Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Thank You - Bernie Marcus

Some good news in the AJC this morning. Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, has stepped up to so what the Congress and Shrub have failed to do. It is just tragic that this necessary support for our wounded vets has to come from the private sector. Maybe this action will embarrass someone into doing what's right. Thanks Bernie for taking the lead.

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.

Marcus got involved in January after he heard of a soldier who was treated at the Shepherd Center and was improving, but faced the loss of funding.

"It angered me," said Marcus, a co-founder of Home Depot and now a billionaire philanthropist. " It is disgraceful and it is not something that we should have to tolerate in this country."

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.

"We can't take care of everybody in the military, that is obvious, but perhaps we can set a standard for around the country," he said. "I expect that the government is going to take care of them eventually. It is their obligation.

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