Yes, Thank God, over the next 1 to 2 years, our soldiers in Iraq will slowly, but surely Come Marching Home. Over 100,000 troops will be coming home to stay.
But what will they be coming home to? Rampant unemployment, homelessness, divorce, and general neglect. Many will come back with physical impairments and/or mental impairments (e.g.,PTSD) which will enhance the difficulties they will face as they try to re-integrate into civilian society. So I’ve decided to start a series of what I will call "WJJCMH diaries" to highlight some of our returning troops who need and deserve our assistance (not necessarily financial assistance). I hope you will join me after the jump /\ where I will go into more detail, but if not, please at least take a look at USATOGETHER, a fabulous site which helps unite people who want to help our troops with individual soldiers who need our help.
Before I get started on the returning Iraq II war veterans, I would like to recap a little history on the plight of returning veterans from some of our other previous wars (or conflicts if one wants to be accurate about what some of these were called). Most of us have read our history books about the two World Wars and how the returning troops were exalted and treated with victory parades and hometown celebrations. They were treated as heros who saved Europe, and by extension the U.S. from German tyranny. There was even a song sung during WWI & II that was written during our Civil War to commemorate the triumphant return of our troops entitled "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" which I have used to title this diary series with a little adjustment for our female troops (WJJCMH). While this tune was often used to pay tribute to our troops returning home from the World Wars, as we all know, Iraq II has little in common with WWI or WWII in terms of support of the general populous at home.
No, Iraq II is more like another war in terms of the degree of U.S. support at home. That being the Vietnam War (Conflict), which is the first one in my living memory. We all know that both wars were opposed by a large majority of Americans on the basis that they were viewed as "unnecessary wars" with large costs in U.S. lives with little if any discernable benefit to the country. But in the case of Vietnam, many of us here at home improperly confused our hatred of the war with the troops who were sent to fight it. We equally condemned our government and our troops for the war, and the fact that these men (boys) were drafted and had no choice but to go and fight in Vietman, never seemed to enter into the equation. The stink of Mia Li massacre, which was undertaken by a small band of soldiers weary of the whole conflict but nonetheless guilty of this terrible crime, seemed to waft over the entire force, tainting each returning soldier. So when they returned to the States, they were greeted not as heros, but at best they were ignored and at worst they were spat upon. Although the end of the Vietnam War occurred early in my progressive (in those days "liberal") life, I recall being appalled at the way our side was treating our returning troops. I couldn’t understand why some felt it that you could not oppose the war and support the troops at the same time.
But, that was then and this is now, and fortunately no one will be spitting the troops returning from Iraq II. But will anyone be helping them as they return, or after all our work to get them home, will we simply ignore them as they return? That is my concern and my motivation in this diary series which is meant to draw attention to the plight of our men and women returning from Iraq. Sure the Government will help many through the Office of Veterans Affairs, especially under an Obama administration. And Michelle Obama has made helping Iraq II veterans and their families her priority, but she can’t do it alone.
Many will need a job, especially those in the national guard and reserve who will immediately be thrust back into civilian life. Finding a job as a returning vet. is difficult enough during good times, but I shouldn’t have to tell you how extremely difficult, to borderline impossible it will be in this crappy economy. Many will need housing, having either lost their home to the mortgage mess while they were away or simply having to seek an apartment to rent for the first time on limited, if any income. Many will need continued medical care and home assistance for physical wounds. While the VA does a good job in this respect with regard to wheel chairs, prosthetics, and general medical care, these disabled troop are still in need of day to day living assistance. Many will need psychological care for PTSD and other mental problems caused by the tragedies of war that they have witnessed and only they can understand. Many will need emotional support for the loss of a loved one while they were gone, or a marriage that ended under the strain of long deployments. Finally, all of our returning vets. need and deserve a friendly hand shake, a warm smile, a thoughtful hug, and a simple "Welcome Home" as you pass them on the street.
So I am asking the DailyKos family to not forget our troops as they return. If you know or indirectly know a returning soldier in your home town or on your city block, reach out to him/her. Call them or send an E-mail to them or their family. Find out what their needs are, and offer whatever assistance you can, even if its simply to help point the in the right direction towards where they can find what they need. Even if you do not know them personally, get involved with community activities to welcome them home. They need to know we care about them and appreciate what they have sacrificed.
Another way you can help is to visit the web site USATOGETHER that I mentioned above the fold. It is a private citizen based site that attempts to unite injured vets. who have specific needs for goods and/or financial assistance, with those of us who have and our willing to provide such assistance. The founder of this site was featured in an NPR news broadcast I heard, so I have to believe it is a legitimate not-for-profit organization. Although some soldiers are in need of a little financial support for their families, others are looking for new or used goods like a washer or a baby’s crib, which you may simply trying to get rid of anyway. There are also a number of other similar sites set up to help our troops which you can check out through the USATOGETHER site or by going directly to sites like SOLDIERS ANGELS, Heroes To Hometowns, or Military Connection.
The men and women returning from Iraq and their families have given so much for us, I would hope that there are at least some people out there in DailyKos land that can help them or at least provide a welcome home greeting to a returning vet. in their community or around the city block.
I will try to run a WJJCMH diary once a week, each week highlighting a returning vet. in need, so you can consider this to be the first of the series. However, I am not looking to steal the thunder from the marvelous IGTNT diary series which serves an appropriate tribute to soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us and helps us provide some comfort to their families. Nor, do I in any way wish to demean the IGTNT series by doing something similar. I would hope the IGTNT diarists would take this imitation as the sincerest form of flattery, as it is intended to be. I would also offer other diarists to run WJJCMH diaries, especially if you know a returning Iraq vet. that needs our help. The more, the better as far as I’m concerned, since the idea is to highlight the plight of these returning soldiers so they are not forgotten.
Now for my Iraq Vet of the Week!
He is Iraq II Veteran:
Name : Steven Brockman
Service Branch: Army
Rank: E-4
Current Address: 7635 Lankershim Blvd. Apt. #33
North Hollywood, Ca. 91605
E-mail: stevenbrockman24@yahoo.com
Now I thought about telling you about Steven myself, but after I read it, I realized it would be better just to let Steven tell you himself. So here it is, and unfortunately I fear it might be typical of the stories we hear from our returning Vets. in the weeks and months to come:
I was born in Tallahassee, Florida and after learning about my grandfather‘s military experience I developed an interest in serving. In high school, I was part of the JROTC program for 3 years where I learned the basic skills needed to be a soldier. I enlisted into the United States Army a year after I graduated and served for 4.5 years. During this time, I was serving in the 536th Maintenance Company as a Special Electronics Devices Repairer in Hawaii, where I deployed to Iraq for six months in efforts to support the War on Terrorism. While deployed, I witnessed a bombing within our motor pool where three soldiers where badly injured and burned. I was medically discharged for PTSD and rated at 50% by the Veteran Affairs in August of 2007. Also, I have chronic back pains from carrying the heavy gear required in combat, and ear and jaw aches from exposure to the loud noises caused by IED‘s (Improvised Exploding Devices). Since my discharge, I have worked one job. I had to resign due to insufficient funds. I couldn't afford to pay for gas. Since then, I have been unemployed with no success in securing another job. My family has faced several notices of eviction and utility termination. Thankfully, we have survived. But there seems to be no end to this cycle. Each month, we’re struggling to survive. For this reason, we have decided to relocate to my home town as soon as possible. I am confident that upon returning I will once again have family support, more job opportunities, and overall stability for my wife , our 2 year old daughter, and for our second baby whom we are expecting to welcome into this world on August 25, 2009. Most of all, I just want the opportunity to get stable so that I can once again give back to my country.
Steven’s Request:
Steven is looking for job leads in his hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, where he is moving his family next month. He has skills in the following fields:
Security
Time Management
Customer Service
Carpet Cleaning
Clerical
Data Entry
Postal Operations
If you can help Steven, or know someone who can, please visit USATOGETHER and give him some job tips, especially if you know of some in the Tallahassee area [Great picture of Steven and his lovely family on USATOGETHER]. Even if you don’t have any job leads to offer, send Steven an E-mail (stevenbrockman24@yahoo.com) to let him know we appreciate his service to our country.
Thanks for reading this diary. Even if it does not make the Rec. list, which it won’t, I hope it stays up long enough to result in help for our returning Iraq II Veterans.