Wounded Veterans Want to Be Treated Like Ordinary People

Today, the 65th anniversary of D-Day, a six-man relay of American graduate students in the United Kingdom will be swimming across the choppy waters of the English Channel. Our team draws inspiration from veterans of World War II, and hopes to raise money to support today's generation of inspirational veterans. Recognizing those brave men and women from the past and present is of great personal importance to me.

Both of my grandfathers served in World War II, and like many of their generation, they have passed away in recent years. Neither spoke openly about their experiences. Indeed, my paternal grandfather only went so far as to explain he had been "counting pennies" when we would ask what he had been doing during the war. Perhaps because of their reticence, I never fully grasped the enormity of the sacrifice they and their generation made on my behalf.

Living in England has helped to bring the human element of World War II into greater focus. Whether it be that buildings in London still bear the damage of the Blitz or that Queen Elizabeth II is the last living head of state to have served in World War II, that conflict somehow seems less removed on this side of the pond.

One of my favorite pastimes in London is touring the Cabinet War Rooms, recreated to look as they did in May 1945. You can almost feel the presence of Prime Minister Winston Churchill as you squeeze through narrow, subterranean corridors where he led British military operations during the war. It is in these rooms -- 5,000 miles away from home -- that I have felt closest to my grandfathers since both died. Swimming the English Channel on D-Day is a way to pay tribute to them and their peers.

OUR SWIM is also an attempt to support the present generation of military veterans. We are raising money for The Mission Continues, a charity that provides service opportunities for wounded and disabled veterans who still desire to serve their country. Providing these individuals with a way to be part of a team and continue to serve a larger cause is the best way to honor their previous service.

I met many wounded veterans when I spent the summer of 2004 in Walter Reed Medical Hospital and outpatient care recovering from injuries I sustained while working in Baghdad as a civilian. I learned a great deal about their struggles by interacting with them on a daily basis and overcoming challenges of my own. One lesson I learned is that while others were often eager to anoint the injured solders as heroes or treat them as victims, what they really wanted was to be treated like normal human beings.

One morning at Walter Reed my ward mates and I were visited by a group of congressmen, serenaded by Harry Connick Jr., and high-fived by the professional wrestler, Mankind. Those solders who were physically able were taken to expensive dinners and parades, where they were feted as the guests of honor. One, upon returning to the hospital from a movie premiere, seemed to speak for many when he said that, while he appreciated the star treatment, it made him a bit uncomfortable and the true heroes were his buddies still in combat.

Equally as challenging as the praise was the sympathy that many received. Soldiers, especially those with visible injuries, often talked of the awkwardness -- they realized it was mutual -- of interacting with civilians who had only the best intentions in mind. I viewed one such encounter outside the hospital one day when a visitor apologized to a young soldier for his missing left leg. The veteran defiantly replied that he signed up for this and would go back to Iraq if he could.

TMC RECOGNIZES that many veterans do not want sympathy or praise so much as they want to go back to work. For instance, Troy Crawford, wounded by an improvised explosive device, learned whitewater kayaking to assist his recovery and now teaches it to other wounded service members as a part of his fellowship.

In fact, if I could talk to my grandfathers today, I imagine they would tell me going back to work was exactly what their generation wanted to do as well.

Scott Erwin is a Rhodes scholar pursuing a doctorate in theology at Oxford University. Contributions to The Mission Continues can be made via its Web site: http://www.missioncontinues.org.