Josh is a 29 year old who walks into Starbucks once in a while and orders regular black coffee no sugar. He sits down slowly at any corner he can find with his back against the wall and watches people as he sips at his coffee. He is mostly on his phone listening to music and sometimes checking out one of his social media accounts. Facebook most likely based on an occasional Facebook Messenger tone I hear coming from his phone. 

He is in good shape physically on the outside.  Maybe 180 pounds, 5'9", and decent muscle tone but does have physical problems. He is missing part of his pinky and ring finger of his left hand but that is just the beginning. Though I have never seen it Josh has an artificial left leg just below the knee. He walks like you or me but his pants leg on his left side rides flat along where the calf should be and his tennis shoe on that side rolls just a bit too perfect each time he walks in. Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of the bottom edge of dagger and an anchor on a tattoo on the inside of his right bicep.

Josh is a disabled Marine war veteran.

He has long lost his desire to keep his hair short and cropped and does not give any other indication he was in the military. Except for the edginess in his manner. His right hand shakes a bit once in a while when he holds his coffee and he doesn't like sudden loud sounds. It takes him a while to relax again when one of the baristas accidentally drops a something behind the counter. He tries hard to sit up straight when cops walk in but can't hold his back stiff for too long. He eyes the officer with respect but also with a longing to still serve. To be able to carry a gun and protect something. His eyes tell me that he doesn't work but desperately wants to. They also tell me he doesn't sleep much. His stare seems empty.

Thinking back to a conversation I once heard between and Vietnam veteran and veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Vietnam vet disparagingly called the other vet a "toy soldier". He told him he was not in a real war. I think to myself neither was Josh. He is too young have been involved in any encounter that was based on a declaration of war. Based on his age he was probably in Afghanistan or Iraq when he was injured.

I wonder. Do the bullets and bombs care if they are in a war or a "engagement" or "operation"? I don't think they do. Josh is not a toy soldier.  When a toy soldier loses a leg we throw it away.  A soldier is a soldier is a soldier. All veterans deserve to be treated with respect and honor. They deserve our care.

Recently I read that in 2013 there were almost 60,000 veterans that were living on the street or homeless shelters. How can we live with ourselves knowing that?

I don't know where Josh's life is headed. I don't know where he will be in a few years. Will he be on the street? Will he be alive? I don't know. I honestly don't even want to make a prediction on that one. I'm afraid to be right.