FOX, America’s agenda-free and unbiased source for well-researched news, has a new videogame related story up that links Call of Duty 4 with the disappearance of former Marine Eric Hall. Hall, who was wounded in Iraq, had been playing the game before he apparently got up, said he had to go, and then left, never to return. FOX would like to remind you again — it was a videogame that caused this.
Hall’s time in Iraq was traumatic, to say the least. He was injured by a bomb that caused damage to his right arm, left leg, hip and abdomen, and also had to witness his best friend’s decapitation during the conflict. Prior to his disappearance, Hall had been suffering from flashbacks and hallucinations. It is believed he fled his home on a motorcycle, which was later abandoned.
Not to be mean spirited or anything, but who decided that playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a good idea after you’ve been traumatized in the Iraq conflict? Do people who have been savaged in a shark attack watch Jaws as soon as they’re released from hospital? Perhaps he thought it would be cathartic, but obviously that’s not how it turned out. A worrying story, and testament to what war can do to one’s mind. Honestly though, I wouldn’t recommend anybody who went through what Hall did playing CoD4. A negative reaction to the gritty and grounded war title should have been seen a mile away.
[With thanks to Brian Szabelski]
Published: Feb 10, 2008 07:43 pm