Injuries of war extend from soldiers to families

His girlfriend called to me and pointed out this "stranger" as my brother.

I had to look closely at his face to verify it was him. I didn't know what else to do. He was about 200 pounds when he left for war. When I found him he was 88 pounds. I just couldn't recognize him. But he was well. He was playing cards with others who could.

Bud Whiteye is a member of the Walpole Island First Nation and is a communications consultant for the Heritage Centre at Walpole Island.

Injuries of war extend from soldiers to families

As a war veteran, it's hard for me not to notice the United States has lost 4,000 young soldiers and not say a word about it.

Canada's mortality rate in the same "war on terror" is rising as well.

Whether it's a teenager just out of high school or a seasoned staff sergeant or officer, one death from war tears apart many homes. Mom's and dad's home, his aunt's and uncle's homes, his cousin's, his brother's and his girlfriend's homes and perhaps, most sad, the home of his children.

Each death brings at-home survivors to their knees in uncontrollable screams, each person with a terrible want to say one more thing to their lost child, husband, wife or father. So many caring parents mourn silently over what could have been, having known full well their child's plans and dreams, and most of all, their plans to come home safe and proud that they answered the call Canada asked of them.

War also sends home young men and women with injuries. How hard it must be for doctors to try to tell the parents and loved ones a prognosis. In too many cases the injured have to learn life skills, from walking to reading, all over again. Mothers remember bringing up the child, sitting up nights through sicknesses as their baby turned from toddler to teenager.

First visits to the injured loved one are the worst. Relatives don't know what to expect.
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