All Things Considered

We hear from veterans about their memories of those who died in combat. Stories are from Jill Knappenberger, who served in the American Red Cross during World War II; former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam veteran; and Butch Bracknell, an Afghanistan and Iraq serviceman.

The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the killing in central Syria of at least 90 people, dozens of them children. Syrian armed forces are suspected in the attack.

The Associated Press recently reported on the growing numbers of veterans filing new disability claims after returning from war. Close to one out of two veterans who've served in Iraq or Afghanistan have now filed disability claims for service-related injuries — more than double the rate of previous wars. Marilynn Marchione of the AP offers her insight.

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

Every few weeks on the program, we've been running an occasional series called Why Music Matters, where we bring you the stories of music fans in their own words, about how certain songs or even bands have changed their lives. Today's story comes from a young artist in Seattle. Her name is Vivi Perez, and she almost gave up on high school, that is until a community activist group called El Centro de la Raza introduced her to the music business.

VIVI PEREZ: I felt kind of, like, I didn't know where I was going a lot in high school.