Empty tables overlooking Seal Rocks are seen inside the closed Cliff House on Wednesday, October 9, in San Francisco. The 150-year-old oceanside icon was ordered closed Wednesday by the National Park Service for the duration of the partial government shutdown, leaving most of the restaurant's 170 employees without work. The federal government entered a shutdown October 1, furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers. Many government services and agencies remain completely or partially closed. 
Boaters gather to protest the closure of Everglades National Park waters on October 9 near Islamorada, Florida. About a third of the 2,380-square-mile park encompasses Florida Bay and has been closed to Florida Keys guides and recreational fishermen since October 1. 
A camping party at the Dolly Copp campground in Gorham, New Hampshire, on October 9 is told that the park will close on Thursday, October 10, at noon. The privately run campground in New Hampshire's White Mountains National Forest was forced to close ahead of the lucrative Columbus Day weekend because of the federal government shutdown. 
Rick Hohensee holds a "Fire Congress" sign near the House steps on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, October 8. 
Officers stand at the base of stairs leading to the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, October 7. 
A bull elk appears to stick out its tongue at the closed north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Montana on October 7 in a photo submitted by iReporter Brad Orsted. Orsted joked the animal was giving its opinion on the government shutdown. 
Tourists take photos at a barricade blocking access to the World War II Memorial in Washington on Sunday, October 6. 
River runners make camp in a dirt parking lot in Marble Canyon, Arizona, after being unable to access the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry on Saturday, October 5. 
A closure sign is posted on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday, October 3. 
Metal gates closed with a chain block the entrance to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, in Kennesaw, Georgia on Thursday, October 3. A sign posted on the gates announces the park's closure, citing the government shutdown. 
Tourists take photos of the Statue of Liberty while riding a tour boat in New York Harbor on October 3. The statue is adminstered by the National Park Service and is closed as a result of the government shutdown. 
A single security guard patrols the closed Lincoln Memorial in Washington on October 3. 
A U.S. Capitol police officer walks past a statue of Gerald Ford in the rotunda on Tuesday, October 1. The Capitol is closed to tours because of the government shutdown. 
Barricades around the World War II Memorial in Washington prevent people from entering the monument on October 1. The memorial was temporary opened to veteran groups who arrived on Honor Flights on a day trip to visit the nation's capital. 
World War II veteran Russell Tucker of Meridian, Mississippi, stands outside the barricade as he visits the World War II Memorial in Washington on October 1. 
World War II Veteran George Bloss, from Gulfport, Mississippi, looks out over the National World War II Memorial in Washington, on October 1. Veterans who had traveled from across the country were allowed to visit the National World War II Memorial after it had been officially closed because of the partial government shutdown. 
A park ranger secures a road at the entrance to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial on October 1 in Keystone, South Dakota. 
A sign is posted in the window of an IRS office in Brooklyn notifying that the office is closed due to the government shutdown on October 1. 
A visitor takes a picture of a sign announcing the closure of the Fort Point National Historic Site due to the partial government shutdown on October 1 in San Francisco, California. 
A hand-written sign informs visitors to Faneuil Hall, the nation's oldest public meeting hall, that restrooms are closed as a result of the partial government shutdown in Boston, on October 1. 
Visitors to Independence National Historical Park are reflected in the window of the closed building housing the Liberty Bell, on October 1 in Philadelphia. 
Mark Weekley, superintendent at the National Park Service's Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail, puts up a sign proclaiming the facility closed due to the federal government shutdown, in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 1. 
Hot Springs National Park employee Stacy Jackson carries a barricade while closing Arlington Lawn in Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas on October 1. 
The Washington Monument is seen behind a chain fence in Washington, on October 1. 
A National Park Service ranger finishes putting up a sign indicating all facilities at the Martin Luther King Historic Site are closed to the public in Atlanta, on October 1. 
A Capitol police officer walks through the empty Capitol Rotunda, closed to tours during the government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, on October 1. 
An employee at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield, Massachusetts, puts up a sign on October 1, to notify visitors that the site is closed because of a government shutdown. 
A U.S. Park Service police officer stands at the closed Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington on October 1. 
A man looks into the closed Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington on October 1. 
A National Parks Service ranger posts a sign on the doors of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on October 1 notifying visitors that the church is closed. 
A U.S. park ranger places a closed sign on a barricade in front of the World War II Memorial in Washington on October 1. 
Park police and Park Service employees close down the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on October 1. 
A sign informs visitors that the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, west of Paris, is closed because of the shutdown on October 1. 
A man walks past a sign noting the closure at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Valley View, Ohio, on October 1. 
Members of the U.S. National Park Service close the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington on October 1. 
A U.S. park ranger posts a closed sign at the Lincoln Memorial on October 1. 
A sign alerting visitors that the National Gallery of Art is closed stands outside the building on October 1. 
People look at a sign announcing that the Statue of Liberty is closed in New York on October 1. 
Fencing around the World War II Memorial prevents people from entering the monument on the National Mall in Washington on October 1. 
Signs taped on museum doors alert visitors that the National Museum of American History in Washington is closed on October 1. 
A U.S. park service police officer stands guard at the entrance of the closed Lincoln Memorial on October 1. 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
- Nick McCormick: Death benefits were cut off to families of the fallen
- He says a temporary fix doesn't fully undo impact of the partial government shutdown
- Members of Congress rush to denounce cuts in veterans' services to score PR points
- McCormick: What we need is action to end shutdown, not political posturing
Editor's note: Nick McCormick is a legislative associate at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. An Army veteran, he deployed to Iraq from 2008 to 2009.
(CNN) -- Every day, the federal government's partial shutdown brings more tragic and disheartening news to America's veterans, troops and their families.
This week, the Department of Defense announced it would be unable to pay the $100,000 death gratuity benefit to support families of the fallen -- news that is insulting to those who serve and their families.
For a government that readily claims to support America's troops and veterans by spending billions on service members and veterans, legislators failed to notice that this particular lack of funding, a mere fraction of the Defense Department's budget, would be cut off, causing needless pain to grieving families.
The news drew quick condemnation from pundits, the military and veterans community, and members of Congress. Politicians from both parties, displaying a sense of urgency yet to be seen on the notion of ending the shutdown, rushed to condemn the decision and quickly called for the benefits to be reinstated. Fortunately, the military charity Fisher House Foundation has stepped up and will cover these benefits for the Pentagon until the shutdown ends.
The strong words and overwhelming bipartisan support on death benefits and veterans funding issues makes veterans wonder why Congress can muster such sharp and decisive action on a limited basis, especially when it involves veterans and the military community?
Veterans and military families are left to wonder if the pledges of support are genuine, or do they just conveniently provide a symbolic fallback issue for legislators when governing in Washington gets tough?
As part of shutdown politics, members continually retreat to the veterans community, to the point that they start tripping over each other to be first in front of the camera. This behavior was on display last week as well when members of Congress attempted to gain the upper hand in the public relations battle over the closure of the World War II Memorial.
VA chair on how shutdown hurts vets 
Shutdown could leave veterans homeless 
Shutdown does not stop WWII vets For "the greatest generation," the World War II Memorial is more than pillars and a fountain; it is a shrine to the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives in lands far away from the United States for ideals that we still fight for every day in this country. It is a solemn place of remembrance for men and women who endured hardship, tragedy and suffering on levels that many of us simply cannot fathom.
Once the government shutdown began, the site was supposed to be off-limits to everyone, including World War II veterans. But on the day the government shut down, 92 World War II veterans visiting from Mississippi made headlines by breaking through the barricades and paying homage to their fallen comrades. Suddenly, a war that ended more than 65 years ago became current a few hours into a government shutdown.
The image of World War II veterans breaking through yellow tape and metal barricades went viral, and members of Congress from both parties quickly attached themselves to the fight.
This shutdown has generated a style of bandwagon politics in the last week that is getting stale. Rather than focus on solving the problems that resulted in the shutdown, politicians are conveniently highlighting veterans and military families without doing the one job that will really help: Ending the shutdown.
The threat for veterans and military families is all too real. A denial of some services and lingering doubt about the future will only add more financial and emotional anguish to a community that's already endured war for more than a dozen years.
On social media via #Shutdownstories and calls to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America case managers, we hear from veterans in the Veterans Affairs backlog who will have to spend more time waiting for a claims decision than they spent in combat zones.
Veterans who make up 27% of the federal workforce are now furloughed. National Guard drills are being rescheduled or canceled in many states, affecting troop readiness and pay. On base, services that military families count on are now closed. Veterans who rely on disability and GI Bill benefits are facing the very real possibility of not getting their benefits next month, as Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testified Wednesday.
Photo-ops, shouting matches and gimmicks will not help veterans and military families who are hurting during the shutdown. These political events provide no long-term benefits for the military community and get us nowhere closer to ending a shutdown that is inflicting real pain on the men and women who fought for our country.
The political games and posturing need to end. Make no mistake that veterans and military families appreciate compliments and expressions of support and gratitude -- but what we need most right now are solutions.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.
Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nick McCormick.
