Dear Readers,

Last Sunday, on the 73rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, we ate breakfast at the Boothbay American Legion Hall. They served a G.I. breakfast, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, beans and of course, SOS. (If you don't know what SOS is, ask a veteran.)

During the meal, we were asked to pause and spend a moment of our time to remember the events of Dec. 7, 1941. And we did.

It is hard to forget the events of that terrible day when more than 3,500 soldiers, sailors, marines and civilians were killed or wounded along with a host of ships sunk at their moorings by the waves of enemy fighters and bombers.

That sunny Sunday morning was the official beginning of American participation in World War II. More than 16 million men and women served as part of the war effort in Africa, Europe and Asia.

Many of these men and women, as members of The Greatest Generation, served in various capacities from December 1941, until August 1945. According to the WWII museum in New Orleans, there are just a bit over one million WWII veterans still alive.

In Maine, they estimate just 5,900 are still with us. Sadly, the museum estimates that 500 or so die every day. The survivors are in their 90s now. Unfortunately, it won't be long until they are all gone.

After putting their civilian hopes and lives on hold until the end of the war, a grateful nation, prodded by the American Legion and other veterans organizations, thanked them by enacting one of the greatest and most successful social programs in our history. The G.I. Bill provided funds to educate a whole generation.

Many credit it with helping to create the great peacetime economic boom that followed the end of the war.

In the end, this law proved to be good public policy and a good measure for economic development.

Today's veterans, who came home after serving overseas in a different kind of war, deserve the same level of support we provided for their grandparents.

In recent years, we have all seen news stories of how wounded veterans were neglected and their care stalled by the very agency created to help them get back on their feet. In recent months, our federal officials seem to be on top of that program and may be getting that turned around. We hope so.

Here in Maine, we have not seen the same sort of wholesale problems in our state Veterans Administration facilities that seem to be the case in other states. At least that is what some veterans and political leaders tell us.

Today, it is common for TV ads to feature characters saluting veterans by saying: “Thank you for your service.”

Our new veterans deserve our thanks. But like the veterans of World War II, they deserve more. They deserve our support.

Many are involved in educational programs and schools, some are involved in health related activities. Some are participating in physical and mental health treatment programs. Some are just looking for work.

Anybody got a job for a vet?

Let's not forget that these men and women answered the call when our leaders asked for volunteers to carry out our nation's policies.

We should do no less for them when they come back home.