In Monday’s commentary (Shameful), I wrote that, according to a report in Newsweek magazine, approximately 174,000 vets who contracted Hepatitis C through tainted blood while serving in Viet Nam have been struggling to get treatments from the Veterans Administration. Due to the extreme cost of the drug, Sofosbuvir, only about 15 percent have been treated thus far. In an update...

Entering the downtown Washington D.C. headquarters, two plaques are visible: the first tells individuals where they are; the second lays out its mission – a mission that has, over decades, lost much of its trustworthiness. “In 2013,” CBS reports, “Vietnam veteran Zion Yisrael was told he had five years to live. He has stage 4 liver disease, caused by hepatitis...

In a political season that has seen far too much prejudice, fear and hate, David Swan, a U.S. Army soldier, reminds us all just what is important and why in an open letter he writes to Muslims. In response to a reporter asking why he wrote it, Swan said, “There is so much divisive rhetoric being shouted on social and...

“A hero has two basic qualities: a selfless devotion to what’s right, whether that’s his duty or not, and the courage of his convictions.”  – Dale Dye, Marine Captain (Ret.) In 2012, while fighting in Afghanistan, Army Captain Florent Groberg demonstrated the kind of selfless devotion to duty Dye speaks of when he knowingly rushed a suicide bomber who was...

In light of all the recent ethics scandals, what’s needed most today is authentic leadership – individuals who demonstrate, by example, how to make a difference for the betterment of all. U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore represents one such leader. In 1965, then-Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his vastly outnumbered troops in the first major battle of the war...

In 2000, after I had received a number of responses to my “What Do You Stand For?” questionnaire, I struggled with a problem: What is the most effective way to share these stories, and talk about the individual who submitted them? At the time, I was reading journalist Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation Speaks, subtitled, Letters and Reflections. Brokaw’s...

Susanne Massie, a writer on Russia, counseled President Ronald Reagan regarding his relations with the Soviet Union. “The Russians like to talk in proverbs,” Massie told him. “It would be nice of you to know a few.” Consequently, the Russian proverb “Доверяй, но проверяй,” (trust but verify) became a signature line used by Reagan. It’s a phrase that’s been used...

Last Saturday marked the 70th anniversary of the battle for Iwo Jima. Some of the survivors, many, in their 90s were “bused to the top of Mount Suribachi,” the Associate Press reports (Mar. 22), “where an Associated Press photo of the raising of the American flag while the battle was still raging became a potent symbol of hope and valor...

Cyber attacks are no longer a matter of “if.” They’re here, they’re growing more frequent, and we need to be prepared. However, in journalist Shane Harris’ enlightening, call to action book, @ War – The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex (2014), questions continue to arise, not only about the legality, but the ethics of such far-reaching programs utilized by the...

The Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28, 1919, officially ended the conflict known as “The Great War,” what we now call World War I. “However,” according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs web site, “the fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on...