LifeZette: A young veteran and mortician in Seattle, Washington, has taken on a very special task — caring for the unclaimed remains of veterans who have died and making sure these servicemen are buried with honors.
This has been a salve for this vet’s own war wounds as well. In 2003 James Lindley, 34, was among the U.S. forces in the Kuwaiti desert waiting for orders to invade Iraq. Lindley and other Marines were told they had just nine seconds to don their gas masks in the event of an attack.
Lindley found the atmosphere of dread overwhelming, as The Wall Street Journal noted in its article about Lindley’s work. When his squadron moved into Iraq, Lindley remained behind on guard duty. It bothered him that while he was relatively safe in Kuwait, his comrades were heading straight for danger. MORE
“unclaimed remains”
that tears my heart
rip to those fine vets, rip
A patriot, a man of honor in spite of the Socialist Republic of Seattle.
God bless you, Mr. Lindley.
“Unclaimed remains” Wow. I never could imagine that. What a heartbreak.
I watched “Taking Chance” with Kevin Beacon again last week with a continuous lump in my throat.
@Moe Tom
I remember Rusty Humphries reading that story over the air. I was on lunch and sitting in my truck. I clocked back late.
“When his enlistment ended in 2004, Lindley felt damaged by the experience. “The nature of my trauma boils down to just the fear of dying,” he said. The VA eventually declared him 70 percent disabled from PTSD, cognitive disorder and depression.”
He didn’t even cross the Line of Departure? 70%
Moe, if you can watch “Taking Chance” without a lump in your throat or dust in your eyes it is hard to imagine.
“Semper Fidelis” isn’t just a motto, it’s a life long bond.
I was under the impression that an individual had to have been in combat to have PTSD, that may have changed so the VA can get a bigger budget.
They even started paying for HIV as a service connected disability.