There they stood. A group of Marines, in uniform.
I immediately felt a sense of pride... and emotion.
They looked handsome, clean cut. Polished and refined.
Yet, when I arrived they also looked out of place, slightly
uncomfortable. They stood off to one side. A
red-carpet was to their right. It was bright, well
lit... screamed Hollywood. Cameras flashed. A blond
woman in fancy dress was being interviewed. The Marines stood to the side... in the shadow of the dark
night.
It was a jarring contrast, yet a beautiful sight at
the same time. Two vastly different worlds coming
together. One... the world of military men and
women. The young Color Guard. And the Marines
who've seen combat. Marines wounded to the point you
can't help but stare. You can't help but cry inside.
The second... the wealthy world of Bel Air, Beverly
Hills and Hollywood. A rock star's gorgeous girlfriend.
Donald Trump's sexy ex. An agent. And an actor from Star
Wars. And there were doctors. Plastic surgeons.
Men and women who'd come together to try and make
wounded Marines whole again.
The event: a fundraiser at the hip and trendy Vibrato Grill and Jazz on Beverly Glen for a new-ish organization
called "Iraq Star!"
And at this event three wounded Marines were indeed
rock stars!
Their arena... the war in Iraq.
Their audience... Americans not wanting to forget our
war wounded.
"Iraq Star" was started by the AMAZING Maggie Lockridge,
a nurse who spent a career in plastic surgery. She
has pulled together plastic surgeons across the
country to perform surgery on our wounded military men
and women... and their stories our heartbreaking!
www.IraqStar.org
They profiled a Marine, who's face still showed the
disfigurement of a jaw being blown apart. Yet, he looked
beautiful in his military uniform adorned with MANY
medals. He seemed timid, perhaps overwhelmed by the
contrast of a party scene for such a sensitive topic.
His gal clutched his arm tightly and all eyes were
politely on them. His war wound had destroyed his jaw,
his tongue welded to the bottom of his face. He
returned to the United States unable to eat. He was
fed through a tube. His mother said his speech was
such that when he'd try to make a phone call people
would hang up on him.
"Iraq Star" to the rescue. To make a long story
short... a tongue surgeon was EVENTUALLY found in
another state. The Marine underwent three days of
RISKY surgery and a long recovery. (The tongue is
apparently a difficult organ to work on.)
Did the surgery work? You'll love his report of recovery. The Marine wrote "Iraq Star" with this: "I ate turkey for Thanksgiving." We ERUPTED in cheer!!!!!!!
Imagine... something as simple as eating a meal. Don't we take that for granted? A second Marine profiled was out of uniform... yet you knew he was one of them. His face wore the scars of terrible injury. There were lines much like a baseball... as if his gentle face had been roughly pieced back together. Their were the scars left by burns. One hand was clearly crippled. The other outfitted with a metal hook of sorts in which he was able to grasp a glass of soda. His gal too clutched him closely. I wondered what life was like before. Did he play high school football? Does he now have a job? What must it feel like for people to stare?
Fox 11 interviewed this Marine. And I was intrigued by how calmly and confidently he spoke. He thanked "Iraq Star" for a surgery that gave him a new nose. He said something along the lines of it helping his children no longer being fearful of his disfigured face. Imagine the daddy they remembered no longer looking like daddy? His confident speech seemed to make the scars go away. And I felt proud of him.
We can expect to see more war wounded on the streets of America. When you see a young man in his 20's or 30's with injuries you might question in your mind if they were wounded in the war. Will we have another generation of forgotten vets? Not if groups like Iraq Star have a say. Iraq Star says 24,000 men and women have returned home wounded. 144 doctors have enlisted across the nation to join Iraq Star's efforts.
This is not about being for or against the war. It's about standing up for those who stood up for our country long before the war even started. It's about standing up for those who stood up for the rest of us here at home. It is a long journey... remembering the war wounded.
Marla Maples and Marines
---------------------------
A footnote:
The fabulous folk at the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center are focusing the wounds inside. At their "Erasing the Stigma" luncheon the focus too was our military men and women.
www.didihirsch.org
Emcee-Christine Devine, Kita Curry-President/CEO Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center
The journalists who uncovered disturbing conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center were honored. Thomas Whiteside(a veteran) accepted. His daughter, Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, was at the hospital after a psychiatric
break in Iraq and attempted suicide. She tried a second time while being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as she waited
for a decision as to whether she would be court-martialed for her first
suicide attempt.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/
30/AR2008013003106.html?hpid=topnews
Mr. Whiteside shows me a photo of his daughter as a little girl. His smiles masks the many tears that have flowed.
A Vietnam Vet, author Chuck Dean, spoke of tough times upon returning to America. He even called himself that "crazy" vet society can shun. He urged family members to support their war veterans. To understand when they want to sit a restaurant where they can see the exits. To understand if they want to sleep on the couch, more resembling their military cot. To understand mood swings and anger. Their goal, to erase the stigma. To encourage military men and women to seek mental health care and therapy. To encourage funding for such efforts and laws that understand.
www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&f
ield-author=Chuck%20Dean&page=1
As an American, these issues deeply concern me. And they concern me on a personal front. I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding this summer. The groom is a U.S. Marine. A reservist. He's being sent back to the middle east, his 2nd tour, later this year.
