What to remember on Memorial Day

On this day, I would like to express gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of veterans - including my father, late grandfather and a number of uncles - who risked or gave their lives in defense of our country.

With that in mind, the Center for American Progress has compiled some data showing that we're really not doing all we can to honor our veterans and their service. Here's some of the more eye-opening stats:

– 338,000 or almost one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are experiencing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, or major depression as of January 2009.

– Yet only 53 percent suffering from PTSD or major depression have seen a physician or mental health provider.

– 154,000 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2007, and 300,000 were homeless at some point during that year.

– One-third of homeless Americans are veterans, even though only one-tenth of all adults are veterans.

– Foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national average in last year.

Of course, this is not going to get better anytime soon. But it's about time we start working harder to remedy the situation.

Also, I'm not sure that I agree with President Obama's decision to uphold tradition and honor Confederate soldiers. But ... sigh ... I understand. On the flip side, it was a great touch to send a wreath to a memorial honoring black soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

Like a lot of people, I'll just have to remember that he's president of the U.S. and not president of Black America.

Post-script: Oliver Willis gets off the line of the day regarding the Confederate War memorial: "We should build a shopping mall there." Oliver FTW!

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