It's not another Walter Reed, but it is another sorry state of affairs for our military

Sunday, September 07, 2008

By Regina Dennis

Tribune-Herald staff writer

When Spc. David Racine injured his shoulder in Iraq this year, he did not anticipate the toll it would take on his family.

Racine, 38, needed surgery to install a titanium rod through his shoulder. Because he left his tour early for the procedure, he had to pay back a portion of his salary to the U.S. Army, straining the resources he could provide to his wife and six children in Pflugerville.

“You get used to having that money on hand, and then when it’s gone you’re stuck,” he said.

Racine is among a number of wounded soldiers facing financial difficulties. Often their needs are basic — diapers, tissue, canned goods — but home and work circumstances can make obtaining these simple items difficult.

To assist these military personnel, Johnson Roofing in Robinson is collecting donations for families of soldiers stationed at Fort Hood. So far, $1,800 in food and school supplies has been raised for the soldiers’ children and spouses. Racine and four other Fort Hood soldiers traveled to Robinson to pick up the donations last week.

Johnson Roofing began taking donations after owner Bill Johnson was contacted by Texas Military Family Foundation, a Fort Hood nonprofit group that helps wounded soldiers, veterans and active-duty military personnel.

Johnson said he was touched by the dilemma of two soldiers in particular — a father of four who incurred extra costs putting his family in a hotel while he received treatment in San Antonio for a head wound sustained in Iraq, and a father of eight also wounded in Iraq who was applying for food stamps to feed his family.

“We need to help them,” Johnson said. “They’re fighting for our freedom supporting America — my gosh, to think that we fail to support them and their families . . . that got me really kind of shook up.”

Bill Mahon, McLennan County veteran services coordinator, visited with those two soldiers recently and took food donations to last their families through the weekend. He said he hopes more citizens in Waco will pitch in to support soldiers in the area and help alleviate the financial difficulties they face at home.

“The backbone of these soldiers protecting us is their family,” Mahon said, “You can train a soldier to fight, arm him and ship him to a war zone, but if the family life isn’t straight, we’ve got a weak link in our defense.”

Spc. Robbie Gaupp, of Gatesville, injured his shoulder while serving in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007. The 23-year-old said his shoulder problems have been ongoing, and getting financial assistance to support his wife, son and stepson during his treatment is often difficult.

“Some places make it hard for you to get any help,” he said. “A lot of times it’s degrading to have to ask for help, and some places want to ask a lot of questions to put guilt on you.”

Spc. Andrea Breed, 22, said it has been nearly two years since she has seen her husband, who also serves in the Army, and the couple is in the process of getting a divorce. She said financial classes at Texas Military Family Foundation have been helpful, but sometimes it takes more to help soldiers deal with debt.

“Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help, because there’s that guilt factor that you feel for trying to get assistance,” Breed said. “A lot of other programs sometimes make you feel bad for asking for help, but with Texas Military Family Foundation, it’s different.”

Donation drives like the one in Waco are really helpful for soldiers who do not have solid financial backing at home, Gaupp said.

“A lot of people don’t have that type of support, so it’s just great to see a community come out like this for the troops,” he said.