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  1. After reading this tragic story, I am even more sickened that this Obama administration plans to let 5 MILLION more illegals stay here in this country when our own service men and women are in a horrible situation of not being given proper care when returning home after serving our country. We need to take care of our own first and securing our own borders should be paramount in the step to better care for our own citizens, especially American Vets.
    Wonderful post.

  2. We must do better. For not only regular armed forces, but our National Guard as well. People who denigrate the National Guard, as part time or not real soldiers have no idea what our Guard troops face. In Idaho our National Guard was formed to go fight the Spanish American War, and the Guard has been called up in every war since. The government now is relying more and more on the Guard, as combat troops, but they aren't getting the services they need when they come home. The economy is bad, jobs are scarce, and our troops come home to an apathetic public. Things need to change.

  3. Belinda's comments above are excellent. We should be embarrassed by how our Vets are treated, but the answer is so complicated. When my Dad and others returned from WW II, because of the times, and how men responded to any crisis, little to nothing was talked about. I lived through Vietnam and it, too, isn't simply a right or wrong answer. Again, the times were reflected in how EVERYONE acted and reacted. Then we had the more recent wars. We went in totally unprepared for what we thought was going to be a simple "Shock and Awe" extravaganza and were dealt a horrific blow. A war that lasts more than a decade has repercussions which we never anticipated and we are experiencing that blow-back now in these totally shocking stories of how Vets are treated. We sent them off to war and didn't plan for the after-war in the 21st century to help them re-enter into society. The world, the technology, the terrorist complexities are all new and we are trying to deal with things the same way we did following WW II. The answers are complex and sadly aren't coming fast enough to combat the horrors of these recent wars.

  4. This just makes me want to cry! Not only are we failing to give any help to veterans, the medical help we have for the mentally ill is often failing. Case in point–Robin Williams had the best help he could find and had more than one anti depressants in his system when he killed himself. One of the warnings on anti depressants is—-suicide.

  5. This entire situation is so very sad to me but unfortunately it is not as simple as we would all like for it to be. Being the wife of a USAF veteran who served for 12 years and now is 90% disabled after his service I have seen up front and center what he has had to face. I've also had to deal with the VA. I am not one who will sit here and say the system is perfect by any means, were it perfect we wouldn't have these that are falling through the cracks and taking their own lives.

    But I will say that it is my humble opinion that it is not only the fault of the VA – it is not that simple. I will also add that my husband being disabled has received tremendous care from the VA, their staff and doctors in TX and in AR for many years. Perfect? Absolutely not but is the care received in a public hospital perfect?

    As many here have said the healthcare system in this country is broken to begin with. When a soldier serves in the military regardless of whether he served in combat or not he is given benefits for the time that he served. For many of these young men and women coming home from war today they have only served one tour of duty and many of them have not retired from the military, they have chosen to get out of the military because of their experiences.

    When a soldier gets out of the military without retirement benefits are limited just as they would be in the private sector. Anyone who has served in the military can receive medical care at the VA hospital in an emergency situation. Otherwise they are given medical care at the facility based on their injuries or illnesses that were caused while in service in the military. I'm not saying this is the way it should be I'm only saying that this is how the system is set up.

    A soldier is also rated on disability based on the injuries he received while in service. Yes the claim system takes a long time for there are many veterans filing claims each day. Personnel cannot keep up with the claims and therefore the time is long to wait for a ruling on the claim.

    As most coming back from the Middle East today are certain to have PTSD YES claims should be expedited but again it's just not that simple. But let me add that expedited claims has been put in place in recent months for these soldiers.

    I've also experienced mental health issues myself, with my son and my husband. I know how pressing it can be to seek immediate care.

    My only point in all of this is it's not solely the fault of our government, our military, and the VA. When it comes right down to it every situation is different. Blame can be laid on many different people, organizations, situations, etc. I personally believe that the beginning of change for these young men and women is the public healthcare system. The system they have to use while the process is being gone through for the care they deserve from the VA. We all know our healthcare system in American is broken whether everyone wants to admit it or not. That is where the change needs to begin IMO.

    Thank you for this post Brenda. God bless these soldiers and their families. May we all take a stand where it is needed to make the changes happen.

  6. It is so sad . Go back to Viet Nam. Remember how those soldiers were treated when they came home. I am surprised how many tours some soldiers have. My son had two tours in the Middle East……each a year. Too long. When he came home he struggled. Just being out in the public, he would always be on alert. He was one of the ones that could move on. But in his current job, he is reminded of the past. We need to support these soldiers that come bsck wounded but physically and mentally. Their families go through so much as well. They also need support. Thanks for bringing this to the surface.

  7. Brenda, this is such an important topic to share. Frankly, those percentages on that chart for the numbers of veterans who experience PTSD seems low to me! Thanks for doing a great service by reminding people of this situation.

  8. Thank you Brenda for a beautiful and informative post..
    I do appreciate these parents up there fighting for those who are still alive and suffering through similar pain as the children they lost..
    It wont be enough to change things.. Their words will be heard by Few and acted on by Fewer.. I am not a pessimist but I am a realist.. Until the masses take time out of their cushy lives, gather together, and scream till all the world hears and it becomes so embarrassing to our government– there will be no change.

    We are always so busy spending money and resources and energy that would best be spent warring against the injustices and inequality we face right here in our own country. We must find a way to Gather and Revolt inn numbers that could not be ignored~~~!!! For a country who constantly TALKS religion and being under GOD, we show very littlle LOVE, COMPASSION and Kindness to each other, which was supposed to be the Greatest Teaching. Its spoken a lot but rarely shown.. Actions speak louder than words~! and we have far too many words and far too little action.

  9. I too am surprised at how few comments there are on this post. I don't get your updates until the next day, but I know most of your readers get them the minute they're published.

    There are so many things that are broken in this country. Health care in general, and the care of our veterans, are at the top of this list. It sounds like through the advocacy of these parents strides are being made. At least let's hope so.

  10. Brenda, this is so sad…so outrageous! Id love to share it on facebook for more people to see but I dont know how. Im going to try something..

  11. Yes, it is sad at the lack of comments regarding this article. Maybe, it is because of apathy or maybe it is because of ignorance of the issues. I am the wife of a veteran who served two tours in Vietnam. I am the aunt of a nephew who died in Afghanistan. I certainly understand why we are where we are concerning our veterans and their families. We all have a voice, as these parents did, and we all have opportunities to use those voices to be heard. But first, we have to care enough to use those voices. Maybe that is the problem. Brenda, thank you for caring.

    Take care.
    Emily

  12. It is inexcusable how we are treating our returning vets. We spend billions of dollars sending them into war and then refuse to take care of them when they return. I am ashamed of our country. My father was a WWII vet, a prisoner of war. I know now that he had PTSD when he returned. Taking care of our vets should be at the top of our priorities list. xo Laura

  13. Sad at the lack of comments here regarding this article. And sad at the general apathy overall in our country regarding our vets. They fight for our lives, but we can't be bothered to fight for theirs once they return home. Sad. Very sad. Thank you so much, Brenda, for sharing this with us.

  14. Brenda, Thank you so much for sharing this. My heart aches for these men and their families. God Bless our Military/Veterans Dawn

  15. Brenda this is a much needed post! I too am distressed at the lack of mental health services available in our country and especially for the men and women who put their lives on the line for us. They deserve so much more and the suicide rates show this. How tragic for the veterans, the families and us as a country! I'm going to post a link to this on my FB page! Great information that needs to be shared.
    hugs,
    Linda

  16. My son has lost several comrades to suicide since they came back from Iraq

    He and his brigade had casualties over there to get over and then when they came home there were more.
    Maybe a lot of it has to do with the support system you had when going and returning. I know that there are things that he never told me that I found out from others that he went through…/ for instance they took care of the vehicles. So when a friend was blown up in one, they had to clean it / perform maintenance on it afterwards. Enough said. 🙁

  17. We treat those in our country illegally, 100% better than we treat our Veterans. What a horrible tragedy. This is unacceptable, when are we (as a country) going to change this?

  18. OMG, Brenda. How very, very horrible. What a terrible end to a person's life-to be ignored and treated as unimportant when they were there protecting the freedom of all of us…including those that treat them. It makes my heart ache. xo Diana

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