body of war

“We Were Used. We Were Betrayed.”

Staff / Truthdig Mar 18, 2023 Shortly after writing his “Last Letter” for Truthdig, Tomas Young decided to leave hospice and accept further medical treatment. He died on November 10, 2014, at the age of 34. Following his death, Phil Donahue published a remembrance of Young in the Nation, and Amy Goodman and Chris Hedges wrote a number of pieces for Truthdig. Nearly ten years after Young’s death, his suffering, struggle, courage, and fiery eloquence stand among our most powerful testaments to the incalculable human cost of a criminal and unnecessary war. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Day That TV News Died

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Mar 25, 2013 If any single day marks the fall of broadcast reporting, it's when Phil Donahue was banished in 2003 for telling the truth about the coming war in Iraq. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Tomas Young

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 24, 2013 When he dies this spring, Iraq War veteran Tomas Young will have spent his final years struggling to expose the guilt of those who make a holiday of the deaths and suffering of the powerless. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Tomas Young Out Loud

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 21, 2013 The 33-year-old veteran and author of "The Last Letter" appeared with his wife on "Democracy Now!" on Thursday to talk about his decision to end his life amid unrelenting pain and suffering from wounds sustained in the Iraq War, and to read his letter aloud. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Tomas Young and the End of the Body of War

Amy Goodman / Truthdig Mar 21, 2013 Tomas Young was in the fifth day of his first deployment to Iraq when he was struck by a sniper's bullet in Baghdad's Sadr City. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Column

Body of War

Amy Goodman / Truthdig Mar 26, 2008 We just passed the grim milestone of 4,000 U.S. military members killed in Iraq since the invasion five years ago. Still, the death toll climbs. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )