Nearly 18,000 military personnel have been wounded in combat since the war began in Iraq more than three years ago, according to Defense Department statistics. Some have lost legs and arms, suffered horrific burns to their bodies and gone home permanently.
But the vast majority have remained in Iraq or returned later — their bodies marked by small scars and their lives plagued by aches and pains. ...
Many of the injured soldiers have begged their commanders to let them come back. One soldier was sent home after a bomb exploded in his face and damaged his eyes. He likely will never return to Iraq, but still asks. Another was sent home because of a heart condition, but returned to Iraq three times, according to Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk, a commander in the 502nd Infantry Regiment.
Kunk, who is not a doctor, decides every week which wounded soldiers can return to duty. Often the soldiers research regulations and argue endlessly, he said.
It's heartbreaking when he has to say no, but he does.
Read the article to see just some of the individuals who are staying and fighting instead of taking a well-deserved trip home.
We at home need to live our lives to honor what these Americans do to protect us from killers who'd chop our heads off and put the pictures in their scrap books of treasured memories if they could. Our soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen won't let us down. Let's not let them down.
I am just in awe of our military people. Far more than any technology, it is our people who make our military a lethal fighting machine in service to the greatest and best country in the world.
