Without Shame

Every time you think the radical left has reached rock bottom, they pull another stunt and sink to an even lower level of callousness and even depravity.

Consider today's report from Cybercast News Service: anti-war protestors are now demonstrating outside the main entrance to Walter Reed Army Medical Centerin Washington, where many wounded service members from Iraq and Afghanistan receive treatment. Some of the demonstrators carry signs with such slogans as "Enlist and Die for Haliburton," and "Maimed for Lies." There is also a dispaly of flag-draped coffins, representing those killed in the War on Terrorism.

Naturally, the anti-war crowd sees nothing wrong with their choice of protest location. And, they express no concern about the wounded service members (receiving outpatient treatment) who must pass the protestors while entering or leaving the hospital.

The demonstrations have caught the attention of wounded veterans at the hospital. Kevin Pannell, a member of the 1st Calvary Division that lost two legs in Iraq, said it well:

[Pannell] considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful." When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him."We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever,"

"You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors' guilt is the worst thing you can deal with," Pannell said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters. "We don't like them and we don't like the fact that they can hang their signs and stuff on the fence at Walter Reed," he said. "[The wounded veterans] are there to recuperate. Once they get out in the real world, then they can start seeing that stuff (anti-war protests). I mean Walter Reed is a sheltered environment and it needs to stay that way."

Not surprisingly, the anti-war protestors plan to sustain their vigil outside Walter Reed. Personally, I'm waiting for one of the demonstrators to get into the face of a wounded vet, and get cold-cocked for the effort by one of our heroes. When it happens, I will gladly make the first contribution to that soldier, sailor, airman or marine's legal defense fund.