| Inspiration | Aspiration | Motivation | Implementation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mentoring Identifies Hope |
Dreams to Goals to Reality |
Personal Coaches: Action Plan |
Infrastructure: Money plus Contacts |
A Third Infantry Division (M) soldier in a fighting position on the perimeter of the Division Main in central Iraq on March 30, 2003.
CAMP RIPPER, Kuwait - A chaplin with the 7th Marine Regiment baptizes a Marine at the Camp Ripper Chapel Feb. 23 during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Thousands of veterans of the War on Terror are returning home suffering from debilitating physical and emotional trauma. Once released from the hospital, they are virtually being abandoned. They are struggling to integrate back into society, or fighting just to survive.
They defended us. Who will help them?
For the first three months of 2005, one in five young male veterans of the War on Terror was unemployed in America. This is a staggering 20% unemployment rate.
For those who were seriously wounded in the line of duty, the figure is much higher.
According to the Amputee Coalition of America, there are more than one million people in the U.S. who had suffered some sort of amputation. Many of these are among America's finest heroes – military personnel and others. Every day in Iraq alone, it is estimated that two or three soldiers suffer the loss of a limb in the line of duty while serving their country.
These injured men and women fill beds that spill into the corridors of hospitals from Washington to San Francisco. After being treated and released, they are left to wonder what the rest of their lives will bring. Will they be confined to surviving on minimal government assistance, or can they and dare they wish for more?
Many have lost their families. The stress and strain of trying to rebuild a life after experiencing the horror of war and, in many cases, suffering debilitating physical or mental injury, is too much for these warriors and their loved ones.
Others have become homeless after being released because they couldn't find work or were inadequately equipped to readjust to civilian life. Their physical wounds were treated but their emotional wounds were left gaping.
Help us rekindle their hopes and reclaim their dream!
The stories of these finest heroes, once full of hope and optimism but now reduced to mere survival, are many. All are tragic. Their dreams are dim memories. Their hopes are fading embers in the face of despair and desertion.
These wounded men and women are mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers just like all of us.
Last year, Army Staff Sgt. Maurice Craft lost his left leg to a bomb that exploded while he was on patrol in Iraq. Months later, receiving care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he was fitted with a prosthetic leg. While this father of two stated that his first steps "felt so good," he also realizes that this is only the beginning to a very different life. "It's a real challenge," stated Craft. "I don't know how much I can take. Sometimes I just lay in my bed and cry."
John Ramsey, was also badly injured in Iraq. He tore the rotator cuffs in both of his shoulders and the nerves in his elbows, and the carpel tunnels in his hands collapsed. Though medically discharged, he couldn't immediately return to his civilian job and went six months without receiving a paycheck.
Joseph Alcala was a member of a Navy Seabees construction battalion deployed to Iraq. Alcala says he relives the war every night in his nightmares, and looks over his shoulder uneasily in public places. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and is going through counseling. "We lost seven Seabees in less than a day and a half," he recalls. "The most trauma was picking up 34 brothers who had been injured."
Our government can provide the personal, hands-on care these heroes need!
These heroes may receive excellent front line medical care. But what happens to them after they leave the hospitals? Too often, once these walking wounded return home, they are faced with ongoing medical and mental health issues. While medical service is made available, it is often far from home.
There are some benefits available to these warriors, but they need our help to get back on track. Our government can't do it all. Every American has a responsibility to help our wounded heroes in every way we can.
When Kyle Repp returned to his 1-800-Got-Junk franchise after serving with his hospital unit in Iraq for more than a year, he struggled. Although the Small Business Administration offers loans, Repp says he didn't want to put himself further into debt. Instead, he worked 18 to 20 hours a day. "This month, I will turn a profit for the first time and will pay some of my own bills," he says.
Stephen Robinson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Gulf War Resource Center Inc., believes the problem of returning veterans has far-reaching implications. "If you don't invest upfront, we'll have 35 years of demand for services over the lifetime of these veterans because we didn't help reintegrate them into society."
We think it is time to stand up and take action on behalf of these heroes just as they stood up for us when their country called on them.
We're reaching out to all Americans to help:
You can help right now!
Give Money! You can donate money. Whether you are able to contribute five or five thousand dollars, we need your help to help our heroes. Every dollar counts. Click here to donate money!
Give Scholarships! You can give scholarships. If you work at a college or university, talk to your leadership about providing full scholarships. If you are a graduate of a college or university, contact your alumni association and get them involved. Click here to donate scholarships!
Give Jobs! You can give jobs. Are there positions in your company that you would like to make available to these heroes? Let us know and we will match up qualified candidates. Click here to donate jobs!
Please help.
When they were asked, these worthy warriors stepped forward for all of us. Now it's our turn to help them get their dream!
The Fisher House™ program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
http://www.fisherhouse.org/aboutUs/aboutUs.shtml
IU to research rehabilitation needs of war amputees / Defense Department awards $1 million to IUPUI research center / INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Center for Rehabilitation Sciences & Engineering Research, located on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, is receiving $1 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to study the rehabilitation needs of severely wounded military personnel who are returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/1828.html
Testimony of Mr. Bert Harman President and CEO, Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/schedule108/jul04/7-22-04/bharman.html
http://iamputees.blogspot.com/
WASHINGTON Feb 13, 2005 — Ever since Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly lost his right leg to a roadside bomb near Baghdad more than a year ago, he has been on a mission. It was more than just learning how to walk again on a prosthetic limb or figuring out what to do with his life after 13 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Kelly, 24, of Prescott, Ariz., saw a need to help other wounded soldiers and their families cope with the financial struggles that come with months of rehabilitation.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=496430&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Data compiled by the US Senate, and included in the 2005 defense appropriations bill in support of a request for increased funding for the care of amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, reveal that 6 percent of those wounded in Iraq have required amputations, compared with a rate of 3 percent for past wars.
More than 160 U.S. military service members have suffered amputation of at least one major limb during Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom following the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The majority of their traumatic injuries have occurred due to blasts, such as from improvised explosive devices, landmines, and rocket-propelled grenades, and due to small weapons fire.
http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/nov_dec_04/militaryamputees.html
A forum about women amputees:
http://forums.military.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/69197221/m/41500793713
Twelve years ago, Staff Sgt. Chris Cummings was working full time as a bartender, dispensing drinks to patrons on a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was having a lot of fun at work, but not making much money. He looked for a second job to support the first one.
http://evans.amedd.army.mil/webzines/reservist_help_iraqi.htm
To their grandparents and even their parents, amputation was an ugly word that meant a lifetime of restrictions and dependence. Not so for patients being treated at the amputee care center at Brooke Army Medical Center here. Most see their loss of limbs suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan as temporary setbacks as they strive to return to active lives, and in some cases, to military duty. Army Sgt. Dustin Hill refuses to let the loss of his right hand, fingers on his left hand, his right eye, and most of an ear and his nose keep him from his passion of fishing. Hill and his mother, Liz Kelm, praise the care he is receiving at the amputee care center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2005/n02042005_2005020405.html
All this week, we've been telling you about a Waterloo prosthetics company and its work in the nation's capitol. When soldiers are injured in Iraq, they're taken to Landstuhl, Germany and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In a special edition of "Following ER", we told you what's in store for the amputees. Following their treatment, Federal Express shipments from Waterloo arrive here everyday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=1643094&nav=2IfuDaBS
News and Articles on Amputees:
http://news.surfwax.com/health/files/Amputees.html
Effect of Short-term Psychiatric Intervention in Amputees:
Amputations account for about 2 percent of the wounded — a seemingly small rate but one that is twice that of World War I and World War II, said Chuck Scoville, program manager for amputee care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
http://www.gazette.com/war/0213warxxa.html
The War After the War / The bed that Garth left behind on Ward 57 will be filled by day's end. Even though major combat operations in Iraq are over, the wounded keep arriving.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article4185.htm
Member of Mississippi Guard unit leads effort to help Iraqi amputees / JACKSON, Miss. - Iraqi civilians who've lost arms and legs in the war will soon get new prosthetics from Methodist Rehabilitation Center's Operation Restoration program.
http://www.ngms.state.ms.us/publicaffairs/Cmd%20Info%20Articles/Needed%20limbs.htm
WRAMC To Add New Amputee Facility / In the near future amputees will have access to an array of enhanced resources to aid in their recovery at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C.
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=1005&issueID=70
Lipscomb and Cher boldly questioned the administration's justifications for going to war and expressed dismay with the treatment of returning veterans, especially the physically and psychological wounded. Thus far, 27 soldiers have committed suicide in Iraq, and another 22 have committed suicide in the U.S. In addition to the nearly 1,100 servicemen and women killed in Iraq, another 7,500 have been wounded. As many as 20 are being killed daily.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1021-02.htm
The Army has cared for 253 "major limb" amputees, those who will require the use of a prosthetic limb or have lost a thumb or two or more fingers, through March 31. The Air Force did not provide statistics, but the Army has treated three airmen who have lost limbs since 9-11. All fight to do things most folks take for granted, such as walking, showering or fastening their trousers.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA040505.01B.amputee_revised.1a77ecd27.html
The grounds at Walter Reed are crammed with recuperating soldiers and their families. There are so many spouses, parents and children that the more than 600 rooms in guest houses on the hospital grounds are not enough to hold them. Some are doubling up in single rooms. Hundreds are staying, at Pentagon expense, in hotels nearby. Hospital officials plan to lease space at a military housing complex four miles away to handle the overflow.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/111103B.shtml
Sean has the support of friends, in-laws and family. They are convinced he can overcome his physical liabilities, but worry about the strain his wounds have placed on his marriage and about his state of mind. The list of dangers - alcoholism, suicide, depression, divorce - is formidable.
http://www.denverpost.com/woundedsoldier/ci_0002618809
Press Reports on U.S. Casualties: About 17,000 Short, UPI Says / Among veterans from Iraq seeking help from the VA, 5,375 have been diagnosed with a mental problem, making it the third-leading diagnosis after bone problems and digestive problems. Among the mental problems were 800 soldiers who became psychotic.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000630846
LANDSTUHL, Germany—At the U.S. military hospital on a wooded hilltop here, the cost of the Iraq war is measured in amputated limbs, burst eyeballs, shrapnel-torn bodies and shattered lives. They're the seriously wounded U.S. soldiers who arrive daily at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a growing human toll that belies American election talk of improving times in Iraq.