http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2007/february/mask.php
I had to take a walk after reading this article. You see, we tend to think of battles in terms of the dead- how many They lost, how many We lost. But what has fallen through the cracks for all these years are the wounded. In movies, the wounded are bandaged up, and you next see them in a comfortable hospital bed, looking gratefully up at their rescuer, or best girl, or whatever. Or they might be on crutches. Occasionally, you see someone in the next bed swathed in bandages to the point of anonymity. You never saw guys with facial injuries, missing jaws, or noses or even worse. In actual news reports, for years the wounded were mentioned in passing “47 killed, and (already turning away from the topic) 12 wounded.” Not “gravely wounded”, not “seriously wounded”. Just “wounded” . The idea seems to be “Eh, they lived.” Like the wound is insignificant to those people.
Oh, there have been some changes- some in-depth pieces have been done by various public radio shows- I can’t think of one commercial outlet that has, however. And nobody *thinks* of the permanently disfigured. We don’t like the wounded even in the best of cases and we tend to dismiss them from public consciousness; and it’s terribly unfair. In many ways, the wars never end for these vets; they live every day in relation to the day they received that injury, for the rest of their lives, however long.. I’d argue that theirs is as big a sacrifice as the dead, for the dead die once, and the living go on fighting, day after day. They endure society’s inbred distaste for the wounded, people averting their eyes, children being frightened. Often these injuries are paired with depression, PTSD, and other medical complications. Often this affects what jobs they can take, and income suffers. Their families, if they have them, suffer as well. There’s more stress on spouses, children, parents. That’s the untold cost of a wound of this sort. All covered in “and 12 wounded”.
I remember meeting a vet who had lost both legs and one arm in Korea. He was at the vet’s hospital in Minneapolis. He hadn’t been able to work ever since that day. Lived on less than I made in High school, and was essentially homeless but for the hospital-where he couldn’t stay all the time, nor could he go to the Vet’s Home- they were full until “a couple of ‘em die.” It’s safe to say that I’ll never forget meeting him. And for those what’ve ever seen the inside of a VA hospital, or a Vet’s Home, you won’t be surprised at the state of Walter Reed. It isn’t just one hospital. We tend to forget vets; even the healthy ones. Their medical care (not even to mention their psychological care) has never ever been at the top of any priority list in the public conscience.
And they live with that wound as well.
I had to take a walk after reading this article. You see, we tend to think of battles in terms of the dead- how many They lost, how many We lost. But what has fallen through the cracks for all these years are the wounded. In movies, the wounded are bandaged up, and you next see them in a comfortable hospital bed, looking gratefully up at their rescuer, or best girl, or whatever. Or they might be on crutches. Occasionally, you see someone in the next bed swathed in bandages to the point of anonymity. You never saw guys with facial injuries, missing jaws, or noses or even worse. In actual news reports, for years the wounded were mentioned in passing “47 killed, and (already turning away from the topic) 12 wounded.” Not “gravely wounded”, not “seriously wounded”. Just “wounded” . The idea seems to be “Eh, they lived.” Like the wound is insignificant to those people.
Oh, there have been some changes- some in-depth pieces have been done by various public radio shows- I can’t think of one commercial outlet that has, however. And nobody *thinks* of the permanently disfigured. We don’t like the wounded even in the best of cases and we tend to dismiss them from public consciousness; and it’s terribly unfair. In many ways, the wars never end for these vets; they live every day in relation to the day they received that injury, for the rest of their lives, however long.. I’d argue that theirs is as big a sacrifice as the dead, for the dead die once, and the living go on fighting, day after day. They endure society’s inbred distaste for the wounded, people averting their eyes, children being frightened. Often these injuries are paired with depression, PTSD, and other medical complications. Often this affects what jobs they can take, and income suffers. Their families, if they have them, suffer as well. There’s more stress on spouses, children, parents. That’s the untold cost of a wound of this sort. All covered in “and 12 wounded”.
I remember meeting a vet who had lost both legs and one arm in Korea. He was at the vet’s hospital in Minneapolis. He hadn’t been able to work ever since that day. Lived on less than I made in High school, and was essentially homeless but for the hospital-where he couldn’t stay all the time, nor could he go to the Vet’s Home- they were full until “a couple of ‘em die.” It’s safe to say that I’ll never forget meeting him. And for those what’ve ever seen the inside of a VA hospital, or a Vet’s Home, you won’t be surprised at the state of Walter Reed. It isn’t just one hospital. We tend to forget vets; even the healthy ones. Their medical care (not even to mention their psychological care) has never ever been at the top of any priority list in the public conscience.
And they live with that wound as well.
posted by Buccaneer | 13:01
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