As you all know, the Pentagon is hiding the whole story of the Iraq War
casualties. While we periodically hear stories about the dead we rarely hear stories about the wounded and the impact on their families when they return. I heard one such story through my husband who worked with a graduate student whose ex-husband was wounded in the Iraq War. Here's an abbreviated version of what I was told...
Ann (not her real name) was married to her first husband shortly after she graduated from college. This was in right before the first Gulf War. Her new husband had been in ROTC in order to help pay for college and therefore, went immediately into the army after graduation.
He was sent to the Gulf (Gulf War I) to participate in the attack against Iraqi forces where he was killed early in the war. Ann had worked on the base where her husband had been stationed and met another soldier who was a career man. They eventually married.
Ann and her second husband had two children, and then things went sour in their relationship. They divorced and he remarried.
Fast forward: Second Gulf War. Ann's ex was sent to the Gulf as part of the invasion force. He was severely wounded in the first month of the war. Ann was called one evening and asked if she would assist his present wife with paper work at the hospital so he could be released.
When Ann arrived at the hospital she discovered that her ex had lost both of his legs but no one would speak about the incident so she never found out exactly what happened. Anyway, this soldier's present wife informed Ann that she could not deal with a cripple and was leaving her husband and then, vanished.
Abandoned, he asked Ann if he could come live with her. She said yes. When they arrived back at her home his behavior was erratic which frightened her children. He also destroyed some of her belongings. I won't go into details except to say he made her life unbearable. In the end, Ann decided to "send him packing" to his parents in another state.
So, here we had a healthy athletic independent accomplished young man before Bush's war. Now, he not only lost his legs, but his career and his marriage as well. His behavior has alienated his children. He's obviously very angry and probably suffering from PTSD. He may eventually come to terms with all that has happened, but the injuries are permanent. And, this didn't have to happen because this was a fraudulent war brought about by unethical people who don't give a rat's ass about this young soldier's life.
There are thousands of stories of the wounded that are not being told. Just remember, for every soldier that is killed, at least six are wounded. Many are severely wounded. Some are blinded; others are brain damaged, severely burned or like this man, lost a limb or limbs. The toll of this war is far greater than we are led to believe. And we will be paying for this war is so many ways for generations to come.
