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One in ten adult West Virginians is a military veteran, according to Ted Diaz, Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance. While that is an incredible marker of willingness to serve, it is also a wake-up call for those in charge of providing those veterans the support they have earned.
During the state Disabled American Veterans' annual convention in Parkersburg Diaz talked not only about how much the state already does for those veterans and their families, but about where there is room for improvement.
"We as a state have to create an environment for veterans and their families," said Diaz. "We have to create an environment they want to come home to."
One important step in that direction has been naming Jessica Lynch as West Virginia Women Veterans Program Administrator. Her devotion to service has endured -- whether that be in the military, in the classroom or now through public service. She is perfectly equipped to help female veterans in the Mountain State get the support they have earned. She is also likely to help female veterans feel much more as though there is someone who truly understands their challenges, working on their behalf.
"I am so proud to have (Lynch) on staff with us," added Diaz. "I honestly couldn't think of a better women's advocate."
It has been more than 20 years since her rescue from an Iraqi hospital, yet Lynch recalls that once she was on friendly soil, she knew one thing about herself.
"I knew I was going to persevere," she said during the convention.
Indeed, she has, and it must be encouraging to so many other veterans in West Virginia to see her continuing her service at such a high level. Knowing her trauma might help them find help to resolve their own.
They deserve that, and so much more.