Tomas Young (November 30, 1979 – November 10, 2014) was an American military veteran of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. In 2004, he was wounded and paralyzed by a bullet to the spine five days after he reached Iraq. One of the first veterans to come out publicly against the war, Young actively protested against the war after he returned to the United States. When his physical condition worsened in 2013 due to various medical complications, Young chose to go into

hospice care Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

. He later reversed that decision and accepted medical treatment until he died in 2014.

Military career

Two days after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, Young was inspired by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to enlist in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He hoped both to gain the chance to attend college through the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

and, in his words, "exact some form of retribution" on those who caused the attacks. On April 4, 2004, five days after being sent to Iraq, Young was shot while riding in an open, unarmored truck during an ambush staged by rebels in

Sadr City Sadr City (), formerly known as Al-Thawra () and Saddam City (), is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister of Iraq, Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim, Abdul Karim Qassim and named Al-Rafidain Distric ...

. One of the bullets pierced his spine and left him paralyzed from the waist down. Later his medical problems worsened, and he became quadriplegic. He returned home to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. He joined Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and later became one of the first veterans to publicly criticize the Iraq War.

''Body of War''

'' Body of War'' is a documentary directed by

Ellen Spiro Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She is a producer and director of the television documentary '' Are the Kids Alright?'', which won an Emmy Award in 2005. Spiro is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she h ...

and Phil Donahue about Young as he adapts to his paralyzed body and questions his motives for having enlisted in the army.

The Last Letter

In March 2013, ''

Truthdig Truthdig is an American alternative news website that provides a mix of long-form articles, blog items, curated links, interviews, arts criticism, and commentary on current events that is delivered from a politically progressive, left-leaning ...

'' columnist

Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Monit ...

published an interview with Young about his worldview and circumstances. Young was in

at the time, and the interview was conducted at his home in Kansas City. Although Young had contemplated suicide on various occasions, he had decided "to go on hospice care, to stop feeding and fade away. This way, instead of committing the conventional suicide and I am out of the picture, people have a way to stop by or call and say their goodbyes." He later changed his mind, saying "I want to spend as much time as possible with my wife, and no decent son wants his obituary to read that he was survived by his mother." That same month, on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War, ''Truthdig'' published "The Last Letter" by Young directed to former President

and

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

. In the letter, Young accused Bush and Cheney of

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s, said that millions of Americans and Iraqis know "who you ush and Cheneyare and what you have done", and condemned "the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration", saying "I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned." He said that he believed that the Bush administration considered military personnel and veterans to be expendable, and expressed hope that U.S. leaders would have the courage to apologize for the damage wrought by the war.

Death

Young died on November 10, 2014, in Seattle, Washington. In November 2014,

and

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

each wrote a column on Young's passing. Hedges stated that "Young hung on as long as he could. Now he is gone. He understood what the masters of war had done to him, how he had been used and turned into human refuse."Hedges, Chris (November 17, 2014)
The Last Days of Tomas Young
''

.'' Retrieved November 17, 2014.

''Tomas Young's War''

Author Mark Wilkerson interviewed Tomas Young several times in 2013 and 2014. He wrote a biography ''Tomas Young's War'', published by

Haymarket Books Haymarket Books is an American non-profit, independent book publisher based in Chicago and emphasizing works on left-wing politics. History Haymarket Books was founded in 2001 by Anthony Arnove, Ahmed Shawki and Julie Fain, all of whom had ...

in 2016. The book is also based on Wilkerson's interviews with Young's mother, brother and wife, and close friends, including celebrities

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a membe ...

and Phil Donahue. Artist

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989, he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campa ...

created the book's cover art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Tomas 1979 births 2014 deaths American anti–Iraq War activists United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Kansas City, Missouri People with paraplegia