Last Wednesday, the United States celebrated Veterans Day -- a day meant for remembrance of and gratitude toward members of the armed forces who have served for our country.

So it's a little ironic that right around Veterans Day, the state of Pennsylvania is in the process of cutting support to those honorable men and women.

The Governor's Veterans Outreach and Assistance Center (GVOAC) recently announced that it will close its five locations for financial reasons. This will certainly affect some of the 10,000 veterans who call Centre County home.

The termination of this agency appears to be another symptom of the recession. Unfortunately, it seems that when money gets tight, benefits to veterans can be seen as ancillary.

However, this agency has an important use, especially when considering all of the veterans with active assistance claims. For instance, the GVOAC branch in Harrisburg, which supports Centre County, helped 3,048 veterans during the 2008-2009 year.

Without the agency, these veterans will be left to explore other options. For issues like health care and disability claims, veterans may not know where to turn.

Centre County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jon Eich said the closing would transfer responsibility to local groups, like Penn State's Office of Veterans Program and an outpatient clinic in State College.

Because the GVOAC has accomplished such admirable work, we hope that local groups can adequately fill the void in its absence. We understand that in a recession, cutting programs is inevitable. But county offices now have the opportunity to showcase their support for veterans, and we hope they take advantage of it. And, ideally, this agency will be reinstated in future Pennsylvania state budgets.

After all, in this time of war, it seems more appropriate to thank veterans for their dedication -- not pull support.