August 1, 2007
John Daniel Shannon
Staff Sergeant John Daniel Shannon
is one of the wounded veterans suing the Defense
Department over the horrendous lack of medical care provided to
returning Iraqi veterans. On July 25 on Keith
Olbermann,
Shannon explained why he wasn't afraid of retribution by going public
with his suit:
"OLBERMANN: Last question; in those lawsuits against the
VA, the returning veterans were not named. They said they fear
retribution.
Do you think speaking out puts you at some risk or do you think
it has helped?
SHANNON: Well, I have an ethic that I will die before
my men in combat. I was shot keeping one of my men from being
killed or wounded
in combat. For me, the people who have asked me if I was worried
about getting any kind of retribution don't understand that
ethic. I don't care. If that's what it takes to take care of my
service
members, those service members that are required to make the
military work, then the units starts to fall apart."
Shannon has been waiting for the surgical care he needs, after being
wounded in Iraq more than two years ago:
"OLBERMANN: One lawsuit claims that the VA has a backlog
of 600,000 disability claims. You've been waiting for more than
two
and a half years. You told the Walter Reed hearings many vets
just give up trying to get help. Who dropped the ball here?
SHANNON: That is a good question. One of the situations I have
dealt with in the system is I am not trained to know how the system
works.
However, 600,000 backlogs — you know, the 2.5 years I have
waited is simply a matter of myself getting to the point where
I can be retired from the military and receive a disability rating
and go on to the VA. I'm not waiting on the VA. This is a potentially
scary area for me to think about as I look into getting on with
my
life."
Bush won't even act on the recommendations for improving care for
our injured GIs until he has time, allegedly, to "study" the
recommendations. Bush hasn't "studied" anything since he
read his last set of Cliff Notes at Yale.
Shannon is a courageous soldier with the integrity that so many
of our elected and un-elected leaders lack. He richly deserves this
week's BuzzFlash Wings of Justice award.
* * *
Nominated by Max Black of Wilmington, NC
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