Ty Ziegel-Before and After Iraq
This is Ty Ziegel before and after his tour in Iraq. He is one of many seriously injured American troops and he is lucky to be alive. He is also lucky to have such a wonderful bride. He is a hero and he is a victim.
While his injuries are very visible, they are neither unique or even the most serious among those who were wounded. Certainly they are all more fortunate than those who died in the war.
But how do you compare the loss of a leg, or both legs, or the loss of sight or speech or the loss of sexual function and paralysis? And do you justify these horrendous injuries and support for the war where they continue to occur on a daily basis?
You can’t. Our young people are being torn apart, physically and emotionally by this war while we refuse to stop the maniacs that prolong it. Al Quaeda is not responsible for Ty’s injuries, nor is the congress, nor is Bush. We are. We let it continue when we have the power to stop it. Shame on us.
Related Posts:
Before and After Iraq – Ty Zeiglel Update
A Soldier Sums Up the Horror - (Incredible letter from an ex-marine whose husband was killed in Iraq. A must read)
Losing a Son in Iraq - (A father and veterans moving story)
Soldier Suicides Skyrocket – (Taking the ultimate step to get out of the war)
Listen to the Troops Speak Out – (Iraq veterans on the war – excellent video)
Bush Forced to Enhance Veteran Care – (Sad state of our VA efforts)
Notches in Bush’s Gun – (Death toll)
Notches in Bush’s Gun – Update – (previous posts numbers out of date overnight)
Supporting the Troops – Bush Style – (Deporting the wife of a missing soldier)
Vets Get Screwed Again – Scandals of Veteran Mistreatment
The Horses Mouth – (Soldiers’ quotes on the war)
Faces of The Fallen (American Casualties)
What Memorial Day Means To Me – (Personal comment)
I could go on and on with this list. If you are interested, just click one of the following categories in the list over there. ——> Iraq, Indecency, Military.
Comments very welcome.
September 10, 2007 at 6:11 am
Note: Ty’s name in this post was originally misspelled Ziegler instead of Ziegel. I was shocked at the amount of traffic it received from people doing searches for the misspelled version. I have, as of this date, corrected that mistake on this and follow up posts. My traffic will probably decrease but I had to correct the error.
Thanks for visiting.
expatbrian
January 24, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I am not sure who this is going to, but my point stands. That man is a goddamn hero. Dying is not the worst fate in war, the worst fate is living with the scars, whether they are mental or physical. I’m going to be signing up for the Marines in June of 08. I think it is redicuolous of the ridicule, hate, and the non-thanks citizens of this country have for the men and women that are scared and that die for this country. These men sacrifice so much for the freedom of others. They are hated by many for it. I don’t understand that concept. I’m a mean SOB, but I couldn’t help to shed a tear for that man, he is the type of hero that makes AMERICA great, he is the type of man that gives me hope in our country, and he is a man I envy. I hope this message reaches him one day.
January 25, 2008 at 7:02 am
Ryan, thanks for your comment but I must say, you are way off base. No one that I read or that reads me, no one on the right or the left that I know feels anything but pride for our fighting men. If you are mistaking hate for the war for hate for the troops, you are making a grave error. I challenge you to find just one article, in the news, on a blog or anywhere else, by an American, that alludes to hating the troops. You won’t find one.
Who your comment went to is a former Vietnam combat veteran as are some of my readers. We have a profound understanding of what is going through the minds of our soldiers and their day to day struggles. Don’t you dare accuse me of hating them. You are obviously neither old enough or experienced enough to make such a ridiculous statement. And trust me, you aren’t “bad”. When you get into the marines, when you get stationed with some seasoned, professional soldiers, you will learn what “bad” is.
As for joining the marines, that is your right. Good luck to you. But if you are of the mind that, whatever the President wants to do is best for the country, or that supporting him – right or wrong – is a good thing, or that to question this war is unpatriotic, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
January 26, 2008 at 6:34 am
I think you got me all wrong. I have nothing but pride and respect for our country and our troops. I meant no offense, I was a little drunk when I wrote that, and I would never acsuse someone of hating our troops unless it has been made obvious by that person. I don’t think I pointed that accusation at you, I’m guessing your retired or active duty, so I respect you and thank you for your service. I love my country and though I may not always agree with the desisians the presidents make, I am still all for supporting them, questioning the war is fine freedom of speech and press are two things the military fight for(maybe not in this war) . As for the hate towards our troops I was merily saying that I think some peoples hate toward the war, sometimes is misdirected on to the troops. I won’t even get on the topic “bad”, but I will say you don’t know what I’ve seen and exspierianced in my life so I think your statment has no evidence. That aside, I love my country, I’m proud to be in this country, and hopefully one day I will get to fight for it. By the way I’m not sure how you took offence to my message, it was giving thanks and respect to our troops including you that is well deserved and never once did I accuse you of anything. I not going to argue with someone whom I respect.
January 26, 2008 at 6:45 am
Also I wanted to make this clear. There is nothing unpatriotic or wrong about disagreeing or oppossing the war, if I said it were wrong to do so I would be contridicting my self by trying to deny an American his rights. If you or anyone else oppose the war it is your freedom to do so and to give your opinion. I am simply saying allow me my freedom, which I am not pushing on you or anyonelse, to say I may not agree but I will back my country.
January 26, 2008 at 7:22 am
Ryan, I took no offense at anything you said. If we all took offense every time someone supports the illegal war and the criminal president, we wouldnt have time to do anything else.
That said, the illegality of this war, both domestically and internationally is not a matter of opinion. It is extremely well documented for anyone who takes the time to read the news. At the same time, the criminal, unconstitutional acts of the president are just as well documented. As far as I, and many other loyal Americans are concerned, to support either one is not an act of patriotism, but an act of aiding and abetting criminal conduct.
The war I was in was also started with a lie from a president. Johnson invented the Gulf of Tonkin incident (recent documents prove this) in order to get us into that war. We lost nearly 60,000 men and for what? The Vietnamese, communist or otherwise are in charge of their own country as they should be.
We invaded Iraq, a sovereign nation, based on a lie about WMD’s and Saddams association with Al Quaeda. Neither exist. Even Bush admits that now.
I could go on and on.
You are 18 Ryan. You are not old enough to have experienced “the other side”. I encourage you to join the marines, go fight Bush’s war and come home safely. It will be a much better teacher than anything you have had before or will have again.
But know this. Once you see that side, you will never be the same. And the change will not be a positive one. Go learn the hard, bitter lesson that so many of us have already learned. Poor Americans fight rich Americans wars, and even if we survive, we never recover.
January 26, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I’m acually 20, 21 in march, but anyway I know it will change me for the worse I know I will see things that will forever scare me. I’ve seen pictures and videos of real war. I know that does not compare to the real thing, but it helps me get ready to cope with it. I always wanted to join the Marines since about 6. That changed when I saw my first daughter being born at the age of 15 or no I had just turned 16. I loved the mother with all heart. We had a second child together. We were together for 5 years. The details of our split up are some of the worst things someone could go through in a relationship. She’s taking my little girls to another state to have a new life and a new man to call thier daddy…. I’ve lost everything here, other things that I won’t go into are also going on in my life. Point is I know what I will face in war, maybe not fully, but I have nothing here now. So I go back to my dream of joining the service. By the way it is odd that each war there has one thing that starts us in it, odd part is thier is always cotraversy about whether we knew it was going to happen and just let it happen to get the publics backing.
World war 1: Zimmerman note and sinking of “Lusipatania” the cargo ship.
World war 2: Pearl Harbor
And now Iraqi Freedom: The Twin Towers
I’ll admit our goverment hides things and does alot of wrong, but I’d rather be sent to Iraq when I join thinking I’m going to protect America.
July 26, 2008 at 8:20 am
[...] Ziegel doesn’t feel entitled to the presidency, even though he lost most of his face in Iraq and had to fight like hell to get his disability [...]