Almost half of new vets seeking disability benefits

FILE - In this May 1969 file photo, a wounded U.S. paratrooper of the 101st Airborne Division is helped through a blinding rainstorm by two medics after being evacuated from Dong Ap Bia during the 10-day battle for Hamburger Hill. America has a new generation of veterans. More than 1.6 million troops are back from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The new veterans join more than 20 million others from previous wars. There also are 34 million spouses and dependent children of living veterans and survivors of dead veterans, and many of them get benefits, too. Collectively, they comprise a whopping 18 percent of the U.S. population. (By comparison, Medicare beneficiaries make up 15 percent). (AP Photo/Hugh Van Es)