DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED Visit Veteran's Hospital
November 14, 2010, 14 years ago
DUFF MCKAGAN - formerly of GUNS N' ROSES and JANE'S ADDICTION, currently in VELVET REVOLVER and LOADED - recently visited The Seattle VA Hospital. An excerpt of Duff discussing the day's events follows below:
"It was much less a 'celebrity' thing than simply an 'interaction with someone other than hospital staff' thing.I was kind of left scratching my head a bit. It is in situations like this that I find myself feeling a little embarrassed, maybe. I know for a fact that Loaded is not a household name and therefore not a band that most patients up at the VA would know about or recognize.
We had written a song this past summer for our new record (which comes out in February) called 'Fight On'. The song was inspired by personal stories I heard about the plight of some of our returning vets. So here at least was somewhat of a tie-in between Loaded and the VA.
A sobering thing to think about is that with all the new-technology armor and immediate and high-caliber medical attention that our soldiers are getting on the battlefield, we are seeing a much higher survival rate than ever before. In other words, and to put it bluntly, guys and gals who would have certainly died in Vietnam from terminal wounds and injuries are now not dying.
What we noticed on our visit to the VA was an overwhelming sense that these soldiers just really believe that they have been forgotten and that no one cares about them anymore."
To read the rest of Duff's comments about his "deep and inspiring visit" with the Veterans, click here.
