To Care For Him Who Shall Have Borne the Battle

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865

I read several local stories over the last few months about a young soldier from the area who was paralyzed in a tank accident in Iraq. His crewmates were killed and he sustained a neck fracture. In medical speak it is called a "hangman's fracture". The results are paralysis from the neck down. The condition, sadly, is permanent. He breathes using a ventilator. He is 23 years old.

He survived an injury that in earlier wars would have been fatal. He is now home with family and fighting yet another war - this time with the very government that sent him to Iraq in the first place. And sadly, he is joined in his fight with combat vets from other wars - with very poor results.

It seems that even as our President ordered young men and women into combat, he cut veterans benefits. The system, stressed from caring from vets of other generations, will be sorely tested as more vets with severe physical and psychological injuries return home.

This young man was awarded full disability pay from the VA. And where the sum awarded sounds adequate, it is less than the cost to care for him...according to the VA's own figures (and they are based on numbers last examined in 1998). So who cares for him to keep the costs down? His family, of course. President Lincoln, at least, seemed to realize that when our soldiers are tasked to fight in service to the country, our nation must take care of those who survive and for those who are left behind.

The full story can be found here: http://www.suntimes.com/special_sections/veterans/cst-nws-wvets03.html

For information on the cost of caring for a wounded soldier, according to the VA, click here: http://www.herc.research.med.va.gov/Slides/HERC_course_11-3-00.ppt