Posted on 02/03/2006 7:06:17 PM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON (Feb. 1, 2006) — Gary Trudeau, nationally syndicated comic artist and political satirist, signed copies of his new Doonesbury book “The Long Road Home” Tuesday at the Pentagon concourse. Among the Soldiers waiting in line to have their book signed was one in a wheelchair who lost his leg in Iraq.
Trudeau’s book tells the story of a long-established Doonesbury character, B.D., and his experiences as a National Guard Soldier deployed to Iraq, where he looses a leg in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on his Humvee outside of Fallujah.
Spc. Joseph Kashnow of the 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., lost his leg after being wounded in Taji, Iraq, in September 2003.
When asked about Gary Trudeau’s efforts to bring the injured Soldier to the national platform through his cartoon, Kashnow said, “I think it’s great that there’s a cartoon character that in this situation…it will help Soldiers that have been wounded entirely, not just amputees, get the attention they deserve.”
The sentiment seemed mutual within the crowd gathered to have their books singed by Trudeau.
“It’s a great idea, I mean, these kids are giving up a lot, we can’t forget about them,” said Master Sgt. David Gagnon.
The majority of the book’s action takes place in the recovery period that takes B.D. from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and finally home, where he learns to cope with his injury through the help of his family and a counseling staff.
While B.D. recovers from his combat injury, his wife, Boopsie, stays at the Fisher House. Fisher House is an organization that provides “comfort homes” near major military and VA medical centers where family members of injured service members can stay while their loved one is recovering.
Fisher House originally asked Trudeau for a compilation of the cartoons he created that were part of B.D.’s story line as a morale booster, and he did one better. Trudeau published the compilation book and then pledged his book advance and all the profits that would result from the publishing to Fisher House.
The publisher, Andrews McMeel Publising, has also donated a portion of the firm’s proceeds to Fisher House. Trudeau plans on publishing a second Doonesbury compilation focusing on B.D. later this year, again donating his advance and profits to Fisher House.
While conducting research for his work, Trudeau worked very closely with Fisher House, as well as the patients at Walter Reed Medical Center.
Sorry; too little, too late.
You haven't missed much. His cartoon is an unfunny, ghost-drawn piece of leftist drivel.
I stunned. Surprised and stunned. Well, suprised, stunned and happy that a part of Trudeau is good. Really good. Really surprised...
A little background on Gary Trudeau and Doonsbury:
What you read today in the strip has little relevance to it's origins, only the characters are the same.
Love or Hate his politics, Trudeau is a genuis. You may have at one time heard Rush Limbaugh state how he "uses absurdity to illustrate absurdity". Trudeau had the idea first. The comic really was absurd. In the late 80's, Trudeau aged the characters. BD is no longer the College Quarterbck wearing the football helmet constantly, and enlisting in the Army to get out of midterms. Zonker no longer sits in Walden puddle (Walden was the college that all of the main characters attended), and contemplates existence.
Agree or dissagree with the message, Trudeau was a genius at communicating that message. And it had effect.
Rush Limbaugh, and a lot of people who followed him on Conservative Talk Radio uses his medium in the same manner that Trudeau uses his. Both were true pioneers in their respective fields.
If a liberal radio talk show host had anything near the ability of Trudeau to communicate (and Al Franken doesn't even come close...he wasn't a very good comedeien either), Talk radio competition would be brutal.
This conflict was the Character BD's third war. He served a tour in Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom. Maybe one of these days i'll tell you of Phred the Terrorist, a Vietcong friend of BD. (they met when they both got lost on missions).
That pretty much sums it up FMC. I don't like Trudeau nor his politics, but he has apparently shown compassion for our troops and it should be accepted for what it was intended to be. Thank you for posting, and I agree with you completely that more of those in the spotlight need to do more than they have to date.
Gary Trudeau, author of Dunesberry, is pretty much to the left and has taken on about every Republican in his "cartoons" that I can think of going back a lot of years.
Trudeau has a whole lotta good ground to cover before I'll give him any measure of respect.
It is easy for us conservatives to despise Trudeau for his left wing politics. It is far harder to give credit where credit is due. Like Paul Newman, another leftie, Trudeau is willing to put his money where his mouth usually is. This is very unlike limousine liberals as a class. I do not applaud Garry for his politics, but I do think he deserves our approval for his unselfish support of our injured troops. I also approve of his choice of a wife--Jane Pauley was, is now and always will be a cutie.
Nothing wrong with your posts or your comments. Entirely reasonable.
Neither link works for me.
The first I get “this is an attack page” warning
The second says the page doesn’t exist.
Did anyone else connect at either page?
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