Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

War Wounds Today…

There aren’t many countries whose founding wasn’t bathed in blood. But the blood spilled by citizens defending ideological principals and supporting allies, within their own country and on the other side of the world, can be far, far deeper. 

The life each person lives is intrinsically linked to such a large web of people around them. When someone doesn’t return from war, or returns a broken and fractured person, every person on that web is affected, even if in the smallest of ways.

A Col. Hogarth’s wedding, just days before shipping out to serve in the Great War.

My own grandparents and great-grandparents are all war veterans. A distant cousin of mine was killed in the Civil War, after running away from home, lying about his age (he was only 12…he had to be all of 14 at the time to sign up for “non-combat” roles), and becoming a drummer. 

Not everything that comes out of war is awful. But a lot of it can make a person’s life a living hell. Here are some of the most base reasons for a more difficult existence after a war - the physical injuries themselves.