Engraved on a monument in Hawaii are the words: “December 7, 1941, a day which will live in infamy … No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.”

This reference to then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address to Congress remains as stirring now as it was when Roosevelt uttered those thoughts.

We’re a week away from the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. And, despite America’s righteous might, we are far from absolute victory when it comes to protecting and assisting this nation’s veterans.

The United States can proudly count the outcome of World War II as a victory, but we cannot — as a nation — be entirely proud of the way some of our veterans struggled in the aftermath of that war and continue to struggle in the aftermath of successive wars.

Veterans do not have the same speedy access to health care as Americans who never served. Many veterans struggle with mental illness. Too many are unemployed and far too many are homeless.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about a third of this nation’s entire adult homeless population are veterans, with an estimated 131,000 veterans homeless on any given night. According to statistics kept by that agency, “the number of homeless male and female Vietnam-era veterans is greater than the number of service persons who died during that war.”

The reasons for this dismal situation are that some veterans lack jobs and support of family, and many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or some other mental illness, which is further aggravated by alcohol or drug abuse.

It’s a reality of which no American can be proud.

This country does a terrific job honoring veterans through formal ceremony.

On Sunday, Auburn’s American Legion Post 153 was renamed in honor of World War II veteran pilot William J. Rogers, a man described as someone who believed every person deserves respect. Also on Sunday, four war veterans, including Ray Boulet, Bert Morin, Armand Bussiere and Arthur Raymond, were awarded long overdue medals in Lewiston.

The men honored in these two celebrations were and are deserving of our respect and recognition, as are veterans honored in similar events across the country throughout the year. But real honor for veterans stands in a nation determined to triumph, not only in war, but in civilization.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, and active-duty service men and service women become veterans, the statistics of underemployed and homeless vets are expected to climb.

These men and women fought for us overseas.

Americans must fight to protect them at home.