For more than a century, Americans have set aside a day each year to honor the men and women who have served the nation in its military. For 2026, today is that day.
But this year, Veterans Day takes on a different meaning. While there are thousands of current service members serving at home and abroad, some have been sent to fight a war in Iran that was begun nine months ago for reasons still unclear. And not only are military personnel fighting abroad; thousands of veterans are fighting at home against a government that they once swore an oath to defend. Some are opposed to the Trump administration and Republican-backed cuts to the Veterans Affairs medical care program; others are offended by President Donald Trump’s and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s mismanagement of the military in general and the hostilities in Iran, specifically. But not all veterans oppose the president. About 61% of veterans supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election. In the 2020 race, 60% of veterans who voted supported Trump over President Joe Biden.
“It’s shocking to me that there are those in the military today who support him (Trump), who took the same oath of office that I did,” said Seattleite and Navy veteran Jeremy Daniels, as he held a sign protesting the Trump administration outside the VA Medical Center in Seattle recently. “The loyalty is to the Constitution and supporting that, not to a president or anything else. To see people standing up for an anti-Constitutionalist is shocking to me.”
Though vets have supported Trump, Trump has not supported them.
Under the makeshift Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration cut about 29,000 VA jobs through hiring freezes, buyouts and firings. The VA’s overall budget was also slashed, which some employees have said has impacted healthcare delivery.
Connected to healthcare is the perpetual problem of homelessness among veterans. Last year, there were an estimated 33,000 homeless veterans nationwide, or 5% of all people who are unsheltered. Washington state recently received a $45 million federal grant to help veterans avoid homelessness.
Still, as part of cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency, the administration ended the VA Servicing Purchase home loan program that helped thousands of veterans who had fallen behind on their VA-backed mortgages. About 26,000 vets were immediately affected.
Added to the war, healthcare and housing issues, eight articles of impeachment have been filed against Hegseth, alleging, among other things, violations of the War Powers Resolution for his waging war in Iran, overseeing extrajudicial killings and the firings and forced resignations of top-level officers.
Still, despite the turmoil within the government around the war and the lack of attention paid to veterans’ needs, don’t forget that those who served deserve to be recognized for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of our nation. When you thank a veteran for their service today, keep in mind that many of them are still fighting battles at home.
