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From the mailbagDear Traveling Soldier, I received the envelope with the copies of "Traveling Soldier." Thank you so much! It's a shame that there even has to be a publication like that in the first place but I am glad there is and I was grateful to read it. I appreciate you sending it to me. After being in the Army for six years, as I mentioned, and having my contradictory views and personal opinions stifled, it is refreshing to be able to openly voice my thoughts and to read that I am far from being the only one who feels this way. It is very liberating to no longer be made to feel like my views are unpatriotic and wrong. Thank you. Sincerely, S, Army Base, Germany Traveling Soldier replies:  Dear S,
Thanks for your email, and it's good to know Traveling Soldier got to you OK and is useful. Not only are you not alone, more and more troops and recent vets are speaking out more and more strongly against the war and the general disrespect the administration gives armed forces members in general. The next GI Special (Traveling Soldier's sister publication) has a couple really strong examples. A horror not much reported here in the press is how many badly wounded are coming home, and how little money they will be supposed to live on upon discharge. We're putting together a new Traveling Soldier in time for a conference in Chicago in middle June where Mike Hoffman, with the Marines in the capture of Baghdad (front page of your Traveling Soldier), and Lou Plummer, army vet, and a whole lot of people from Military Families Speak Out and the Bring Them Home Now formation organized by Stan Goff, Master Sgt. Special Forces (ret'd). If it's OK, removing your name and all other identifying information that could cause any problems for you or your husband, we'd like to run your letter in Traveling Soldier. Again, all ID will be removed. One big reason is that people who see Traveling Soldier need to know just what you wrote, that you are not alone. Your letter is so powerful in getting that message out, please let us help the morale of others by running it. As for unpatriotic, if a government uses the armed forces for private profit for the president and his corporate backers, and lies about the reason for going to war, and then screws it up completely, costing the lives of men and women who joined the armed forces to be a force for good, who is "unpatriotic"? Those outside or inside the armed services who won't put up with being abused in such a way or the government officials? Either Bush or Kerry could buy armored vests and armor plated humvees for every troop in Iraq in a heartbeat. Bush has 300 million in his campaign fund, and Kerry has that much in his family fortune. Don't hold your breath. Pardon my French, but this shit has to stop. Solidarity, Tom Barton - Traveling Soldier production staff Dear Traveling Soldier, As I was reading my "Traveling Soldier" issue recently, I was moved by a quote from Pat Gunn, Jason Gunn's mother (page 5 of the April-May 2004 issue) where she said, "They don't care what condition soldiers are in, they just need a body to fill the quota, and they don't care what they send back from Iraq either." This reminded me of something I read in the May 19th issue of "Stars and Lies" (Stars & Stripes). The sentences in bold are my emphasis. In the letter to the editor section this was (surprisingly) published: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 I'm writing in regard to injured soldiers. I'm currently in [Baghdad]. I first injured my knee in July. It took our medics quite a while to get things done. I felt like I had to prove my knee was injured. I've had physical therapy and a steroid shot with no effects. If anything, it hurts more. I've had X-rays, but for this kind of injury I need an MRI or a scope. I settled into the pain with the mind-set that in May I'd be back in Germany and would be able to¡get my knee looked at. But then I was extended. I was disappointed. Who wouldn't be? I had knee pain and the knowledge that I'd now have to stay in Iraq longer than I was supposed to with a bad knee. I live in constant pain. This has been non-stop since July. My knee is getting worse and worse. It's buckled on me four times. Last week I was [performing] maintenance on my Humvee. I was taking a tire off and I slipped. I bore all the weight on my bad knee. I felt terrible pain from my thigh to my foot. Ever since then it hurts badly. When I get off shift, it's swollen. I have gone from being an asset to being a liability. What happens if my camp comes under mortar fire and I have to run to seek shelter? Say I make it without falling but my buddy gets hit. I have to run out to get him, but what can I do? If I pick him up and run for shelter, my knee is going to give out for sure. Now there are two soldiers out there instead of one providing medical care for the other. I joined the Army of my own free will. But had I known the Army would turn its back on me when I got hurt, I might have made a different choice. Some of my greatest memories are from the military, but since Operation Iraqi Freedom they are some of my worst. The worst part of this whole situation is that I'm not the only injured soldier out there. There are more like me. We're all in the same boat in an Army in which numbers are the most important thing. I'd think they'd care about the soldiers more than the mission. Without the soldiers, you have no mission. - Pvt. 2 Dugger Dean Baghdad That's the letter. Just thought I would share that with you because it's letters like that one that make me sick and furious at this no win situation and mirrors what Pat Gunn said in the above quotation. In the same issue of the Wednesday paper there was a brief blurb about Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia whom I recognized from the article in "Traveling Soldier." Of course they painted him in a light that smacked of desertion and dishonorable behaviour. Thank you for presenting his story truthfully! It feels good to have a publication on "our" side. Take care. Sincerely, S, Army Base, Germany P.S. You are most certainly welcome to use my letter in any way you see fit to help our cause. Page 9--> |
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