ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Vietnam veteran from Royal Oak is in Washington, D.C., on a hunger strike to gain attention for fellow veterans' causes. The man is starving himself for what he says is a very serious problem, as the nation wages war on two fronts.
Tom Mahany, a 62-year-old stone mason from Royal Oak, has been on a hunger strike in the nation's Capitol for the past eight days, while chasing down political power brokers to support vets returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder.
In May 1970, Mahany first demonstrated on the Capitol for 29 days in an effort to end the war. Mahany is a graduate of West Point.
In a letter recently written to President Obama, Mahany said he wants more resources to treat PTSS, and for the families that suffer with the soldiers.
"I think it's just been eating at him for years," says Lorelei Heinmiller, Mahany's girlfriend. "So, now that they're recycling all the troops, just recycling them over and over, and nobody does anything for the families."
And Mahany says the battle will continue as long as he can hold out.
