A lot of veterans are down on their luck today, and Steve Austin is no exception.
Eric Metcalf of McSweeney's "uncovered" a letter that The Six Million Dollar Man had written to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs:
Dear Veterans Administration:
I am at the end of my rope dealing with a series of medical conditions brought about by my military service. Clearly the government is facing budget shortages, and I acknowledge that I have enjoyed the benefits of surgical treatments that cost upward of $6 million (1974 dollars). But after decades of serving my country, I don’t feel that it’s too much to ask that the VA provide a minimal level of comfort in my retirement, which I presently do not have.
While on active duty in the Air Force, I was involved in a crash that caused the loss of both legs, an arm, and one eye. Had I been given the choice, I would have preferred to not continue living, or at the very least go on disability from the service and pursue my interest in social work. However, I was instead pressed into receiving an array of “high tech” (by the standards of the time) prosthetics.
For several years, these did allow me to enjoy a better-than-average degree of mobility. Unfortunately, I was coerced into serving in a governmental operation that placed me in hazardous environments on a weekly basis. As the years passed, my electronic prosthetics became obsolete or, in some cases, completely nonfunctional. My eye implant rusted and locked into place, and the vision is only clear for objects at 6,800 feet; anything closer appears blurry.
Read more about The Six Million Dollar Man's sob story at McSweeney's: Link