WP, pg1: Wounded Soldiers Are Adapting to Altered Lives

[DeepModem Mom]

Wounded Soldiers Are Adapting to Altered Lives

By Timothy Dwyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 11, 2004; Page A01

Archie Staley sat on a silver stool in a small office in the depths of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and stared straight into the eyes of Vince A. Przybyla Jr.

Staley is 20 years old, a U.S. Army tank driver with a quick wit and an accent lush with the tones of the mountains of western North Carolina, where he grew up. Staley was nearly killed when a mortar round exploded and blew him 15 feet into the air on a roadside north of Baghdad on Easter Sunday. He lost his left eye and his face was crushed, burned and scarred by shrapnel, which also pierced his neck, cutting his carotid artery.

Every war has its toll, measured in stark numbers representing those who are killed and wounded. But the numbers don't show the emotional toll of war, the impact each death has on families and the life changes forced on those who suddenly find themselves without a leg to walk on, a hand to button a shirt or lace a shoe, or a lung to catch a breath. Depression is common among recovering soldiers, and it often turns to frustration as they face the task of figuring out what they are going to do with the rest of their lives because plans changed in the time it took for a mortar round to explode.

Families of the 750 U.S. soldiers who have died in action in Iraq and Afghanistan have buried their loved ones and then faced life without them. But for the 6,113 soldiers wounded in the war on terrorism, the issues are even more fundamental. For many of them, Washington and its military hospitals are the first stop in the journey to the rest of their lives -- a place to heal their wounds, replace lost limbs and plan their futures....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54883-2004Aug10.html

[phiddle]

1. 750 who have died?

I thought that we are now above 900.

[zanana]

2. I wonder how strong the denial is.

If I were a vet who returned home from Iraq with part of my body gone, (or my mind), I think it would be practically impossible for me to admit that it was all in vain. Whenever I see grieving military spouses or parents, I think the same thing--will it ever be possible for them to consider that their loved one died for a lie? I think that people who've been affected that way just have to cling to a belief that it wasn't all for nothing, because that's all they've got. I know this is a little off-topic, but when I hear about Vietnam vets spewing hatred toward John Kerry, it's the only conclusion I can come to.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. "How do you ask a soldier to be the last person to die for a lie?"

From John Kerry's testimony, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1971. And how does a family accept that a loved one gave his or her life for a lie?

[KoKo]

7. Vietnam soldiers thought they were fighting against Communism, which

was the "mantra" of the Cold War. These soldiers were fighting for WMD that have not been found, which has morphed into Liberation.

I think there's a difference between the two wars and what the soldiers were told or believed. If they had found the WMD or the Iraqi's had thrown flower petals instead of bombs, maybe they would feel it was justified. But with no evidence that Saddam was Osama, at some point the ugly reality of the lie will hit. :shrug:

Anyway, I think those anti-Kerry Vets may really believe that they helped win the "Cold War" even though we finally got the hell out of the jungles of Vietnam with terrible loss of life, a huge debt which hurt our average working folks for decades, and the country in the end stayed Communist. It was easier to justify in some minds. :eyes:

[gratuitous]

4. 750 dead?

How far behind the times is the Washington Post? There's well over 1,000 dead from Iraq and Afghanistan, and whether they got their ticket punched by undeniably hostile fire or for some other reason is immaterial to the grieving families.

I'd sure like to see a list of those 250 war dead that the Post doesn't deem worthy of being counted, and their explanation for it if they have one.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. They say "died in action" -- I suppose on the "field"? Number should not

be limited in this way, if that is what is being done.

[KoKo]

6. This article deals with those who have "adapted." What about those who

haven't and never will. It seemed a puff piece. I'm sure these soldiers are still in the "rush of just being glad to be alive." But, when they start to question, then I wonder about the "adjustment." :shrug:

[Gingersnapsback]

8. The number is probably the total for Afghanistan, not including Iraq

Has anyone heard that number isolated? We know the opposition isn't counted at all. Can someone go figure?:shrug:

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

9. 10% disability for losing a lung????

I know Vietnam vets who received 10% disability for losing a little hearing from the helo rotorblades.

Ten percent disability won't even qualify this guy for concurrent receipt!

That makes me sick that the Bushies are nickel and diming these guys.

[saigon68]

10. It's Disgusting and done to spend more $$$$$ At Halliburton

" Garcon --Pass the Champagne ", quipped President Cheney.