Over 80 Elderly Veterans Dead In “Horrific” Coronavirus Carnage at Veterans’ Home • The Havok Journal

Over 80 Elderly Veterans Dead In “Horrific” Coronavirus Carnage at Veterans’ Home
by Scott Faith

That’s a hell of a way to treat our military veterans.

Scores of elderly U.S. military veterans crammed into a Massachusetts veterans’ home “never had a chance” to survive COVID-19 in the home’s “horrific” conditions, according to news reports.

The carnage occurred at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, a state-run institution located in Holyoke, MA. 82 of the home’s 226 individuals in the home at the beginning of March have died, an outrageous casualty rate for a health care facility. And there may be more deaths to come.

The home’s superintendent has been placed on administrative leave as a punitive measure, but insists that he made the State of Massachusetts aware that the home was “in crisis mode.” The crisis apparently involved a staffing crisis so severe that staff were required to serve in multiple units, and the closure of one unit required residents to live in tight quarters. Those conditions, long with the infirm health of several residents, made the conditions ripe for a coronavirus outbreak.

An additional tragedy is that because of the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the state, final military honors are not available for these dead veterans.

It’s a damn shame.
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Scott Faith is a veteran of a half-dozen combat deployments and has served in several different Special Operations units over the course of his Army career. Scott’s writing focuses largely on veterans’ issues, but he is also a big proponent of Constitutional rights and has a deep interest in politics. He often allows other veterans who request anonymity to publish their work under his byline. Scott welcomes story ideas and feedback on his articles, and can be reached at havokjournal@havokmedia.com.

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