This should not happen to Iraq war veterans. Many of them have seen enough horrors for more than one lifetime. That they then end up neglected by the country they wanted to serve is tragic:
One of the five served in Iraq: Marine Corps veteran Justin Bailey, 27, who checked himself into the VA hospital after Thanksgiving because of his addiction to prescription and street drugs.
Bailey, who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and a groin injury, was found dead in his room Jan. 26, a day after he got prescriptions filled for methadone and other drugs. Despite his drug history, he had been allowed to administer the drugs himself.
``My son had made a decision to get help, and they didn't help him. They gave him the bullet,'' Gulf War veteran Tony Bailey, 47, of Las Vegas told the Times.
How much more money are the VA hospitals getting now that the country is at war and the military overextended? How many new staff members have they been able to hire?
Who honors the returning veterans?