Wife of Fort Hood Victim Still Fighting Back

This is another thing I find unbelievably disgusting...these soldiers were wounded and killed by a fellow soldier who admittedly was in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki. Obama should be ashamed of himself for this lack of consideration for our boys. Remember how he treated the incident at a speech (read last paragraph). 

On November 5, 2009, Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan while he was serving on-duty at Ft. Hood in Temple, Texas, in what became known as the Ft. Hood Massacre. Today, Sgt. Manning's wife is fighting for official military recognition for the victims of the attack, saying President Obama has ignored them and refused to acknowledge their sacrifice.

Autumn Manning is using social media,particularly Twitter, to keep Americans talking about the Ft. Hood tragedy and the lack of support she says she has received from the Obama administration and the President himself. Although Sgt. Manning barely survived the attack, neither he nor any of those wounded and killed have been given combat status for the event. That means they are not are eligible for military honors such as the Purple Heart.

In her Twitter profile, Autumn describes herself as "Wife of Soldier wounded at Fort Hood terrorist attack Nov 5th 2009...Never forget 13 dead, 34 wounded. Combat status denied thanks to Obama."

Despite the efforts of many Republicans in Congress to give combat status to the Ft. Hood victims, the Obama administration continues to insist the event was domestic workplace violence. This insistence comes even after the government learned Hasan had exchanged emails with Al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki before the attack.

The latest denial came in May, when the Obama White House threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act when they stated "The administration objects to section 552, which would grant Purple Hearts to the victims of the shooting incidents in Fort Hood, Texas." The Act has yet to be voted on by the Democratic-controlled Senate after approval by the Republican-controlled House.

Manning tweets almost daily about the Ft. Hood shooting and the President's response. Her aim is to get enough people talking that the President can no longer ignore their cause. On September 30, she tweeted "My husband days after Ft Hood shooting, shot 6 times, ignored by Obama..Never forget 11/5/09, as many already have." She included a photo of Sgt. Manning in the hospital (shown above).

Also on September 30, Autumn Manning updated followers on her husband's status. "Still 2 bullets left in him, finally received medical discharge last week after waiting nearly 3 years and denied combat status. This administration will not continue to sweep us under the rug," she tweeted.

Manning also confirmed on Twitter that she did meet the President after the shooting, who promised her personally that he would "get to the bottom of this." The President did not meet Sgt. Manning (who had been airlifted to another hospital), and despite their efforts to speak with him later, he never called to speak with her husband after the shooting. "Never called us, neither did our Senator Patty Murray who sits at the head of Armed Forces Committee. Tried to ask for help twice," she said.

The irony of the President's actions were not lost on Nancy Otterby, who tweeted "Obama never called you or your husband?! But he calls Ms Promiscuity, Sandra Fluke, & elevates her to 'purple heart' status."

Obama did visit Ft. Hood five days after the shooting to attend a memorial service and meet with some of the victim's families, including Mrs. Manning. Former President George W. Bush visited the wounded at Ft. Hood the day after the shooting, but did not meet the Mannings, who were at another hospital.

President Obama also took criticism for his initial response to the shooting. Hours after the shooting occurred, the President spoke publicly for the first time at a conference hosted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Instead of immediately addressing the tragedy, he took a lighthearted tone, thanking staffers and sending a "shout-out" to at least one attendee. After three minutes of acknowledging people, the President finally mentioned the shooting, upsetting many over his cavalier tone. His failure to recognize the event as a terrorist attack and a military action upsets them even more.