Reply #5: Wow! [View All]

Very powerful article.

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Noel, who received several medals for his actions, left Hinesville shortly after his less-than-heartwarming homecoming, heading back to his native New York City. The reception there was even more bleak. When he tried to apply for public housing, he was told there was a freeze on new applications. When he went to the city's Emergency Assistance Unit, he was told there nothing they could do for him either. A brief stint at a city shelter for the homeless was a disaster - all his clothes, and his military medals, were stolen.

He is now homeless, traversing the city with his two-year old son, Anthony, caught in a so-far fruitless search for housing. For the last six months, he has been lost in a Kafka-esque maze of public and private service agencies. His only shelter: his 1994 Jeep. He sleeps in the car, while his son crashes on friends' and family members' couches. He sent his two other children, twins aged six, to Florida to stay with their grandmother.

<snip>

Despite everything, Noel says he would enlist again.

"I'm always going to be a soldier. I'm going to speak so my country can be a better country. I'm not bashing the military - but if you want people to protect this country, you have to protect them."