A tale of two wounded veterans

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

Reading Rep. Murtha's speech and about his visiting wounded vets reminded me of an incident that happened during the Civil War.

Lincoln was in a carriage on his way to the Soldier's Home, where he stayed in the hot summer months. Suddenly, a soldier in blue walked in front of the carriage, which was stopped with difficulty. Lincoln wondered why this had happened, and found that the young man, a private, had been blinded in a battle. He was so young, and his prospects so dire, that Lincoln immediately commissioned him a second lieutenant and put him on full pension, so he would be able to support himself the rest of his life.

A young man comes back from Iraq blind and missing a foot, and instead of having the president do anything, bill collectors are hounding him.


Somehow I picture Lincoln spinning in his grave.....

[the observationist]

1. Re: helping the sacrificial lambs

If Bush wants to kill people he should at least take care of them if they make it home. How thick does the inconsistencies have to be before the moderate repugs figure out that their president is a sham?

[ClayZ]

2. I met a soldier....

I was walking down a crowded market street in Seattle. I saw a man on crutches coming my way. He had only one leg. He was dressed in army fatigues, Viet Nam era. The pantleg for his missing leg was cut off and pinned with safety pins. He was struggling with a book and several other papers. He lost his balance right in front of me and fell to the cobblestone street. I helped gather his papers as he hoisted himself back to his crutches. He was unkempt and probably had not had a bath in months. His uniform was filthy. He still had his dog tags and I remember them clanging. He thanked me and wanted to read the top paper in his stack to me, so I listened. It was written in various colors with pencils which were visible in his pocket. It said, "Perhaps if I had had these colored pencils, when I left a note on the napkin for the waitress at Denny's, she would have married me."


I hate war!