Pvt. Johnnie Stevenson cleaned his truck one last time, scraping off the barnacle-like mud and pulling crushed water bottles from under seats. But deployment to Afghanistan was almost over, and his thoughts drifted elsewhere. Was his pregnant fiancée ready to be a mother? Facebook provided so few clues. Nor could it answer him this: Was he ready to be a father?

Capt. Adrian Bonenberger made plans for his final patrol to Imam Sahib. But inside, he was sweating the details of a different mission: going home. Which soldiers would drive drunk, get into fights or struggle with emotional demons, he wondered. What would it take to keep them safe in America?

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Amherst College in Massachusetts honored four World War II veterans with honorary bachelor’s degrees at the arts college’s commencement Sunday. These four veterans left Amherst College to go fight in World War II before they were able to finish school and graduate. All four veterans went on to successful careers but they always had regrets that they were not able to go back and complete their undergraduate degrees after they returned from war. This group includes J. Bruce Duncan, Richard Hunter, Frank Egloff and C. Burns Roehrig. Hunter, 89, and Roehrig, 88, cannot travel so they received their diplomas in the mail but Duncan, 87, and Egloff,85, attended decked out in mortar boards and gowns just like the 480 other undergraduates.

The school was contacted by Hunter’s daughter-in-law who spoke of Hunter’s fondness for his time at Amherst and his regret at never having completed his degree. She wondered if there was any way to present him with an honorary (or genuine) degree. Amherst President Anthony Marx liked that idea and immediately initiated a search to see if there were any other alumni who had left school early for military service during World War II. That is how he found the other three veterans and decided that they would all be awarded degrees in recognition of the sacrifices they made for their country more than 65 years ago. All four men were shocked by the offer but honored to accept the degree.

Legislation called Pro-Vets Act, introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is all about getting veterans the help they need when they come home from war. The act calls on the Veterans Affairs Department to offer each service member an assessment of benefits and the materials they need to apply. It would also automatically enroll service members coming home into the VA health care program. As it stands now, veterans are eligible for up to five years of care, but many never claim the benefit. This act, as well as other ideas put together by veterans’ advocacy organizations, has come out of a need for America to form a community of support for soldiers when they need it the most.

Many veterans battle with depression, unemployment, homelessness and post traumatic stress and there are more than a few people and organizations who believe that we as Americans must do our part to help. The senator is also calling for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to become permanent. This credit offers incentives to companies that hire veterans and Gillibrand wants businesses to be able to write off 40 percent of the first $6,000 paid to returning troops. Getting veterans working is a huge first step and can help stave off other problems such as homelessness and depression. Considering that 76,000 veterans were homeless in a given night in 2009, and that unemployment for vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is now at 11 percent, it is clear that things must change.