Navy Veteran Burns
Himself Alive Outside VA Clinic
by John Hayward 28 Mar 2016
51-year-old Charles R. Ingram III, a seven-year
veteran of the U.S. Navy, doused himself
with gasoline and set himself ablaze outside a VA clinic on Saturday, March 19,
for reasons as yet unclear.
Although he was swiftly airlifted to Temple Burn Center
in Philadelphia for treatment, he died of his injuries that night. The Press of
Atlantic City reports that, according to Police Chief Paul
Newman, Ingram did not leave a note explaining his actions.
However, Atlantic County Veterans Affairs Director Bob
Frolow said the location of the suicide sent a message that should not be
ignored: “At the very least, his actions were an expression of need… It’s a
shame and sign of desperation and need. This might open a window on that need.”
Frolow pointed out that the clinic was closed at the time
of Ingram’s Saturday suicide, as it only offers daytime hours Monday through
Friday. He described this as a “hardship for many who cannot get there during
work hours.”
“More than ever, we are determined – no, emboldened – to
carry on our quest to provide every veteran with the health care they need,
when they need it and where they need it,” said veterans’ advocate Marco Polo
Smigliani, of Ingram’s home Egg Harbor Township. “Hearts are deeply
saddened today, and our mission continues so that one among us will not have
died in vain.”
The Daily
Beast reports Ingram walked some nine miles from his home
in Egg Harbor to the clinic, passing an American Legion park and a memorial
dedicated to military veterans along the way. After he set himself on fire, he
was spotted by a passing motorist who called 911, and he was attended by
another bystander who tried to extinguish the flames with blankets. Ingram was
nevertheless so badly burned that a fire chief said it was “a little
unbelievable” that he survived as long as he did.
“’Rich,’ as he was known to family and friends, served in
the Navy from 1985 to 1992, attaining the rank of chief petty officer. He left
behind a wife, Billie, and two children, ages 3 and 5. The day before he killed
himself, a local newspaper photographed the kids playing with other locals at
nearby John F. Kennedy Park. Two days prior was his wife’s birthday; his
daughter’s fourth birthday was two weeks away,” writes the Daily Beast.
U.S. Navy
Togo D. West Jr.
was the general counsel for the Department
of the Navy, the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, the secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank).
Note: Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Chuck
Hagel was the chairman for the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), the secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, a deputy
administrator for the U.S. Veterans
Administration, and is the Defense secretary for the Barack Obama administration.
Eric K. Shinseki
was a director at the Atlantic Council
of the United States (think tank), and the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for
the Barack Obama administration.
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