UPDATE: Senator Kennedy passed away this week. I did not like his politics. However, for the last 47 years the people of Massachusetts did. (Note: This is America and my plans for world domination are still not ready to go active so they still get to have their say no matter how stupid it may be.) In fact the only thing he ever did that impressed me was written about in this post.
Within the last couple of weeks I was able to visit with several of our wounded soldiers. I visited several who were recovering from surgery at Walter Reed Hospital. They all had suffered severe orthopedic wounds to their legs, among other injuries, two were amputees. All of their injuries were from IED's; all were in their early 20's; all had a great attitudes, and all are permanently disabled. It was a sobering experience, yet seeing the spirit that still remained in them was uplifting.
After that I went to the Mologne House, which is a hospitality type house where the outpatient soldiers stay while continuing to receive treatment. The several hundred wounded soldiers who are there suffer from a wide variety of wounds and consist of men and women, some very young and some not so young. In many instances parents, wives and children stay with the soldiers while they recuperate. While there I spoke with a young SGT. He was wounded in April, 2004 and has been at Mologne house for over two years. He will be returning to Iraq soon. While I was talking to him they had a Congressional visitor. The SGT. said that while they have had visits from Pentagon Brass and some have met the president, he stated that it was the first Congressional visitor that they have had in the two years that he has been there. Guess who it was?
Bet you never would have guessed that the only member of Congress that this young SGT. has seen visit our wounded at Mologne House in two years was Ted Kennedy. I don't care for the guy's politics and I do not trust his motives, but I will give credit where credit is due. Here is a picture that I snapped at the end of the visit.
I do not know how many Congressional members have visited our wounded at Walter Reed and the surrounding houses, but I sure do not hear much about it if they do. I have had the honor to visit and interact a few times with our wounded heroes. For anyone who is making decisions concerning this war, whether they agree with the war or not, it should be a requirement.
They are magnificent men and women who were heroes when they decided to serve and who continue to act as heroes as they heal. They have earned a right to be respected and a right to be heard. To a man and women they want to finish what they started and they want the job done correctly. Meeting with men and women, who have given so much, certainly lends an air of seriousness and reality to any debate about the Long War, which has been thrust upon us by our enemies.
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