New Orleans honored its military men and women, both past and present, at a special ceremony on Poydras Street Tuesday.

It was the third Veterans Day since Hurricane Katrina, and many vets wonder if the city's VA hospital lost in the storm will ever be rebuilt.

"We need the services this is supposed to be given to us anyway. We haven't been getting it lately. I understand Katrina came through, but it's time for a change," said veteran Martin Campbell, who was a captain in the army.

New Orleans councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said the deal is almost done, and that she'll know more after a meeting with state leaders in Baton Rouge Wednesday.

Congressman William Jefferson said $600 million has already been set aside for the hospital. The congressman also added he would introduce legislation to cut through red tape and fast track the construction of a new facility.

"We're also going to have it in the right place, right downtown, connected to the medical schools as it was before, with cutting edge, professional services for you,” Jefferson said.

After Hurricane Katrina the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs decided not to reopen the storm damaged hospital. Over the last couple of years officials have gone back and forth about the new downtown facility near the LSU medical school. Jefferson said outside forces added to the delay.

“Our big challenge was we had to compete first with Florida to get the hospital, then with Jefferson parish, the ochsner site, and finally we got it done where it's going to be built downtown, where it was before,” Jefferson said.

Louisiana leaders have yet to decide on the size of the new charity hospital or put up the money to build it. Jefferson says that should not affect the VA side of the project.

‘The city of New Orleans has put up early money to do expropriation of properties, and the state is committed to the project, so I don't think that's a problem,” Jefferson said.

The VA says it could take five years to construct, but both Jefferson and Clarkson promised when the hospital is built it will have state of the art facilities.

VA Medical Center

 “We will build a medical district. We will build a bio-medical district that will rival south Birmingham and Houston. That's where we belong,” Clarkson said.

But some veterans like Military Order of the Purple Heart member Isaac Gilliard are sick of the talking and want to see results.

“Show me,” said Isaac Gilliard of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. “We've heard all the rhetoric we're going to hear. I'm a Vietnam era veteran. That means a lot of different connotations to a lot of different people. To me, it means show me.”