This Wednesday, the Department of Defense awarded Purple Hearts to 69 soldiers who sustained traumatic brain injury caused by an Iranian retaliatory attack which occurred on January 2, 2020.
Within hours of the attack, military officials falsely announced no casualties occurred in this attack. Despite the fact that there were massive explosions, damage to buildings and equipment with dozens of troops sustaining concussions, President Trump made outrageous statements minimizing the physical and cognitive symptoms these injured soldiers sustained.
President Trump in minimizing and denigrating these troops and their injuries stated:
“I don’t consider them very serious injuries, relative to other injuries that I’ve seen,” Trump said after the attack. “No, I do not consider that to be bad injuries.”
It took the Pentagon more than a month to acknowledge that more than 100 troops had suffered traumatic brain injuries with 25 service members requiring evacuation to treat their injuries and an additional 41 being removed from active duty status due to their injuries
It’s about time these brain injury survivors received the recognition they so justly deserve.
And it goes without saying that the deplorable statements made by our former president and the complacency on the part of the Department of Defense never be repeated and injured service members suffering from a traumatic brain injury receive the recognition and care they so justly deserve.