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I contacted Tom Paliama after reading his review of Arron Glantz's article in the Texas Observer. I served as an enlisted man in the Army Medical Corps at the end of WWII at Wakeman General Hospital and Fitzsimmons General Hospital. The doctors and the soldier's care was the very best. Col. Truman Blocker,MD was a plastic surgeon at the 2000 bed Wakeman Hosp., who returned to civilan life as dean and president of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
His staff of surgeons at Wakeman became heads of Plastic Surgery at medical schools and major hospitals all over the country. The late Maj.Gen.Robert Bernstein, commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center who retired to become the Texas Health Commissioner in the early 1980s was very upset by the poor care being delivered at his former hospital. Its bad enough to force soldiers to have repeat tours in the war zone, and provide the very best medical and surgical care when they become casualities.
Robert F. Ellzey, MD, FACR (retired)
Austin, Texas

Posted by Robert Ellzey, MD on May 23, 2009

When I opened my Texas Observer this morning, I was very pleased to read the review of "The War Comes Home," by Arron Glantz. UT Professor Tom Palaima wrote a glowing review of a very serious book about how President George W. Bush brutally betrayed our Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. In addition to lying to start his Iraq War fiasco, Bush had no plan to provide medical care to the 1.8 million troops deployed so far. In fact, when the first wave of casualties began using VA hospitals, the Bush administration actively fought against our veterans, as Glantz described in detail with bitter case studies. Veterans for Common Sense was pleased to provide Aaron with much of his data for his book. Here's how bad it is now: To date, more than 400,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have become patients at VA hospitals. A similar number filed disability claims against VA. And the situation is getting far worse as the two wars continue: Veterans for Common Sense estimates up to one million patients and claims will result from the two wars, with a long-term price tag of up to $1 trillion. What we need to do is read Aaron Glantz' excellent book, support President Obama's promises to provide care for our veterans, and then welcome home all those who defended our Constitution. For more information about the costs of the war, please read our Veterans for Common Sense Report, "Looking Forward: The Status and Future of VA."

http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1656

We have a window of opportunity to fix VA so that the current generation of veterans do not face the enormous challenges endured by prior generations. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Best, Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense

Posted by Paul Sullivan on May 01, 2009

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