Susan Brewer Banned

Walter Reed Army Hospital has found it necessary to ban Susan Brewer, the high profile founder of America's Heroes of Freedom. It will be interesting to learn what really happened. NBC News at Channel 4 in Washington is reporting that a soldier's wife filed a complaint against Ms. Brewer's organization for using wounded warriors for fund raising purposes.

Charity Barred From Walter Reed
Soldier's Wife: Service Members Were Used For Publicity
POSTED: 7:09 pm EDT August 24, 2005

WASHINGTON -- As war wounded continue to arrive at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, so do dozens of charities willing to help the soldiers and Marines as they recover, but one such charity is under fire.

America's Heroes of Freedom was founded after Sept. 11, 2001, by Susan Brewer, a former Texas interior designer who relocated to Washington. While AHOF has done some good work for returning troops, Brewer has landed in hot water with Walter Reed officials.

AHOF offered free tickets to a Baltimore Orioles game, and more than a dozen recovering service members decided to go.Several of them told News4 that they expected to relax, meet Orioles players and watch a ballgame, not be part of a publicity campaign for AHOF's Web site.

In an e-mail, the wife of a wounded soldier who attended the event wrote that the service members were "used" and the ballpark trip was "nothing more than publicity and a fundraiser" for AHOF.

Brewer denied that and said she had all wounded service members and their companions sign a release allowing them to be photographed.Brewer has now been barred from Walter Reed and it's sub-installations. In a statement to News4 officials said the bar is based on her "material misstatements of fact on the status or America's Heroes of Freedom" and her "use and/or attempted use of casualties for publicity purposes."

On Wednesday, her lawyer responded that "Walter Reed Hospital is ashamed that it cannot properly care for our wounded soldiers. Instead of trying to do so, it is trying to squash people like Susan Brewer." That charge will certainly endear her even more to the Walter Reed officials. Everyone should have a good lawyer to help them out when in trouble.