Veterans deserve all the benefits they have earned

To the editor:

I just read the editorial regarding enrollment in veterans' benefit programs and the "ambitious advertising and recruitment program, seeking to qualify new beneficiaries." Perhaps I misinterpreted the tone of the last paragraph, but I was left with the implication that, in the opinion of the editorial, educating the men and women who have served their country with honor is a burden on the residents of Missouri.

Let's not forget that it was these men and women and the thousands who follow their tradition of service and honor who have kept the freedoms Missourians and other Americans enjoy. These men and women have done more for this nation than a truckload of high-priced politicians and newspaper editors could do in a lifetime.

I pay taxes for things far less important than getting our nation's heroes the benefits they have earned.

VERN DAVIDSON

Scott City, Mo.