The Redhunter

John - he had both his legs, but the lower half of one was terribly swolen and was surrounded by one of those cage contraptions. It all looked like something out of a movie. "Shrapnel from an IED", he explained. "But you know, they(the press) don't publish the good things that we're doing."

Larry - is missing both of his arms above the elbows. He has a prosthetic for each, and is pretty adept at using them. I haven't spoken with him yet, my excuse is that there hasn't been an opportunity but in reality I've been stalling. You see, he looks so terribly young, and he has a wife and child.

Doug - looked fine, but was obviously a patient there. He explained that he had a back injury, two ruptured disks. I don't remember the full story, but he and some other soldiers were in a crowd situation, and an Iraqi who he described as "a terrorist" came up behind him. He twisted his body and hit the guy with his rifle butt. With all that momentum, his body armor and gear kept twisting after he had stopped, and the effect he said was to damage his back. He said it didn't bother him much at the time, but after awhile he realized something was seriously wrong with his back. The last time I saw him his leg was shaking uncontrolbly, something about nerve damage, he explained.

Kahn - is an Afghan national. He looks 55, but is probably 40. He is an interpreter for the US Army. He told us a wild story about how he was in some Afghan city with some of our Special Forces guys, and they were attacked by terrorists. Some of our guys were wounded, as was Kahn. Nevertheless, he threw our soldiers into his vehicle and sped them back to base so they could all be treated. We couldn't win without guys like him.

Bill - had no obvious wounds. Big strapping guy, the type you want on your side when things get rough. "Heart attack", he explained. "Can you believe it? I'm only 35. They say it was stress."

Mary - he son might lose his leg. "He was hit with one of our own guns" she explained. "One of the big ones, bigger than the M-60." "A .50 cal?" I suggested. "Yes, that's it", she said. I cringed inwardly. She didn't express any bitterness or resentment about it, and in fact offered to take me on a tour of the facility, to some places I hadn't seen yet. I took her up on it.

Misha - didn't speak much English. He is from Ukraine (or some similar country). Wheelchair bound, he had both his legs but they're pretty bashed up. From what we can tell, he was in a convoy when it was ambushed. We're not sure, but he may have been the only survivor.

Hank - is from Illinois, and comes ever few weeks to see his son, who is a soldier in the hospital. "Damn Army review boards! They should have had him out of here months ago. We wouldn't have to put up with this back home." Every now and then I hear similar gripes from a parent. Like anything else, it's impossible to know the truth of the matter unless you hear both sides. All I can do is nod sympathetically.

Dave - is lively and likes the stuffed animals that we bring for the kids. He always makes jokes and livens things up. He was there for blood clots in his legs. Not directly related to combat, he said, but it laid him up nonetheless.

Joe - was in a wheelchair, missing both his legs above the knee. But something was wrong; he was at least 55 years old and had hair longer than any soldier. We asked how he came to be there. "Vietnam vet", he explained. "I'm in go get new legs. They're making them much better now than they used to." He told us all about how he was wounded in Vietnam. He also told us that he tried to be a mentor to the soldiers at the hospital. "I take them out on kayaking trips, we play basketball, things like that. I show them that just because you've lost something doesn't mean you can't lead a full life." Wow. We asked if he'd run into any war protesters when he got back from 'Nam. "No", he said, "When I got back I enrolled at the University of Arizona and I guess there weren't many of them down there. But if I had I would have given them a piece of my mind."

I tell you all these things not to tout my experiences, or what I do, but because I think their stories need to be told. I also hope that this encourages you to take action to help them out yourself. There may not be a VA hospital where you live, but though the magic of the Internet there are many organizations dedicated to helping our brave men and women.

Maybe you are already taking action, so this does not apply to you. But if not, read on.

There are dozens, hundreds, I suppose, of organizations dedicated to helping the troops. One in which I participate is Adopt-a-Platoon. Despite the name, no you don't have to adopt an entire platoon of soldiers or marines. They have many different levels of participation, so you can choose the one that suits you. I chose the individual soldier support level, so once a week I write a letter, and into the envelope I stuff the comics, sports section, or some editorial for them to read. Occasionally I hear back, but not often.

So do what you can, but I encourage everyone to do something.