WASHINGTON -- Veterans groups are angry at President George W. Bush for supporting a 1995 government decision to rescind an old promise of free lifetime health benefits for military retirees.

This is the man who told veterans and active-duty military personnel after the 2000 campaign that he would make sure "promises made to our veterans will be promises kept." So why does he persist in short-changing the retirees, especially when he is preparing for another war and hoping to lure more volunteers for the military?

Many World War II and Korean conflict veterans have been hopping mad ever since the Pentagon welshed on the deal recruiters promised them when they signed up -- that if they served 20 or more years, they and their dependents would get free health care benefits for life.

In 1995 during Bill Clinton's second term the government stopped honoring that pledge, and many military retirees have had to pay for benefits through Medicare, which costs about $60 a month and pays for 80 percent of the expenses.

The Pentagon, Justice Department and White House won't discuss the situation, and the Bush administration is ignoring an appeal from the group seeking to overturn the 1995 decision on behalf of the nation's 1.7 million military retirees.

The group -- represented by retired Air Force Col. George "Bud" Day, a Vietnam POW and Medal of Honor winner -- failed last November to win its lawsuit against the government in the U.S. Court of Appeals here.

The court noted that the government conceded that the military recruiters did indeed make the promises. But in a 9-4 decision, it said the Defense Department was correct in arguing that the assurances were not valid because Congress never passed a law backing them up.

So the court was saying, in effect, that the recruiters, who were simply doing what their military bosses told them to do, had no authority to make the promises. Day is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.

He knows his chances of winning a Supreme Court review are slim. Most federal appeals court rulings are the final word because the high court accepts very few of their cases. But Day says he will press on.

"This has been the crusade of my life and I won't rest until the last round is fired." He is also asking military retirees to demand that their senators and representatives in Congress "take legislative action in conjunction with our legal fight to right this wrong."

The administration may pay a political price if it continues to stonewall.

The '95 decision was certainly not fair to those who put their lives on the line for their country and who made military service their career.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who has announced he is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said after the court ruling that "it is extraordinary to me that you give your entire career in defense of this country and then have to go to court to make the government keep its promise."

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran himself, added, "What's the message we're sending our troops around the world today and those prepared to fight in Iraq? The message seems to be, 'Do your duty to your country, but your country won't fulfill its duty to you when you return home."'

The angry retirees have put up a billboard in Waco, Texas, near Bush's ranch, which reminds him of the of promises-made-promises-kept pledge.

The quote was taken from a speech he made the day before his inauguration to a military audience.

He said then that "in order to make sure that morale is high with those who wear the uniform today, we must keep our commitment to those who wore the uniform in the past. We will make sure promises made to our veterans will be promises kept."

I believe that continuing to renege on the pledge will raise questions about the government's reliability as a contracting partner and will hamper future recruiting.

As Ronald F. Conley, national commander of the American Legion, said, "Before we spend one dime rebuilding Afghanistan and rebuilding Iraq after we bomb it to smithereens, we ought to take care of our veterans."

The leaders of the organization pressing the lawsuit, the Military Retirees Grass Roots Group, are planning a rally here in Washington on Feb. 12. Many of the protesters will be in wheelchairs.

It will recall the march on Washington in 1932 by World War I veterans who came to urge Congress to fulfill its promise of bonuses for their service. The veterans set up tents on the Capitol grounds but were routed by a military force commanded by then Major General Douglas MacArthur.

That assault on the nation's heroes appalled many Americans at the time. It was no way to treat those who had suffered serious wounds and other hardships on the Western front.

Similarly, going back on our word to the World War II and Korean war vets is no way to treat them either. After all, they could have gotten out of the service after those wars ended.

But they kept their promise to the nation. They stayed in uniform.

(Helen Thomas can be reached at the e-mail address helent@hearstdc.com)