In the past few days, colleges and universities around the country sent tens of thousands of graduating seniors off to begin their lives as adults. At many of these universities, including Kansas University, there were also commissioning ceremonies at which young men and women who had participated in ROTC were given their commissions and began their careers in the United States military. They were wonderful events, for these young men and women are those who are willing to dedicate a portion of their lives to protecting all of us. They are participants in a proud tradition of “citizen soldiers” stretching all the way back to George Washington and his band of volunteers who brought this nation into being.

How ironic, therefore, that in many of the same communities in which these young men and women are being celebrated this week, there are other older men and women, those who have already served this country, who are now troubled physically and mentally, many struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, physical or mental illnesses, or simply the common difficulties of soldiers returning to civilian life. Many have financial burdens that they cannot bear. Many have seen their family relationships damaged or destroyed in the course of their military service.

So many are in need of help. And, yet, it would appear that our government is not helping them as it should. The most recent scandal involving unnecessary veterans’ deaths because of long waiting periods at Veterans Administration hospitals is but the latest example of the abject failure of federal government assistance to veterans. Millions of our veterans have learned to their sorrow that the promises that our government made to them when they enlisted or were commissioned were hollow indeed.

Recently, I was at a meeting of representatives from KU, Washburn University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and several veterans groups. The meeting was called to help coordinate efforts by local law schools to provide free legal services to needy veterans.

The statistics that I heard there were horrific. In the Kansas City metropolitan area there are approximately 1,700 homeless veterans on the streets at any time. In Kansas the estimates of homeless veterans were in the middle hundreds. Last year roughly 1,500 veterans living in Kansas sought free legal help from Kansas Legal Services, much of it simply to get the benefits the federal government promised but failed to deliver to them.

It isn’t hard to see the problem first hand. Just walk down Massachusetts Street in Lawrence. There are homeless veterans right here. And these people are only the tip of a very large iceberg.

The federal government has failed these men and women who have sacrificed to keep all of us safe and secure in our homes. They are no less heroes than those who died in terrorist attacks. We may not call them “the greatest generation” but their service and their suffering is no less great than that of their parents and grandparents.

It is not enough simply to complain about the federal government’s faithlessness. It is not enough to demand reform of the VA. These folks are our neighbors; they suffered for us. Every one of us who enjoys the freedom of living in this country has a debt to these men and women. It is not enough to congratulate them when they enter the service of this nation. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid fully.

We must as individuals and as communities do more than we are doing. It is time for all of us to step up and help these our neighbors. To say “thank you for your service” is a hollow gesture unless we all act on it. How are Lawrence and Douglas County and the state of Kansas helping veterans? How can Lawrence and Douglas County and the state of Kansas do more? It is not a question of “should we do more.” We must do more.