After the Great Depression ended on the strength of war production, the momentum continued to grow ours into an economy that was the envy of the world. That was accomplished in three critical ways: VA loans permitted returning veterans to own homes, the GI Bill allowed them to go to college and vocational schools to boost their careers and incomes, and a war hero - Eisenhower - got the Interstate Highway system passed, a massive project that created a ton of jobs and lowered the cost of transporting goods. Our huge middle class was largely created through these efforts.

So now a different kind of Republican, who performed heroically as a prisoner of war 35 years ago, doesn’t want to extend the same offer to overextended, multiple-tour, exhausted war veterans, because they might leave military service to pursue the American dream? He overlooks the fact that programs like these are also part of the reason new recruits join, so what’s the complaint really about? Only officers get to be middle class but the sergeants and grunts don’t?

Have the value systems of heroes changed that much? Or is this just one guy who’s an exception, defending his comrades in his time of war and telling all future veterans they can just go screw themselves?