Success of Vermont 3-11-09

Success of Vermont 3-11-09
Peter Macdonald 465 Packersfalls rd Lee NH 03824 603-659-6217
Yesterday’s article on Vermont was a hit across the U.S. Do people understand the article was basically about disabled Veteran’s being denied medical care for injuries received in service to the U.S. My cousin lives in Vermont. I see this man maybe once every two or three years. His life was shattered because as a child he was drafted into the Marine Corps. Agent Orange and the silent memories that never go away meant that this now Veteran was returning to a society that will never accept him again as a human being. He moved away from his home State and met the perfect woman whom was from Vermont. I met this Marine for the first time (that I remember) after I returned from my tour in the MC. I came back 100% disabled and one of my four injuries is TBI. I have no memory of ever being in the U.S. before. This unrecognized service connected disabled veteran carved out a life in East Dover Vermont. I learned from two woman that work at Okemo Ski resort about a person that volunteers to help others but has a questionable character because of his unrecognized disabilities. This is a U.S. Marine (A Veteran) that went some place as a child and did uncivilized things in the name of freedom, that will never be able to return to the life he left. The meaning of yesterday’s article was about the cruel and uncivilized treatment of the U.S. Military returning from WAR.
My Vermont article talked about the people that I met. The older gentle man that I helped across a icy street, or the woman that offered to pay for my coffee. I was totally impressed by the two women at Okemo Ski Resort that talked to me all afternoon. I was made to feel at home in a small out of the way town in Vermont. I can see how my cousin (even though his character was considered abnormal) would be accepted in a state that seems to care for everyone equally. I volunteer every day to help others because I came back alive. Until NH put me in jail as a terrorist to stop my opinion letters, I might never have become aware of other Veteran’s giving back so much. These volunteers are Veterans because? The reason I volunteer is because when I first returned it was the only way that I could be accepted into a community that I had no right to be. It was a road that I took for the selfish reason of trying to understand how to live in a place that I had no memory of. I wrote the article because learning about how many Veteran’s volunteer is (my self induced path to being accepted) one so many other veteran’s silently follow.
My article did not talk about 25% of the homeless in the U.S. are Veterans. It did not talk about the lost files. It did not talk about the lack of medical care or miss treatment because the system is a political scrape goat for camouflage budget busting pet projects of our elected officials. The people in the state of Vermont it appears treat the abnormal but do not understand these are Veteran’s. These are Veteran’s swept under the rug because no politician could gain self image by helping.
The State of Vermont is a beautiful place. It is the people that make this state a place to remember. This as all my opinion letters will be censored but let me thank Okemo Ski resort for having two such wonderful women and the state of Vermont for treating my cousin right. Thank You to the people of Vermont.
Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper fi