Doug Karr

The VA says it will be creating "Veterans Health Benefits Handbooks" for all veterans in the Washington D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio areas that are enrolled with the VA and currently receiving benefits in an effort to "give veterans everything they need to know and leave out everything that doesn't apply to them," according to Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki.

Previously, some vets had complained that materials distributed by the VA outlining each vet's benefits were difficult to understand and contained unnecessary information. The idea behind the new booklets is to only give the veteran information that pertains to them and the benefits they are eligible to receive.

Tags: Agent Orange, asbestos, D.C., Eric Shinseki, Korean War, VA, veterans, Vietnam

Thursday, November 11, 2010 is Veterans Day. Last year, in my Veterans Day 2009 post, I gave you a brief background of the history of Veterans Day, and quoted the 2008 census to give folks a real idea of just how many veterans there really are living in the United States – because, interestingly enough, the average person really low-balls their guess! I talked about how vets are more likely than civilians to develop mesothelioma cancer, and shared a poem and a few quotes.

This year, I want to do something different.

Tags: mesothelioma, PTSD, veterans, veterans day