America Is Failing Its Animorph Veterans

From 1996 to 2001, America played a pivotal role in the Andalite-Yeerk War. It began with the brave covert actions of heroic Animorphs, and evolved into a full-blown resistance to the Yeerk occupation. The hard work and sacrifice of everyday Americans—both Animorph and non—was crucial to ensuring peace for the country, the planet, and the entire galaxy. And yet this war and its veterans have been all but forgotten. There are no monuments to Rachel, who gave her life to destroy a deadly Yeerk Blade Ship. There are no stories in our history books about the destruction of the California Yeerk Pool. And, worst of all, there is no support for the survivors.

Many Animorphs suffer from PTSD and the moral weight of their difficult-but-necessary actions, and they struggle to find their place in the modern world. Tobias was just flat-out sucked into a jet engine last year and it didn’t even make the news. Furthermore, countless humans once controlled by Yeerks are struggling to come to terms with what they did while enslaved, as well as how to function now that they’re free again. Even those who weren’t directly affected by the war have found it difficult to adjust to the sudden knowledge that the galaxy contains brutal threats, like godlike beings who casually meddle in the affairs of other planets (not to mention the fact that Earth contains a depraved underwater civilization hellbent on annihilating humanity).

And yet, there is no counseling available, no official channel for expressing concerns, and seemingly no more contact with our once stalwart Andalite allies. How many more ordinary people and once-lauded heroes will lose their lives to drinking, drugs, and the exploration of dangerous new morph-related sexual boundaries? We demand better from the press, from our political representatives, and from the American people at large. We are not ashamed of America’s role in preventing the Yeerk conquest of the galaxy. We are proud, and we must support our Animorph veterans. And that support must come soon, before Marco gets stuck in starfish form.

Image: Pixabay, Scholastic Publishing