who fall into this category of being to a v. A. Facility and went over to the other side to talk about your issues, dealing with ptsd or whatever your issues were, and you find out later you cannot buy a gun and possess a gun in certain states. That was a complete shock to me. Im fighting tooth and nail to get my rights back. The l. A. Thing the only thing i did was take my dads gun and now i can get that back. Host is it resolved yet . Caller no, maam. I have to go to court. Whatever states you are in, you can get thrown under this umbrella that you are somehow a threat to own a weapon. Host jasper from memphis, tennessee. When did you serve . Caller 1971 to 1993. 22year vet. I was a Logistics Coordinator with combat support operations. I come from memphis, tennessee at 17 years old. My big thing to all the veterans, when you join the military, you dont join no political group. You join to defend this country. Im tired about these old ve ts talking about rightwing and leftwing. Defend whoever is in charge of you. Stop putting vets down by saying the right wing and leftwing. You are the kind of soldier that did nothing while the rest of us were getting shot and beat up. One more thing. Household Vietnam Veterans come home from vietnam. We go to the v. A. For help. We cant get help. The v. A. Has let us down. They lost our medical records and we are being denied at every turn. Someone needs to help us. That is with the veterans need to fight about. They take care of my family. I appreciate that. As far as individuals trying to get proper benefits for us old Vietnam Veterans, they deny us every time because they lost our records. We stood and fought for this country. Now we have the bureaucracy telling us that you dont qualify for this or that. Veterans, hang in there. We will have a better day. Thank you. Host christina from upper sandusky, ohio. You have a Family Member that served . Caller yes. Thank you very much. Almost all my family were in the service. I want to thank them all for standing up for the u. S. Like the man just said, they are veterans and they should be treated like kings because they did so much for us. We would not be here without them, the Veterans Administration needs to step up and pay for all the things and give them the help that they need. God is watching over all of us. He knows what they went through and what they did for us. We are supposed to stand up for the u. S. When other people like the veterans they always say they dont have money for this and that. There are men that need Different Things from the doctors and the hospitals. They cant get it. Please try to do something. Someone do something for them. God bless. Thank the veterans. In jesus name, amen. Host dave in florida with the text. I am a veteran and they worry about Social Security and medicare. It is supposed to help all americans but i do not trust the politicians that want to cut those programs. Please keep your hands off these programs. You have the number one issue for me for this veteran, terry from pennsylvania, full Government Support of v. A. Health care. You see many veterans who have given a great deal in service to our country. They deserve respect. Best wishes. Russ in california. The v. A. Needs to appoint a veteran to head of this department. The current leader is not a vet. We need military members who know the ins and outs of problems facing us. For russ and misted, leo shane told us in the new congress that will begin in january there will be a little over 90 veterans, incumbents and new members of congress who are veterans themselves. Lucy from kensington, maryland. Good morning to you, lucy. Caller good morning. I wanted to say to all veterans thank you for serving and god bless you. God bless you all. They are entitled to whatever they need. God bless you and thank you. Host james, tell us about your service. Caller how are you doing . Host can you tell us about your service . Caller hi served in the army. I served in the army from 1970 to 1976. Two years a year in korea and three years in the army reserve and a year in the National Guard in kentucky. Host what issues are important to you as a veteran . Caller i guess the main ones are the burn pits. I know some marines, veteran marines who are concerned about it. Also the vietnam problem was im having trouble thinking. Host where you referring to an earlier caller . Caller yeah. Host did it come back to you . Caller it was agent orange. The agent orange problem. I am also a leftwing person. I am just as patriotic as a conservative. Host larry from columbia, tennessee. Caller hi. Host good morning to you. Caller i served in the United States army from may of 1967 to june of 1970. I spent 1968 and 1969 in the republic of vietnam. Theres a lot of veterans that got really messed up with ptsd and stuff. I am 100 disabled from posttraumatic stress disorder. But i think the v. A. Is doing a good job of taking care of us. Theres a lot of benefits the veterans dont know they have. You have to just keep digging in and make sure you get all of your veterans benefits. This is for all veterans. Host how did you do it . How were you able to determine what you deserved . Caller well, i called my local v. A. I found out about transportation to and from the v. A. Appointments we have. I did not know they provided the kind of service. My social worker told me she did not know anything about it. I had to go above her head. Now i am getting my transportation to and from my v. A. Appointments. It is wonderful, all the benefits we have. If you dont know about it, you cant get it. They will not tell you the benefits are there. You just have to find out for yourself. Host steven from dallas, texas. Good morning to you. Thank you for calling in. Caller good morning. Really appreciate you all taking calls from veterans. There are so many issues i could go into. I can tell you that the Dallas Medical Center is probably one of the best ones i have ever used. I really want to call behind that old vietnam vet. I was not going to call within it hurt his call. I was moved to call. The point he made. As soldiers, sailors, airmen, whatever we did to serve, we had no choice whether it was donald trump, mickey mouse in the white house. Im a little nervous. Host you are doing great. Go ahead. Caller we had to serve. We had a mission. That mission had to be carried out. I lost friends. It was 1983 to 1986. Host are you still there . David, are you still there in dallas, texas . We will go to joe from green valley, arizona. Caller good morning to you. I was in the service from 1964 to 1968. I was in a part of the army that was an offshoot of the old oss from world war ii. We were kind of a secret bunch of people that worked in a different world. Host where were you . Caller i spent a year in turkey. The rest of the time i was assigned to the National Security agency. Host what kind of work were you doing . Caller the easy way to say it was the beginning of the electronics spy world. We did things differently. I carly, volunteer at the twosome veterans tucson Veterans Administration hospital. I worked in the pharmacy doing things. Unfortunately, i came out of the service with not much of anything. I was not eligible for anything from the v. A. But the standards. Yet i have got a hearing aid. Other than that i get pretty much nothing. I have no regrets of getting nothing as i can afford the other thing. I did not lose or gain anything will in the army except a little education. Host dennis from clinton, alabama. Which Family Member served in the military . Caller thank you so much for taking my call. Host is this dennis . Hold on one second. I think i pushed the wrong button. Is this dennis in alabama . Let me try that. Dennis in alabama, are you there . Caller yes. Happy veterans day. We all our lives to the veterans. I know quite a few. My Family Members. They are not getting the service that they were promised. I am really concerned about the enlistments that have fallen so low. Im very concerned about why that is. It is because they dont want to fight or trust under this government right now, because of how everything they do turns tell you know what. They are teaching training our serviceman on woke. They cannot use certain words anymore. They are more interested into going woke. They are not we dont have the men and women we need. The problem is who is in charge right now with our government. If we had a strong country and we were together and love one another, loved our country, it looks like half the people dont of the country. It is not the right time. I would not encourage my children to go and join the service at this point. That is a terrible choice. Im so sorry that is the way it is. Host dennis with his thoughts from alabama. Clear talking to veterans and their families. All others about the issues for veterans in our country as we mark veterans day 2022. In other news this morning, easing inflation fuels a stock surge yesterday. Apple in particular seeing their gains. Some posting the biggest gains since 2020. Also inside the wall street journal theres a headline. The fed is on a path to raise rates half a point despite the easing inflation. Jerome powell is not the only monetary official. Others across the world are saying in unison that raising Interest Rates has to continue in order to get a grip on inflation. President biden is in egypt for the United NationsClimate Change conference. The New York Times has this headline. Biden will face a to many reparations. Poor countries are saying as you can see on this tshirt make big polluters pay. The big polluters being the developed nations paying developing nations for pollution. Mr. Biden is the only leader of a major country to attend the climate talks. Xi jinping of china, president Vladimir Putin and indias president have all stayed away. Mr. Biden was hoping to connect with president xi next week in indonesia. Climate talks have been largely frozen since august. There have been informal meetings at the un Climate Summit between john kerry, President Bidens climate envoy and his chinese counterpart them is often the ground for talks between their bosses in indonesia next week, as the New York Times points out. There is news this morning. Student loan cancellation plans locked by a judge. A federal judge in texas rejected President Bidens executive action to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars of student debt, further clouding the situation for millions of borrowers who applied to a program already on hold because of legal obstacles. That is developing this morning. I want to share this piece written by mitt romney, republican senator from utah. Its in the wall street journal. Republicans reach a fork in the road. He said we can govern in the peoples interest or make a lot of pointless noise. I hope we choose wisely. He says excessive spending not only adds to the national debt, it is highly stimulative and inflationary. He knows inflation was one of the main issues on voters mind this week. The fed has its foot on the brakes while the administration and congress are flooring the gas pedal. If Congress Wants to face inflation, both parties need to Work Together to find solutions to the entitlement crisis. It isnt rocket science. Changes to revenues, benefits and eligibility is necessary with the promise that no program will be limited and current and near retirees will not be affected. That is mitt romney writing in todays wall street journal. You can find that if you go to wsj. Com. President biden yesterday, along with the Vice President took a trip to Howard Theater in washington, d. C. To talk with workers at the Democratic National committee and thank them for their work in the Midterm Election cycle. Here is what he had to say about his desire to work on bipartisan issues and his determination to oppose republicans if they pursue certain policies. [video] the American People sent a message they want us to Work Together. I have always done that and i got criticized for it. I ran to build this economy from the middle out in the bottom up and to unite the country. Regardless of what the vinyl final tally showed. The American People made it clear they expect republicans to work with me as well. [cheers] folks, i will always go for any good ideas to move the country forward. I have made it clear that if republicans try to repeal the power we just gave to reduce Prescription Drug costs, i will veto that. [cheers] if republicans try to walk away to deal with the climate crisis, i will not let that happen. If republicans try to cut Social Security and medicare, i will not let that happen. If they try to cut taxes for the super wealthy like they did in the lasted administration, i will not let that happen either. Look, as we look at tax cuts, we should be looking at taxes for the middle class and working people. I will keep the commitment we made that no one making less than 400,000 a year will see a penny of their taxes go up as long as we are in power. Folks, i love the republicans talking about big spending democrats. We will keep working to keep the federal deficit love. We cut the deficit in two years by 1 trillion 1. 7 trillion. More than all of american history. I dont want to hear republicans calling democrats big spenders. They are the ones that blew it up over four years. One more thing. If republicans pass i dont think they can do it now the national ban on abortion, i will veto it. It is simple. We need to codify roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Host President Biden talking to workers at the Democratic National committee. You heard him reference if republicans do x, he will do y, we dont know who controls the house of the senate yet for the 118th congress. Republicans my house are inching towards a majority. They have 211 races called in their favor. 192 to democrats. There are a number of races out west that have yet to be called. In the senate, you can see the balance of power right now. Democrats have 48 and republicans have 49. Three races will determine which party gets to 50 or 51. That is in arizona, georgia and nevada. It is veterans day. We are marking the occasion, talking to veterans and their families this morning about the issues important to you. At 11 00 a. M. Eastern time at the tomb of the unknown soldier on your screen, the annual wreathlaying will take place. In the absence of the president who is in egypt, the First Lady Jill Biden will participate along with the Vice President , the harris Kamala Harris and the second gentleman. Back to your calls. William from clarksburg, west virginia. Thank you for holding while he got a little news. When did you serve . Caller 1968 and 1969. I served my country. But i served the flag. I did not serve the people. I served the flag of the United States of america. We saluted it no matter what. We did not serve the people. There was no trump. They told us to look for the flag. I am proud of it. Thank you. Host cilla in geneva, new york. Caller good morning. Host now we hear you. When did you serve . Caller i served from 1975 to 1978, then i went regular army National Guard from 1981 to 1983. Host what did you do . Caller supply. Host where you get the u. S. Or overseas . Caller i never went overseas but im a vietnam era vet. Supplies. Host explain your duties. Caller to make sure that they were well fed and well equipped. Host for your service what sort of benefits do you have today . Caller well, right now i get disability because of ptsd and sexual trauma. Not too many female veterans are calling in. The trauma happened in 1978. I was not told i did not hear the word ptsd until 2016. I went for 40 years with a disability that no one told me i had. Host you were just able to get the benefits because of that just in the last six years . Caller yes. I have no qualms with the v. A. But the Mental Health and Behavioral Health needs work. I was diagnosed in 2011 but was not told until 2016 by someone outside of the v. A. So, you know, i dont have any qualms against the v. A. I get good health care. I get good medical. It is a blessing because if i had to pay outofpocket with medicare and all that, it would be disruptive. But the Mental Health and the Behavioral Health needs to step up. Host kenneth from indianapolis. Caller how are you doing . Host when did you serve and which branch . Caller the marine corps. I served in 1980 to 1984. Host where were you stationed . Caller i started off in california, camp pendleton. Then i went overseas to japan, korea and the philippines. Stuff like that. Host how would you describe your service and experience . Caller i enjoyed my experience in the service. I enjoyed the service. I enjoyed the marine corps and everything. The issue i have now with the veteran administration is that when i came back to serve out my last year at camp lejeune, i had Prostate Cancer at an early age where i should not have had it stop nobody in my family had that and i found out it was the water. It was contaminated at camp lejeune. They came up with some presumptive things that the camp lejeune water calls caused an Prostate Cancer was none on the list. Most of the guys i know had Prostate Cancer at an early age. I think the v. A. Is not owning up to that situation. Host what have you done about it . Can you file a lawsuit . What actions are you taking . Caller my first action and i nearly applied for and was turned down. Eventually i had to join this lawsuit thing that they got out now for camp lejeune deals. Host how was i going . I have heard the commercials. Caller i have not heard anything for the veterans or whatever. Host have you had to pay any money towards this effort . Caller no. Most of the lawyers that you hire, you dont pay anything until you win something. Host what are they promising you . Caller we are not being promised anything. It is ridiculous. I think of all the money i spent at a young age. If i did not have a good job when i came out of the service or whatever to treat that Prostate Cancer or whatever, i probably would be dead. I was in stage seven when i was diagnosed. I was 38. They had to take it at that point. Host what were your bills like . How much . Caller thousands of dollars. It took me five years to pay it. Host are you cancerfree . Caller no, it is still there. It came back into remission not too long ago. It is still there. I just wanted to say happy veterans day to all the veterans out there. Hoora to the marine corps veterans. Host best of luck to you. Mike in chesapeake, virginia. A Family Member served in the military . Caller i did not serve in the military but my father did, my stepfather, my soninlaw served in the marine corps until he got injured. I guess i am from a military family. I grew up a needy brat. I want to say thanks to all the veterans out there that served. I loved growing up going to the navy base and the air station. It was so cool. Host chesapeake, virginia is kind of a Military Area . Caller the whole area is military. I grew up in the Virginia Beach area. I grew up as a navy brat. It was cool. I had a real good family. My dad went to vietnam. When he came back my parents got a divorce. I had a good friend of the family. Lieutenant commander schaefer. Aunt patty and uncle dave stepped in and took care of my family because we were lost because my parents got a divorce and stuff. They were navy and wonderful people. They took care of me and my sister, helped us out. Then my stepfather, he worked on helicopters in the navy. He is a great man. All these military people i have known, they are such great people. Now that i am a parent, my father has passed away but i look back on what my dad the sacrifice. My mom told me she had the borough money to help pay the house payments. My mom is japanese. My dads pay was not enough. He was deployed. She could only do so much. Kudos to the navy wives. Think about that. The navy wives and everything. Rest in peace, dad. He served in vietnam twice. I am just proud of him. All these veterans. Im sorry i could not have joined. I have a bad eye so i could not get in. I was sad about that. I am just proud of him. Every vet i have met, they think different. They have a cando attitude. They just have that good attitude. They seem that whatever happens they are ready, they can do it. I wish i had a 10th of that. Host today is the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial on the national mall. The names of more than 58,000 people are