Although the weapons of mass destruction cited by President Bush as a reason for invading Iraq proved fictitious, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and exploding car bombs are killing and maiming our soldiers every day. On Sept. 18, the Dept. of Defense identified 1,025 American service members — average age, 23 — who have died since the war began. Most were killed after Mr. Bush declared, “Mission accomplished.”

As of Sept. 1, announced the Pentagon, the number of American troops wounded in Iraq was approaching 7,000. Many have serious burns or shrapnel wounds. A high percentage of the casualties suffered orthopedic injuries. These soldiers are coping with the physical and psychological trauma inflicted by their injuries.

The majority of the injured are struggling to learn how to function with artificial limbs. Some soldiers have lost multiple limbs. Many who have suffered brain injuries will require custodial care for the rest of their lives. In July, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study conducted at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research on the psychological effects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The results show that one in six veterans of the war in Iraq has suffered psychological damage. The soldiers with the worst symptoms were the least likely to seek help and ask for treatment. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is the first stop for many of the soldiers injured in Iraq. From Walter Reed, they are sent to hospitals at military posts around the country for longer-term care. Walter Reed has been receiving approximately 10 new patients per day, three hundred a month. As the Denver Post wrote in November 2003, “the troops’ horrific injuries are the conflict’s hidden cost.”

— JLT