Page 34 - Total War on PTSD

General Hodges had a standing policy that every wounded soldier within his theater of command was to be presented with a Purple Heart Medal as soon as possible following their injury and that no injured soldier was to leave the theater for further care without his or her Purple Heart medal. He was determined that no Soldier was going to be subjected to bureaucratic snafus that might hold up or deny them a medal that they deserved. The level of medical care and life benefits were more significant for these soldiers than for those who were not wounded in combat—benefits that they would need down the road.
The General asked me to stand beside him as he presented the award. There were a lot of people there that evening, including a nurse that I recognized who usually accompanied me to the rooms of our wounded and injured soldiers whenever I visited the Role III Hospital.
After the presentation of the award, the contingent moved on to present the Purple Heart to another wounded soldier in a nearby ward. The nurse came up to me at that point and asked if she could talk with me a minute. I said, “Sure."
"Would you mind visiting with an 'expectant' soldier in the Special Care Unit a couple of sections over," she asked. "Maybe you could talk to him like you usually do with the other troops when you visit one of your injured soldiers. I think it would mean a lot to him.” "I don't mind at all," I said. "I'll be glad to."
As we walked, she added that he was a triple-amputee and that nobody, not even anyone from his own unit, had been to see him and that no one probably would.
“The patient is heavily sedated and might not be able to talk with you," she confessed. "But I'm sure that he will hear you and will know that you're there.”
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