What about the benefits for Sgt. Ryan Kelly of Abilene, Texas
who, when his unarmored Humvee was blown up, lost his leg
below the knee. He said that, although he received wonderful
medical treatment at Walter Reed Hospital, his family would
have been better off financially if he had been killed.

Where are the benefits for Spc. Tyson Johnson III of Mobile,
Alabama who lost a kidney and suffered other injuries in a
mortar attack and was not expected to live. He did live and
while at Walter Reed received a notice from the Pentagon's
collection agency that since he could not complete his
36-month tour of duty he owed Uncle Sam for his enlistment
bonus of $2700 plus! Seems this unpaid debt to Uncle Sam
was also listed on his credit report which prevented him from
getting an apartment, credit card, etc. After ABC News aired
his case, Gen. Franklin Hagenback stepped in and got the
collection action dropped. AND where is Spc. Johnson
now??? Still living out of his car so he won't be a burden to his
family! AND one year after almost being killed, the Pentagon
has yet to send him his Purple Heart but the collection notices
still arrive from the Pentagon!

What glorious benefits does Staff Sgt. Peter Damon of
Brockton, Mass. have? He was an electrician and mechanic
who lost both arms while he was repairing a helicopter in Iraq.
Do you think he can get a job now? He says that he has been
told he will get total disability but just what does that mean?
When he called the military to ask about it, he was told the
paperwork had been lost. Later when he went by to see if they
had found the paperwork, he was told to make an appointment
and to come back five days later.

Staff Sgt Larry Gill of Semmes, Alabama, a twenty year
veteran, lost the use of his left leg during a protest near a
mosque in Bagdad. He was awarded a Purple Heart but there
was no proposal of how he was to make a living as a civilian.
Now he and his wife Leah wonder if they will have to sell their
dream home in order to survive.

Do any of you want to trade off your benefits for any of these
young men's? Maybe some of the senators who were caught
for sexual improprieties but allowed to resign so as to keep
their big pensions would like to trade benefits with these young
men. Maybe the person who received $30 million for turning
Saddam in will trade benefits.

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