Watch part two

The United States is the largest military power on earth: the US defence budget is almost as much as the rest of the world's combined.

So what kind of commitment does this country make to the nearly 25 million Americans alive today who have served in the armed forces?

Despite the culture of veneration for the men and women in uniform, life for veterans is often grim.

Physical and mental illness are common, and on any given night, nearly 300,000 vets, many of them who served in Vietnam, are without a roof over their heads, comprising a quarter of America’s homeless population.

This week on Inside USA, we look at how a new generation of soldiers, celebrated - at least in public - by the Bush administration, is experiencing many of the same realities.

This edition of Inside USA aired from Friday September 19, 2008.