Iraq Vet Needs Your Help!
Dear Everyone,
James Webb hasn't fallen through the cracks, our government has simply used him up and pushed him and many more of our veterans to the side.
Can you help him? There is more information about him on our website. Go to our "In the News" page.
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Iraq Veteran Needs Your Help
James Webb is an Iraq war veteran who is in need of help. My first visit with him was Saturday May 21st.
His first injury occurred in Kuwait; he injured his back while trying to lift a tow bar. According to my daughter (also an Iraq war veteran), tow bars weigh around 100 to 300 pounds.
The second injury occurred in Iraq – he injured his back and hip in a blast. He had intense pain but had to return to duty the next day because of stop loss, and because there was no one to replace him.
His third injury occurred during a firefight; he re-injured other injuries and started to lose sensation in his legs. He walks with a limp, and has neurological problems and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
He was exposed to biological/ chemical contaminants in Iraq that engineers pulled out of the ground -- none of the soldiers had protective suits. He does not know the extent of the damage that this exposure may have caused.
He was stationed in the Fallujah / Ramadah area where there was an infestation of sandfleas and sandflies. These insects are known to deposit a toxin on human skin and it builds up over time.
He lived in one of Saddam's old death camps and saw the mass graves.
He joined the military after 911 because he wanted to help. His Grandfather was in the Army and his uncle was in the Navy -- that had an influence on him.
Total time in Iraq - one year and seven days.
His wife suffers from pancreatitis and it can only be treated with pain management. She has a good paying job, but misses a lot of days due to illness. They have three children living with them (ages 7, 13 and 14), and James has a six year old son living with the mother. He must pay child support for that child.
They are in the process of moving out of their house and into an apartment. Their house will be in foreclosure at the end of May, but their home can still be saved for them until it is sold. He is about to lose his car and has made arrangements with the loan holder to catch up. He does not know how he will honor that arrangement.
If he can catch up his car payments, his sister will take over payments and switch vehicles with him to eliminate his car payments. They do not know how they will pay their basic bills when they move.
James' mother Jackie has been helping financially but has reached her limit. Jackie’s mother is dying in hospice care.
James was medically discharged from the Army in February (he was in Ft Riley, Ks and came here to the Atlanta area where his wife and children are). He started trying to get benefits at that time, and is working with a VA caseworker. He was told that it would take six to eight months to receive benefits.
He and his wife Michele stated that they might even need food soon.
He attempted suicide in early September. Five others in his brigade also attempted suicide. Since returning from Iraq, James also suffers from unexplained seizures and blackouts.
There has been a story about James in the New York Times, but he has not read it.
Read the New York Times story that includes James on our "IN THE NEWS" web page.
Also, a recent article about James has run in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
It's now the first story on our In The News page.
James and Michelle do not care how public we make this information; they say they just need help. They have other financial obligations not listed here. If you would like to help, please go to our website:
http://www.orgsites.com/ga/save-our-soldiers/
Thank You,
Denise Thomas
Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition (GPJC)
Georgia Military Families Speak Out (GA MFSO)
giwifegimom@netscape.net
UPDATE 7-31-05:
Sadly, the Webb's marriage does not appear to have survived.
The VA is still telling James that he has to wait six to eight months for monetary help, but a lawyer has become interested because of the news story and maybe that will speed the process.
James has been in and out of the VA hospital and has been found to have four damaged vertebrae and a host of other hidden problems. He faces months more of re-hospitalization and surgery; and he still needs your help.
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Below is a letter that I received from James Webb today (8-20-05). He's alone now, but he's always smiling (you'd never know all the problems he faces just by looking at him), and always asking about my daughter Shanell because she has PTSD. James never smiles so widely as he does when he's talking about his 6-year-old his son, and with no money he can't visit him (he lives in Tennessee with his first wife). He's too depressed to help himself right now, but he's the type of person who thinks of others before himself.
He still owes on loans he took to try to save the house for his now estranged wife Michelle. She was living there since before they married.
I thought the news story about him in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution would generate enough interest to help him, but I guess people don't want to hear about a vet in trouble. The lawer and the congress person who became interested after his news story never followed through.
Please, friends, don't let him become a homeless veteran. That's where I fear he's headed!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 20:00:38 +0000
Subject: hello
Denise,
This is James Webb, I am really struggling now. I am really unsure what to do. I have so many people calling me wanting me to send them money. But I don't have it to send, my mother is in her own words "tapped out" so I have no choice but not to pay them and watch my credit slowly fade away.
And if it weren't bad enough, I still owe them money and ruined my credit. Well, I have been doing not so well due to all this and I wasn't able to make it to a rally with VFP because I have been feeling down really badly. I was going to go but I got some calls that morning on the day they were haveing it at the VA, and I got further depressed from 2 collection agencies calling an telling me they are handling a collections turn in. So I didn't go. I wanted to get Debbie's phone number again if you have it. Thanks for everything Denise and God Bless.
Honorably,
James
