Real History and Bush’s war on terror The Index to the Traditional Enemies of Free Speech Alphabetical index (text) August 18, 2003 Troops wounded in action not listed among casualties FOX Company Marines planned to fly Jesus Vidana from his home in Los Angeles to Utah to participate in the South Salt Lake parade and a picnic

on July 4. Delta Air Lines donated a ticket and Smith’s provided the food. Vidana, 25, received a head wound in Baghdad. He was one of 17 Marines in Fox Company awarded a Purple Heart for wounds and injuries received in combat. Driver is Cpl. Kenneth Toone His buddies remember Jesus Vidana dropping like a rock when shrapnel crashed through his helmet and into his skull

on April 8 during during a fierce street fight in Baghdad. Under fire, Sgt. Derryl Spencer , Salt Lake City, and Cpl. Robert Reeves , Las Vegas, carried the unconscious Marine to safety. His head wound was so severe that their commander radioed he was dead. Cpl. Vidana, 25, survived and has undergone three operations and months of rehabilitation to learn all over again how to feed himself, talk and walk. A fourth surgery is scheduled to remove more shrapnel from his brain.

He is among 17 Marine reservists from Fox Company, drawn mainly from Utah and Nevada, awarded Purple Hearts for wounds received in combat. They are called WIAs for wounded in action, but their numbers are not listed under casualty postings from the U.S. Central Command or the Pentagon. Reporters must specifically ask for those tallies. So far, 1,007 U.S. military personnel have been wounded since March 19 when U.S. troops crossed the border into Iraq, said Lt.

Ryan Fitzgerald from Central Command. That number compares with 467 “nonmortal wounds” in the 1991 Gulf War, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. “I know of no other war in which WIAs have not been listed among the casualties,” said Robert Voyles , director of the Fort Douglas Museum. “I have no idea why this conflict would be any different.”

Fitzgerald said WIA numbers are not publicized because the military has no way of determining the severity of the wounds. “Someone could get a couple of stitches for a cut and