Friday, April 26, 2013

USAT | Vet asks: 'Who's going to love me now?'

From a nicely written story yesterday by USA Today's Gregg Zoroya and Alan Gomez, recommended to me by a Gannett Blog reader.

Six years have passed since a roadside bomb set Ronny "Tony" Porta on fire in Iraq when he was 20, and he's still trying to find his way home.

He isn't alone. Recent wars have left more than 1,100 major burn victims and 1,700 amputees among the nearly 50,000 combat casualties, and about 400,000 troops or veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, mild traumatic brain injury or both.

They arrive in an America more supportive than in the past, but also more mystified about who they are. The scorched or dismembered or the emotionally distressed are even more alien, pollsters say. Asked whether they comprehend the problems troops or veterans face, 70% of the public conceded to Pew researchers in 2011: "not too well (or) not well at all."

3 comments:

  1. I posted this in earlier thread, will place it here now.
    There is a wonderful story on A1 of today's USAT.
    Written by Gregg Zoroya & Alan Gomez with photos by Jack Gruber.
    About a U.S.Marine badly burnt in Iraq.
    They deserve an award for their work!
    Our son, also a Marine, was injured by an IED 2 yrs ago.
    While he was in the hospital we got to meet and talk with a group of wounded Marines.
    These young men that volunteered are not asking for anything special, just what they are due. A little respect would be nice.
    And to the authors, even if you do not receive any rewards, you will always be winners with us parents of wounded Vets.
    If I could ask you, please do not stop here! There are plenty more stories out there.
    Thank you for your work.
    Mike Heine
    Louisville,KY

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is the type of story Usa Today should be doing instead of the naive drivel most of its journalists produce.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Um, nicely done, but CBS did a great story on Marine Corp. Porta first - in March.
    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143570n

    ReplyDelete

Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.