Purple Heart recipient Micah Welintukonis, who has served the country in major combat theaters like Kosovo and Iraq, is disappointed and angry about recent scandals at the Veterans Administration and said not nearly enough has been done.
“I think it needs to be completely revamped and overhauled," Welintukonis said ahead of a talk at Clover Road Elementary School in Windsor. "The bonuses need to go away. What you’re giving bonuses to people to what shred veterans records? That person should be in prison.”
A native of Windsor, Welintukonis enlisted in the Army before he even graduated from high school.
He said having served the country in multiple countries in multiple capacities, he has a good handle on what returning veterans really need in the modern age and it's not just medical care.
“One of the most successful things that I’ve found is talking to other vets. They can relate, you know? And you don’t have to worry about it. You can just vent, cry, whatever you need to do,” Welintukonis explained.
He said it's crucial that students have a complete understanding of the role the armed forces and veterans play in their lives. Veterans Day plays a key part in that.
"It's important to keep the tradition and the morals and the sacrifice in our young generations. Some day we're going to be old and they're going to be passing the laws for us, so to speak," he said.
