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The cost of war, and the bill not being paid by the Bush administration

Desert sand splattered when the mortar hit.

The blast slammed Army Sgt. Steve Pyle into a nearby truck -- in May 2003, during the Shock and Awe invasion of Iraq.

"When I came to, I couldn't get up. I was bleeding. I saw a couple of guys running toward me." They were enemy Iraqi soldiers. "We struggled and fought. They beat the hell out of me."
Since then Pyle, a 40-year-old father who lives in DeLand, has faced surgery, pain and confusion; wheelchairs, crutches and canes; doctors, medical complications and mental evaluations.

The Veterans Health System says he's one of nearly 85,900 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and are back home using their medical benefits.

Funding is short, the number of returning veterans is growing and Florida is getting the biggest portion of them.

Because Veterans Affairs sets priorities within its 21 service districts nationwide for who receives benefits, Pyle -- as a combat-wounded, low-income vet -- has so far gotten all the medical care he needs at the Daytona Beach VA Clinic. But the clinic is operating with a short staff, and some veterans who might otherwise be entitled to care there have to look elsewhere or make co-payments.