CNN Senior Political Contributor Ed Rollins

Ed Rollins
CNN Senior Political Contributor

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the 11th day of the month as the first commemoration of Armistice Day.

It was the first anniversary of the end of the "Great War" and it was hoped we would never go into battle again. Unfortunately that is not how history turned out. The "Great War" became known as World War I. Many conflicts followed. Many more Americans went to war and many gave up their lives.

November 11 was renamed to honor our veterans in 1954 by one of America's greatest military leaders, 34th President Dwight David Eisenhower.

How strange that on the very eve of this day, President Obama was addressing a memorial service for the slain soldiers of last week's massacre at Fort Hood before the thousands of men and women who served with them on the Army's largest military base.

The president is the commander in chief and the task of sending young men and women into combat is the most serious duty he bears. As he ponders the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, he saw the men and women of our Army up close. These are the soldiers who will be part of whatever decision he makes. And they are fabulous soldiers ready for whatever duty he requests of them.

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Bob Greene
CNN Contributor

The woman's Halloween costume featured a Third Reich motif.

This was last weekend in a sprawling bar-and-restaurant complex near U.S. 41 on the west coast of Florida. I had made the miscalculation of stopping by in pursuit of a quiet cheeseburger, not realizing that adults in trick-or-treat costumes were making the rounds on this sultry evening.

The woman (or the costume shop from where she had purchased her uniform) at least had the good sense to omit the actual swastikas, but that was the only bit of subtlety. The Heinrich Himmler high-fronted military cap, the boots, the swagger stick she kept slapping against her palm. . .some of the customers, playing along, did little comic goose steps as they passed her.

I looked up from my newspaper and tried to surmise if anyone was going to be offended enough by this odious display to leave. She beat them to it; she and her friends made a few quick passes through the aisles of the place, then returned to the night, ready to continue their revelry elsewhere.

Halloween in the United States is an increasingly odd holiday, no longer child's play, but on this evening I was thinking about another holiday, this one official, that is coming up this week: Veterans Day.

And, having unexpectedly encountered the woman in her getup, I found myself wondering what, six and seven decades ago, they would have made of it: what the 16 million Americans who served in the armed forces during World War II, who were sent across the ocean to defeat a brutal enemy, would have thought about this scene.

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Dave Schechter
CNN Senior National Editor

Honor is due.

They are old, the youngest in their early 80s, their faces etched with evidence of the decades.
They walk slowly, some leaning on canes and walkers; others make their way in wheelchairs.
What memories come to mind as they approach the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.?
They are the core of “the greatest generation,” which fought in Europe, the Pacific and other remote locales.
And we are losing them at an increasingly rapid rate.
The Veterans Administration estimates that by Sept. 30 this year, there will be slightly more than 2 million living veterans of World War II (including my favorite, an 83-year-old Navy veteran living north of Chicago), roughly 280,000 fewer than a year ago.

Honor is due.

When the light is right, the faces stare at you out of the granite wall at the Korean War Memorial.
On a cold, wet night, the statues of 19 weary troops returning from a patrol are particularly eerie.
A former colleague who fought in Korea often complained that veterans of that war were forgotten, coming as it did five years after the end of World War II.
Korean War veterans might be considered the kid brothers and sisters of the World War II veterans (though many also fought in that conflict).
As of last Veterans Day, there were an estimated 2.3 million living veterans of the Korean War.

Honor is due.

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Gerald F. Seib
Capitol Journal, Wall Street Journal

The long Memorial Day weekend may be as good a time as any to ponder the question of whether the gap is widening between those who serve in the military and those in the political sector who help determine what the military does.

Certainly the number of Washington decision-makers with military experience continues to decline. In its profile of the Congress that convened at the beginning of the year, the Congressional Research Service notes that it continues a long-term slide in the number of lawmakers in Washington who have served in the military:

“In the 111th Congress there are 121 Members who have served in the military, five less than in the 110th Congress. The House has 96 veterans (including two Delegates); the Senate 25. These Members served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War,Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, as well as during times of peace. Some have served in the Reserves and the National Guard. Several Members are still serving as Reservists. As noted above, one Senator is a former Secretary of the Navy.

“The number of veterans in the 111th Congress reflects the trend of a steady decline in the number of Members who have served in the military. For example, there were 298 veterans (240 Representatives, 58 Senators) in the 96th Congress (1979-1981); and 398 veterans (329 Representatives, 69 Senators) in the 91st Congress (1969-1971).”

In addition, the current president isn’t a veteran. His national security adviser and his defense secretary are, but most of his top advisers aren’t. And it’s certainly a safe bet that veterans are a distinct minority among the Washington press corps.

The question of military service at least seems more relevant at a time when U.S. forces are active in Iraq, Afghanistan and, to some extent, Pakistan. But does it really matter? Would policies be any different if the percentage of veterans in Congress were higher? The U.S. lurched into the Vietnam War when the percentage of veterans in Congress was far higher than it is today, but was that a factor in any way?

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Mike Greene
CNN

Lt. Col. Greg Gadson is not a bionic man, but he does have a new set of powerful knees.

Gadson, an Iraq War veteran, was wounded in 2007 by a roadside bomb and lost both legs above the knees. This week, he became the first person to receive the latest version of battery-powered prosthetic knees.

Gadson demonstrated his new knees during a news conference Thursday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

It's "as if you were driving a school bus and then someone put you in a sports car - you still know how to drive. There's quite a different feeling," he said while describing the difference between nonpowered prosthetic knees and powered ones.

Gadson, who had an older model of the powered knees, praised the latest ones.

"These knees are a lot lighter. They're quieter and they have significantly longer battery life," he said, adding that the batteries can last up to 16 hours.

Gadson said he hopes his pioneering efforts will help others.

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President Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, seen here last month.

Jon Soltz
VoteVets.org

Brian McGough knows the pain of navigating from Department of Defense (DOD) medical care to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) care all too well.

In October 2003, Brian was wounded by a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Mosul. After undergoing surgery to repair his open head wound, he spent several months recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Brian still battles the effects of both his injuries.

But Brian’s battle wasn’t over when he left the military.

The gaps in transitioning from DOD to VA care were so bad, the byzantine process so confusing, and the paperwork so heavy, that Brian had to spend three months on unemployment, while he waited to be fully transitioned, so he could receive benefits from the VA for his injuries, which made it impossible to work at the time.

Thankfully, Brian’s doing better today, and is now the Legislative Director and Vice Chairman of VoteVets.org. As the group’s point person on policy, Brian made sure that making a seamless transition from DOD to VA was one of our legislative priorities.

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Program Note: 3 out of 4 young people know someone who is currently serving or has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Anderson helps MTV shine a light on issues facing young veterans... Check out MTV.com for how to get involved.
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AC360° Producers Chuck Hadad and Kay Jones enjoy the show.

Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

Four years ago, I had the privilege to produce CNN’s coverage of a party that Ft. Hood threw for the soldiers returning from Iraq. It was an all day affair on the grounds of Ft. Hood, starting with a ceremony for those who had just arrived home from Iraq and moving on to musical acts such as Ludacris, Jessica Simpson and my all time favorite Lynryd Skynyrd performing on a makeshift stage in the middle of the base.

I will never forget how much fun these soldiers and their families were having, just knowing that they were home and being celebrated. So when I was asked to help out with CNN’s portion of MTV’s Concert for the BRAVE, I jumped at the chance.

We started our night with Anderson doing a live shot for the Situation Room in the middle of Times Square. Just a few steps away, the line of the military vets waiting to get into the Nokia Theatre went all the way up 7th Avenue. When they realized who was standing that close, many pulled out their cell phones and cameras to get a shot. Now, normally I wouldn’t blog about such fandom, but the smiles on the faces of those who got pictures of Anderson were priceless.

Transitioning inside, the excitement for the show was building. Right before the “official” show began, MTV news correspondent Sway introduced an aspiring rapper named Lorenzo Zarate, who also happens to be a veteran of the war in Iraq. The crowd loved what he did and I have a feeling it was all the more special for him, performing in front of those who he can relate to.

The entire night was fantastic. Not only were the performances great, but the stories told by the MTV correspondents and our own Anderson Cooper, Michael Ware and Dr. Sanjay Gupta really highlighted the issues that are facing these new veterans upon their return home from Iraq or Afghanistan, or in some cases, both countries.

Be sure to tune in to MTV tonight to see the concert, and Saturday and Sunday at 8pm on CNN to see a special edition of AC360°. I promise you, it is well worth your time. The stories you’ll see will touch you, and remind you about the ongoing problems these men and women of the US military dealing with after the battle.

Last month, a report commissioned for the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs said that 18% of discharged military vets are jobless.  Now that number reflects both former military men and women who are not looking for work (they might be suffering from PTSD or adjustment issues or just not ready to be back in the civilian world), but also those who are…and just can’t seem to find it – despite sending out resumes each day.  So with the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war now just behind us, we thought we’d find some veterans to find out why they are struggling.

Working with several veterans groups, like the Veterans Today Network  and Swords-to-Plowshares  we spoke to – and received emails from – almost 100 former servicemembers.  And I was frankly surprised at the universality of the theme:  they come back from serving their country with skills and training they thought would make them marketable in the civilian world…only to find that not quite to be the case. 

Sometimes it is employer biases against vets (that they are going to be unreliable, that they don’t know how to do anything but shoot a gun, that they all suffer from PTSD).  Sometimes it’s that after five or ten years in the armed forces, it’s difficult to even know how to write a resume or make the right contacts to find stable work.

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