Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Home Depot co-founder opens wallet to vets' plight


Bernie Marcus (right), who built the Georgia Aquarium, is stepping up to help wounded vets. Susan Johnson (left) of the Shepherd Center talks with Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw.
In a move meant to help injured soldiers and send Washington a message, Atlanta businessman Bernie Marcus stepped up Monday to help veterans get top-flight medical care. But he warned there was a limit to his generosity.
I applaud the gesture and I support his intent, I just don't want him to go off into left field with the rhetoric. The health care of veterans is an important issue and something that should be addressed and I support all who support our troops not just with words but deeds.

I profiled Piers Morgan who is on Donald Trump's show Celebrity Apprentice and has so far managed to win close to $100K, I believe, for his charity, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, even though after seeing the man in action and learning about his less then stellar past I don't necessarily like the man.
Marcus offered to underwrite the costs — care, transportation and housing — of any wounded soldier, sailor or Marine whom the Shepherd Center, a renowned Atlanta clinic for brain and spinal injuries, approved for treatment.

At a press conference Monday at the Shepherd Center, Marcus said he wanted to set an example for his fellow philanthropists. He aims to bring financial help and possibly shame the Pentagon and Congress into covering all medical treatment costs for its vets.
Note to Michelle Obama, he is one of those corporate types you wish people would not want to become.

No AP photos were used in the creation of this post.

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