Georgia VA to cancer-stricken Vietnam War Purple Heart recipient: Go pound sand, you're "going to die" anyway

DUBLIN, GA- The federal government treats illegal aliens better than those who signed up to defend our country, and that is an outrage.

The latest slap in the face to our veterans comes courtesy of the VA Hospital in Dublin, Georgia, which is refusing to conduct a scan to help determine what stage cancer one veteran currently is fighting. To make it more outrageous, a doctor at the facility said they didn’t want to “waste” government funds since he “is already going to die.” 

WGXA reports that Richard Everette, a Vietnam-era veteran, was diagnosed with bladder cancer last year. Everette, a Purple Heart recipient, has also been living with COPD due to Agent Orange exposure. 

Everett said a lung doctor at the San Antonio VA hospital, one of the preeminent pulmonary doctors at the facility, confirmed the diagnosis of COPD after Everette was subject to an induced coma for the damage to his respiratory system. 

Last week, after attending a doctor’s appointment at the Dublin VA, Everette said he left the hospital feeling disrespected for his years of service in one of the most controversial wars in US history. He said the doctor lacked any sense of bedside manners. 

 Of the doctor, Everette said:

“He said he’s not going to waste the government’s money on someone who’s going to die,” Everette recalled. “I guarantee you could just watch the color drain from my face. It’s like when I found out I had cancer. There was nothing I could do. It’s going to run its course, and I’m going to die. I know. I just want to know how much time I have left.” 

Everette said he was going to reach out to an attorney to examine his options after the harsh treatment he received at the VA hospital, which is supposed to be in existence, to treat our service members and veterans with the dignity and respect they deserve. 

WGXA said they reached out to officials with Veterans Affairs Dublin Health Care. While they said they couldn’t discuss any particular case without a signed release, they promised “to review this matter and ensure that it is being handled to the VA’s ‘high standards.’” 

Remember what the doctor said? He didn’t want to “waste government funds?” As an example of how much money the Pentagon receives, a Quincy Institute report found Congress gave the Department of Defense a near-record $778 billion in 2021. 

Wasting money has long been the legacy of the Pentagon. In the early 1980s, for example, the spending of $640 for toilet seats and $7600 for coffee makers was the stuff of legend. 

More recently, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) uncovered malfeasance by TransDigm. The DoD’s Inspector General snagged this military parts supplier that was overcharging the Pentagon by as much as 3,800%. Yes, you read that right. And most of that was on routine items, the report said. 

In 2019, the Pentagon burned over $61 billion in a single month, according to Military Times. What did the military get for that money? A $9341 Wexford leather club chair, $32 million worth of batteries, $4.3 million with of books and pamphlets, $220 million worth of furniture, $7.6 million worth of workout equipment, and $786.3 million on “guns, ammunition, and bombs.” 

Even more egregious, “the Pentagon spent $2.3 million on crab, including snow crab, Alaskan king crab, and crab legs and claws, as well as another $2.3 million on lobster tail.” Other federal agencies spent $293,245 on steak, including ribeye, top sirloin, and flank steak. 

But helping a Vietnam War hero, a Purple Heart recipient, come to terms with the end of his life? The VA tells him to go pound sand. And that is an outrage.