More Than Its Share of Sacrifice

In speeches and ceremonial remarks, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear frequently refers to the Commonwealth's long history of military service, speaking with pride of how Kentuckians have enthusiastically volunteered for duty.

I'm not sure he fully grasps the consequences.

From the Herald:

But for the soldiers of Kentucky and their families, the war is far from over.

To understand the impact of these wars on the American fabric, McClatchy reviewed reams of reports and records from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It settled on London — a typical small American town that, when it comes to matters of war, is anything but typical.

In the past decade, nearly 200 men and women from these parts have left the service and are now collecting disability payments for the injuries they sustained during military service. Three soldiers from London were killed, a higher number than most small towns and many larger ones.

(One hundred and three Kentuckians have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan clusterfucks.)

And a McClatchy assessment finds that the area has one of the highest rates in the country of veterans collecting disability payments for post-traumatic stress disorder — one the costliest and most prevalent ailments to emerge from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

These grim benchmarks set London apart from many American communities.

To gauge just what these wars have done in this part of Kentucky, McClatchy visited the area and talked to many who live here: veterans, preachers, shopkeepers, parents and wives.

Read the whole eye-opening, heart-breaking thing.

But don't expect to see any criticism of the war, not even from the families nearly destroyed by it. That's not a McClatchy bias: that's a true depiction of how Kentuckians view military service.

To our everlasting detriment.