To the editor:

Early on Veterans’ Day, I read about a study by the Harvard Medical School that estimates 2,266 veterans under the age of 65 died last year because they lacked health insurance and had reduced access to care. They also say that the health reform legislation passed by the House and pending in the Senate will not significantly affect this grim statistic.

Later, I joined many other veterans at a ceremony and listened to flowery praise, patriotic speeches, and stirring music. Some attendees were military retirees and veterans who benefit from excellent medical care but ignore the “holes” that let many less-fortunate comrades and their families drop through the safety net.

Even worse, some veterans know that net is virtually in tatters but are afraid to rock the boat for fear that their own benefits somehow might be compromised.

At the ethical bottom of this heap are those who say they earned their almost free government-provided care by their service, but if the same government offers it to the general public in return for a reasonable premium, that would be un-American. That tier includes boosters of military recruiting and retention who say affordable comprehensive universal healthcare “likely would create new challenges for sustaining a high-quality career force.”

Maybe they are right. Military recruiters have been unusually successful during this time of severe economic stress, but that doesn’t justify allowing millions of our neighbors, whom we vowed to protect against foreign enemies, to be victims of profiteers at home.

To my fellow veterans and other Americans: Please warn your elected representatives that snake-oil salesmen who cater to the arrogant, ignorant, fearful and greedy will not fool a majority of voters forever. More than one commander-in-chief has told us something like that.

Jim Bruner

Oak Harbor