Mother fights Army over son's death

[lligrd]

Source: Associated Press

WAUSAU, Wis. - Joan McDonald believes her son was a casualty of the war in Iraq, but the Army says that while he did suffer a severe head wound in a bomb blast, the cause of his death is undetermined, keeping him off the casualty list.

<snip>

McDonald, 26, was injured in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq last May. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Hood, Texas. After treatment in Germany, McDonald returned to Fort Hood and underwent extensive facial surgery in August.

His body was found in his barracks apartment Nov. 12, a Monday. He was last seen alive the previous Friday.

The Army ruled out suicide and accidental factors, but an autopsy could not determine the exact cause of death, in part because of the decomposition of the body, said Col. Diane Battaglia, a base spokeswoman.

As a result, McDonald's death is considered noncombat-related, with the caveat that medical experts couldn't rule out that "traumatic brain injury" may have been a factor, Battaglia said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080323/ap_on_re_us/combat_casualty;_ylt=AnPbl21DSqAXlFAI1.jeKm6s0NUE

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How could he go an entire weekend without being noticed?

[Solly Mack]

1. Because they aren't checking in on the wounded and recovering

and the distressed....Much like they weren't at Reed

He was in a barracks so he had a CQ....and often times the CQ is charged with checking in on wounded/recovering/distressed soldiers in the barracks. Such may or may not have been the case this time.

Either no one missed him...and doesn't that say a lot? or no one bothered to check on him...and that says a lot too.

Whenever I helped to settle a wounded soldier back into the barracks (and I did a few), they were always put on the CQ's list of soldiers to check on/ keep an eye on. Not my doing either...it was (supposed to be) SOP.

[yardwork]

19. If his body was so decomposed that cause of death couldn't be determined,

then it seems likely that this poor man was dead longer than three days by the time he was discovered. That would suggest that he wasn't really alive the previous Friday, either.

On the other hand, maybe his body was not that decomposed, and the military just doesn't want to acknowledge that the cause of death was obviously due to the head trauma.

Either way, they're lying, covering up negligence, and generally not doing what they're supposed to do to take care of our soldiers! This is awful.

Thank you for your service to our country, Solly Mack. We need to get things back on track so that our soldiers are treated well.

[Hissyspit]

2. Because this continues to be a clusterfuck on a massive scale.

[grilled onions]

3. How Many More Do Not Count?

How many more are on the "non combat" related list? They do not want those dots connected because they are doing their best to depress the true total loss of life. After all it's a political year. We can't have all those pesky numbers dragging down the Pubs continual march to the WHite House(it should be to the Big House!).

[Supersedeas]

20. that's the politics of counting casualties and making the case for war in the GoP Cable Media

[happygoluckytoyou]

4. HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU SPELL C O V E R U P

BUT AT LEAST IT KEEPS THE NUMBERS LOW....

GLAD THAT SURGE IS WORKING

[zanne]

5. "He was last seen alive the previous Friday"...

But an autopsy could not determine the exact cause of death because of decomposition? How does that make any sense?

[lligrd]

6. Guessing That Three Days In The Desert Can Do Some

damage.

[zanne]

7. Forensic scientists have determined the cause of death with only bones! nt

[lligrd]

8. If You Are Suggesting They Are Purposely Not Identifying

the cause of death, I agree.

[MaryCeleste]

9. That only works in the case of some kinds of trauma

[BadgerLaw2010]

12. Hard to determine which organ failed from bones, don't you think?

Bones only work with some diseases and trauma that damages the bones in question, like skull injuries.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Why any mother would allow their sons to join the military voluntarily is

beyond me. This ain't my daddy's military, that's for sure.

[Thothmes]

13. At 18 years of age, mother no longer have a say in such matter.s

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Well, Thothmes, maybe that's where there's a disconnect.

You see, being an hispanic mom, you learn that talk of 100% independence is just bullshit. Maybe if American families were allowed to stay tight, instead of constantly feeding this idea of complete independence at such an early age, people would be more satisfied about holding onto what's really important in life, and then they won't grow up feeling like there's a void in their life that they have to fill with material possessions? Maybe our world would be a better place if Americans weren't in such a hurry to kick their kids out of the house because everyone expects them to? I'm just sayin, you don't want the government in your face, telling you what to do, so why do it when it comes to your own children?

On the other hand, there's no reason why the child can't work to contribute to the household.

[patrice]

15. AMEN to that!

I taught highschool. You are absolutely right!! What you said + "Tough Love" = COP OUT!

That's where a lot of this, pardon the expression, Cannon Fodder comes from.

[goddess40]

16. recruiters are like spouse abusers

They sweet talk young men and women and promise the moon in the form of bonuses and placement and once the young person signs on the dotted line all bets are off. They even goes as far as not giving the promised bonuses and forget about placement. They'll even promise to help some poor kid launch a basketball or singing career. I don't know how they live with themselves.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Are those recruiters anything different from what we're experiencing

in Wall Street? Or the chamber of government, er commerce?

[goddess40]

18. At least on Wall St. and government we are dealing with experienced adults

not naive unworldly young (very young) adults.

[goddess40]

11. Wis. mom believes son was victim of Iraqi war; Army unsure

Source: Wausau Daily Hearld

By ROBERT IMRIE
Associated Press Writer
Advertisement

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) McDonald, 26, was injured in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq last May. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Hood, Texas. After treatment in Germany, McDonald returned to Fort Hood and underwent extensive facial surgery in August.

His body was found in his barracks apartment Nov. 12, a Monday. He was last seen alive the previous Friday.

The Army ruled out suicide and accidental factors, but an autopsy could not determine the exact cause of death, in part because of the decomposition of the body, said Col. Diane Battaglia, a base spokeswoman.

As a result, McDonald's death is considered noncombat-related, with the caveat that medical experts couldn't rule out that "traumatic bra

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/COMBAT_CASUALTY_WIOL-?SITE=WIFON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Another uncounted death, we were over 4000 a long time ago but because of shady counting practices there is no way to tell when we met that mark.

[sakabatou]

21. That's screwed up...