Letter: Ex-Marine shouldn't need charity
A helicopter Ronnie Brandafino was riding in during a training exercise in Hawaii experienced a hydraulic failure and crashed. Brandafino, 23, a crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, was thrown from the wreckage. He's now recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Credit: Handout
In response to "Benefit for an injured Marine" [News, Sept. 23], the United States is responsible for the future of men like Cpl. Ronnie Brandafino and every other service member who is injured on duty. Regardless of the circumstances, citizens of our United States should not be abandoned after being crippled, maimed, wounded, mentally disabled, etc., after their medical needs are supposedly taken care of.
Brandafino's aunt is organizing fundraisers for his post-military living expenses. God bless her for doing that, but I don't think it should have to be. The United States owes this man, as well as every other citizen who serves and is hurt in the military, carte-blanche treatment. Until he has a job that will put him into the mainstream of life's endeavors, such as home ownership and starting a family, our country should be paying his way.
No one should be dependent on charity after providing the manpower for our nation's security. Our country's leaders allow companies that don't pay taxes or create jobs to be protected under the U.S. umbrella, while abandoning the very citizenry who provide the manpower for that protection. Something is not right here, folks.
Dan McNevin, Sayville
