Submitted by John Spencer Yantiss, Sep 29, 2008 16:50

Bravo Councilman Gioia, a much needed message. Though I am not myself a veteran, my father, uncle, maternal grandfather, and several other relatives were, and the difficulties you describe truly did not start with Viet Nam, but have always been with us--and every nation that has ever been involved in a war, to wit, the world! It is because of the negative hue and cry made possible by modern communications that the troubles of integrating back into civilian life were exacerbated by truly despicable behaviours and attitudes by those who were opposed to a given war, whether Viet Nam or Iraq. One of your first points is at the crux of much of today's difficulties: "...however unpopular a war may be, when veterans return home they should be treated as the heroes they are and given the help they deserve." I applaud your suggestion, and urge whoever reads your article, or already knows about the initiatives in Los Angeles, to do whatever they can to see that New York institutes similar measures.

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