My life slapped into perspective

Usually I'll offer the "off topic" note for a post like this but in this case, it is far from it.

In all these years I've met stunning heroes I wouldn't have had a chance to meet other than the simple fact I am involved with veterans. Most of the people I meet put me to shame doing far more than I do but without a public voice. Top that off with most of them do not want attention for what they do instead of what they are doing it for. Carol Gambill is one of those quiet heroes.

Most of the time she's out with her husband Russ raising money to build a house for a combat wounded veteran so their lives can be more comfortable. Dedication beyond belief! Carol was at the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne when I made it out there on Saturday, whining about how tired I was from the party the night before. Carol, as usual, stood there with a big smile on her face telling me I needed to have some fun once in a while.

Now I read what else happened while Carol was spending time surrounded by the veterans she loves! The woman she wants to help is not a veteran as you'll read but this goes to show that people who care don't stop caring when someone outside of their "group" needs someone.

Russ and Carol Gambill

Homes for Our Troops Volunteers
Homes For Our Troops
Florida Veterans Network

From: Carol Gambill
Subject: My life slapped into perspective

All right. This weekend I had my life slapped into perspective. Not only did I volunteer in my typical handing out information at events regarding 'Homes for our Troops', which builds and remodels homes for the severely wounded veterans but that is another story in itself and will try to stay focused and tell you about an extraordinary lady with whom I met.

Lois Search hasn't lost the fervor for life even from problems at a very young age. A "little person" as they are called and now for whatever reason in a wheelchair. Whether she was born ridden in wheelchair was never disclosed and I wasn't about to ask. I look past that fact knowing anyone of us could have been born no different. Lois begins to speak to me with her request as I stand with a flyer in my hand in front of the 'Homes for our Troops' booth. For some reason, I quickly hide the flyer behind my back and bend down to her height of two maybe three feet to listen more intently. I realize then that she has a oxygen tube that goes into her nose for her breathing. I focus on her words and lightly swallow back the discomfort of seeing it all. I look into her kind face and can't stop having the compassion that God would want us to have. To love our brother and sister.

As she hands me cards with the information (more like computer paper cut into the size of cards) and with small hands barely able to work effectively, it makes me wonder just how it would be to cut the paper? My mind drifted in thought in how difficult it would be to just get up every morning. The difficulty of taking care of oneself, showering or bathing, dressing then getting yourself into your wheelchair.

I ask her if I could walk around with her to hand them out. She is no doubt an inspiration as we walk around... her in wheelchair and me, feeling a bit guilty because I could. I talk with Lois and ask her how she got to Wickham Park. She tells me she rode the city transit bus from her house just a couple miles away. Crazy, 'cause if it took that much effort every day I would likely be a bit disillusioned with life and become so depressed I wouldn't go anywhere. Yes, she truly made me realize what a weak person I am.

Lois and I continue handing out the pieces of paper and she never once asks for money or any food but simply asked for a one single vote. A vote on the "Mobility Awaeeness Month" link on the internet so she may be able to pursue her independence with chances of winning a new van. Amazing, the humbleness, pride that has to be held and bravery, not to just speak on your behalf but to get up every day to face struggle.

Lois, you're a special Lady!

Take a look at the youtube video Lois Search Video with Lois telling more about herself but says nothing about her spirited independence, honesty, and adversaries--only that she would truly like to win! So please don't forget to vote for Lois Search on this link: Lois Search.

She currently has 1672 votes and deadline is May 13th 2012 so lets get her that van!

Carol Gambill Author of the 'Breaking Out Series'

Vietnam War veteran remembers smell of death in jungle

Vietnam War veteran remembers smell of death in jungle
Jan 21, 2012
By Chick Jacobs
Staff writer

Forty years later, Major Wilfork still can't forget the smell.

The deep, pungent aroma of jungle mingling, then giving way to, the dizzying smell of death, left to simmer in a subtropical stew of heat and humidity.

"People say the things they saw in Vietnam were bad," Wilfork said softly. "I promise you, that smell ... it stays with you a long time after. A long time."

During his time in Vietnam, the Florida native had a job that no one else wanted: body retrieval. It was his job to bring home the bodies that might otherwise become lost in the vast jungle.

"People would say, 'Man, how can you do the stuff you got to do?' " Wilfork said from his home just off Ramsey Street. Now nearly 60, he is still as lean and wiry as the former high school quarterback who joined the Marines in the late '60s.

Thirty-five years after leaving the Corps, he can still fit in his work uniform, and he treasures his "anchor and eagle" - the Marine Corps symbol attached to his service cap.

"Not many people could do it. But it had to be done. It was important, it was an honor.

"But it was tough - real tough. You saw things in the jungle that ... well, hell is the only way to put it."
read more here

Last Vietnam veteran in Florida Air National Guard retires

Last Vietnam veteran in Florida Air National Guard retires
Written by Master Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa
January 8, 2012
Feature Stories
Command Chief Master Sgt. Charles Wisniewski completes 41 years of military service

Florida Air National Guard Command Chief Master Sgt. Charles Wisniewski is the last member of the Florida Air National Guard to have served in the Vietnam conflict. Wisniewski, 59, joined the Air Force in 1971 and served as a weapons technician at Utipoa Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. During his year in Thailand he helped load B-52 bombers flying into Vietnam on bombing missions, including during the famed Operation Linebacker II in late 1972.He had more than 40 years of military service during his career. Photo by Master Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2012) – The last Vietnam veteran in the Florida Air National Guard is retiring and ending a more than 40 year military career.

State Command Chief Master Sgt. Charles Wisniewski, who served in Southeast Asia with the U.S. Air Force in 1972-1973, was honored during a retirement ceremony at the Florida National Guard Headquarters Jan. 6.

“Today really marks the end of an era,” said Adjutant General of Florida Maj. Gen. Emmett Titshaw Jr. during the ceremony. “When we say goodbye to (Wisniewski) today, we say goodbye to the last Vietnam veteran in the Florida Air National Guard. That is a milestone.”

Wisniewski, 59, joined the Air Force in 1971 and served as a weapons technician at Utipoa Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. During his year in Thailand he helped load B-52 bombers flying into Vietnam on bombing missions, including during the famed Operation Linebacker II in late 1972.

Titshaw noted that veterans returning home from deployments today experience a much more supportive atmosphere than Vietnam veterans did in the 1960s and 1970s. And although the gesture was nearly 40 years later, the general prompted the audience to give a standing ovation and round of applause to Wisniewski for his service in Southeast Asia.

The adjutant general also presented Wisniewski with a Meritorious Service Medal and the Florida Cross for his service to the Florida National Guard.
read more here

Medal of Honor Cpl. Larry Smedley Vietnam War Museum

This has to be one of the best kept secrets in Orlando. Too many people have no clue a museum like this is here for everyone, not just Vietnam Veterans or today's veterans, but for everyone.

Cpl. Larry E. Smedley National Vietnam War Museum
Orlando, Florida


3400 N.Tanner Rd.
Orlando, FL 32826

phone: 407-601-2864
e-mail: wminfo@nwmvocf.org
web: www.nwmvocf.org



Welcome to the Larry E. Smedley National Vietnam War Museum, a place full of knowledge, experiences, and memories. Here you will discover many unique and historical artifacts of the Vietnam Era. As you tour our facility, you will encounter exhibits that are on loan from government, as well as those that were both donated and built by members of the Vietnam and all Veterans of Central Florida.

The Larry E. Smedley National Vietnam War Museum includes the first dedicated monument to Fallen Vietnam War Veterans in the state of Florida, with 167 names of men and women from Orange County, Florida. Other static displays consists of a U.S. Navy Patrol Boat River (PBR), also known as “River Rat”, Douglas A-4B Skyhawk aircraft that is currently on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida, and a Bell UH-1 (Huey) Dustoff helicopter. The existing museum center includes numerous artifacts from the Vietnam era; a room-size, to scale, firebase recreation that took approximately eleven years to complete; and recently remodeled an educational media/research room with enhanced audiovisual capabilities.

History

The National Vietnam War Museum, Inc., established in 2000, is a Central Florida non-profit museum, recently name was changed to Larry E. Smedley National Vietnam War Museum owned and operated by the Vietnam Veterans of Central Florida, Inc., also a non-profit organization in Central Florida, founded in 1982. Corporal Larry Eugene Smedley (March 4, 1949–December 21, 1967) was a United States Marine which his name has officially been added to museum title, see his bio to the right. This organization assists the servicemen and women of all wars and branches of military service. While mainly an organization of Vietnam War Era members, the VVCF welcomes all that served with the Armed Forces of the United States.

Artifacts Collections

Static Displays: UH1 (Huey) Helicopter, A-4 Skyhawk Jet Plane, Mk II PBR Navy Patrol Boat, USMC Humvee w/Stinger Missle pods, USA APC (Tracked), jeeps, trucks, trailers

Research Collections

Weapons, clothing, medals, certificates, letters, a lending library and reading room

Educational Programs

Traveling exhibitions, museum tours, vehicle transport to parades and functions, work study programs

Family of 100% disabled Vietnam vet reeling from death and expenses

Family reeling from veteran's death, funeral expenses
Hattiesburg native who received Bronze Star in Vietnam was disabled
11:17 PM, Jul. 2, 2011

Richard "Dickey" Randolph (right) and his friend Nelvil Hollingsworth from Hattiesburg, had an impromptu reunion in South Vietnam while they were serving there in the early 1970s. The family is struggling after Randolph's recent death. / Special to The Clarion-Ledger

Written by
Gary Pettus

Hattiesburg native Richard "Dickey" Randolph didn't ask much from his country - a house near the ocean, a place to fish and the company of his family.

But his country had asked much of him, drafting him into the Army 40 years ago and encouraging him to go to Vietnam, where he was rewarded with a Bronze Star, shrapnel scars and wounds that wouldn't heal.

He was 100 percent disabled, plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder, because he had taken care of his country, said Nancy Randolph of Pace, Fla., his wife of some 25 years; so when he died, she assumed his country would take care of him.
read more here
Family reeling from veteran death

Daytona Beach Vietnam Vet wins battle over flag

Vietnam Veteran in Florida Wins Battle Over Display of U.S. Flag

Published July 23, 2010
FoxNews.com


A Florida Vietnam veteran who went to war with his apartment complex over the right to post an American flag in his window appears to have won a stars and stripes showdown.

Carlisle Vereen, of Daytona Beach, told Central Florida News 13 that "patriotism" led him to tape the paper flag to the inside of his apartment window last Thanksgiving. No complaints were received at the time, he said.

Joann Thompson, a manager at Manatee Bay Apartments, told FoxNews.com she gave Vereen a notice earlier this week indicating that the flag needed to be removed from the window within 24 hours or it would be disposed of by apartment officials.

The notice indicated that no signs were allowed on doors or windows, but Thompson said the flag -- which was originally made of paper -- had been replaced with a plastic version and is now in compliance with the complex's regulations.

"The issue was that it was paper and all faded and torn," Thompson said. "We didn't want this to go this far. I understand why he got upset -- he's a veteran, he's very passionate. It was not my intention to upset him."
read more here
Vietnam Veteran in Florida Wins Battle Over Flag

Florida Vietnam vet severely beaten over $13, fighting for life

Vietnam vet severely beaten over $13, fighting for life

Posted by Elizabeth Stewart

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL (WFLX) - A Vietnam veteran is in a battle for his life after being severely beaten over the $13 in his wallet.

Investigators say Leonard McGuire, 66, was attacked and left for dead while he was walking in Port St. Lucie at 4 in the morning Saturday. Friends say he would start his walk early to avoid the heat.
read more here
Vietnam vet severely beaten over 13 dollars fighting for life

Vietnam veterans honored for their service and sacrifice

Vietnam veterans honored for their service

By Malia Rulon - Gannett News Service
Posted : Monday Apr 19, 2010 20:43:28 EDT

WASHINGTON — Sisters, brothers, wives, daughters, sons, grandchildren, friends and volunteers took turns at a memorial service Monday reading the names of 97 members of the armed forces who died as a result of their service in Vietnam.

Among the names: William Howard Hegge of Cincinnati, who died six years ago of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54. Donald Dwight McCans of Gettysburg, Pa., also died of cancer. He was 60. So did William Black St. John of Hobe Sound, Fla., who was 67.

As family members read aloud the names of their loved ones, many noted the branch of service they were in, their rank and the dates served. Most also tacked on a too-common postscript: Agent Orange.

These service personnel, many of whom died of cancer decades after the war ended, don’t qualify to have their names etched onto the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington.

Under Defense Department guidelines, only men and women who died from wounds suffered in combat zones are eligible. The wall contains 58,261 such names.

But the scars of war stretch far beyond those 58,261 deaths. Each year, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund honors men and women whose noncombat deaths are related to their service, through either emotional suffering caused by their service or complications associated with exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide used by the U.S. military to remove plants and leaves from foliage that provided enemy cover.

Nearly 2,000 veterans have been honored since the annual memorial service began.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/04/ap_vietnamvets_041910/

Vietnam Vet credits detective for help in police standoff

Video On Demand

Veteran credits detective for help in standoff
"All of a sudden I was out on the Thruway and I had no control of the situation," said Gilchriese.
James Gilchriese has spent the past five months in jail after causing an armed standoff that closed the river section of the Thruway for hours back in May.

His friend Thomas Magee said, "The guy on the Thruway is not the Jim Gilchriese I know."
Detective Teague was the one who spent an hour on the phone with Gilchriese trying to keep him calm and to put his gun down.
Also on WIVB.com

More on veteran credits detective for help in standoff
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A big turn of events Friday surrounding the man who held police at bay along the 190 and put a neighborhood under siege for hours earlier this year.

A Judge has given James Gilchriese a second chance for his plea on a felony weapons charge. Gilchriese apologized Friday, thanked police, and one detective in particular.

"I don't know. All of a sudden I was out on the Thruway and I had no control of the situation," said Gilchriese.

James Gilchriese has spent the past five months in jail after causing an armed standoff that closed the river section of the Thruway for hours back in May.

He was sentenced Friday to time served, and five years probation. The judge took into account the fact that he's 66, has no record of violence, and is very active with Vietnam veterans groups where he lives in Florida.

His friend Thomas Magee said, "The guy on the Thruway is not the Jim Gilchriese I know."
Gilchriese said he had been drinking, and was fighting with his girlfriend. "I had somewhat of a flashback to Vietnam but I can't use that as an excuse."

Detective Gary Teague from Buffalo Police said, "There were times when he'd talk about Vietnam. He said he was a veteran, he was trained in firearms and things of that nature."
Detective Teague was the one who spent an hour on the phone with Gilchriese trying to keep him calm and to put his gun down.

"And him I will never forget," said Gilchriese.

Gilchriese credits him for keeping it under control. "Absolutely, it was him. I would only talk to him," as Teague's respond was, "I'm pleased. Not very often people really thank us for what we do."

He adds, "It wasn't just me alone. It was a collaborative effort." Gilchriese could've received up to a seven-year sentence.

Please read the attached story to learn about how the New York State Police Thruway division was involved in the standoff.
Story by George Richert, WIVB
click links for all of this and learn what law enforcement officers across the nation need to understand to save more lives of these veterans.