Florida Veteran Survived Iwo Jima and Korean War, And Now VA Paper Death

VA declares Lakeland veteran dead, leaves him without pension
News Channel 8
By Steve Andrews
Investigative Reporter
Published: October 9, 2015

LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – When Walter Williams was 17, he lied about his age, joined the U.S. Navy, and then fought at Iwo Jima. After the war, Williams entered into the Reserves and was called back to active duty during the Korean War. He made it through two bloody conflicts unscathed. In July, a mistake by the Veterans Administration killed him.

“On July 25th they sent out a letter saying my father was deceased,” daughter Rita Mixon said.

Ninety-year-old Williams is hardly dead. He suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Mixon cares for him full-time. When the VA killed him off in July, it also deep-sixed Williams’ VA and Social Security pensions. It also demanded $1,700 it deposited into Williams’ account be returned to the VA.

The VA told Mixon it will make Williams financially whole by the end of the week. “I had to find someone to hear me, because they weren’t hearing me. That’s when I reached out to 8 On Your Side to assist me, and it really made a big difference, so I am very grateful that we got this taken care of,” Mixon said.
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Vietnam Veteran Wears Suit and Tie Panhandling for WWII Dad

If this doesn't change your mind about veterans asking for money, nothing will! He is a Vietnam veteran, asking for donations while wearing a suit and tie. He isn't looking for help for himself, but for his Dad!

West Bloomfield jobless man begs to save home and care for dad
O and E Media
Joanne Maliszewski
October 3, 2014

Bob Hollerud of West Bloomfield has been unemployed since last year and has been unable to find a job to avoid eviction and to care for his elderly father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
(Photo: John Stormzand | Staff Photographer )

When Bob Hollerud of West Bloomfield would see men and women holding signs and asking for financial help or food while perched on the side of a road, he had one thought: They didn’t have a plan.

“Well, I had a plan,” said the U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran, who stood along 14 Mile Road, west of Orchard Lake, Thursday afternoon.

The sign Hollerud held to his chest as traffic backed up on 14 Mile read:

“US Navy veteran. Need a little help. If you can. God bless all. Help me stay in our home.”

Hollerud admits his plan didn’t account for what life unexpectedly threw at him. First of all, he was laid off from his job with an Ann Arbor company last year. Unemployments benefits gave him a bit of a reprieve for 20 weeks. For about one year, he has been working with Veterans Affairs to get benefits for his father, who has Alzheimer’s. Hollerud cares for his father, a World War II veteran, in his home at Haggerty and Maple.

“The money has run out,” he said.

But Hollerud, who dresses in a suit and tie while he asks for help, believes he is not so different than others. “Many are just a paycheck away from disaster.”

He insists he looks daily for new work. But nothing so far. In fact, his former colleagues let him know that when he was laid off on a Friday, a younger person took his place on Monday for a much lower wage.

“It is absolutely my age,” said Hollerud, who is 62.
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Marine buddies band together for Alzheimer's walk

Marine buddies band together for Alzheimer's walk
Sep 20, 2013 (The News-Sentinel (Menafn - Fort Wayne - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -

The Marine motto of never leaving a Marine behind doesn't just apply to the battlefield.

Three of Wade Smola's Vietnam buddies are coming from Chicago; Louisville, Ky.; and Indianapolis to walk with him and his family Saturday in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's.

A Fort Wayne native, Smola joined the Corps in October of 1967, reported to Monument Circle in Indianapolis to be sworn in, was bused to San Diego for boot camp and then transferred to Camp Pendleton for infantry training before being shipped to Vietnam. He served one tour of duty as a Marine private in the Hoosier Platoon 1108 and was honorably discharged in 1971.

On returning home he used the GI Bill to earn bachelor and master degrees in fine arts and graphic design. After his employer went out of business five years ago and he was unable to find work, he suffered depression and began showing signs of early Alzheimer's. He was officially diagnosed with the disease in January.

Because of his condition, his daughter, Azure, has been taking him to the annual platoon reunions the past few years in Spencer, southwest of Bloomington, and keeping in touch with his buddies via the Internet.
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Scientists find why bad memories stay with us

Scientists find why bad memories stay with us
Glue that makes bad memories stick may help with Alzheimer's, study says

By Andrea Thompson

updated 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
Scientists may have found the glue that keeps fearful memories stuck in the brain, a discovery that could be useful in new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

That glue seems to be a protein that is key to maintaining the structure of cells and also is essential to embryonic development, a new study suggests.

The protein, called beta-catenin, transmits early signals in species ranging from flies to frogs to mice that separate an embryo into front and back or top and bottom. It also acts like Velcro, fastening a cell's internal skeleton to proteins on its external membranes that in turn connect them to other cells.

Previous studies have found other factors that govern our feelings of fear:

One study found a 'fear factor' gene that controls how neurons fire in the brain when mice are faced with impending danger.
Another found that the brain can learn to fear something, such as a bee's sting, when we view someone else's fear.
Another recent study detailed how primates and other mammals learned to fear and avoid snakes.

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