Klinker: Honoring our American heroes is not a partisan issue

I'm very pleased to have been selected as a co-sponsor of House Bill 1056, authored by Republican State Rep. Randy Frye. This important piece of legislation allows all Hoosier veterans, along with their spouses, minor children and unmarried adult children to be buried in the Indiana State Veterans' Cemetery in Madison and the Indiana Soldiers Home Cemetery in West Lafayette. This legislation would honor all those who answered the call to serve our country, as well as allow them the dignity of being buried with their loved ones. This bill would put the Indiana State Veterans' Cemetery in line with practices at the Arlington National Cemetery.

For me, House Bill 1056 has personal significance.

As a young girl growing up in the midst of the Second World War, I can remember hearing stories from my older brother, Tom, who served as a Navy medic off the coast of Japan. Drafted straight out of high school, Tom saved countless soldiers injured on the battlefield. Now 96 years old, Tom's life was greatly shaped by the war, and with his heroic contribution during one of the most impactful eras of our history, he's always been a hero in our family and inspired my other older brother, Kevin, to follow in his footsteps.

After graduating from Wabash College, Kevin entered the Marine Corps Flight Orientation Program and served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Working his way up to Lieutenant Colonel, Kevin flew over 300 missions in Vietnam and worked for two years in the Pentagon in Washington D.C. before retirement. Like many heroes in the Vietnam War, Kevin didn't die overseas, but he passed at 46 years of age from complications stemming from Agent Orange defoliant exposure.

The heroes in my family – my two older brothers – have influenced all the work that I do to help veterans in the state legislature. With House Bill 1056, I hope that we can all come together to honor the brave men and women, and their families, by expanding the number of veterans and veterans' families we put to rest in the State Veterans' Home Cemetery. I've long believed that, when it comes to military members and their families, some gave all but all gave some. I, like many of my fellow Hoosiers, know the sacrifices that families make when their loved ones go to war. It isn't a light cross to bear, but we carry it because we know that our loved ones are fighting for a cause bigger than themselves, bigger than their families back home.

Anyone who makes that sacrifice ought to come home knowing that their communities and local governments will take care of them in return for all they have done for us. As I continue to fight for improvements in veterans' benefits and other measures that enhance the quality of their lives, I'm honored to be a co-sponsor on House Bill 1056, which gives veterans and their families the final honor of being buried among their fellow heroes.