Obama Vows to Help Veterans
NGUYEN: Tomorrow is Veterans Day. A time to remember those who serve in the nation's military. Many say they have been largely forgotten and they are hoping Barack Obama will make good on his pledge to address their needs. CNN's Kate Bolduan has the story.</s>TODD BOWERS, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: This is the one in a million that, you know, is basically why I'm still standing here today, but you can see literally where the bullet went.</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): During Todd Bowers' second tour of duty in Iraq, he narrowly missed death by less than an inch. He knows how much veterans risk.</s>BOWERS: It is so critical for the American public to understand that the sacrifices that we make to keep our country in this amazing place where we are.</s>BOLDUAN: Bill Crandell served in a very different war, Vietnam.</s>BILL CRANDELL, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: There's a very long time when it felt like just yesterday.</s>BOLDUAN: But like Bowers, Crandell hopes this administration is a new opportunity to refocus attention on their priorities like revamping the Department of Veterans Affairs.</s>CRANDELL: There's a tendency of presidents and their staff to see this as basically an operation that you don't have to pay attention to. It really takes a lot more attention than that.</s>BOLDUAN: President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to help the country's service members.</s>OBAMA: We must ensure that our brave troops serving abroad today become the backbone of our middle class at home tomorrow.</s>BOLDUAN: So, what should be top priority for the Obama administration? Bowers says better funding overall for the VA is key in helping the thousands of aging veterans and the thousands more new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. And the care they need isn't just for physical wounds. Veterans also want more attention to mental health issues.</s>CRANDELL: The VA has always had something of a bias towards visible injuries. You can't see that somebody is emotionally disabled.</s>BOLDUAN: Another priority, fully implementing the new GI bill which expands veterans' education benefits. But even with wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan, there's concern among veterans that these issues will get pushed aside.</s>BOWERS: The economy overshadowed the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans returning from those conflicts as a whole. But one of the things that we know for a fact is that investing in veterans is investing in our country in the future.</s>BOLDUAN (on camera): The first decision for Obama is leadership. Who will be the next secretary of Veterans Affairs? Two names considered real possibilities are Max Cleland who held the position in the Carter administration and Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war vet, who is the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.</s>NGUYEN: A group is honoring veterans who gave their lives. And doing it one red ribbon at a time. They are placing the ribbons on veterans' head stones at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas. For one volunteer, it is personal. Her dad, a marine, is buried there.</s>JILL HENNIGAN, VOLUNTEER: You're talking about people that really have served the country, you know. And you're doing something -- you're giving back to their families basically. But it's really emotional just looking at it, all the red.</s>JOYCE BUIE, ORGANIZER: I have never served in the military. I have never done anything that's great for this country. I wanted to do something.</s>NGUYEN: The Red Ribbon Corps hopes their campaign will catch on nationally. So, if you want more information, here is the Web site, www.redribboncorps.org. Veterans Day, it is a day to honor and to remember. Join Heidi Collins for CNN NEWSROOM, live, from the deck of the intrepid tomorrow. You're going to hear amazing stories from wounded vets and families of fallen soldiers. Coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Well, a search shows no signs of ending soon. Two months after Hurricane Ike hit, dozens of people still missing.