Forgotten Heroes
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war
for a lead role in a cage?
--Wish You Were Here lyrics, Pink Floyd
for a lead role in a cage?
--Wish You Were Here lyrics, Pink Floyd
Newsweek offers a must-read feature on the war's forgotten heroes. The cover says, "Shattered in body and mind, too many veterans are facing poor care and red tape" Below are some illustrative quotes:
"Once I got into the VA system, someone dropped the ball"--Albert Ross
"They left without giving me pain meds for 5 1/2 hours"--Marissa Strock, double amputee
"Shrapnel tore into Patrick Feges intestines and cut a major artery. While he waited 17 months for his disability check to come, his mother took a second job at McDonald's to help support him."
"Blimes estimates benefit costs for Iraq vets will be four times what the budget office projects for the next six years. Many of the 205,000 Afghan and Iraqi vets have multiple disorders."
"Not all Iraq and Afghanistan vets may be receiving the care they need necause DVA is understaffed and drowning in a backlog of cases."
What a sobering national news story which is nothing new to our readers. As an individual, I'm often accused of whining about the shoddy treatment of veterans in the VA system, but now the MSM seems to be getting the picture, too.
America is not giving our veterans the treatment that they justly deserve. Please bear in mind that in addition to the newly returning troops, there are WWII, Korean, Vietnam and other veterans that also need increased care due to advancing age and increase of severity for service-connected disabilities. Veterans don't miraculously get better; their conditions tend to deteriorate as they age.
The best way to get truly screwed in America is to join the military in time of war. It's a slam dunk when dealing with the DVA.
The Commander in Chief is responsible to these personnel after they cease to be combat assets. It is about time the MSM rescinds the free pass they've been giving to GWB and his despicable treatment of vets.
posted by rangeragainstwar at 2:32 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Ranger & Lisa,
Re: the MSM and the free pass they have given GWB on this issue - Keith Olberman sometimes takes his media colleagues to task. Jack Cafferty at CNN as well. And actually, at least as of late, Lou Dobbs.
With your permission - I am more than happy to cut and paste your post and send it to them with your website address.
This issue really needs to see the light of day.
A literal insult to the injuries is the so-called "rationale" (versions 1 thru 45) for the Iraq war itself.
You guys seem to be music fans. There is an interlude in Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" where these slick street guys are being pursued by the cops. They offer the naive country boy visiting the big city for the first time $5 to "just take this bag and run across the street" - right in front of the cops. The cops, of course, arrest the country boy and the real criminals go free. The country boy ends up sentenced to do hard time.
I look at the pictures of these soldiers and that part of the song pops into my head.
Such a vicious scam.
(Please forgive me if this is a double post)
Good evening, KW,
That is so kind of you--though Jim's not here right now, I'm certain he'd love to take you up on your offer, so yes, by all means thank you for going that extra mile re. submission of the post.
The Stevie Wonder song you cite is quite an apt analogy to what's going on here, and yes, it is a vicious scam.
Thanks once again for being such a concerned reader,
Best,
Lisa
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