My father who fought in Vietnam, passed away this week very tragically. He struggled and struggled with back problems, heart problems, many things. The VA hospital has treated sooooooooo many people unfairly including my Dad, and I feel we need to stand up and say something. If it wasn't for the Vet's, our country wouldn't be what it is today. The men and women fought in the past to secure our future and get no respect for it. The VA hospitals deny medicine, everything and it angers me so much. Let people know about this unfair treatment. If your a Vet, let your voice be heard. These people need help now more than ever and only our voices can possibly make a difference.

-Will Spence

My sincere condolences in the loss of your father.

I agree with you 100%. I am not a "vet" but my husband, and son proudly served (respectively) in the USAF and USMC .... along with many, many other family members that fought in WWII, Korea and include an Uncle that died on board the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.

All Americans should pay homage to the Vets from the U.S.A ..... it is because of them that we are allowed to freely speak, and voice our opinions in forums, such as this.

Thank You to your father .... my thoughts, prayers, and are with you and your family.

The VA has gotten an increase in every Year that Bush has been President. Can not recall if that was true with Clinton, but I suspect it was also true then.

VA is notorious for slow service as it has bad doctors and poor staff generally. The worst get sucked into it because of the low pay. Not sure anything can be done about it.

I personally do not use the VA as the Hospital is 90 plus miles away. I use Tricare and Medicare. Can not use the military hospital cause it is unable to support the active duty and active dependents. The Hospital is actually hiring Doctors in town for part of their work load. I lost my shrink to the military. He saw patiences half a day 4 days a week, the new Doctor only sees patience on Friday.

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The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

-Bertrand Russell

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable

-Laurence J. Peters

I never said that you had no right to have an opinion. I just said that it was, in fact, worth nothing.

-Maineman ( on 12 June 2007)

I am sorry for your loss.

What can we, the public, do to help make changes on the shoddy services our vets are getting? Is there a web site or someplace to write letters to?
You would think the government would take care of our vets first and foremost, before anything else, because THEY are who protect our great country.

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Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
~Voltaire

Condolences on your father's passing.

My few experiences with veterans hospitals were less than satisfying, too.

Underpaid, understaffed and overworked was how they seemed to me.

I'll probably die in one too if I don't have the chance to finish myself off first.

Sorry for your loss. Which VA Hospital in particular was he using?

I don't want to politicize this thread; rather, make a point. The VA hospitals and/or military hospitals that get villified so much? Take a good, hard look. THERE is your socialized medicine.

Yes the VA denies medicine. So do active military hospitals. They think ibuprofen will cure any and everything. My wife had a staph infection until it almost killed her because they kept giving her the lowest dose possible of antibiotics and seeing if it would work. The hospital in question would not even purchase the most effective antibiotic against staph infection so that was out of the question.

It's medical treatment funded by the government. Villifying the hospital is pointing your finger in the wrong direction. Most military physicians I have know do their best but they can only treat you with what they have and what they have is decided by bureaucrats, not based on need.

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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” - Edmund Burke

My father died of cancer in 1994. He was diagnosed in 92, and was given 6 months to live. Thanks to the awesome treatment he got from a VA hospital in Maryland, he lived an extra year and a half. I'm sorry that your father didn't have as good of treatment, but I just want to make sure everyone here knows that not all VA hospitals are as bad as they're made out to be. My father's happened to be AWESOME.

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"I killed the bank."

-Andrew Jackson