I am posting this as a favor for a Georgia-based activist whose focus is on actually supporting the troops. She has been outraged by the story that follows and I share this: it's absolutley unacceptable.
The story involves a young man who lived not 10 miles from the activist who posted this at Smirking Chimp where I first read it. I asked her if it would be ok to post this at Daily Kos because it is, again, simply outrageous.I feel it deserves more attention than it seems to have recieved so far.
The story comes with it's own website -
soldiersplea.com - and what follows is excerpted from it, but edited by me for enhanced impact. It has been written by the soldier's sister.
I would like to ask for some recommendations for this so that the story - the issue - gets "catapulted" as far into the mainstream media as it can get.
Please click on the link and visit the site and show some support that way, too. And by all means, if this is not outrageous, please let us know.
Paul's Story
On August 15th, 2005, my brother, Sgt. Paul A. Saylor of the 48th Brigade, 108th Scout Division lost his life while fighting for our country in Iraq. A HUMVEE he was in accidentally rolled off the road and fell down an embankment into a canal. He was knocked unconscious and drowned. Paul was 21. He was, is, and always will be a hero like every other soldier fighting for America.
Upon his return home my family was told that my brother's body would not be viewable. We were told he was non-viewable due to injuries sustained from the accident. This was not true. We asked our funeral director to open Paul's casket and see if there was any way we could view him to say our last goodbyes.
He notified us that there was no way he could repair or cover the damage done to Paul due to neglect and no refrigeration. Paul was non-viewable not because of injuries he sustained, but because our United States Army failed to care for his body. There have been recent instances in which the Army has failed to give our fallen heroes the honor they deserve in arriving at their final resting place, such as not having proper military escorts at airports, but this goes much deeper. In truth, upon his death my brother's body was left to rot like a dead animal on the side of the road.
My family has talked and met with Army officials many times. At the formal investigation meetings, despite the fact that our questions on the treatment of Paul's body were made known prior to each meeting, the Army representatives failed to even acknowledge the question as to why a fallen hero's body would come back in such stages of decomposition as to be unrecognizable after such a short period of time (3 days). The Army continues to investigate why my brother returned home in such deplorable condition. My brother, a hero, was neglected by the very institution he served.
Again, please click on the link and go read the rest of the story at the website.
The DoD gets uncountable sums of money to wage an illegal war but it can't spare a pittance to provide dignified care for our fallen soldiers? Simple refrigeration?
Please spread this story around as well. If it's happened once, it will happen uncountable times until pressure is brought to bear on those who can stop it.
Thank you in advance.
Respectfully,
Doc.