The police calls the White House to speak to White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) , We later find Toby at the National Mall by the Memorial looking at a dead man on a park bench. It turns out that the man was wearing a old coat that Toby gave to charity some time ago. The coat had a business card in it with Tobye's name and number.
Toby explains the situation to the police but notices a tattoo on the deceased arm. He tells the policeman that the tat is in reference to the Korean War. Toby takes the information of the Veteran to the White House to do some research on the man. The rest of the story is what hits me in the heart.
Toby is in his office on the phone and on hold when the White House Media Consultant Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly) steps in. Toby tells her who he is on hold for and she asked did you know him, Toby said no and she asked "Why does it matter?" It mattered to Toby.
Now I know this story is fiction, but I wonder how many similar questions has been asked about discarded veterans that spilled blood for this country? Think about this image, a man that fought for his country in a foreign land left to die on a bench on a cold day in Washington DC at the National Mall. I mean the this is like left over pizza left on the kitchen table to spoil and tossed in the garbage a few days later.
Toby goes back to the National Mall to find more information about the deceased veteran. He gets the name of his brother. later that night he goes to a soup line and ask around about the brother. The brother is slow in the mind, and Toby tells the man that he is going to pick him up the next day for a military funeral with full honors for his brother.
Before Toby Heads out to the service, he meets with the President, Bartlet (Martin Sheen) tells Toby that he can't keep doing this because every homeless veteran out there would come out of the wood works.
Toby replies, "I can only hope sir"
That was a awesome reply, because our men and women in uniform that spill blood for our freedom, are tossed aside like a empty beer can. I know they are not saints, but neither are we and we have never been where they have. We have not experienced what they have.
In the same episode, the Presidents Secretary Dolores Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) tells Charlie Young (Dule Hill) the Presidents Personal Aide about her sons that where killed in a war and that is the reason she is sad around the Holidays.
On Christmas Eve Toby gets ready to go to the funeral and Mrs Landingham tells him she would like to go with him to the service.
So with full honors, a small but heart felt group goes to the national cemetery to say goodby to a veteran that was long forgotten from a grateful nation.
I can not fully express how this episode breaks my heart, but if you watch this , just let yourself get lost and be consumed by the story.
