MANSFIELD — It’s been decades since Larry Moore fought alongside other members of the military, but he’s been fighting for them ever since.
Moore, a lifetime Richland County resident who served in the U.S. Navy Seabees during the Vietnam War, was the featured speaker at Friday’s Veterans Day ceremony.
Since completing his military service, Moore has held leadership roles within the Richland County Joint Veterans Council, Mansfield Memorial and Patriotic Association and various Veterans of Foreign Wars divisions at the local, state and national level.
The ceremony took place indoors at the AMVETS Post 26 due to rain. Moore reminded veterans and civilians alike of the sacrifices made by members of the U.S. military.
“No other occupation subjects their employees to criminal charges if they disobey their boss,” Moore said. “Unlike members of the military, civilians can live where they want and they can quit whenever they want.
“For many veterans, this nation was worth enduring long separations from their families, missing the birth of their children, freezing in sub-zero temperatures, sweating in jungles, sacrificing their health and, far too often, losing their lives,” he added.
Moore has been the VFW Department of Ohio Legislative State Chairman for 18 years. As part of his advocacy work, he travels to Washington D.C. twice a year to speak before members of Congress.
“There aren’t a lot of veterans left in Congress,” Moore said. “Somebody has to remind them of what was their obligation is what they promised.”
A big part of that work is making a case for proper healthcare.
“When a politician laments the cost of veterans programs, it is up to us to remind them the cost of being a veteran,” Moore said.
“Whether it’s exposure, burn pits or other toxic hazards, many veterans today continue to pay a high price for their military service. And while we can never repay the debt owed to them, we can show our appreciation through actions to ensure they receive proper and adequate medical care for visible and invisible wounds.”
Moore said it often takes decades of speaking out before health issues linked to military services are recognized and addressed.
One big victory came in the form of the PACT Act, signed into law earlier this year. The bipartisan legislation expanded health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.
Moore said the act will benefit past, present and future service members.
“In that legislation, there’s a piece that says if we we expose our folks to toxic hazards and there’s a high incidence of illness with a certain group, that will automatically be conceded by the (Department of Veteran’s Affairs),” Moore said.
Nevertheless, Moore said the work of advocating for veterans is far from over.
“We have to continually fight and that’s why we continue we go every year in March,” Moore said. “If we don’t remind them of what those veterans did for this country, they would forget us in a heartbeat.”
Moore said he hopes younger veterans will take an interest in advocacy work in the future.
“My mentors were World War II (veterans),” he said. “The younger Afghan and Iraq veterans — I hope they pick up the torch and they follow us.”
Civilians can also get involved in advocacy work through veterans service organizations, which often have legislative priorities listed on their websites.
Moore said future legislative goals will likely include the further expansion of service-related illnesses covered by the VA and seeking adequate funding for the department as a whole.
“All the major veterans organizations, we do an independent budget study —what we think it’s going to take to fund the VA,” Moore said.
“They are usually always short, so we have to go argue with them about ‘that’s not enough money’ and ‘here’s what you need to do.'”
“It’ll always be a fight. The war will never end. We’ll just win some battles every once awhile.”
