Wounded Vets Fight Red Tape To Get Benefits

[LaurenG]

I realize that this is nothing new but it's horrific. I cannot believe we treat our service personnel this way. :cry:

CINCINNATI - They are the men and women fighting for our country, but they're the unlucky ones who get to come home, but are injured. “We don't want a handout. We're sick. We can't work. They know it,” John Waltz said. "Take care of us." Or, like Waltz, they suffer from the mental pain of what they saw and what they'll never forget.

"Seeing body parts. Smelling the blood. Feeling the heat. And it's just like you're really there, again," he said. Waltz served in the U.S. Navy and was on the USS George Washington when he witnessed the plane crash that took out his crew. He now suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder.

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Brondhaver almost died in Iraq when his convoy was ambushed. He spent 11 months in the hospital. When he came home, it took nine months for his claim to be processed correctly.

"We’re national guard and reservists coming back wounded and really society and the va wasn't ready for state and reserve troops to come back wounded," Brondhaver said. The problem is overwhelming; more than 70,000 disability claims are being filed with the Veterans Benefits Administration every month. On average, it takes six months for a claim to be processed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21826798/