Wounded Times Sixth Year of Putting Veterans First

Wounded Times Sixth Year of Putting Veterans First
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 10, 2013

Six years ago today, Wounded Times was "born" because of a Marine. He wrote that while he turned to my older site for information on PTSD, he didn't want to read, as he put it, "political bullshit" I wrote. I got defensive and defended my right to post what I wanted to in a rather lengthy email. He responded back with only one question. "Are you doing this for us or yourself?" I cried. He was right.

When I was done crying about the question and the ugly truth about what I was doing to the very people I was trying to help, I made the Marine a promise. From that moment on, I would start a new blog just for them. The only time he would have to read anything political was when a politician did something for them or to them. Wounded Times started that very day.

The political divide sucked me in. I fell into the same trap I complained about the most. The truth is no political party has it all right or all wrong. I had forgotten that. Republicans have been able to claim they are strong on military matters because they are strong supporters of defense contractors. Their spending bills usually involve their issues. They are needed to supply the troops with what they need to defend the country. Democrats have been able to say they are strong on military matters because they tend to do bills for the troops and veterans. Both are necessary but neither of these groups are right on every issue or wrong on them. They just have different views. If they work together a lot can be accomplished but when they are too busy fighting against the other side, things go to hell.

There was a time when I believed that everyone was divided because of what I was watching on TV. I watched FOX after 9-11 because I thought they had the best coverage of it and the wars we were getting into. Then they started talking about how evil it was to think the way I did on too many subjects. I turned to MSNBC and heard a lot about what I agreed with but they were slamming too many of what my friends believed in. I turned to CNN thinking I would hear the middle of the road politically blended with the news but soon I discovered they were not really interested in reporting on what used to matter to the country as a whole with national news coverage. They got political too only they were pushing the divide deeper. Aa the years went on the Marine was proven right. It was all political bullshit.

If we were viewed truthfully, the American people are not all about politics. We don't show up at a neighbors house to help them out only if they belong to the party we do. We don't stand in line at the grocery store talking about politics. We don't offer our blood to help others only if it goes to save the lives of another Republican or Democrat. We work together as Americans.

Our proudest moments have come after tragedy. We proved that after 9-11 and our broken hearts turned to gratefulness for the first responders and construction crews showing up to recover the bodies without giving up. Time and time again, we marveled at the dedication and love they had for each other as well as us total strangers they were willing to die for. They do it all the time but what do we do? When it comes time for budget cuts, they are an easy way out. Cut their jobs and their pensions and then wonder why they don't show up when we need them. Both sides let it happen all the time.

Then we do the same thing to the men and women serving in the military. We cheer them when they go off to war but they better end it fast or we not only lose interest, we want them pulled out because it is taking too long and costing too much money. We never seem to have the ability to demand the leaders come up with the proper plans to accomplish what the troops were sent to do.

We stop paying attention to what is going on, what is happening to them when they come home and only manage to remember them on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. It never really dawns on us they are veterans every day of the year and for the rest of their lives they will live with the wounds born out of battle in our name.

After six years I've heard some pretty lousy things like people complaining about gays in the military even though they have always served including friends of mine. Some of them have PTSD because of the way they were treated by others but they don't give up. They fight to stay in. If they are discharged, they turn around and fight for veterans rights as well as needs.

Patriot Guard Riders began because Westboro Baptist hate group started stalking families with signs thanking God for soldier dying because some of military folks were gay. They are so filled with hate they have corrupted Christianity.

John 3:6-8
New International Version (NIV)
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

In other words, God doesn't have much to do with biology after He started all of life but He has a lot to do with the soul He not only created but remembers. There was a time when people thought that if someone was suffering physically, it was punishment from God and if they lived a long life they were blessed. What is worse is when a baby was born with birth defects, God judged the sins of the parents. Now we know better. Most of us believe our job is to love and not judge but folks like Westboro get more attention than the majority of Christians.

This brings us back to the reason for this site. Veterans are only 7% of the population and less than 1% serve in the military today. Pretty small demographic and even smaller when you consider there are even less disabled veterans. There are only 3.61 million veterans receiving VA Compensation. Even smaller demographic to focus on and that is the part that gets to me the most. We have allowed the national broadcast news to forget all about them.

Their stories are out there and you've read them everyday on the over 19,000 posts on Wounded Times. Could you imagine if CNN, FOX and MSNBC spent a quarter of the time on them as they did on George Zimmerman? What would happen if they reported on the fact that two Medal of Honor Heros have come out talking about having PTSD as much as they covered the Zimmerman trial or Jodi Arias? Dakota Meyer tried to kill himself and the newest veteran receiving the Medal of Honor Ty Carter has been very open about his own PTSD struggle. They haven't gotten nearly enough attention on the courage they showed after combat so that others may find the strength to live and fight the enemy inside of them as much as they fought the ones they could see.

Marine Maj. Gen. James Livingston who wears the Medal of Honor from Vietnam.

"Now I'm a believer in early intervention" by therapists in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, the diagnosis for what was called battle fatigue or shell shock in wars gone by, Livingston said.

He was with 12 other decorated heroes appointed to the special Veterans Disability Benefits Commission as they presented the findings of their two-year study to the House Veterans Committee.

The commission had 113 recommendations for reforming how the military and Veterans Administration cope with disabled troops. They called for hikes of up to 25% in disability payments, and increased funding and programs for PTSD treatment."

Livingston didn't get enough attention or Brig. General Gary S. Patton and Gen. Carter Ham Maj. Gen. David Blackledge and the list goes on but the national news forgets about national heros.

One of my friends told me I was insane to do what I do getting nothing back. I don't get financial support and very little emotional support. It just doesn't make sense to do this much work when I could get so much more attention by falling in line with the political crap or covering another subject. He's right but this is what I made the choice to do over 30 years ago when my life changed and I fell in love with yet another member of a forgotten demographic. A Vietnam veteran with PTSD.

So now after six years of reading Wounded Times, I'll leave it up to you if I go on or not. You keep reading and I'll keep telling the truth about what is going on. This has been six years of insanity for me most of the time but whatever price I paid financially and emotionally has been worth it.