Korean War era veterans not taking advantage of invitation to lunch

As a veteran of the Korean War era (4th Infantry Division in Germany), I responded to the invitation of the American Legion Kirby Post for Korean War-era veterans to assemble for lunch at the post each fourth Monday of the month, which happened to be Feb. 22, George Washington's birth date.

I was alerted to this by the item in the Coming Events section of the Bradenton Herald. Sadly, I was the only person responding to that invitation, and as my wife and I enjoyed lunch we were told by our server that initially there were 14 Korean War veterans responding to the invitation but it has been months since any attended.

On the brighter side, when Congressman Vern Buchanan asked for a veterans' show of hands at his recent public meeting, we veterans were well represented and got to ask our share of questions as much of the meeting focused on the heroin epidemic and other substance abuse issues that affect veterans along with so many others, not only in Bradenton, but nationwide. The demands of successful substance abuse treatment and the time needed for that treatment contrasted with the shortage of effective treatment programs was brought home in a very personal way during the meeting.

Gene Schulze, Ph.D.

Bradenton

This story was originally published March 6, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Korean War era veterans not taking advantage of invitation to lunch ."