“I thought, give me a couple days, I’ll be alright. I’m a Soldier,”

This is what most of them are like. They don't complain. Most of them do not ask for any help at all and this is what should upset us the most. If it is a physical wound, the thought of getting medical attention to help them heal faster offers them hope of getting back on duty faster. They tough it out as much as they can, most of the time far beyond where an average person would attempt to do. Yet when it is PTSD, they are the last to ask for help. When report after report came out that less than half of the servicemen and women with PTSD sought help, the rest of the nation should have noticed. Even today, there are people in this country under the delusion that "half of PTSD claims are bogus" because they failed to pay attention.

They are human like the rest of us but they are willing to do what few of us will do, yet we stand in judgment of them. We convince ourselves that the DOD and the VA are doing everything possible to take care of the wounded, as long as we don't have to lift a finger or heaven forbid, pay a few extra dollars on our taxes to make sure we take care of the men and women we send to risk their lives.

When you read this story, think about the type of people we're talking about while the rest of us whine, moan and complain about how hard our lives are, because for all the problems we have, they do as well, but we don't have to worry about getting wounded doing our duty because we let them do it all.

Wounded warriors receive food, cheer this season
By Joy Pariante, Sentinel Leisure Editor
December 24, 2009 News

He traveled within Iraq’s most volatile areas, but Sgt. 1st Class Robert Walker never thought he would be in even more danger on his own flight line.

Walker inspected attack helicopters to ensure they were safe to fly and prepared to fight. Following a mortar attack at Balad Air Base in August of 2005, Walker went out to determine if his aircraft had been damaged. Attack helicopters are used to protect other aircraft, military equipment and, most importantly, personnel.

While crossing the flight line, Walker’s vehicle was hit by a mortar. The non-commissioned officer was injured, but it would be years before he knew how severely his injuries would affect him. Despite continuous and intense pain in his neck and back, Walker served three consecutive tours in Iraq He wasn’t diagnosed or treated until June 2008.

“I thought, give me a couple days, I’ll be alright. I’m a Soldier,” Walker said.

Three years after the blast that left him in constant pain, Walker discovered he had a compression fracture of his neck, which would require surgery. After he was evacuated from Iraq, he underwent spinal fusion surgery, which left him with limited mobility and a metal plate in his neck. Any wrong moves before surgery could have left Walker paralyzed from the neck down.
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http://www.forthoodsentinel.com/story.php?id=2777