Editor, My hat goes off to the Tri County RC Flyers for their recent airshow and the thousands of dollars they raised for wounded veterans. Unfortunately, the Courier’s story contained a description of the Wounded Warrior Project organization that was misleading and is inaccurate. It read “… which helps veterans wounded in conflict…”
Although it collects hundreds of millions of dollars, the WWP supports a small percentage of our nation’s wounded warriors.
Per their website, “The WWP mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors who incurred a physical or mental injury, illnesses or wound, co-incident to your military service on or after Sept.11, 2001 … ”
Sailors and Marines severely disabled in the bombing of the USS Cole and those warriors of all services wounded prior to 9/11 (World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Grenada, etc.) don’t get help from the WWP, which pays their executives millions of dollars annually and holds more than $100 million in its accounts.
Additionally, the WWP touts the fact they were instrumental in getting Congress to pass the Caregivers Act of 2010, which provides caregiver assistance for severely disabled veterans. However, when this legislation was signed into law by the president, discrimination became the order of the day. More than 70 percent of disabled veterans were not provided life-altering assistance.
When Congress finally proposed legislation to end this discrimination, the WWP was the only organization that opposed the legislation. Unfortunately, it failed to reach the Senate floor for a vote, in part due to Sen. Johnny Isakson’s “no” vote because he couldn’t attach an amendment dealing with Iran, but that’s a story for another day.
I applaud any organizations that raise money to aid any and all selfless wounded warriors, but I pray this discrimination will end soon.

— Bruce McCartney
Trade Hill