On March 25, CBS reported that one out of every three homeless people were veterans living on the streets. In the same story they listed this number at 200,000 and said the VA could only house 14,000 veterans. The story further stated that one out of every three Iraq veterans will have a mental illness when they return to America!

On Dec 12, it was reported that the 2006 suicide rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans rose to 17.3 percent per 100,000 veterans. This was the highest level in the last 26 years.

If the reward of serving your nation is being killed in action, cast out on the street, or accused of having mental illness because you simply served in a police action, I would suggest that our youth seek a better means of employment! This one seems to have fatal marked all over it!

RICHARD HELLSTROM

Lexington, Ky. 40517