What The VA Did For My Uncle

BhagavadGita

Nothing.

My uncle, a Vietnam Veteran, is having his legs cut off from the knees down because of years of neglect from the local VA hospital in Indianapolis. The stories of poor treatment are endless.

He had no hope left years ago.....Now he's headed to a nursing home much too young.

Ed was right or whoever when they said...''nothing's too good for a veteran, and nothing is what they'll get."

Not only did he have to endure the hell of war in Vietnam and develop a mental disorder, now he get's to sit and think about it all day until he dies. He is a broken man.

Thanks for listening to the vent. If you have a prayer inside you, you might mention Billy to God, because I'm not speaking to the bastard upstairs at this time.

norm

i'm so sorry for your uncle :(

the treatment that our gov't gives toward it's veterans is disgusting and embarrassing


i think all veterans should go to halliburton's hq and ask them to take care of them

Byrnzie

Anyone know the stats on homeless vets and the suicide rate amongst them?

I know that more Nam Vets committed suicide after the war than the number that died in combat.
I wonder if the Iraq vets are heading the same way?

Commy

Byrnzie wrote:

Anyone know the stats on homeless vets and the suicide rate amongst them?

I know that more Nam Vets committed suicide after the war than the number that died in combat.
I wonder if the Iraq vets are heading the same way?

i don't know about homeless figures.

but over 150,000 have committed suicide overall, which is absolutely criminal. send em to diein some third world ocuntry, leave them to die when its all said and done. its criminal.

Austicman

Same in australia. More have comitted sucide than died in combat. Alot of them because of ongoing health problems from the chemicals they were exposed to and many from a deep seeded bitterness at the shabby treatment upon returning from duty.Often the protests were organised by members of parliment at the time. They didn't recieve a homecoming parade until 1986 even though combat operations in 1972. They were never allowed to march with the rest of the vets on ANZAC Day(our memorial day) until then either. Of the shit treatment most vets have gotten over the years these guys have definately gotten it the worst. My best bud's Dad killed himself in 1996. It was then that I started to read up about them and met a guy from his platoon. He was telling that of the 30 guys in their platoon. 27 returned from duty and of them only 6 were still alive in 1996.

My thoughts are with your uncle and I hope he finds some peace of mind. Do you know where and when he served. Any battles that he's been in?? I've become a student of the Vietnam War these days. The tales they have tell are incredible. I've read alot of Australian written stuff but I haven't heard much from US servicemen. Plenty of movies about it but I like to read the tale for myself without a directors interpretation on what occured.

BhagavadGita

Austicman wrote:

Do you know where and when he served. Any battles that he's been in?? I've become a student of the Vietnam War these days. The tales they have tell are incredible. I've read alot of Australian written stuff but I haven't heard much from US servicemen. Plenty of movies about it but I like to read the tale for myself without a directors interpretation on what occured.

The problem is he won't talk about it. Neither will my other Uncle on my Mom's side.

All I remember is that as a child being shown a picture of Billy being given the Purple Heart by General William Westmoreland (I think that was his name) while laying in bed at an army hospital.

I can imagine that photo would not feel the same as it did to me when I was a child.

What a crock. :roll:
Here's a medal.
Now, go away.
And so many do.
By their own hand.

Byrnzie

Austicman wrote:

Often the protests were organised by members of parliment at the time. They didn't recieve a homecoming parade until 1986 even though combat operations in 1972.

What many people forget though is that In the U.S the Anti-Vietnam war protests were largely organised by veterans. The protesters were protesting at the government that sent them there, not the troops.

Austicman

Byrnzie wrote:

Austicman wrote:

Often the protests were organised by members of parliment at the time. They didn't recieve a homecoming parade until 1986 even though combat operations in 1972.

What many people forget though is that In the U.S the Anti-Vietnam war protests were largely organised by veterans. The protesters were protesting at the government that sent them there, not the troops.

Unfortunately things spiralled out of control and the returning troops were blammed directly for the war and were called all sorts of names, had animal blood thrown over them and what was probably the worst for the Australians anyway was that they were shunned by the older WW1 and WW2 vets. Guys who should of known better than to of believed everything they read about them. Alot feared wearing their uniforms in public upon returning.

Austicman

BhagavadGita wrote:

Austicman wrote:

Do you know where and when he served. Any battles that he's been in?? I've become a student of the Vietnam War these days. The tales they have tell are incredible. I've read alot of Australian written stuff but I haven't heard much from US servicemen. Plenty of movies about it but I like to read the tale for myself without a directors interpretation on what occured.

The problem is he won't talk about it. Neither will my other Uncle on my Mom's side.

All I remember is that as a child being shown a picture of Billy being given the Purple Heart by General William Westmoreland (I think that was his name) while laying in bed at an army hospital.

I can imagine that photo would not feel the same as it did to me when I was a child.

What a crock. :roll:
Here's a medal.
Now, go away.
And so many do.
By their own hand.

my best advice I can give you about getting him to talk about is to find out what unit he was in and what year he served and go and hunt up as much info as you can about them and then you've something to go on. "Hey a was reading about such and such a battle the other day and........" I don't how it works in the US but the Military Museums have info on every battilon thats ever seen combat over here.

TriumphantAngel

It is disgraceful the way that veterans are treated. I rememeber on the old Pearl Jam message pit, there was a thread very similar to the awful story about your uncle. It had a link to excellent blog site where returned soldiers and veterans posted their stories. It was heartbreaking.

Does anyone know of the link i'm talking about, and remember what it was called? The search function here doesn't seem to be working very well.

Restless Soul

So sorry to hear about your Uncle.

I wonder if the Obama administration is planning to do anything to improve the situation for veterans? Is anyone lobbying for change on this front? If anyone should do something, it should be Obama.

BhagavadGita

TriumphantAngel wrote:

I rememeber on the old Pearl Jam message pit, there was a thread very similar to the awful story about your uncle. It had a link to excellent blog site where returned soldiers and veterans posted their stories. It was heartbreaking.

Does anyone know of the link i'm talking about, and remember what it was called? The search function here doesn't seem to be working very well.

I would be very interested in finding that sight if anyone remembers.

I need to call Billy today, but I don't know what to say.

Heatherj43

I was an army dependant in the early 70's. I had to go to Walter Reed a couple times. What a nightmare.

JR8805

I was an Air Force dependent in the 70s. Not to be contrary, but my family and I received very good care.

Cosmo

"Nothing's too good for a veteran... so, nothing is all they will get"... is an old saying amongst War Veterans. It's popular, because it is true. That also explains why so many of the homeless men roaming the streets of our cities, who are about the age of 55 and above, are Viet Nam Vets.
And from what my co-worker's husband tells me... He is a physician at the Veterans Hospital in Long Beach... there are a lot of Iraqi War Vets are are slipping through the cracks and headed towards a live on the streets.

gabers

I'm very sorry to hear how your uncle was treated. Many of our vets truly are disposable heroes, as Metallica put it. Too many of us wave that flag and claim to support the troops when in reality what is it that we've done to support them? How many have lobbied their politicians for better care? How many have gone out of their way to personnally help a veteran who needs it? I'd guess very few. And most of these false supporters are probably the same people that call themselves Christians because they go to church. Denial is a powerful thing.

BhagavadGita

JR8805 wrote:

I was an Air Force dependent in the 70s. Not to be contrary, but my family and I received very good care.

I can see that there are times when the system has worked.

However, I don't imagine you were seeking help for mental illness as well as physicial care.

It was the mental illness, that caused him to lose his teeth. He just didn't care anymore and had them pulled.

It was the mental illness that made him lose hope and stop taking care of himself in general.

What programs have they developed to take care of soldiers brains after returning from war?

The last update I got on Billy was that he sat in pain for 8hrs in a wheel chair in the ER.

Cosmo

Heatherj43 wrote:

I was an army dependant in the early 70's. I had to go to Walter Reed a couple times. What a nightmare.

...
If I may... what Rank was your Air Force parent?
It's makes a difference.

BhagavadGita

Just an update:

I called my Uncle today.

He is in the VA hospital but he was so drugged up that he couldn't really answer my questions..... I still can't get the rest of the family to return my calls. It's as if he just doesn't matter to anyone even in the family. Maybe his life is just too depressing for anyone to get involved. I wish I had money so I could move him out of the VA and into a top notch medical facility. It's what he deserves.

I ask if he had his operation and he just mumbled something.

I told him I loved him and I would call again.

Brisk.

Feel so sorry :(

Thanks for posting, i wouldn't ever know about these things if you wasn't for people like you.

Heatherj43

Cosmo wrote:

Heatherj43 wrote:

I was an army dependant in the early 70's. I had to go to Walter Reed a couple times. What a nightmare.

...
If I may... what Rank was your Air Force parent?
It's makes a difference.

It was my ex-husband and he was in the Army. He was an E-4.
I went to Walter Reed once for a very bad kidney infection. At first the people who screen you told me it was the flu and to go home. I refused, cuz I knew it was worse, and the doc later told me it was a good thing I refused to leave.
The other time, well it was series of times, to get my wisdom teeth out.
Oh yeah, I went one other time. I got the crabs. The doc insisted that there is no way I could had got them unless my ex was cheating. The truth was that he had to live on base for a week and, according to him, the shower floors are just teeming with them and that's how he got them. I believe that.
Many of his friends also told me how bad the showeres are with crabs. They were my frinds too, so I believe. That doc could had caused a divorce.

BhagavadGita

An update on my Uncle:

He is out of the VA. He had only one leg removed for now. The shrapnel (sp) that was in his leg since the war is now gone, thus so is the pain he suffered.

Unfortunately, he had to go into a nursing home for rehab. I heard he is in very good spirits probably to finally be pain free. I feel sorry for him having to live in a nursing home. He is only 60.

This may be weird to say, but I'm glad I'm a woman. I'd rather have the pain of making life, then to be a man and be made by a government to go take life. Of course you give your life in war even if you don't die, because of the what you've experienced, most will never be the same again. I wonder when they come home from Iraq, if any of the wives will really know their husbands. The adjustment time in returning from war, must be bizarre.

Well, I'm off topic as usual.

Thank you all for your compassionate comments.