letter from a soldier in Vietnam to his sister finally came after 52 years

Soldier's lost letter from Vietnam War finds its way home 52 years later

WHAS 11 News
Heather Fountaine
May 28, 2020

NORTH VERNON, Ind. — A five page letter from a soldier to his sister landed in the mailbox of North Vernon, Indiana’s Janice Tucker last week. The envelope was postmarked May 10, 2020, but the words written inside were from Vietnam in 1968.

“It begins with 'Hi sis. I just read your letter, wow.' And I'm thinking, I have a sister that lives in Jeffersonville and I didn't send her a letter,” laughed Tucker, confused by what she had received.

As she started reading, she realized it was a note from her brother, William Lone, talking about his time serving in the Vietnam War.

“So, I called my brother. He lives in South Carolina. I read the letter to him and he said, ‘I remember writing that letter to you.’”

“I was in the field where you’re out there sleeping in tents,” Lone described.

He said he had sealed the envelope and put a .05 cent stamp in the corner before handing it to another soldier to deliver the letter to his sister who was 17-years-old at the time.

“Janice was still at home then, so it was going to go to Floyds Knobs, Indiana.” Or at least, it was supposed to.

The delivery was delayed for decades, more than half a century in fact.
read it here

Remembering Specialist Ashley Shelton

UPDATE to story of Ashley Shelton, the soldier who delivered baby in latrine while serving in Afghanistan

Remembering Specialist Ashley Shelton, the soldier who gave birth in combat

WTHR NBC 13 News
SANDRA CHAPMAN
PUBLISHED: APR 5TH, 2019

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WTHR) — Specialist Ashley Shelton is being laid to rest today in Frankfort, Indiana.

She was found unresponsive on Saturday, March 30 outside a Frankfort motel where she was to meet her mother and son to go swimming. Shelton was just 27 years old.

The Clinton County Coroner is awaiting additional autopsy results to rule on the cause of death but tells 13 Investigates there is no suspicion and no foul play.

13 Investigates has heard from Shelton's military friends who wanted a place to share their thoughts about their former comrade and friend, so Eyewitness News put this page together as a place to remember Spc. Shelton.

But first, a text message that Shelton sent to 13 Investigates Reporter Sandra Chapman.

read more here

Homeless Vietnam veteran reunited with family

Couple reunites homeless veteran with family

FOX Carolina
Nicole Valdes
January 5, 2019

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (KNXV ) -- What started as a regular day at a Valley grocery store, has led to a life-long friendship.

“We saw him just holding this five dollar bill and just kind of wondering around," said Stephanie Blackbird. "He didn’t look well... He looked lost and I couldn’t walk away, I couldn’t in good conscience walk away without at least checking on this man.”

Stephanie, and her husband Al, met Alan Vandevander at a Whole Foods in North Scottsdale. They helped him get some food, started up a conversation, then parted ways, but the Blackbirds couldn't get the frail homeless man off their minds.

The next morning, they reconnected with him and helped him get to a hospital. Alan was severely malnourished.

“He said I’m glad they found me cause I was in trouble.” said Blackbird.

After getting to know him, the Blackbirds did some digging and found out Alan has quite the story. He served in Vietnam, and was awarded a purple heart, but he had also been missing for 40 years. His family in Indiana had no idea Alan was still alive.

“I started looking for him in 1990 and I kept coming across dead ends," said Alan's sister, Julie Vandevander. She says she last spoke to her brother in the 80's. “I never ever thought I would hear from my brother again.”
read more here

VA employees given financial help while veterans turned away?

Indiana veterans affairs leader resigns after awarding grants for needy vets to employees

Indianapolis Star
Tony Cook
December 7, 2018

Most veterans also were strictly held to a $2,500 lifetime cap on aid, but at least four of Brown's employees who are veterans received more than that, including the manager of the program, who dipped into the fund multiple times.

Indiana Department of Veterans' Affairs Director James Brown (Photo: Indiana Department of Veterans' Affairs)

The leader of Indiana's veterans affairs agency is resigning after awarding grant money intended for struggling veterans to his own employees.

Gov. Eric Holcomb accepted the resignation of Indiana Department of Veterans' Affairs Director James Brown on Friday morning, according to a media release. Brown, a decorated Vietnam veteran, has led the agency since 2013.

"Sgt. Maj. Brown is a good man with a distinguished service record,” Holcomb said. “I am grateful for his longstanding service to our state and country.”

The shakeup comes one week after an ongoing IndyStar investigation found Brown gave middle-income state employees who were veterans an inside track on emergency assistance grants intended for needy vets.

IndyStar reported last week that at least 11 of the agency's employees — many making $40,000 to $50,000 a year — received a total of roughly $40,000 or more through the Military Family Relief Fund.
read more here

Indiana changing the conversation from suicide to actually preventing them

Vets helping vets

CNHI News Indiana
By Haley Cawthon
2 hrs ago

Tackling mental health issues, one conversation at a time

“I served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, during the Cold War and then during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, so there’s that connection with my fellow veterans in terms of deployments, missions and that sort of thing. In the Army they have this thing called your battle buddy, in the Navy it’s your shipmate, in the Air Force it’s your wingman — it’s the concept of leaving nobody behind and we are all in this together.” Ken Gardner

In a divisive time in the United States, almost all politicians and civilians can find common ground when it comes to supporting the troops. Yet, veterans are still dying daily due to a lack of mental health services.

In 2016, 6,079 veterans died by suicide across the country, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Seventy of those deaths occurred in Indiana, and more than half of those veterans were 55 or older.

As bleak as those statistics are, there is somewhat of a hidden silver lining: Indiana’s veteran suicide rate of 16.7 percent is significantly lower than the national rate of 30.1 percent, and even the Midwestern region suicide rate of 28 percent.

So while there is still room for improvement, the Hoosier state appears to be leaps and bounds ahead of the nation. What sets us apart?

Recognizing the signs

Part of the solution to improving veterans’ mental health lies within another persons’ ability to notice the veteran is struggling before a crisis occurs, said Brandi Christiansen, a Navy veteran and executive director of Mental Health America of North Central Indiana. If no one intervenes, a veteran struggling with mental illness can become dangerous to themselves or others.

“We are waiting too long. We are waiting too long to have difficult conversations, we’re waiting too long to get help and identify those warning signs and symptoms,” Christiansen said. “I think we have become complacent as a society.”

According to the VA, about 11 to 20 out of every 100 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veterans have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War veterans and 15 out of every 100 Vietnam veterans also suffer from PTSD.
read more here

Community stepped up after disabled veteran couldn't pay school lunch bills

Indiana veteran receives outpouring of support after facing collection agency over kids' lunch money

RTV ABC 6 News
Rafael Sanchez
Nov 1, 2018

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. -- A local veteran who was facing a collection agency over unpaid school lunches says he’s thankful for all of the help he’s received since his story first aired on RTV6 back in September.

George White says people and other veterans from across the country have come to his assistance when he thought he was alone in dealing with a persistent debt collector. An anonymous person has also paid off the entire $562.61 school lunch bill that White owed to Shelbyville Central schools for his children’s lunches.

Because of his financial situation, White says his children have always qualified for free lunches. He said he thought they had turned in the necessary paperwork in time this year, but he somehow ended up with a large bill because his kids were not receiving free lunch.
read more here

Veteran committed suicide at Mishawaka VA parking lot

Suicide in Mishawaka VA parking lot puts spotlight on veteran mental health crisis
WSBT 22 News
by Veronica Ortega
August 24th 2018

A veteran shot himself yesterday in the parking lot of the VA Health Care Center in Mishawaka -- dead from an apparent suicide.

We often don't report suicide, but this is not about drawing attention to an individual. Rather, we are hoping to raise awareness and help people who are struggling.

This is an issue that impacts people and families every day.
read more here 

The rest of the report is good and they interviewed a Vietnam veteran offering hope in the battle against PTSD. The problem is, what they got wrong to start off the report.

Yet again, reporters repeated the number "22" and yet again, we have to endure yet another shameful reminder that another veteran was failed. Failed by all of us because reporters did not care enough to investigate anything for real.

Well, it turns out that while they keep repeating "22 veterans a day commit suicide" the fact is, no one knows how many and we proved it! The VA says they used CDC data but even the CDC does not know how many Americans have committed suicide! Yes, that is right. They are missing data from 10 states.

NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY MORE VETERANS HAVE COMMITTED SUICIDE!

Add this one to the following public suicides!

How much louder to they have to scream?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 14, 2018

Last year veterans were facing off with law enforcement almost every week, maybe even more, but while these reports should have been national news, they were ignored.

Oh well, it is just so much easier to just use a number as if that is supposed to make any difference to the men and women screaming for help to stay alive.

When veterans commit suicide in a very public way, that is exactly what it is. Oh, not help for themselves. They have already made up their minds it is too late for them. They are screaming for someone to do something to help the other veterans! Like these;

March 9, 2018
Yountville California
Veteran and hostages dead at PTSD program

March 12, 2018
Vietnam veteran committed suicide in Sheridan Police Department Parking lot after calling dispatch to let them know where he was.

March 23, 2018
Soldier dead after standoff at Aberdeen Proving Ground

March 23, 2018
Oklahoma
Air Force Veteran dead after police were called to help him.

March 26, 2018
St. Louis
62 year old veteran committed suicide in John Cochran VA Medical Center waiting room

April 3, 2018
Boynton Beach
Florida
76 year old Vietnam veteran committed suicide in Boynton City Hal parking lot. Not first time this happened. 

It happened last year in Amarillo Texas when a veteran shot himself in front of the VA hospital.

June 13, 2018
Fort Knox 
21 year old Private committed public suicide at Clarksville High School after he stole a gun.

June 19, 2018
Kansas
Vietnam veteran committed suicide at in the VA emergency room.

June 26 2018
Georgia
Navy Veteran set himself on fire in front of Georgia Capitol protesting the VA system. 

Not first time this happened. It also happened in New Jersey last year.

June 27, 2018
Norfolk Navy Yard
Sailor walked into helicopter blade, death ruled suicide.

July 10, 2018
Alabama
Air Force veteran shot family, and himself after setting house on fire.

July 14, 2018
Phoenix AZ
Veteran shot himself inside the VA Hospital Chapel 

Not the first times since it happened last year when a 33 year old veteran shot himself at the VA.
Those are just from the reports I found in the last hour.

Could not get all this out of my head, so if you do not like it when I explode, do not watch this video!

Vietnam Veteran left outside home, died

13 Investigates: The death of 70-year-old veteran raises disturbing questions
WTHR
Bob Segall
August 16, 2018

That day came last summer on July 17. Bowers died three and a half months after what appears to be a terrible mix-up. The Marine’s family wants to know how that mix-up happened so other veterans and their families do not have to suffer like they did.

FRANKLIN, Ind. (WTHR) — Traci Dearth was enjoying a family vacation in Florida when she heard a severe weather warning on her cellphone.

“My Channel 13 app continued to go off because of all the storms back home, but I didn’t think much about it at the time. I just had no idea,” she said.

What Dearth didn’t realize was her 70-year-old father was outdoors, helplessly seeking shelter from the severe thunderstorms that brought hail, lightning, high winds and flooding to central Indiana.

The wheelchair-bound veteran with dementia was supposed to be safe inside a nursing home. Instead, he was fighting for his life, abandoned by the people who Dearth trusted to care for him.

“They had one job and that was to take care of him for seven days, and they didn’t do that,” Dearth told WTHR. “He suffered so much. It’s been a year and I still don’t understand it.”

She is now demanding answers from the Roudebush VA Medical Center, a nursing home and a local cab company. All three are accused of negligence that eventually contributed to the death of Gerald Bowers.

“This is a horrible tragedy that should have never happened,” said attorney Mark Ladendorf, whose law firm has filed two lawsuits related to Bowers’ care. “This is a story the community should hear about. Somebody needs to be held responsible, so this never happens again.”
read more here

Vietnam Veteran Honored Same Name On The Wall

WARNING: Have tissues ready when you go to watch this video.

Vietnam vet honors familiar name on wall
ABC 57 News
By: Jess Arnold
Posted: Aug 5, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During his first ever trip to the wall, one Vietnam vet honored an all too familiar name on the wall.

The name--his own--Robert Berta.

A Robert D. Berta was born the same year (1946) as this vet, Robert L. Berta--also in South Bend.

They served overseas at the same time, where the former was killed in action.

“Scary considering I was there at the same time. We could have, we didn’t know who was going to be coming home, me or him. It seemed like I made it and he didn’t. and we never think that way. We figure we should be there, too on this wall, because we all did our job. Maybe I should have been on this wall myself, so that’s the way I feel about it," said Robert L. Berta.
read more here

Veteran's Service Dog Wrigley Found Safe!

UPDATE: Service dog that went missing after veteran’s car was stolen found safely
WTTV 4 News
July 18, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A Marine veteran’s missing service dog was safely found on Wednesday.

IMPD asked the public to help find 2-year-old Wrigley on Tuesday after its owner’s vehicle was stolen on the south side of Indianapolis.

The vehicle was later recovered on the east side, but police say the dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, was not inside.
read more here

Community searches for Veteran's Service Dog

A community comes together to help Pennsylvania trucker, Army veteran find dog lost at Lake Station truck stop
NWI Times
Dylan Wallace
Jun 29, 2018 Updated 4 hrs ago

It wasn't until a few days ago when they questioned workers at the truck stop that one revealed they saw another truck driver scoop up a dog and take it with him. The employee's description of the dog matched Jade's, so Morris and DiBenedetto are certain it was her.

Gilson is from Pennsylvania and is a U.S. Army veteran who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The distance between his home and Lake Station hasn't stopped him from trying to find his dog. Co-workers give him routes that allow him to pass through Indiana, so he can stop by.

Truck driver Doug Gilson stopped by the TA truck stop in Lake Station on Thursday morning and stared at the empty seat next to him.

"It's tough looking over at that seat, and she's not there," Gilson said.

Just three weeks prior, on June 8, Gilson was driving to Iowa when he made a pit stop at that same truck stop around 1 a.m.

Accompanying him was his service dog, Jade — a female Australian shepherd and companion of Gilson's for 12 years.
read more here

Kokomo VA Clinic designed to fail?

Sen. Donnelly asks VA to investigate new Kokomo clinic
Kokomo Tribune
By Carson Gerber
June 19, 2018

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly is asking Veterans Affairs officials to investigate the new outpatient clinic in Kokomo after local veterans expressed concerns about access to care and problems scheduling appointments.

Donnelly recently sent a letter to VA Northern Indiana Health Care System Director Michael Hershman, whose office runs the Kokomo clinic, asking him to “investigate and address these issues, consistent with U.S. law and agency policy.”

The letter comes after the clinic, which is a first-of-its-kind pilot program established by the VA, came under fire from local veterans during last month’s meeting of the Howard County Military Foundation.

Veterans said the clinic isn’t providing enough services and patients are being discouraged from going there when calling to schedule appointments.

Jimmy Shaw, a guide for UAW Local 685, said during the meeting that veterans in his union have reported the nurse practitioners and clinicians there can’t provide the kinds of services they need.

“We’ve got a lot of irate veterans,” he said. “I’m hearing that the clinic can’t do anything for them once they get in there.”
read more here

Marine Veteran credits Veterans Court with lifeline

After 3 suicide attempts, Marine veteran turns life around and graduates from veterans court
WDRB News
Fallon Glick
Posted: May 17, 2018

“Two overdoses and a car accident that I tried," Reidinger said. "The overdoses didn't work. I don't know how. They should have ... big time. And then on I-65, I drove into a median."

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- A Marine Corps veteran from southern Indiana tried committing suicide three times before finally getting the help he desperately needed.

It was the darkest time in Brian Reidinger's life.

But those times were a stark difference from just years earlier when he proudly served in the United States Marine Corps.

“I fell in love," Reidinger said. "I was good at it. I succeeded in it."

Within a year of joining, he was deployed to combat in Iraq.

“I excelled in it. I was really good at it," he said. "I was good under pressure. I was good at making decisions, I was good at protecting my marines, and they were good at protecting me."

After Reidinger got out of the Marines, he moved back home and felt lost.

“One of the worst things you can tell a Marine, a combat Marine, is that you're not the same," he said. "Because we know we're not the same. It sucks being reminded of it, and I was just depressed."

He developed a drinking problem that turned into an opioid pill problem, which later turned into a heroin problem.

“It ruined my life," he said. "It took over everything."

Reidinger was in and out of jail. But then he finally accepted help through Veteran's Treatment Court of Southern Indiana.

“Which was one of the best things to ever happen to me," he said. "If it wasn't for them, I'd be dead today."
read more here

Female Soldier gave birth in latrine--in Afghanistan?

Doctor used 'feelings' over test results to clear Indiana soldier for deployment
WTHR 13 News
Sandra Chapman
May 7, 2018

It's a case so rare and so shocking that the United States Army refuses to talk about what happened to Pvt. Ashley Shelton.

The 20-year old private from Indiana gave birth to a near full-term baby boy in 2012.

She was in Afghanistan – in a combat zone.

Why did the military put a pregnant soldier into a war zone?

With her permission, 13 Investigates obtained Pvt. Shelton's medical files, and what they revealed takes the questions in her case to even greater heights.

A series of pre-deployment pregnancy tests were positive or indecisive. But the doctor involved in her case noted that he didn't "feel" like she was pregnant and he signed off on her deployment.

When Ashley was in Afghanistan she was shocked to learn she was giving birth to a baby boy inside of an Army latrine.

She was assigned to an aviation unit and worked around dangerous chemicals and helicopter exhaust fumes. She exercised and wore heavy body armor every day. She took malaria pills and had both anthrax and typhoid vaccines.

Exposures to those vaccines, Pvt. Shelton now believes, impacted her son Benjamin. He has trouble walking and suffers from developmental delays. read more here

Indiana National Guard veteran helped by community

Volunteers pitch in to help Indiana veteran who suffers multiple seizures a day
WTTV 4 News
BY MATT SMITH
MAY 5, 2018

RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. – Volunteers descended onto a farmhouse in Russiaville Saturday, helping a veteran and Hoosier who dedicated more than two decades with the Indiana National Guard.

Larry Sparks served numerous deployments including to Iraq, Afghanistan and to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. What has followed is a traumatic brain injury, daily seizures and PTSD.

“It’s been a process,” he said. “It’s been tough.”

Sparks reached out to the non-profit Wish 4 Our Heroes to help.

Saturday volunteers sanded walls, put my new siding and help renovate numerous rooms inside the home. More volunteers are needed to help paint next week.
read more here

Veterans charities ripped off famous name

When I am driving to work and hear the commercial for this group, talk about PTSD but forget about the majority of our veterans, I have to change to another pre-set station. This group is blocked from putting up ads on my site. I've posted plenty about how much they offend me. Now, I find myself feeling sorry they had to go through having their name ripped off.

Ya, I know how that feels. Wounded Times often gets confused with this group, but since it was started back in 2007, before anyone heard of this group of "wounded" I have no plans of changing it, or going after anyone using it.  Considering the Native Americans used it first, no one really owns those two words.

In the case of what y0u're going to read, the famous group pays for their advertising, and their name more well known than what they actually do. So when people decide it is OK to use that fame for their own benefit, that is disgusting. What makes it reprehensible is they are accused of using it for their own personal lives!

4 charged with using 'Wounded Warrior' name to collect donations
STARS AND STRIPES
By DIANNA CAHN
Published: March 16, 2018

“Everything they did was for personal use,” Richard Ferretti, special agent in charge of the Louisville field office of the Secret Service, told Stars and Stripes. “No veteran’s family that we found as of yet has benefited from the money solicited.”

WASHINGTON – Using a variation on the name of one of the most well-known veterans charities, four suspects in Indiana have been charged with bilking people out of $125,000, according to federal and local law enforcement in Indiana.

The scheme involved collecting donations for two fraudulent organizations, the “Wounded Warrior Fund” and the “Wounded Warrior Foundation” – both plays on the legitimate Florida-based Wounded Warrior Project, according to the indictment, unsealed Friday.

The case was investigated by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service field office in Louisville, Ky. The suspects were indicted by a grand jury Feb. 28.

According to the indictment, the scheme was led by James Linville, 44, of Clark County, Ind., who incorporated the Wounded Warrior Fund in 2011 and Wounded Warrior Foundation in 2014. He and three accomplices – Thomas Johnson, 42, and Joanie Watson, 38, along with Linville’s girlfriend Amy Lou Bennett, 40 – are under arrest, officials said. Three have pleaded guilty. The fourth was expected in court later Friday.
read more here

Youth Hockey Teams step up for Special Needs child's Disney trip

Indiana veteran, daughter with special needs headed to Disney World thanks to hockey teams
CBS4Indy
Trevor Shirley
February 17, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A central Indiana veteran with a special needs child is getting the thrill of a lifetime, and it’s all thanks to some youth hockey teams.

On Saturday, Steve Scroghan learned he’ll finally get to give his daughter the gift she’s been asking for.

“Still trying to process it,” said Scroghan. “It’s an honor.”

The retired Army veteran and his family received the honor Saturday after some local hockey teams teamed up to raise money for the charity Wish For Our Heroes.

“It was really cool. You get to be a part of something that makes somebody so happy,” said Erich Orrick, the president of Wish For Our Heroes.

Scroghan said his daughter, who has special needs, has been wanting to visit Disney World for a long time, but tight finances made it tough.
read more here

Indiana National Guard Soldier Died at Fort Hood

Indiana National Guard soldier dies at Fort Hood in Texas
By: The Associated Press 
Published: Sunday, January 07, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana National Guard says one of its soldiers has died after arriving for training at Fort Hood in Texas.

Indiana Guard officials said 43-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Mark Boner of Fort Wayne died early Saturday. The Guard didn't release information about the circumstances of his death, saying it was under investigation.

Boner was a member of the Kokomo-based 38th Sustainment Brigade. About 250 members of the unit left last week for training at Fort Hood ahead of a deployment to Kuwait.
read more here

Indiana Vietnam Vet's Obituary Leaves Behind Laughter

Indiana veteran leaves behind hilarious obituary
FOX 59 News
January 26, 2018

“Terry Wayne Ward, age 71, of DeMotte, IN, escaped this mortal realm on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018, leaving behind 32 jars of Miracle Whip, 17 boxes of Hamburger Helper and multitudes of other random items that would prove helpful in the event of a zombie apocalypse."

DEMOTTE, Ind. – A northwest Indiana woman decided the style of traditional obituaries didn’t quite fit her dad’s personality, so she wrote up one that did.

“He lived to make other people laugh…it was the only way to honor him properly,” said daughter, Jean Lahn, of Lowell.

Terry Ward moved to Demotte from suburban Illinois in 1973 after serving in the Vietnam War. The Army veteran wanted a quiet place in the country after participating in active combat.

During her work at Geisen Funeral Home, she has seen her fair share of stale obituaries, usually set up the the exact same way.

“I wrote it myself and I didn’t tell anyone I was going to make it funny,” Jean said.

After reading it, the rest of her family said it was perfect and shared many laughs.
read more here

Iraq Veteran From Florida Killed in Michigan

Man killed in Parma Township shooting was Iraq war vet, father of 2
MLive
Nathan Clark
January 23, 2018

Campbell, originally from Crystal River Fla., was a resident of Fort Wayne, Ind. prior to moving to the Parma Township home about a year ago.

PARMA TWP., MI - Dan Wendling heard the shot. He thought someone was lighting fireworks.

His dog seemed to know something was amiss and soon emergency lights filled the street around Athena Drive.

He soon learned his neighbor, John D. Campbell, 31, was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17.

"I can't believe it. Totally shocked by it," Wendling said. "He seemed like a decent enough guy to me."

Campbell was a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq, loved skiing, fishing and was a loyal friend to many, according to his obituary.
read more here