November 11 is Veteran’s Day, a federal holiday recognizing the service and sacrifice of our military men and women. It is one of the most important holiday observances in the United States—or it should be. Without the service and sacrifice of our military personnel, there wouldn’t be any holidays to celebrate or freedom to enjoy religious holidays of our own choosing.
Every year at this time, multiple people will thank us for our service, and I humbly welcome their gratitude each time. What they don’t see is the abandonment feeling I get in my gut each time I am thanked, then immediately forgotten about until the next Veteran’s Day. Every year. Like a broken record of help and relief.
I am one of our honorably discharged veterans, who at one time signed a blank check to the United States of America to serve and protect the citizens of our country. I am also currently incarcerated and an active member of the American Veterans in Prison (AVIP) group here at MCI Norfolk. AVIP Inc. is an incorporated organization that helps incarcerated veterans. We are self-run and self-supported. Notice the keyword here is “self.”
For the last eleven years, I have listened to State reps, Department of Corrections staff, the Massachusetts Veterans Commission, the Disabled American Veterans Organization, and several other veteran organizations that have come through these doors. Each time, they provide information about what they want and are willing to do for us. Regrettably, we don’t hear from them again each year after they leave until the following year with the same presentation and empty promises.
The only organizations that have ever followed through with these promises have been the American Legion and the Natick Veterans Service Center. The Veterans here at MCI Norfolk are forever grateful to these dedicated organizations for providing their time, concern, compassion, and, most of all, for helping us heal from the hurt we feel after being abandoned by our comrades over and over.
The phrase “no man left behind” doesn’t always apply to the thousands of incarcerated soldiers who have been scarred with PTSD and other physical ailments. Unfortunately, some have dealt with that pain through alcoholism and drug abuse. For many, suffering from these military conditions is directly related to what led us to prison. Even when we reach out on our behalf, we are met with excuses, or worse yet, we never get a reply. Again… just forgotten.
Considering that a majority of veterans are serving time as a result of their military service, one would think we deserve better. We wore our uniform with the same commitment that thousands of other men and women did and with the same possibility of losing our lives in the pursuit of liberty and freedom for our people. Some of us lost our lives but are still living; we just live in a prison cell now.
Thankfully, our new governor, Maura Healey, has been committed to helping reverse the cycle of putting people in prison and throwing away the key. Last month, our governor issued new guidelines for commutations that recognize and consider those who have served. This effort is greatly appreciated. All we need now is for one of these organizations to assist us in preparing to receive a deserved commutation.
The next time anyone wants to support a veteran’s organization, please check and confirm they also include the forgotten veterans; we served our country alongside all of our brother and sister veterans. Had many of us received the help we needed upon our discharge, there wouldn’t be any need for commutations. We could really use some assistance. We served our community. Now it’s time for our community to serve us.
