Dr. Lewin Manley Jr., DDS (Ret.)In December of 2016, I attempted to register at the Atlanta Veterans Center. It became an arduous process as the intake clerk seemed very poorly trained for the job at hand. Over all, the staff had a laissez faire attitude concerning my problem. How are the staff trained at these facilities? Are they well paid? To work with veterans, the staff should be more compassionate in dealing with men and women whose physical and mental trauma are beyond comprehension to most. After the long registration process was completed, I received my VA member ID card and an appointment for the reason I was there, my progressive loss of hearing.My mind was clear as to what was the origin of this problem. In September 1952, Air Force recruiters visited Savannah State College, seeking young men for the Aviation Cadet Program to train as radar observers. Apparently, they recruited at colleges and universities all over the country. Upon completion of the program, one would receive a commission as a 2nd Lt. and wings. If one did not complete the program, one would then enter the enlisted ranks and be discharged after two years of service.This program was needed because the great military concern at the time was that the Soviet Union would attack our country primarily with heavy bombers. Two new all-weather interceptor aircraft entered the Air Force arsenal, the F-94 Starfire (by Lockheed) and the F-89 Scorpion (by Northrup). These planes were two seaters with the pilot in the front and the radar observed in the back with the radar equipment.The young men who volunteered from my college were Charles Moultrie, Kharn Collier, John Felder, Willie Williams and myself, Lewin Manly. Moultrie, a math major, was the senior in the group and showed outstanding leadership qualities during his campus life. He was sent to the navigator training school at Ellington AFB in Houston, Texas. The rest of us were sent to Connally AFB in Waco, Texas.At Connally, we met a number of young mep from the Atlanta University Center here in Atlanta. Of them, I remember Bob®,y Kirby most of all. There were so many recruits when we arrived that adequate barracks space was not available so many of us were housed in hangers. Here my hearing problems began. Late at night and early in the morning, the mechanics would test the B-25 and C-45 engines. My ears would not stop ringing until midday. Midway our program, the need for radar observers was greatly reduced and those who wanted to continue training would then have to enter navigator’s training at Ellington or Harlingen AFB.On April 29, 1953, I received the most horrific news one can imagine. My brother, Charles Edward Manly, a tail gunner, was killed along with nine other crew members when their B-29 out of Randolph AFB crashed. Consequently, my mother informed my commanding officer that any more flying for me was out and that she hoped I would be discharged. That was not to be as I had to finish my two years.I completed my active-duty time at Patrick AFB, Florida at the AF Missile Test Center. There I experienced a different kind of noise, sonic booms from jets chasing missiles and the sound of rockets being launched. I received an early discharge because my commander knew I was trying to enter advanced Air Force ROTC at Howard University. I successfully completed the course and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. My mother nixed my plans to return to active duty.On May 1, 2018 I received hearing aids from the VA which functioned fairly well for a few years. When I returned to the VA for hearing aid upgrades, I was told I had to re-register, which I did, and was then told that I was not eligible for further care. No explanation was given for this decision. Perhaps there is an age cut-off for VA service as I was approaching my 90th birthday.During my military experience, two men stood out for their maturity and academic accomplishments. First was Charles Moultrie who graduated from the Navigator program, having received his commission and wings. On June 27, 1954, 2nd Lt. Moultrie lost his life along with thirteen of his fellow airmen in the crash of their KC-97 into a mountain while making an instrument landing near Riverside, CA.The second young man, Bobby Kirby who started the radar observer program with me, completed the navigator program at Harlingen AFB. On December 20, 1972 the B-52 bomber on which Bobby was a crew member was shot down by a SAM Missile during a bomber run over Hanoi. My brother Charles Manly, Charles Moultrie and Bobby Kirby gave the “last full measure of devotion” to service to our country. They were all good men.One might deduce that only veterans who served in combat are deserving of full care from the VA. In the training of service members, many lives are lost. The Marine Corps has multiple problems with the Osprey aircraft with operational failures resulting in many deaths. Day and nighttime operations in helicopters result in many peacetime injuries and deaths. On the modern battlefields, injuries which in previous wars often would have resulted in death are survivable if medical assistance is reached in time. Does the VA provide appropriate follow-up care once they are back home? In many cases injuries to the head or loss of limbs mean a caregiver will have to intervene for continuous care. How are these people compensated? Kudos to volunteer entities that try to fill the void left by the VA. Thank them for their service.Today one of the saddest, most pressing problems confronting our country is the suicide rate of at least twenty veterans a day. The resolution of this problem should be at the top of the list of the people who run our country. The top department in the Veterans Administration system should be the mental health unit with comfort stations where any veteran could visit as needed.The post My Last Visit to the VA Medical Center appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.