When I think about Veterans Day, I think of my Grandpa Hecker.
My grandpa was a proud Marine who wore his hair “high and tight” his entire life. Pearl Harbor made him anxious to defend our nation; soon after, he enlisted and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Grandpa was proud of his service, but his greatest accomplishment was raising seven kids with my grandma.
Like many veterans, my grandpa did not talk much about what he saw in war. I never heard him tell a war story, but he taught me to jump rope and rollerskate, and I remember vividly understanding that he had served our nation. Semper fidelis — always faithful — was his motto as a Marine, and truly his motto for our family.
My grandpa came home to a country that ensured there were jobs, health care and educational opportunities for veterans. After the Marines, he worked at Burroughs Wellcome & Company for more than 40 years. That company, which manufactured medicines, was such a staple in our lives that my grandmother wore a pendant of the company’s logo around her neck every day.
My grandfather was humble about his wartime service. But I know how hard he worked to give his children and grandchildren a life worthy of his service.
That is why one of my proudest moments as a state legislator was when I passed legislation to extend property tax exemptions for veterans living in cooperative housing because I was raised to believe that veterans should be able to access the benefits they have earned, at every age.
Our servicemen and servicewomen today deserve the same opportunity and economic security that my grandfather had — to transfer the skills and leadership learned through military service to their career and our communities.
Unfortunately, too many veterans are facing economic challenges and the reality that their military skills are not easily translating to civilian life.
Maine is home to more than 125,000 veterans, the third largest community of veterans per-capita in the country. When service members return home, the last thing they should be worrying about is finding a job.
That is why we need to invest in job creation, workforce training and expanding access to higher education so that veterans and their families have an opportunity to get ahead.
We can do this by expanding tax credits and forging public-private partnerships that incentivize companies to hire veterans, and making the process easier for veterans who are small-business owners to apply for loans and other forms of capital.
For past generations, the GI Bill made an education affordable for millions of veterans that helped them land a good-paying job and join the middle class.
We need to make sure returning service members have access to college or vocational education by amending and strengthening the Post-9/11 GI Bill. That means allowing veterans to use their benefits to pay for existing student loans, and ensuring they are getting the best education for their money.
In Congress I will fight to ensure the VA has the funding it needs to fully fund the Choice Program, and I will step up oversight over the VA to ensure it’s properly implementing the program to the benefit of rural Mainers.
I will hold the VA accountable for staffing shortages at vet centers, demand that open positions are quickly filled and ensure that veterans have timely access to community mental health services through the Choice Program.
These are not Republican or Democratic priorities; they are commonsense American priorities.
But instead of listening to our servicemen and servicewomen, Republicans in Congress proposed funding earlier this year that falls short of meeting their needs. That is not OK. In Congress, I will work to provide veterans with the same opportunities that past generations had to get ahead and prosper.
Veterans Day is about respecting and honoring all veterans, the ones who shape us as individuals, like my Grandpa Hecker, and the ones we never get the chance to thank in person. Their sacrifice and courage have earned nothing less.
Emily Cain represented Penobscot County in the Maine Legislature for 10 years in the House and Senate. She is a Democratic candidate for Congress in Maine’s 2nd District.