The recent scandal over conditions at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington, has highlighted the poor treatment facing many US army veterans who return from the war in Iraq.

It's not only medical care which is sometimes inadequate. So too is housing - 200 thousand veterans are believed to be homeless.

Some of them are veterans still unable to re-build their lives after serving in Vietnam. They're being joined by those leaving Iraq, many with terrible injuries.

The Veterans' Administration is supposed to care for veterans, and has billions of dollars of public money to do so - in size, its budget is second only to defence.

But many of the veterans say red tape and official indifference has left them without the help they need.

For Assignment, Vera Frankl and Milena Schwager have been meeting some of them.

Listen to America's homeless veterans