Existing comment:
On April 19, 2004, GB "Garry" Trudeau's Doonesbury comic strip featured a badly wounded Lieutenant BD fading in and out of consciousness. Two days later, Trudeau revealed that BD had lost his leg in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. BD is one of the original characters in the strip, an ex-football jock turned college coach. He served in the National Guard in the first Gulf war and returned to Iraq in 2003. The strips attracted media attention, and Trudeau made several statements about why he injured his long-time character. In an interview with ABC News' program This Week and reprinted on the Doonesbury website, Trudeau said:
"What I mean to convey is that BD's life has been irrevocably changed -- that another chapter has begun. He's now on an arduous journey of recovery and rehabilitation. What I'm hoping to describe are the coping strategies that get people through this. There is no culture of complaint among the wounded. Most feel grateful to be alive and respectful of those who have endured even worse fates. But for many, a kind of black humor is indispensable in fending off bitterness and despair, so that's what will animate the strips that follow. I have to approach this with humility and care. I'm sure I won't always get it right, and people will let me know when I don't. But it seems worth doing. This month alone, we've sustained nearly 600 wounded in action. Whether you think we should be in Iraq or not, we can't tune it out. We have to remain mindful of the terrible losses that individual soldiers are suffering in our name."
BD was evacuated to Landstuhl, Germany for additional care and has recently been transferred to Walter Reed Hospital. In the Sunday, June 13 strip, BD began examining catalogues for prosthetic legs and will be making the same adjustment that many soldiers here on base are having to make in real life. Hopefully, Trudeau's strips will convey to his large audience some of the difficulties that these soldiers will face.
The National Museum of Health and Medicine, AFIP is grateful to Mr. Trudeau for his donation of these two original comic strips. |