Employment discrimination against veterans is one of the most shameful acts that a nation can inflict on those who have risked their health and lives for its self-preservation. Edwin H. Crosby III, an outraged veteran of the Vietnam War, speaks for many to whom employment opportunities were foreclosed by the military’s use of secret codes, known as SPN, SPD or SDN codes, that were placed on the DD-214 discharge papers of veterans without their knowledge. These codes, which could be decoded and interpreted by major employers in the public and private sectors, frequently led to characterizations that unfairly marked the veteran as unfit for employment, and they usually superseded other qualifications. The candidate would not know who assigned the code or why and would be unable to confront the responsible party or dispute any erroneous information.
