G
gilliam
Guest
**An excellent article for Christmas **
I urge you to check out Their Blood, Our Freedom by Simone Ledeen. Simone used to work for the Coalition government in Iraq with a few of my friends from Heritage: John Hanley and Andrew Burns.
Her article is a very touching look at some of our returning troops who were injured, and the generosity of Americans.
Here is an excerpt:
This past weekend I got up early and went with some friends to Walter Reed to meet two soldiers we had promised to visit. One is named Rob — he is here for a cochlear implant to get his hearing back. He was wounded in Afghanistan early this year and is completely deaf. On September 11, 2001, Rob was a normal college student at Florida State University. He and several of his friends were so affected by the events of that day that they dropped out of school and joined the Army. Rob is now a Ranger and hopes to go back to active duty, assuming the surgery is successful. Right now we have to communicate with him by writing everything out on notepads. He has droopy puppy-dog eyes and a shy smile. He also has a huge tattoo on his right arm with the two towers and the date of his injury.
Adam is the other soldier we visited — he is 21 and was in Iraq as a member of a special-operations group. He was hit three times within an hour and has problems with excess spinal fluid and blood in his brain. He also can’t feel his legs. His favorite restaurant in the area is Steamer’s in Bethesda, Maryland. He recounted how he and some of his fellow wounded went over there recently (by taxi) and racked up a bill for almost $400, which someone paid. When they argued, the woman said: “I’m old, what am I going to spend my money on?” Whenever they go to Steamer’s, the cook and several waiters carry the guys and their wheelchairs up and down a dozen stairs.
From Steven Kiel
I urge you to check out Their Blood, Our Freedom by Simone Ledeen. Simone used to work for the Coalition government in Iraq with a few of my friends from Heritage: John Hanley and Andrew Burns.
Her article is a very touching look at some of our returning troops who were injured, and the generosity of Americans.
Here is an excerpt:
This past weekend I got up early and went with some friends to Walter Reed to meet two soldiers we had promised to visit. One is named Rob — he is here for a cochlear implant to get his hearing back. He was wounded in Afghanistan early this year and is completely deaf. On September 11, 2001, Rob was a normal college student at Florida State University. He and several of his friends were so affected by the events of that day that they dropped out of school and joined the Army. Rob is now a Ranger and hopes to go back to active duty, assuming the surgery is successful. Right now we have to communicate with him by writing everything out on notepads. He has droopy puppy-dog eyes and a shy smile. He also has a huge tattoo on his right arm with the two towers and the date of his injury.
Adam is the other soldier we visited — he is 21 and was in Iraq as a member of a special-operations group. He was hit three times within an hour and has problems with excess spinal fluid and blood in his brain. He also can’t feel his legs. His favorite restaurant in the area is Steamer’s in Bethesda, Maryland. He recounted how he and some of his fellow wounded went over there recently (by taxi) and racked up a bill for almost $400, which someone paid. When they argued, the woman said: “I’m old, what am I going to spend my money on?” Whenever they go to Steamer’s, the cook and several waiters carry the guys and their wheelchairs up and down a dozen stairs.
From Steven Kiel