Pulling their weight

I wanted to relay a fascinating news story I read today:





http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081401665.html





In "Sometimes it's not your war but you sacrifice anyway" by T Christian Miller in the Washington Post, you can read about how contractors working for our military, some US citizens, some foreigners, often do not get their federally mandated insurance benefits when they are disabled or killed.





The article describes how the Defense Base Act





http://www.dol.gov/esa/owcp/dlhwc/ExplainingDBA.htm





requires that overseas employees of DOD contractors purchase insurance. AIG, recipient of a generous bailout on our dime is a major provider of this service, however many families of injured contractor employees never see benefits when their loved ones are killed.





The article is also interesting for detailing the story of Wake Island, where US contractors were held captive by the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor and were later executed.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_Island





The Defense Base Act was created to protect the families of those who give us vital assistance on our bases overseas.





Below is a picture of the 98 rock on Wake Island. One of the contractor POW's briefly escaped and carved the message "98 US PW 5-10-43 " before he was recaptured and beheaded.

(Photo source: U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo; public domain)