WP - Wounded Soldier Becomes a Citizen

[disgruntella]

Army Spec. Hilario Bermanis officially became an American yesterday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, proudly raising his right arm to take the oath of citizenship. It is the only limb he came back with from Iraq.

Bermanis, a native of Micronesia serving in the 82nd Airborne Division, lost his left arm and both legs in June when he and a fellow paratrooper guarding a cache of weapons in Baghdad were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades. Bermanis's squad mate was killed instantly.

<snip>

Bermanis's swearing-in also served as a grim reminder of the toll in Iraq, where 297 U.S. service members have been killed and 1,567 wounded or injured since March 19. Of those wounded in action, 550 were hurt before President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on May 1, and 701 have been injured since then.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27138-2003Sep17.html

[lcordero]

1. The really bad part about the number of casualties is that it might

not even be the real number of casualties. In the last two weeks, a few DUers revealed that they found out the actual casualty numbers were classified.

I feel sorry for Bermanis. I hope that he doesn't find himself destitute like so many war veterans are.

Sorry didn't proofread.

[PennyLane]

2. And.......

........some of the fatalities are self-inflicted. They don't want that info to get out either!;(

[lcordero]

4. I really doubt that any of that is self-inflicted for the reason that

I see it as too convenient of an excuse that might be used for getting out of paying the SGLI insurance(which is usually at $250,000).

[disgruntella]

3. yes, i thought it was interesting

That this article actually did cite a specific number of casualties -- because I saw the same thread you did (or one on the same topic anyway)

[Pert_UK]

5. Come home dead or wounded, OK. Come home in one piece, get deported.....

"...But then you've got the U.S. Army.

It's poised to discharge a combat veteran because he's an illegal alien, which in turn means he could be kicked out of the service and then deported.

Juan Escalante was just 4 years old when his family illegally came to the United States...Juan went to school here. At 18, he joined the Army, using a fake Green Card. He's just come home after having served 4 months over in Iraq...

Please remember, in the early days of fighting in Iraq, two non-citizens who joined the Army were among the first killed in the war.

They've since been granted citizenship. Posthumously. I guess the way the government thinks about citizenship, Pvt. Juan Escalante would be better off dead. "

http://www.komotv.com/stories/27262.htm

[disgruntella]

6. Yes - I did remember that article

It is disgusting and shameful how our soldiers are treated.

[DeaconBlues]

7. America is the new Rome

What percentage of the military is foreign born or poor? Its like the Romans who used "barbarians" to gaurd the further reaches of the empire. And just like Rome, the children of the ruling elite stay at home while others die for the glory of the homeland. History will not judge us kindly.