Kucinich meets with vets

Kucinich meets with vets

By SHAWNE K. WICKHAM
New Hampshire Sunday News Staff
14 hours, 33 minutes ago


Manchester – With the television cameras focused elsewhere in the city, Democratic presidential contender Dennis Kucinich spent a quiet hour yesterday morning listening to residents' stories and concerns at Liberty House, a shelter for homeless veterans.

"I'm here today to express my appreciation," Kucinich told the half-dozen men who sat in the cozy living room. "The truth is every day should be Veterans Day."

Kucinich, a Democratic congressman from Ohio, shared his own family's service record with the veterans: His father served in World War II, one brother served and lost friends in Vietnam, and another brother joined the Marine Corps, he told them. ("Semper fi," one man murmured reverently.)

A heart murmur kept him from serving, Kucinich said.

And then he told them about his job as a copy boy at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, where one of his duties was to pick up the photos of servicemen, killed in action in Vietnam, from their grieving families. The experience reinforced the values of service and sacrifice, he said.

One of his gravest concerns about the bellicose rhetoric about Iran, Kucinich said, is the detrimental effect military action there could have on American troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. "When we talk about Veterans Day, we've got to remember our responsibilities to those in the field," he said.

Bill Zarakotas, a member of the Liberty House staff, told Kucinich there are an estimated 200 homeless veterans in Manchester alone, and 400 statewide. "Those are the guys we know of, not the guys who are in the woods and won't come out."

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http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Kucinich+meets+with+vets&articleId=844bb565-9c94-42f1-bbb5-de4bb2a4eb01

I really appreciate his unrelenting focus on serving people.

More:

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James McDuffee, a Vietnam-era Army veteran, asked whether Kucinich thinks it's a state or federal responsibility to take care of veterans after they're home.

"Absolutely federal, no question about it," Kucinich said. "It's a simple equation. You serve your nation, your nation should serve you."

Later, Kucinich told the New Hampshire Sunday News he will look into the funding issue. "These men fought for us. We've got to fight for them," he said. "This is my family."

Kucinich, who last week won an on-line "pulse poll" conducted by Democracy for America, talked with the veterans about his vote against authorizing the war in Iraq, and stressed that as President, he would engage in diplomacy with the leaders of enemy nations before military action. But, he assured them, he "wouldn't hesitate" from taking such action if the country truly was at risk.

A leader doesn't spend lives unnecessarily.

:cry:

I have no words.

-Hoot

You are doing an incredible job in getting out so much positive information on DK. :yourock: