A veterans' nursing home is not a perk -- it has been earned

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When is a promise a promise, and when is a promise void of all meanings?

That question is played out in the minds of veterans in Northern Utah -- those veterans who are in need of care in a veterans' nursing home. The waiting list for proper care in the Salt Lake City veterans' home is endless.

Veterans were promised upon enlisting that they would be taken care of when they became sick. There are many veterans who suffer from the results of illness and injuries related to their service. That promise needs to be kept.

To ease the congestion in the Salt Lake City veterans' home, a promise was made to build a veterans' nursing home in Ogden to serve the veterans of Northern Utah. Land was acquired, and our state's elected officials had to choose between a soccer stadium or a veterans' home.

History reveals to us a soccer stadium was more important to them than a nursing home to care for our veterans. The very men and women who are willing to serve our republic and put their health and life on the line to preserve our freedoms and ensure nations around the world that we would come to their aid and defend them from tyrants and oppressive governments were ignored in their hour of need.

From the early days of our republic to our current day, our servicemen and women have answered the call to serve. They have been constant in their performance to serve where called. Now it is our duty to ensure they are taken care of.

"Why," you may ask, "do we have to do this?"

Do you enjoy the freedoms you have? Do you enjoy attending the church of your choice? Reading whatever your mind desires? The choice to choose what political candidate to vote for? The choice to agree or disagree with our elected officials? There are many other freedoms that you now enjoy that others in other countries do not share.

Thank a veteran, for they are the ones who defended your rights and freedoms. Now it is our time to come to the aid of our local veterans. Get on the bandwagon to get the Ogden veterans' home approved, funded and built. We could wait for the federal government to build it, but that would be years down the road. Or we can build it now with state funding, and then the state will be paid back from the federal government.

The fact remains: If we can build a soccer stadium, certainly we can invest in our local veterans. Encourage our state's elected officials to vote in the upcoming session of the Legislature to fund the Ogden veterans' nursing home. I urge the citizens of Northern Utah to write letters to the editor to make your voices heard.

Let's complete the task at hand and support all veterans who have served and are currently serving. Let's not let it be said we turned our back on the men and women who served our nation.

Rather, let it be said we were proud to honor them by doing that which is right.

Schuessler lives in Ogden.

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