Take military appreciation a step further

Today we brought you the story — in words and in photos but mostly in photos — of Tech. Sgt. John Arsenault’s return to Palmer on leave after nine months deployed in Korea.

It’s one of those inescapable aspects of military life. Soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors all get deployed. They spend time away from family and sometimes uproot those families to take them along.

Indeed, each school we visited with the Arsenaults had some kind of wall of honor with photos of serving family members of students there.

As is probably the case with just about anyone who has lived in Alaska for any length of time, most of us at the Frontiersman have had the pleasure of counting military members or veterans among our friends.

One of the things it’s hard not to notice when you’re hanging out with a guy in uniform is that people go out of their way to shake his hand and say thank you. We’ve been at public meetings at which politicians have interrupted the proceedings to give a shout out to a stranger in the crowd simply because that stranger was clad in fatigues.

Not once have we ever seen one of these men and women accept the handshake and gratitude with anything but modesty and kind words.

It’s one of those things that makes us proud to live here, in a place where people fall over themselves to make sure members of the military understand their service is appreciated every day.

So, please, don’t stop doing that.

But do think about taking your appreciation farther.

That veteran neighbor of yours likely had a heck of a time in the past few years squeezing health care benefits he’d earned through his service out of the bureaucracy created to provide it.

Through various measures — a partnership with the Alaska Native health care system and investigations into why it’s hard to keep doctors in Wasilla — we think that prognosis is improving.

Still, it’s our duty to make sure that the politicians who have promised to fix this get it done. After you’ve shaken that soldier’s hand, please take some time to read up on our Senators’ voting records, or to send a letter the next time someone like the recently retired Tom Coburn of Oklahoma stands in the way of a veterans’ suicide prevention bill that later passed the House of Representatives unanimously.

After you get done thanking a veteran for his service, look into donating time or money to one of the many charities that help them. We’ve covered a few. They provide tracked wheelchairs so veterans can get outdoors. They take them out hunting or up mountains.

One of those charities, Hope for Heroes, recently saw its Wasilla offices destroyed in a fire. Their fundraiser page is at gofundme.com/kjqwko if you’re interested.

For our part, we’ll continue to take heart whenever we see someone shake a veteran’s hand. And we will continue to monitor political progress in delivering promised services and cheer on the charitable efforts.