Veterans Increasingly Becoming Victims of Violent Crime in the U.S.

Veterans Increasingly Becoming Victims of Violent Crime in the U.S.
Tim King Salem-News.com
The people who lay their lives on the line for their country are encountering violent crime for a variety of reasons.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Criminal, violent acts against American combat veterans are on the rise in the streets of this nation. It may not be anything new, but there does appear to be an increase in the number of crimes taking place against people who once served in uniform. Some of it relates to chance, but several of the reported cases apparently involved veterans specifically being targeted.

One recent story involves a 21-year old Marine Lance Corporal named Robert Crutchfield, who survived 14 months of intense fighting in Iraq, only to be gunned down by robbers at home on leave during the Christmas holiday, on January 5th. It happened at a bus stop at East 72nd Street and Superior Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio; in America's heartland.

The really sickening part is that this happened while the Marine was in uniform, with his girlfriend, grocery shopping. He was not allowed to live the American dream; his life was cut short by cold steel fired from the hand of someone who stole far more than a life, far more than dreams. According to newspaper reports, Robert Crutchfield stepped out of the bus shelter and was grabbed by two men who threw him against a telephone pole.

Cleveland Police Lt. Thomas Stacho told reporters with The Plain Dealer, that 19-year old Ean Farrow, and 20-year old Thomas Ray III, both of Cleveland, rifled through the Marine's pockets before one of them shot him in the neck.

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