Another day in Bu$hCo., another outrage:
Perks and stardom do not come to every amputee. Sgt. David Thomas, a gunner with the Tennessee National Guard, spent his first three months at Walter Reed with no decent clothes; medics in Samarra had cut off his uniform. Heavily drugged, missing one leg and suffering from traumatic brain injury, David, 42, was finally told by a physical therapist to go to the Red Cross office, where he was given a T-shirt and sweat pants. He was awarded a Purple Heart but had no underwear.
David tangled with Walter Reed’s image machine when he wanted to attend a ceremony for a fellow amputee, a Mexican national who was being granted U.S. citizenship by President Bush. A case worker quizzed him about what he would wear. It was summer, so David said shorts. The case manager said the media would be there and shorts were not advisable because the amputees would be seated in the front row.
” ‘Are you telling me that I can’t go to the ceremony ’cause I’m an amputee?’ ” David recalled asking. “She said, ‘No, I’m saying you need to wear pants.’ ”
David told the case worker, “I’m not ashamed of what I did, and y’all shouldn’t be neither.” When the guest list came out for the ceremony, his name was not on it.
I don’t really have anything smart to say about this. I feel it pretty much speaks for itself.
And this is how they support the troops?
Sort of similar to not allowing the pictures of returning caskets to be taken. Wouldn’t want anyone to see the real costs of war.
He was awarded a Purple Heart but had no underwear.
Priorities.
Gawd forbid the pResident and the American public be confronted with the reality of a tour in Iraq…
when you have a government run by campassionately challenged individuals who are supported by rationally challenged wingnuts and who have the monetary support of those addicted to gelt, this is what you get!
After reading the two Post articles about the treatment of the returning wounded war “heros” the president likes to talk about treating so well at Walter Reed, I am again ashamed of my country. How could they have let things get so bad and not taken great pains to clear up the records problems and give these people the help they deserve.
How dare they treat the troops like this? They send those who have been suffering from mental problems to the rat and roach infested building on the Walter Reed campus, Building 18, if I recall correctly. As if they did not have enough to deal with. The whole system is so incredibly screwed up.
I have two things to say:
Investigate this, Congress! Do something!
Booman-
Your link points to the last page of the story. Just thought you might like to know.