Ryan was the first vet I interviewed that day at U.S. Vets. As I talked to him, I simply couldn’t believe that Ryan was just 21. It’s not that he didn’t look young, but the way he talked and what he was talking about reflected the experiences of someone much older.
By the age of 18, Ryan was fending for himself and figuring out what to do with his life while I was enjoying the training wheels/daycare we know as college. During his two and a half years in the Navy, Ryan was grappling with the forces of life and death. When he got out, Ryan was forced to experience the warped priorities of our government and face a country that claims to revere soldiers while leaving them out in the cold. At 21, I was coasting through my senior year of college, trying not to think about the future. At 21, Ryan had done what he was supposed to, but had no idea what the future held. At 21, Ryan was homeless, and the country he served didn’t give a damn.
At 21, Ryan is a guy who should have his whole future in front of him. He should be looking at a world of limitless possibilities. That’s what America is supposed to be all about, right? But because he served our country and because our government has little interest in supporting those who served, Ryan, at 21, is in trouble. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him. One slip up and he could be out on the streets again. He feels like the country he served has turned his back on him and that he has no place in it. Ryan wants to get a job, have a place to live, and be just like everyone else. He’s not asking for anything special. He’s trying, but his government isn’t helping. If it weren’t for the good people at U.S. Vets, it’s hard to know where Ryan would be right now. He might just be another statistic, another number lost to addiction, mental illness, or suicide. A number with no name or face.
Bill O’Reilly wants to pretend that everything is great. That homeless vets want to be homeless, that vets with substance abuse want to be addicts. He wants to blame Ryan’s problems on Ryan, not the system and people who ignore him. I don’t mean to diminish him, but Ryan is 21. He’s just a kid. Where were you and what were you doing at 21? What had you seen and experienced? What had your country done to you? Ryan served his country for 2 ½ years. His country said it would welcome him back with open arms and help him get a good job at a good wage so he could make a good living because he deserves it. At 21, Ryan is living at U.S. Vets in transitional housing while millionaires who never served like O’Reilly shit all over him.
There’s something wrong with that picture. You know it. I know it. And Ryan knows it. In fact, Ryan has to live it.
If you want to help vets like Ryan, go to U.S. Vets and the Fitzgerald House. They spend every day doing what people like Bill O’Reilly won’t.
ME AND MY KIDS WILL NEVER JOIN THE MILITARY UNLESS IS A DIRECT TREAT TO US.BECAUSE WE DON,T WANT TO FAITH FOR ASS HOLES LIKE O'REALLY,LIMBOUTH OR HANNITY.
Wow nice edit job there… I saw these episodes of O'Reilly and whoever did the edit jobs on these vids are extremely extremely dishonest, and anyone who believes this garbage is a mindless moron. I've been in the Marines for 10 years, retires last year I'm 27. I've met O'Reilly a few times when he's come over to visit the troops, he's also done a lot for vets. I don't exactly see that coming from the type of people who share the same ideologies as the morons who put this crap together. The saddest part is the people who did put this garbage (site included) together don't give a damn about the troops or vets, and just try to use us for their own little political agenda/ideologies.
The VA will help soldiers. Places VOA, U.S. Vets are there for us. Most soldiers don't know these options. Bill O'Reilly and all the morons with money who never served in the military don't have a CLUE of what it is to have served. It takes courage to go to war and shoot a weapon, it doesn't even require O'Reilly intelligence shoot off his vile mouth with ignorant stupid nonsense. O'Reilly and his ilk at Fox News need to shut their trap! And if he is spreading disinformation and lies to our country's listeners, he sure isn't serving the needs of his fellow countrymen and women!!! All that matters to these people is money and the illusion of power.
I am very glad to hear that you served 10 years with our military and that you obviously did not suffer from PTSD, that you did not feel rejected after coming back from Nam as many vets did after killing so many people, it didn't effect your mind at all, that you successfully re-entered society with no problems whatsoever. You are lucky, very lucky that wartime had no ill effect on you. But that doesn't change the fact that many vets do not handle war well and it tears them up inside. I reside in a complex with a VOA shelter that houses homeless vets…so the problem is real. If you feel being star-struck by O'Reilly makes you feel better, good for you. I see how it has effected my vet buddies. I guess you never saw that? Neither has O'Reilly.
I was a homeless vet, and granted I did not have “fancy” clothes, the VA has a clothing shop with hand-me-downs I was allowed to get some clothes even if it was guys clothes I could take up, and managed to stay clean in the VOA shelter that has rooms we can reside in and shower, and ironing board and iron to keep our clothes looking pressed, and washing machines and dryers…The idea that ALL homeless vets are raggedly and filthy is rather ignorant and insulting. Yes, there are those who really do live on the streets without any family to care for them and the shelters get filled and some just offer overnight stay. Where do they go during the day with no job? Right…the streets. Not knowing what the situation is when you have never been homeless is what causes people like O'Reilly and yourself to make such cruel ignorant comments….
Yessssss! Thank you! Well said USMC vet!!!!!
“I've met O'Reilly a few times when he's come over to visit the troops”
Then you must really love Senator Al Franken because of all the USO tours he took before chickenhawk O'Reilly went on his USO tours.
And how many USO tours did chickenhawks Hannity, Beck, and Limbaugh take, let alone serve?
Regardless, thank you for your service, Dan.
“This guys an actor. Why don't you spend the money you had on getting a job or renting an apartment instead of your clothes and haircut. Douche.”
And “shutup” is a troll.
Next.
I've met plenty of homeless.. and a large percentage are veterans. – simple as that.. there's no debate over it .. go anywhere where the homeless are… and you'll see the truth. Guess O' Reilly never has been there… he's an asshole for these statements – and the guy below who claims the video was edited… um.. no – no one altered the context of what he said.
What do you expect when all of the chickenhawks i.e. o'reilly, hannity, beck, and other foxnoise “personalities” are in constant denial mode. It makes the bush administration look bad and foxnoise can't have that, no sirree!
And I don't see any people claiming that foxnoise shows both sides of this issue. I wonder why…
What do you expect when all of the chickenhawks i.e. o'reilly, hannity, beck, and other foxnoise “personalities” are in constant denial mode. It makes the bush administration look bad and foxnoise can't have that, no sirree!
And I don't see any people claiming that foxnoise shows both sides of this issue. I wonder why…
I don't know anyone who retired after 10 years, or at age 27 unless there were medical reasons. If there is a medical retirement, there are more options for those discharged. I separated from active duty in 2004. The VA education dept has made numerous mistakes (not paying, in inadvertently dropping people from system, paying out 3,4,5 months and more late, making incorrect payments) to thousands of veterans, which immediately affects bills, financial obligations, educational obligations (books, tuition, etc) access to food and transportation. In situations like this, if there is no family or support group, it's back onto the streets. I have been fortunate enough that I was able to stay with friends when this happened.
There are also medical problems. If the VA hospital takes there time, or gives improper treatment or care (which is common), or charges for a visit by mistake (thus sending the vet into a new financial burden) that vet now faces the double problem of having to get a second opinion and the potential loss of work.
The veterans carry all the burden and suffer all the consequences. You are fortunate things just happened to go your way.