Tomas Young

Tomas Young
Young in 2007, visiting Ground Zero (from the documentary Body of War)
Born	Tomas Vincent Young (1979-11-30)November 30, 1979 Kansas City, Missouri
Died	November 10, 2014(2014-11-10) (aged 34) Seattle, Washington
Occupation	War protester
Years active	2004–2014
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	2001–2004
Rank	Specialist (SPC/E-4)
Unit	1st Cavalry Division
Spouse(s)	Brie Young (m. 2005) Claudia Cuellar

Tomas Young (November 30, 1979 – November 10, 2014) was an American military veteran of the Iraq War. He was paralyzed by a bullet to the spine while deployed in Iraq. One of the first veterans to come out publicly against the war, he spent most of his life after the war protesting. Young's condition worsened due to various medical complications and he chose to go into hospice care, awaiting his death. He later reversed that decision.

Two days after the September 11 attacks, Young was inspired by President George W. Bush to enlist in the United States Army. There he hoped to earn money for college through the G.I. Bill and, in his words, "exact some form of retribution" on those who caused 9/11.

On April 4, 2004, five days after being sent to Iraq, Young was shot while riding in an open, unarmored truck during an ambush staged by rebels in Sadr City. One of the bullets pierced his spine and left him paralyzed from the chest down.

He returned home to Kansas City, Missouri, and joined the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). He later became a public critic of the Iraq War.

Body of War is a documentary directed by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue which follows Young as he adapts to his paralyzed body and questions his motives to enlist in the army.

In March 2013, Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges published an interview with Young about his worldview and circumstances. Young was in hospice care at the time of the interview, which was conducted at his home in Kansas City. Although he has contemplated suicide on various occasions, he decided "to go on hospice care, to stop feeding and fade away. This way, instead of committing the conventional suicide and I am out of the picture, people have a way to stop by or call and say their goodbyes." He later changed his mind, saying "I want to spend as much time as possible with my wife, and no decent son wants his obituary to read that he was survived by his mother."