Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
NPR News

Healing a Deep Wound from Iraq

Spc. Bartlett and his father, Chuck Bartlett, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who was seriously injured during the Tet Offensive in May 1968.
Spc. Bartlett and his father, Chuck Bartlett, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who was seriously injured during the Tet Offensive in May 1968.

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Listen 0:00
Listen
Spc. Robert Bartlett in his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. June 2005.
Spc. Robert Bartlett in his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. June 2005.
(
Eric Westervelt, NPR /
)

More than 13,070 U.S. troops have been injured in Iraq, with just over half of those injured unable to return to duty. One recovering soldier is 32-year-old Robert Bartlett, an Army scout with the 3rd Infantry Division.

A roadside bomb in early May killed his friend and ripped off Bartlett's jaw, took out one eye and badly injured the soldier's face, nose and mouth. Bartlett's father, a Vietnam war veteran injured in the Tet offensive, is helping his son recover physically and mentally. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today