Walter Reed Army Medical Center - Home of Warrior Care

[LiberalLoner]

And you can tell it is indeed The Home of Warrior Care by the superabundance of soldiers walking around its halls on prosthetic legs.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Don't blame the folks at Walter Reed for that. nt

[LiberalLoner]

2. Hey, I'm not. Got excellent care at WRAMC since 1968, off and on....

Just making a wry observation about the overwhelming numbers of vets who have made a sacrifice we never hear about on the news and it seems people never think about.

And yeah, every time I go there and see the soldiers missing limbs, I feel fucking guilty as hell because I went through Desert Storm with nary a scratch. Why them and not me?

It feels like we have been at war forever now. And I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel either.

But hell, I'm an Army wife, former soldier myself, so let me wave the flag and be all smiles and play the role like I'm supposed to.

[Captain Hilts]

3. I donated platelets at WRAMC just last week. Yes, it's a heartbreaker.

Yes, it's a mindfuck.

At Bethesda Naval also.

[LiberalLoner]

4. Thanks for listening and replying. Hard to take sometimes. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

5. If you haven't been there, you can't 'get' it.

I did some volunteer work at Bethesda Naval. Talked to parents sleeping on the floor in the hallways telling me how their son had just sat up for the first time in six months. Another was shot in the head, fell off a two story building and was pretty much a vegetable. His parents come to the hospital - they hadn't seen each other in 15+ years since their divorce - and there they are. Another Marine who had been in Bethesda for a year recovering from losing a leg, about to go to WRAMC to learn to use a fake leg being pushed in his wheelchair by his mother. She looks at me and says "His brother is heading to Iraq in two weeks." The Marine - also being pushed in his wheelchair by his mother - who took a bullet to the face.

The esprit de corps of these folks is amazing. They're seriously wounded and feeling guilty about not being with their units. It's tough to deal with.

And, if you don't wonder whether it's worth it, you're not human.

Keep feeling.

[LiberalLoner]

6. Profound. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

7. You and I are just observant. That's more than most folks bring

to these situations and debates.