SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"This Memorial Day," said Win Without War, "let us remember the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war." (Photo: Robert Couse-Baker/flickr/cc)
US Army Tweet Inadvertently Triggers Responses Revealing 'Real, Painful, and Horrifying Human Costs of War'
"How has serving impacted you?" the Army asked. The responses poured in.
May 26, 2019
The U.S. Army may have gotten more than it bargained for when it recently asked on Twitter, "How has serving impacted you?"
The question, posed just before the nation officially marks Memorial Day, brought attention to "the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war," said advocacy group Win Without War.
\u201cTrigger warning: This thread is a very painful read. But it is the stark truth. This Memorial Day, let us remember the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war. #EndEndlessWar\u201d— Win Without War (@Win Without War) 1558739152
Observers described the responses, which came from veterans, their loved ones, and people from countries where U.S. has waged war, as "brutal" and "heartbreaking."
A sampling of the responses follows:
\u201cYour army destroyed my country. #Iraq\u201d— Ruba Ali Al-Hassani (@Ruba Ali Al-Hassani) 1558756111
\u201c@USArmy The agent orange my grandfather was exposed to in Vietnam caused his cancer & death, and possibly caused the various diseases and disorders my mom, aunt, and me and my siblings have. The army and government knew the dangers of agent orange when they started using it.\u201d— U.S. Army (@U.S. Army) 1558649108
\u201c@USArmy After 15 years in I was kicked out after showing obviously signs of PTSD and depression. Now I can't function in society because of my major depressive disorder.\nSo now what?\u201d— U.S. Army (@U.S. Army) 1558649108
My uncle is still MIA in Laos. He was involved in a secret war, and the military lied to my family about his location. He was 20 years old, too young to vote at that time. The US has learned nothing and continues to manufacture war under false pretenses.
-- Karen DuVall (@SingAtTheTable) May 26, 2019
Veterans for Peace also drew attention to war's devastation
"Our message for Memorial Day is to remember all who have died in war and to understand that no one wins," said Michael McPhearson, the organization's executive director.
"There are people who profit from war, mainly those who invest in the defense industry or possibly the oil sector. But the veterans and civilians who survive war suffer for the rest of their lives," said McPhearson. "And the entire society is robbed of billions of tax dollars which could be spent on jobs, education, healthcare, infrastructure and sustainable energy."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The U.S. Army may have gotten more than it bargained for when it recently asked on Twitter, "How has serving impacted you?"
The question, posed just before the nation officially marks Memorial Day, brought attention to "the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war," said advocacy group Win Without War.
\u201cTrigger warning: This thread is a very painful read. But it is the stark truth. This Memorial Day, let us remember the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war. #EndEndlessWar\u201d— Win Without War (@Win Without War) 1558739152
Observers described the responses, which came from veterans, their loved ones, and people from countries where U.S. has waged war, as "brutal" and "heartbreaking."
A sampling of the responses follows:
\u201cYour army destroyed my country. #Iraq\u201d— Ruba Ali Al-Hassani (@Ruba Ali Al-Hassani) 1558756111
\u201c@USArmy The agent orange my grandfather was exposed to in Vietnam caused his cancer & death, and possibly caused the various diseases and disorders my mom, aunt, and me and my siblings have. The army and government knew the dangers of agent orange when they started using it.\u201d— U.S. Army (@U.S. Army) 1558649108
\u201c@USArmy After 15 years in I was kicked out after showing obviously signs of PTSD and depression. Now I can't function in society because of my major depressive disorder.\nSo now what?\u201d— U.S. Army (@U.S. Army) 1558649108
My uncle is still MIA in Laos. He was involved in a secret war, and the military lied to my family about his location. He was 20 years old, too young to vote at that time. The US has learned nothing and continues to manufacture war under false pretenses.
-- Karen DuVall (@SingAtTheTable) May 26, 2019
Veterans for Peace also drew attention to war's devastation
"Our message for Memorial Day is to remember all who have died in war and to understand that no one wins," said Michael McPhearson, the organization's executive director.
"There are people who profit from war, mainly those who invest in the defense industry or possibly the oil sector. But the veterans and civilians who survive war suffer for the rest of their lives," said McPhearson. "And the entire society is robbed of billions of tax dollars which could be spent on jobs, education, healthcare, infrastructure and sustainable energy."
The U.S. Army may have gotten more than it bargained for when it recently asked on Twitter, "How has serving impacted you?"
The question, posed just before the nation officially marks Memorial Day, brought attention to "the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war," said advocacy group Win Without War.
\u201cTrigger warning: This thread is a very painful read. But it is the stark truth. This Memorial Day, let us remember the real, painful, and horrifying human costs of war. #EndEndlessWar\u201d— Win Without War (@Win Without War) 1558739152
Observers described the responses, which came from veterans, their loved ones, and people from countries where U.S. has waged war, as "brutal" and "heartbreaking."
A sampling of the responses follows:
\u201cYour army destroyed my country. #Iraq\u201d— Ruba Ali Al-Hassani (@Ruba Ali Al-Hassani) 1558756111
\u201c@USArmy The agent orange my grandfather was exposed to in Vietnam caused his cancer & death, and possibly caused the various diseases and disorders my mom, aunt, and me and my siblings have. The army and government knew the dangers of agent orange when they started using it.\u201d— U.S. Army (@U.S. Army) 1558649108
\u201c@USArmy After 15 years in I was kicked out after showing obviously signs of PTSD and depression. Now I can't function in society because of my major depressive disorder.\nSo now what?\u201d— U.S. Army (@U.S. Army) 1558649108
My uncle is still MIA in Laos. He was involved in a secret war, and the military lied to my family about his location. He was 20 years old, too young to vote at that time. The US has learned nothing and continues to manufacture war under false pretenses.
-- Karen DuVall (@SingAtTheTable) May 26, 2019
Veterans for Peace also drew attention to war's devastation
"Our message for Memorial Day is to remember all who have died in war and to understand that no one wins," said Michael McPhearson, the organization's executive director.
"There are people who profit from war, mainly those who invest in the defense industry or possibly the oil sector. But the veterans and civilians who survive war suffer for the rest of their lives," said McPhearson. "And the entire society is robbed of billions of tax dollars which could be spent on jobs, education, healthcare, infrastructure and sustainable energy."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.