SEIU District 1199 New Connections Network

March 5, 2007 issue - After returning from Iraq in late 2005, Jonathan Schulze spent every day struggling not to fall apart. When a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic turned him away last month, he lost the battle. The 25-year-old Marine from Stewart, Minn., had told his parents that 16 men in his unit had died in two days of battle in Ramadi. At home, he was drinking hard to stave off the nightmares. Though he managed to get a job as a roofer, he was suffering flashbacks and panic attacks so intense that he couldn't concentrate on his work. Sometimes, he heard in his mind the haunting chants of the muezzin—the Muslim call to prayer that he'd heard many times in Iraq. Again and again, he'd relive the moments he was in a Humvee, manning the machine gun, but helpless to save his fellow Marines. "He'd be seeing them in his own mind, standing in front of him," says his stepmother, Marianne.   For the rest of the story, visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17316437/site/newsweek/?GT1=9033

A very thought-provoking article.  What exactly does our government mean when they say the support the troops? 

Debbie - Thanks for posting this article.  I have been following the tradgedy concerning the medical and mental health treatment available to Vets upon return to the States from Iraq.  Randy Rhodes is doing a very stimulating discusion on her radio show.   Here in the Cleveland area, AM 1350 from 3-6pm.  It is very worth tuning in and listening to what some other listeners around the country are trying to get going.  There is a movement started to get vets out of Walter Reed and the deplorable conditions there and have the Governors of each State take responsibility for them getting better care in hospitals in their home state.  Tune in.  Let me know  your thoughts.....Kendra