The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

Nebraska is home to over 100,000 of our most honorable American heroes. These heroes left home and family to follow a call. They showed grit and dedication throughout taxing training. They fought hard for their homeland and made countless sacrifices. Many of them made the ultimate sacrifice - they sacrificed their own lives to protect others.

These heroes are our veterans.

Earlier this year, three of our own Nebraskan World War II veterans met in Omaha to remember their service so many years ago. The "Omaha World-Herald" recorded parts of the conversation between Bob Reisser, William Brown and Joe Burgess, all of whom served on Army Air Force bombers during the war.

At one point, the B-17 plane Reisser was flying lost its engine, forcing him to turn back home. The two planes to his left and right were shot down after he turned around. On Brown's first mission, enemy fire tore a hole in his plane near the pilot seat. And Burgess wasn't a stranger to brushes with death either - after one mission, two of his aircraft's engines failed, leaving his crew to scramble back to a British airfield as quickly as possible.

These men and the veterans they represent have given their all for our country. We owe them a debt of gratitude. But we don't just honor the veterans who survived on Veteran's Day. We also honor those who fell in service to our country.

Many Nebraskans know the story of Marine Corporal Daegan Page. He passed away in 2021, at only 23 years old, while serving in Kabul, Afghanistan. A suicide bombing killed Page and several other service members while they helped screen people being evacuated from the country. In Nebraska, Page's absence will be felt deeply for the third Veterans Day. The University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team will honor Page, a hockey player himself, at the Nov. 10 hockey game, where veterans will receive free tickets.

Veterans Day is our opportunity to honor and remember those who have served to ensure our safety and freedom. But throughout the year, we shouldn't forget their service.

It's because our veterans have sacrificed so much that we are pleased to see the beginnings of a new cemetery in Grand Island, one that will bury American heroes with the dignity and distinction they deserve. The Nebraska Veterans Cemetery in Grand Island has been planned for months, but the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced in October that it will award up to $8,391,524 for the project.

The VA grant became possible through the Senate's Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. This summer, I secured funding in the legislation to continue honoring Nebraska's fallen veterans through the Veterans Cemetery Grant Program. This program provides grants to establish, expand, and improve veteran cemeteries, ensuring that veterans in Nebraska and across the U.S. are buried with honors.

As important as this project in Grand Island is, it's not where our work for veterans on the federal or state level should end. The veterans in our neighborhoods and across our state deserve first-rate care and consideration - they've earned it through the years and decades of self-sacrificial service they've shown.

A second hopeful project for our veterans is the Rural Veteran Referral Program. The Nebraska Hospital Association and the Nebraska Rural Health Association announced this pilot program in early October. The Rural Veteran Referral Program aims to help rural Nebraska veterans access the health care they need. The NHA and NeRHA have already received onboarding commitments from over 20 Nebraska critical access hospitals, and they continue to work toward more expansive health care.

I voted for the VA MISSION Act in 2018 to provide veterans - starting with those who live here in Nebraska - with more options to seek treatment when and where it makes sense for their needs. But it's clear that care coordination between the VA and non-VA providers can be improved. That's why I led all five members of the Nebraska congressional delegation in sending a letter earlier this year urging the VA to create a rural veteran referral pilot program.

I was also proud to vote in favor of the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act last year, which is already providing better and quicker service for veterans who were exposed to toxins during their service to our country.

As I continue my work in the U.S. Senate, I will always keep advocating for our veterans and leading efforts to support these American heroes. This week, we will thank and honor our veterans in a special way leading up to Veterans Day. Throughout the year, let's commit to remembering them.