Wounded Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan to speak at congressional hearing
By CHRISTINA JENG
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: September 24, 2007)

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. - The young and severely wounded Marine who wasn't expected to live, let alone speak, will be heard at a rarely held congressional field hearing next month.


With his parents, Chris and Angie, the 23-year-old Sgt. Eddie Ryan of Ellenville, Ulster County, will be one of four wounded veterans from the Hudson Valley to testify before members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.


"Me and Angie will do most of the speaking but Eddie wants to speak, too," Ryan's father, Chris, said Friday. "And you know what? The VA never thought this kid would be able to answer questions and talk. He's able to communicate now. This is big; this is huge."


In April 2005, Eddie Ryan was shot once in the head and once in the jaw while on a rooftop with two fellow Marine snipers in the Iraqi city of Ramadi. The two bullets left him with severe brain damage.


After he was treated at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and in a Veterans Affairs hospital in Virginia, his family lobbied the military to allow Ryan to continue his treatment at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, a renowned, state-run rehabilitation facility. He was discharged after nearly a year of rehab.


The family recently fought to have Ryan's physical, occupational and speech therapies reinstated after the Department of Veterans' Affairs cut those benefits nearly in half in June.


The Oct. 9 meeting at New Windsor Town Hall was organized by Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, who is chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.


The meeting will focus on the "personal costs of the claims backlog," Hall said Friday in a news release.


The VA has a backlog of nearly 600,000 cases, and it currently takes an average of 177 days for a veteran to receive a decision on his or her case.


"I'm bringing members of the Veterans Affairs Committee here to the Hudson Valley so they can see and hear firsthand the personal effects that this claims backlog has had on Hudson Valley veterans," he said.


House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner of California and Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in Congress, are among those expected to participate in the hearing.


Meaghan Smith, a spokeswoman for Hall, said that field hearings were rare and that the meeting would highlight the specific needs and concerns of Hudson Valley veterans.


Chris Ryan said he and his wife were advocating for increased therapies. Neurologists have told them that extensive therapies during their son's first five years of recovery will be crucial if they want their son to live as normal a life as possible, he said.


The VA provides 45-minute sessions of physical and speech therapies five days a week and 45-minute sessions of occupational therapy twice a week. The Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation pays for additional physical, massage and music therapies, Chris Ryan said.


Still, the father said, it isn't enough. Their doctors have said Eddie Ryan was ready to increase his physical therapies to 2- to 2 1/2 -hour sessions of physical therapy. Eddie Ryan can now hold simple conversations and use his left hand to brush his teeth, eat and shave.


Chris Ryan said his son's dream is to return to the Marines. In 2010, the Marine Corps will reassess Eddie Ryan, who is on its temporary disability list, and determine whether he is able to go back or should permanently retire.


"Naturally, we're realists. We don't think he's going to be a sniper again," Chris Ryan said, "but if he could do a job in the Marine Corps … I would love to see him back in the Marines because I know that's what motivates him, that's what inspires him."

Reach Christina Jeng at cjeng@lohud.com or 845-578-2497.

Ellie