I just found out that an old High School buddy of mine, who was living in New York (we're from Long Island) on September 11th, 2001, and who'd been among those who felt compelled to enlist in the military as a result of the attacks on that day, passed away last night. He was 42.
And as sad as that is, it's not the truly sad part. You see, Sgt. William McKenna didn't die as a result of enemy fire, he had a particularly vicious form of lymphoma. Lymphoma he developed as a result of being exposed to burn pits in Iraq.
If you don't know, burn pits were/are the preferred method of getting rid of such lovely items as old tires, plastic and even amputated body parts.
The VA has acknowledged the fact that the burn pits in Iraq caused Sgt McKenna's cancer, and if you think this would entitle him to a proper burial or even death benefits be paid to the family, you'd be sorely mistaken. His widow and old friends of his have taken to hitting up friends on Facebook to pay for a casket and transportation back to NY to be buried in Calverton.
Here's a news story on Sgt McKenna's passing. It's a follow-up piece to a previous story on his illness.
(If someone knows how to embed the video, please let me know)
This country used him up and shit him out. Now his family is left with no father, and no help from the government that did this to him.
This is William McKenna in High School:
This is Sgt McKenna shortly before his passing.
If you're feeling generous, this is the hat the family is passing around to help cover the costs of bringing Sgt McKenna home:
http://www.healthplex-ny.com/...