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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
A Call to Duty “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” I was thirteen years old when the Vietnam War ended. I did not serve in the military. But I have always been in awe of those who put their lives on hold while protecting our freedoms, often at great personal sacrifice. In the movie “Coming Home,” a disabled Vietnam veteran’s readjustment to American society is brutally depicted. Our country was deeply divided over an unpopular war, and our veterans were not treated with the respect and dignity they deserved. We allowed many to simply fade away and to fall through the cracks of society. Some still call the streets their home. Today, another war deeply divides our country. Our military personnel are slowly beginning to return home. There are significant numbers of physically and mentally disabled veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars readjusting to civilian life. Many are treated at the DeBakey VA Hospital here in Houston. There is good news. Americans seem to have learned from our previous experience. Regardless of differences in political views, we recognize our collective duty to respect, thank and help those who have served. That sentiment has also been rekindled with the desire to recognize and assist our aging veterans of World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Many of our veterans need legal services, and to many these services represent a tremendous financial strain. There are many government benefits and services available to our veterans, but many veterans cannot maneuver through a complicated and often clogged disability system. Many veterans need help with wills, probate matters, family disputes, bankruptcy, housing and other legal issues. So what can we as lawyers do to help? Our veteran’s initiative is designed to provide free legal services to veterans in need. THE HBA WANTS YOU! Over 150 HBA members have already answered the call. These numbers do not include many HBA volunteers who do so through their previous commitments to the Equal Access to Justice Champions Program. Volunteers can serve in a number of ways. First, we hold free legal clinics at the DeBakey VA Hospital from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Friday. We also provide a speaker on a legal topic of interest and volunteers once a month to the DeGeorge at Union Station and U.S. Vets at Midtown Terrace, homes where veterans reside when recovering from homelessness, disability, or addiction. We soon will be sending speakers and volunteers to selected VFW and American Legion halls, and we will have volunteer attorneys and Houston Volunteer Lawyer Program staff attorneys present at musters and stand downs to assist returning service personnel. Volunteers will represent veterans in cases that qualify for HVLP assistance, including disability benefit assistance. We are conducting training for handling disability claims and appeals. The times and locations will be posted in the HBA bulletins and on-line. There are a number of informative articles in this issue of The Houston Lawyer regarding the role for lawyers in assisting veterans. We simply must help insure that our veterans receive the benefits they have earned through service for our national defense. General MacArthur famously stated that “I shall return” as he was forced to evacuate the Philippines in 1942. For decades since, our military men and women have served and then returned. As a new generation returns, we can show our respect and gratitude to them and to those who served before them by donating just a few hours of legal services. Providing free legal services is a gift only lawyers can give. Let us do our part to insure that our veterans never again fade away from our national conscience.
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