WWTBAM Bored

I'm going to be nasty to an honorable man who has endured horrific tragedy in his life.

Joe Biden's son, Major Beau Biden, served in Iraq where he was exposed to smoke from burn pits. He died in 2015 from brain cancer. His family and doctors believe burn pits caused his disease, which would make Beau a fallen soldier, but it's difficult to prove.

Last month, Congress passed the PACT act, which helps Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who have service-related illnesses. One of its provisions changes the rules the VA uses to decide if an illness is caused by military service. For instance, if a veteran who was exposed to burn pits later develops brain cancer, the VA now presumes his disease is service-related. That's a big relief to suffering veterans battling the VA bureaucracy.

So when Biden signed the PACT act, the Bidens became a Gold Star family.

I'm not aware of Tucker or Hannity skewering Biden for this. Good thing they don't read the Bored.

I don’t see any nasty. You suck at nasty.

But I agree with the PACT act. Maybe you’ll be better being nasty towards me.

jarnon wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 07, 2022 6:29 pm

Last month, Congress passed the PACT act, which helps Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who have service-related illnesses. One of its provisions changes the rules the VA uses to decide if an illness is caused by military service. For instance, if a veteran who was exposed to burn pits later develops brain cancer, the VA now presumes his disease is service-related. That's a big relief to suffering veterans battling the VA bureaucracy.

I don't see why it was necessary to make a reference to Biden being a Gold Star father unless he's claimed that status publicly. I doubt he wants to call any more attention to his family's personal tragedy.

I can relate to this Act personally. My father was wounded in World War II when he was clearing a minefield in Normandy shortly after D-Day. The soldier next to him stepped on a mine and blew himself to bits. My father was hit with a lot of shrapnel and lost a leg as a result. They had procedures in place so that soldiers would stay a certain distance apart in case an accident like this happened, but somehow, my father and the other man got too close together. The surgeons were never able to remove all the shrapnel. He later died of a heart attack when I was less than two years old. I've seen photos of him, and he was in his mid-30s at the time and lean and fit looking. What my mother thinks happened is that a piece of shrapnel got into his bloodstream, and that caused the heart attack. The VA disagreed. If his death had been ruled a service-related death, my mother would have gotten higher VA benefits which would have definitely helped her as a single mother raising a preschool child. More than the money, however, my mother wanted the recognition from the government that he died in the service of his country.

My mother remained convinced until the day she died that the shrapnel from his wound killed my father. She never got that official recognition.

S3 wrote:

I can relate to this Act personally. My father was wounded in World War II when he was clearing a minefield in Normandy shortly after D-Day. The soldier next to him stepped on a mine and blew himself to bits.

Exact same with me, except Dad lost only part of his left calf and half his left pinky. He was airlifted to a London hospital where they put him back together. Dad never complained about his treatment other than some mocking references to the British obsession with their afternoon "tay." As I recall, his medical expenses were covered 100% the rest of his life, but that's probably not right because what eventually killed him weren't his war wounds but instead complications from Parkinson's.