We don't honor our veterans as we should; sometimes they come back from war to be killed at the VA hospitals which are supposed to cure them.
In 1992, 50 veterans died mysteriously at the Harry S Truman Veterans hospital in Columbia, Missouri, all of them on Ward 4 East.
That year, the administration at the Harry S Truman Veterans Hospital looked the other way as 50 patients on Ward 4 east mysteriously died. And when it turned out that there may have been one nurse, working the night shift, who had killed more than 40 of them---the hospital director and VA bigwigs tried to cover it up. The doctors who discovered the deaths and tried to call in the FBI---were all punished. One of those whistleblowers was my father--the pathologist who started the investigation.
From today's Columbia Missiourian
Columbia author Jake Adelstein investigates VA deaths in new podcast
by Emma Zawacki
"Truman Veterans’ Hospital is the center of a new podcast, “Witnessed: Night Shift,” by “Tokyo Vice” author and Columbia native Jake Adelstein and his co-host Shoko Plambeck. It revolves around a man who might be one of the most prolific killers in the country.
The first episode comes out Sunday and covers the “suspicious” number of veteran patients who died in 1992 at the hospital. The man accused of the deaths, Richard Williams, was a nurse tending to their care.
Adelstein’s father, Edward, now the Boone County part-time deputy medical examiner, worked at the hospital in 1992 and was a key whistleblower in the case. Edward and his colleague Gordon Christensen, Adelstein said, told the administration they needed to get the FBI involved.
“The chief of staff was on vacation,” Adelstein said, “and the nurses came to my dad and were like: Hey, you know, it appears that a lot of people are dying on this ward, 4-East, and it might be this one nurse that’s responsible.”
Williams was one of many suspects throughout the investigation and was never convicted of killing any of the patients.
Thirty-two years after the deaths, the weekly podcast episodes will explore the possible crimes committed at the hospital, the affected families, the whistleblowers, and a possible cover-up by the hospital.
Adelstein and his co-host spent around a month in eastern Missouri interviewing the people involved — those still alive and willing to talk. Before scheduling interviews, Adelstein had to comb through all the files Christensen and his father left behind about the case.
“I think I went down to the Columbia Kinko’s. I literally spent nine hours there ... PDFing documents,” Adelstein said, referencing the FedEx on Sixth Street in downtown Columbia.
**Why now? Why 32 years after the deaths?**
“There is no statute of limitations on murder,” Adelstein said. “I think many people see this as an unsolved murder case.”
—from The Columbia Missourian
#nightshift
(photos: A veteran who died mysteriously at the hospital. Incident report at VA hospital detailing inquiry into the suspicious death of veteran Odas Lesley)
The VA Hospitals in the US now are the closest thing we have to socialized medicine in the US. They are filled with hardworking doctors, nurses, and staff. They have learned some lessons from what happened in 1992.
If you're interested in supporting veterans of the United States, please follow the accounts below.
@DeptVetAffairs - Official Twitter account of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
@IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
@AMVETSHQ - American Veterans, a volunteer-led organization formed by World War II veterans.
@veteranshealth - Veterans Health Administration.
@DAVHQ - Disabled American Veterans, a charity that provides support to veterans.
@VFWHQ - Veterans of Foreign Wars, advocating for all veterans.
@TeamRubicon - Disaster response organization that mobilizes veterans to help communities.
@Mission_Continue - The Mission Continues, empowering veterans to continue serving in their communities.
@PatTillmanFnd - The Pat Tillman Foundation, supporting military veterans and spouses through academic scholarships.
@WoundedWarrior - Wounded Warrior Project, helping veterans and service members.
@GIJobsMagazine - Helping veterans find civilian careers.
@CodeOfSupport - Code of Support Foundation, providing essential support to military families.
@BlueStarFamily - Blue Star Families, providing support to military families.
@gotyour6 - Empowering veterans to lead in their communities.
@USOMetroDC - United Service Organizations, providing programs and services to military members.
@SVA_National - Student Veterans of America, empowering student veterans.
@CodeofVets - Code of Vets, providing direct financial assistance to veterans in crisis.
@VeteransForPeac - Veterans for Peace, advocating for peace and justice.
@TheTaskForce - The Task Force, focusing on issues affecting veterans.
@AmericanLegion - The American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans service organization.
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