Technically Memorial Day is for those active duty folks who died in wartime. Veterans Day is for the rest of us.

Nitpicking, I know, but I'm uncomfortable with celebrating on Memorial Day, as I am with athletes wearing the flag as a cape after winning a game. But as Memorial Day has, over time, come to be regarded as a gateway to summer and a break from school, etc., I know I sound like a curmudgeon suggesting that it's a solemn occasion.

I am grateful that we veterans are treated much better now than my colleagues who served in Vietnam. I was too young to serve there, but did work with many fellows who were recent veterans of that war and witnessed the benign neglect they experienced, including from the VA. The VA has improved significantly over the years, especially here in Texas.