“How did the men who stormed the beaches at Normandy get by without service dogs and a lifetime monthly check for PTSD?”
Actually it was WWII blinded veterans who were the first candidates to receive seeing eye dogs. They went to an institute in Morristown, N. J. and were matched with a dog after a mutual training period. It takes a special kind of dog to be a seeing eye dog. There has to be complete trust between the dog and the vet. As for monthly checks, vets have always rec’d compensation for debilitating injuries. Do you begrudge it?
“debilitating injuries”
For WWII vets, “debilitating” meant their injuries were, well, debilitating. Like all vets who are actually combat wounded and do not recover fully, they deserve the support of the American people as long as they need it.
Today, debilitating has been defined down to include anyone who wants a check for life.
Percent of disability declarations at separation from the military is also a large area of fraud in the military.
One used to be able to assume that military service meant that an individual was above such petty rent-seeking. That hasn’t been the case for a long time.