A lack of health insurance drove a father to enlist and die in combat

Evidence

During one of my research trips to Vicenza, I heard about the death of Private First Class Russell Madden, a member of the 173rd Airborne brigade that’s split between Vicenza and Germany. Madden had died in Afghanistan just a few days earlier, on June 23, 2010, from blast injuries sustained when a rocket-propelled grenade tore through his vehicle. … At twenty-nine, he enlisted in the Army because he needed health insurance to cover treatment for his four-year-old son’s cystic fibrosis. “He joined because he knew that Parker would be taken care of no matter what,” Madden’s sister said. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1024

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader theme of how US base infrastructure priorities shape domestic social welfare choices, echoing arguments throughout the book that base spending crowds out social programs.