Today is no cause to celebrate independence

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 4, 2023

No one should be forced to surrender what they believe simply because I believe they are wrong! That was the premise of this nation. So how have we arrived, yet again, in a time and place where so many decided their religious freedom is the only one that the rest of us must live by?
 

"But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god." Thomas Jefferson

That is what Thomas Jefferson thought about the freedom of religion. Most of what was behind the 1st Amendment against establishing religion had a history lesson behind it. What happened when one group of "believers" was able to use what they believed to control those that believed differently was uncontrollable, they wanted to prevent it from happening again. That history lesson came from the Salem Witch Trials.

By the time the people of Salem came to their senses and issued a decree for a day of atonement on January 14, 1697,  200 had been arrested, tortured, and had everything taken from them. 19 of the accused were hung and one was crushed to death. Some died in jail before their trial. Some were exonerated and some simply escaped.

None of the accusers had to suffer anything other than accountability to God and the wrath of their neighbors.

“But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. If it be said, his testimony in a court of justice cannot be relied on, reject it then, and be the stigma on him. Constraint may make him worse by making him a hypocrite, but it will never make him a truer man. It may fix him obstinately in his errors, but will not cure them. Reason and free enquiry are the only effectual agents against error.” ― Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (GoodReads)

What your neighbor believes or does not believe is none of your business. That is what has made this country great. No one religious group was to have the power to rule over others ever again. 

In January 1693, the newly created Superior Court of Judicature began hearing the remaining witch trials. The judges could not accept spectral evidence and most of the remaining trials ended in acquittal. Phips pardoned the rest.

Enduring Lessons
In 1957, Massachusetts formally apologized for the events of 1692: “The General Court of Massachusetts declares its belief that such proceedings, even if lawful under the Province Charter and the law of Massachusetts as it then was, were and are shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical fear of the Devil in the community…” The Massachusetts state legislature was still exonerating accused witches as recently as the early 2000s.

Today, the Salem Witch Trials continue to capture popular imagination. Less than 20 miles from Boston, Salem has turned its dark history into a thriving tourism industry, with witchcraft-themed shops, eateries, tours, and several museums.

The town commemorates the tragedy of that era with the Salem Witch Trial Memorial and has preserved many buildings and other historic sites associated with the trials, so future generations—and jurists—can learn how mass hysteria can lead to mass injustice. (New England Law)

What we are seeing today is people with the same attitude decided they should have the right to control everyone else because they claim to be "defending their rights" while at the same time, they seek to remove the rights of all others to enjoy the same freedom.

They seek to kill the religious freedom of all the people to believe as they see fit or choose to not believe at all. If we do nothing, we should never again celebrate July 4th with fireworks, parades, and festivities but should visit the graves of all those who paid the price for the freedoms we let die. Not just those that served in the military but those who died because they were persecuted because of what some believed. Civil rights leaders were murdered for standing up for freedom.

The freedom to choose if you worship and how you worship. 

The freedom to vote according to your choice instead of where you live because of some bizarre boundary line designed to control who you can vote for. 

The freedom to love, who you love and marry or don't marry. The right to live according to who you are inside instead of being judged as going against what "God created." It must have escaped their thoughts that God is spirit and not flesh and bones, meaning He created the souls and not bodies. It also must have escaped their thoughts that some people do not believe in God at all.

The freedom to choose to become parents and raise your children according to what you believe in. The freedom to choose to not become parents. The freedom to be able to get the reproductive healthcare that you need without having a politician decide if and when you get it because they don't want to protect your right to receive it.

The freedom to learn from history and not be controlled by those feeling uncomfortable with what actually happened. The freedom to read what books you want and the freedom to write what books you want, expressing your thoughts because you are free to do so.

The freedom to know you can go out in public, attend worship services, go shopping, see a movie or even drive your car without fear you are subjecting yourself to being shot. Freedom to send your children to school without fearing you may not see your child at the end of the day alive because someone was able to obtain a weapon designed to kill as many as possible as fast as possible.

When we allow one freedom to be taken from the majority by the minority, more will fall and we will fail to be the land of the free. 

 

Fireworks started fire, Colorado woman rescued from house by strangers

Good Samaritans rescue woman from fireworks-sparked fire in Montbello

Denver Channel
By: Jaclyn Allen
Jul 05, 2019

DENVER – Denver Fire is investigating a fire in a Montbello home that was reportedly sparked by fireworks Wednesday night.

Dramatic dash cam and cell phone video captured the moment a bush caught fire, spreading to a car and a house on Atchison Way.

William Birkett was shooting the video after he saw the firework shoot into the bush, and pulled over to help.

"I tried my best to put it out with the water bottles that I had in my car. The neighbor was using his garden hose," said Birkett, who said the fire quickly grew out of control, and that’s when they heard a woman screaming. “Myself and two other men, we just started running towards the house. And the two men pulled her out while I held back the bushes and I ran back inside to make sure no one was inside.”
read more here

Dueling "tributes" Capitol Fourth and "A Salute to America"...seriously?

Trump Says He's Hosting 'A Salute to America' on July 4 at the Lincoln Memorial

New York Daily News
By Brian Niemietz
24 Feb 2019

National recording artists perform at the 2018 A Capitol Fourth rehearsals at U.S. Capitol, West Lawn on July 3, 2018 in Washington, D.C. This time-honored 38-year tradition places attendees and viewers front and center for America's largest birthday party celebrating 242 years of independence. (Reese Brown/Department of Defense Photo)

"Your favorite President" is hosting an Independence Day celebration, and we're all invited.

President Trump excitedly announced on Twitter Sunday that he is throwing "one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington D.C. on July 4" and he's a naming it "A Salute to America."

Trump's party will take place at the Lincoln Memorial and he promises "major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!"

It's unclear if Trump's Independence Day event will coincide with the annual A Capitol Fourth celebration on the west lawn of the United States Capitol. That also features fireworks and musical performances and attracts a half-million spectators.
read more here

Marine's body found in river 4th of July

Marine found dead in river at Fort Leonard Wood identified
KSDK 5 News
Author: KSDK Staff
July 6, 2018

The Marine went missing on the Fourth of July after being swept away by the river's current.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The Marine involved in the Big Piney River incident on Fort Leonard Wood has been identified as Pfc. Corey Staten.

Staten was a Basic Motor Transport Marine assigned to the Marine Corps Detachment at Fort Leonard Wood.

According to Fort Leonard Wood’s Directorate of Emergency Services, Pfc. Staten went missing around 4:25 p.m. on the Fourth of July after being swept away by the river’s current.
read more here

My best friend has come home again

When my best friend came home again

Combat PTSD Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

July 4, 2018

Independence Day and time to celebrate what is possible. That is the way this country started. Isn't it? It began when some people saw suffering and did more than dream about what was possible. They risked their lives for it.

When I think of all the men and women who put their lives on the line, then returned home, I wonder what it was like for them. What did their families think when they were changed by everything they saw...and did?

What was it like not knowing what to do, or what to say, to take away the pain that was in their eyes? 

It isn't that hard to imagine the experience because in the 80's, that was something I had to wonder about. That was when I met my husband.

We met over a decade after he came home from Vietnam. Back then, there was no way of knowing what came home with him. My Dad, a Korean War veteran, couldn't explain it, but it was clear he understood when he used the term "shell shock."

Shell shocked

"During World War I, some people saw shell shock as cowardice or malingering, but Charles S. Myers convinced the British military to take it seriously and developed approaches that still guide treatment today."

We were just average people, trying to do the best we could to live the best life possible. We had no way of knowing what the experts had learned. What made it harder was that did not know how to make living easier that it was.

When I wanted to know what my Dad saw, I had to go to the library. Hours, weeks, months later I began to understand. What I learned, actually made me love veterans more. I understood what PTSD and what Vietnam did to him.

Back then, my husband was my best friend. Sure I knew about the nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings and memory problems, along with everything else. What I did not know was that it could get worse for him, and us. It did.

After years of feeling like I was living with a stranger, one day it happened and he came back home as the man I fell in love with. No matter what he had been through, he was still the same loving, caring best friend I decided to spend the rest of my life with. 

We've been together since 1982!

He is the reason I do what I do and have done for over 3 decades. The thing is, for all the talk about what is wrong with veterans, few are letting them know what is right about them.

I know my husband's heart as much as I know the demons he still fights. I know that he has enormous strength within his emotional core to the point where he can see a sunset and scream with joy so that I can share the experience with him. I see the drive he has when he wants to do something as much as I see the laidback chill-out times when he is watching an old TV show.

If you have a veteran in your life, you can help your best friend come home too. Nothing is impossible as long as we are ready to fight this battle with them instead of wondering what came home with them.

Come In From The Rain

Melissa Manchester

Well, hello there

Good old friend of mine

You've been reaching for yourself

For such a long time

There's so much to say

No need to explain

Just an open door for you

To come in from the rain

It's a long road

When you're all alone

And someone like you

Will always take the long way home

There's no right or wrong

I'm not here to blame

I just want to be the one

Who keep you from the rain

From the rain

And it looks like sunny skies

Now that I know you're alright

Time has left us

Older

And wiser

I know I am

'Cause I think of us

Like an old cliche

But it doesn't matter

'Cause I love you anyway

Come in from the rain

And it looks like sunny skies

Now that I know you're alright

Time has left us

Older

But Wiser

I know I am

And it's good to know

My best friend has come home again

And I think of us

Like an old cliche

But it doesn't matter

'Cause I love you anyway

Come in from the rain

Songwriters: Carole Bayer Sager / Melissa Manchester / Melissa Toni Manchester Come In From The Rain lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Carlin America Inc, BMG Rights Management US, LLC

Reports on PTSD and fireworks focus on veterans

Reports on PTSD and fireworks focus on veterans because when they saw things "bursting in the night" in combat, people died.

CBS Los Angeles

“Sounds bother me […] because I don’t like loud noises,” former Marine master sergeant and Vietnam vet Tom Roulier told CBS2 News. “I’m still paranoid if I here like a loud bang or something like that. Sometimes I’ll duck, or I’ll just quickly look around to see where it came from.”

Siouxland Proud 

Sioux City, IOWA - As our country celebrates its independence, some of our most patriotic Americans dread this time of year. Michael Powell proudly spent 22 years serving our country."I was in Iraq constantly under mortar attacks, small arm fire, road side bombs," says Powell. And Like many veterans, he suffers from PTSD.

Boom Boom Boobs Blowing Big Bucks

Common sense moment: Fireworks bother everyone who did not have a choice to hear them! Plain and simple!

Sure it sounds like a great news story to cover what veterans with PTSD go through. Because this neighborhood or that one has plenty of people with enough disposable funds to blow off fireworks for weeks. 

They do not care they are taking away the choice of their other neighbors to live in peace or participate, they won't care about a veteran living in the neighborhood either. 

OK, so, it is not just veterans jumping out of their skin. Babies, elderly, pets, anyone who has to get up early the next morning and the list goes on.

If you are a veteran, have a plan for the endless annoyance of boom-boom boobs. 

Get headphones. 

Turn up the TV or music as loud as possible.

Remember, sooner or later, these people will run out of money! If you're lucky, they'll be out of fireworks tonight and eating PP and J sandwiches until payday.

Iowa Veterans Charities Still Waiting For Donations After Fireworks Sales?

Following the Money: Where are the donations from fireworks to veterans?

KWWL 7 News

Elizabeth Amanieh

August 1, 2017

"These people are our heroes, why are they homeless?" said an Iowa Fireworks Company employee. "They deserve our respect, our admiration, they deserve our help..."

Iowa fireworks sales have come and gone. But some are questioning one company that advertised they would be donating a portion of the money they made to veterans. 

Iowa Fireworks Company, who operated a number of tents across the state, advertised with the slogan, "Buy Local, Help Nonprofits. Celebrate Freedom."

One of their tents selling fireworks was stationed along LaPorte Rd. in Waterloo. During their sales, the tent advertised they would be donating a portion of the money they made to veterans. 

In an interview with KWWL, an employee for Iowa Fireworks Company who was working the tent, explained where a portion of the sales profit would go.

"These people are our heroes, why are they homeless?" said an Iowa Fireworks Company employee. "They deserve our respect, our admiration, they deserve our help. And that's what we're here to do so a portion of the proceeds from this tent is going to be donated directly to the Americans for Independent Living who manage the Waterloo transitional veterans homes. "

After firework tent sales were over on July 8th, the tent closed down, and left. 24 days later, and neither Americans for Independent Living nor the Black Hawk County VA received a single penny in donations from Iowa Fireworks Company, which led KWWL to follow the money. 
read more here

Jacksonville Navy Petty Officer Killed in Crash

U.S. Navy petty officer killed in crash in Jacksonville
Action News Jax
by: Brittney Donovan
Jul 13, 2017

Family and friends are mourning a U.S. Navy petty officer who was killed in a crash July 4 in Jacksonville.

Petty Officer First Class David Dake, 24, leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter and pregnant wife.

He was killed in a crash on Dunn Avenue and Young Road just after 3 a.m.

Dake grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, where he met his high-school sweetheart, Darcie.

He joined the Navy in October 2012 and was stationed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
read more here

Veterans of Three Wars Took Honor Flight for July 4th

Local veterans embark on Fourth of July honor flight to DC
Spectrum News
By Reena Diamante
Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Before they took flight, the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans, could not help but to reflect on their years of service.

AUSTIN, Texas — Each day, there are fewer and fewer veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

For those who are still here, many have yet to see the memorials built in their honor at our nation's capital.

One local group is honoring them with a flight full of thanks.

There was a grand gesture of gratitude on Tuesday at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Hundreds of people lined the gates inside the departure terminal to show their support for the men and women who risked their lives for America.

“It means everything to me. I can’t believe this is happening.” said Frank Serpas, a World War II veteran. “It makes me feel so good to know that so many people respect the veterans.”

“It brought tears to my eyes,” said Jack Green, another WWII vet. “It’s been a long time.”

More than two dozen veterans took part in an Independence Day Honor Flight to visit the national memorials in Washington, D.C. and watch fireworks. For many, the experience is a trip of a lifetime.
read more here

Innovation Provides Independence for Vietnam Veteran Amputee

For Two Veterans, a Freedom Restored for Independence Day
New York Times
Side Street
By DAVID GONZALEZ
JULY 2, 2017

“This is the first device that intuitively moves multiple joints at one time. With other technology, you had to use the hand, then stop. Use the wrist, then stop. It wasn’t fluid.” Dr. Leif Nelson

Fred Downs, who received a state-of-the-art prosthetic arm on Friday. “With a prosthetic limb, your independence and dignity are returned to you,” he said. “This is freedom, let me tell you.” Credit David Gonzalez/The New York Times

This Fourth of July weekend, Fred Downs and Artie McAuley will treasure independence in ways most of us take for granted, like grabbing a soda from a table or reaching into a pocket to answer a cellphone. And though football season has yet to start, for the first time in nearly a half-century Mr. McAuley will be able to raise both arms to celebrate a touchdown.

These simple, daily movements represent to them freedom in an intensely personal way: Both are Army veterans who lost part or all of an arm while in the service. Mr. Downs, a platoon leader in Vietnam, lost his left arm just above the elbow when he stepped on a land mine during a firefight in 1968. Mr. McAuley was assigned to an ordnance unit in upstate New York when a car accident cost him his left arm and part of the shoulder in 1969.

The men celebrated the start of the Independence Day weekend by becoming the first two recipients, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, of astate-of-the-art robotic arm that uses computers, sensors and motors to give back to them the simple, but essential, functions they had lost in their youth. The arm — known as Life Under Kinetic Evolution or LUKE — is the result of an eight-year research project by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (known as Darpa) and private companies. Unlike current prosthetics available for upper limb amputees, the LUKE arm allows for smooth and simultaneous movement using motors at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand to flex and turn or lift and grip.

Dr. Leif Nelson, who worked on the development of the LUKE arm, said that the number of people who had lost arms relative to those who had lost legs was too small to spur private research and development. That’s when Darpa, along with the Department of Veterans Affairs, funded studies to develop the latest prosthesis. They in turn were able to enlist private companies, working with Dean Kamen, who invented the Segway.
read more here

Seven Fort Hood Soldiers July 4th Shootout

Update

Couple charged after man shoots at Fort Hood soldiers in New Braunfels

Police: Fort Hood soldier returned fire as others ran for cover
Killeen Daily Herald
Clay Thorp
Herald staff writer
July 4, 2016

One soldier was able to get to his vehicle and retrieved his personal .40 caliber handgun and he began firing as well, laying down what he described as ‘cover fire’ so that his fellow soldiers could reach cover.”

Several Fort Hood soldiers had to put their combat training to use during a Fourth of July shootout after police said the soldiers tried to break up a domestic disturbance at Prince Solms Park in New Braunfels early Monday.

New Braunfels Police Department officers arrived at the park about 1:30 a.m. after multiple shots were reportedly fired and began to investigate what happened, according to a news release.

“That investigation revealed that a total of seven soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, had arrived in the park shortly after 1 a.m.,” the news release said. “The soldiers explained to officers that shortly before 1:30 a.m. they had witnessed a disturbance between a male and female in the parking lot of the park, and they had intervened. The soldiers believed they had successfully de-escalated the situation and began to walk back to their vehicle.”

But the soldiers told police that after walking away, the female involved in the dispute ran back to her boyfriend’s car, retrieved a 9 mm handgun from under the driver’s seat and handed it to her boyfriend, who allegedly opened fire on the soldiers as they scattered for cover.
read more here

Afghanistan Veteran Shot Down Eagle and Set It Free

Army veteran rescues an eagle in incredible way 
KARE 
July 02, 2016

Jason Galvin said the eagle's rescue was an emotional experience.  "There was a lot of tears," he said. "When it finally came down, it was breathtaking. It was a beautiful moment."

RUSH CITY, Minn. - A army veteran of two tours in Afghanistan has again picked up a weapon on behalf of freedom.

On Thursday Jason Galvin took shots from a .22 caliber rifle to free an eagle that had become tangled in a rope, hanging upside down from a tree 75 feet off the ground.

“It was very windy and I was just waiting for the right shot,” said Galvin who spent 90 minutes firing roughly 150 shots while mowing down three branches, and finally the rope, holding up the eagle.

Other branches on the white pine and the underbrush below helped break the eagle’s fall. The bird is now recovering at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center.

“It was a good weekend for it to happen,” Galvin said. “Fourth of July, you know, that’s our bird. I can’t let it sit there.”

Galvin was on a bait run in his pickup, when he spotted the bird above a gravel road about a mile from his family's cabin, upside down and struggling. By then the eagle had already been hanging more than two days, as neighbors called the Minnesota DNR and the Rush City police and fire departments, only to be told there was nothing the agencies could do.

Galvin's wife Jackie began making calls too, with similar results. "They just couldn’t get up there high enough and they just unfortunately deemed this was going to be a loss."
read more here

Why is July 4th Weekend Worse For Some Veterans?

Neighborhood Fun For Some Agony For Others
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 3, 2016

I live in the Orlando area and many nearby events have huge fireworks displays.

In Altamonte Springs there is Red Hot and Boom

The City of Altamonte Springs and XL 106.7 FM are hosting yet another spectacular Independence Day celebration to honor the birthday of America! Come rain or shine, Red Hot and Boom will deliver an unforgettable night of great performances, mouthwatering eats and beautifully synchronized fireworks. Join one of Central Florida’s most patriotic traditions and come on out for a night filled with good old-fashioned fun!

Veterans have a choice to go and watch them burst in the air or stay home. What they do not have a choice on is if their neighborhood fills up with booms and gunpowder smoke.

It started Friday night and will go on until Monday, if not longer. Normally I address what veterans should do to prepare their minds for this weekend but with all the shortcomings of "PTSD Awareness" it is time to address this to civilians.

Your fun celebrating our Independence came with a price veterans paid.  To you, watching the twinkle in the sky is pretty, but to them, when they saw the twinkle it meant tracers rounds and bombs bursting in the air.  It meant lives could be lost, many could be wounded and yes, it also meant that they may not be going home.  They remember all that.

They do not want you to give up having fun even if it comes at their expense, but at least be considerate.  

Stop shooting them off for hours at a time! 

Stop shooting them off as if you intend to fill your whole street with think smoke. 

Most veterans are prepared for this "celebration" of freedom they paid for but they should not be subjected to endless memories of what they had to do so that you could celebrate your freedom.

PTSD Hero After War 2006

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is nothing to be ashamed of. It is because you put your life on the line and felt it more than others that you suffer today. The good news is, you can change again and heal to live a better life. I am uploading some of my older videos and pray they help you too!

Vietnam Veteran Saved By EMS and Good Samaritan

Vietnam veteran survives stroke thanks to quick EMS response, mysterious Good Samaritan
FOX 5 DC
By: Anjali Hemphill
July 1, 2016

Frankino said this was his third time in his life he has come close to death. A few years ago, he survived cancer. And back in 1967 during the Vietnam War, he was aboard the USS Forrestal. He was part of the crew that helped put out a huge fire on that ship that killed 143 men.

WASHINGTON - A Vietnam veteran visiting Washington D.C. for the Fourth of July came face-to-face with death after having a stroke. His family said if it wasn't for some amazing doctors, the EMS team and a complete stranger, he may not have survived.

Joe Frankino is recovering at George Washington University Hospital surrounded by several family members.
read more here

Day After PTSD Awareness Month Rip Van Winkle Still Sleeping

PTSD Awareness Six Years Later Little Changed
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 2, 2016

We can keep talking about raising awareness all we want but after six years of PTSD Awareness Months being dedicated by the Congress, veterans are still not aware their last worst day did not have to end their lives.

After all the talk about raising awareness the public knows just about as much as Rip Van Winkle did about current events in his time.  

“If he couldn’t make it, what chance do I have?” Manny Bojorquez

Of about 1,200 Marines who deployed with the 2/7 in 2008, at least 13 have killed themselves, two while on active duty, the rest after they left the military. The resulting suicide rate for the group is nearly four times the rate for young male veterans as a whole and 14 times that for all Americans.
In Unit Stalked by Suicide, Veterans Try to Save One Another New York Times Dave Philipps September 2015

VA Suicide Report 2012 While that report was from just 21 states, the follow up was from 23 states. Even with that reporters jumped on the "22 a day" leaving the American public to think they learned anything. What they learned was wrong. Too much was missed because it was far too easy to just grab a headline than to think much about any of this.  

And now you can see that very little has changed other than more veterans are now in their graves because a lie was allowed to live, folks gained financially claiming to be doing something and these veterans did not hear what they needed to know. The fact they can heal and do not have to suffer was something they never knew.

As you can see, the majority of veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50 in the VA system and among veterans who do not go to the VA. But we do not talk about them. Why not? 

Why have all the newer charities popping up all over the country go on unchallenged? Why do members of Congress get a pat on the back for repeating what has already failed our veterans?

Why do they get to keep saying "22 a day" and use "veterans" even though they do not do anything for the older veterans suffering long with the same wounds the newer veterans have? Why are they cast aside?

This is Independence weekend.  Monday we are supposed to be celebrating freedom but if folks bother to reflect on how that happened, they would not feel much like celebrating.  The price paid by those who put their lives on the line is far too great of a price to pay for fireworks and BBQ.

Winn Dixie, a grocery chain, is promoting a charity, Hope for the Warriors.  Not bad until you actually hear the commercial about our independence and then discover this group is about post-9-11 veterans and not all the others who put their lives on the line for generations.

The Independence Day donation program is a venture of Southeastern Grocers, Winn Dixie's parent company. More than 700 Winn Dixie grocery stores across the Southeastern states will participate. Last year's profit donation drive raised more than $3 million for veterans.

The charity they picked last year was Wounded Warrior Project, when they ran the same type of commercial making folks think it was all about all our veterans instead of a few.

There is nothing wrong with supporting a charity that has a particular focus. It is wrong when it is publicized as being all about veterans in general.

The worst thing in all of this is that Vietnam veterans had to come home and start their own group because no one else wanted them. The established charities turned them away. Now they head the DAV, VFW and American Legion.

Forgotten warrior veterans were responsible for all the research done on PTSD but are the last to matter in the reports focused on PTSD.  They are the last to matter when they are the majority of the claims in the VA system. They are the last to matter to raising awareness to the communities they live in.

So when you think about donating to a charity for the sake of our veterans on Independence Day, how about you do it with open eyes and learn how many have been forgotten?

 Department of Veterans Affairs War Statistics

Add those deaths together and you arrive at 90,320 but all you know is that there are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. While the dates are the "acknowledged" years of the Vietnam War, the first name on that wall was, 

Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who has a casualty date of Sept. 7, 1965.

July 4th Winn Dixie Doing it Again, Forgetting All Other Veterans Who Kept Us Free

Winn Dixie is following up their PR disaster of last year when they raised money for Wounded Warrior Project. Yep, those guys. 

Apparently they didn't get the message that they ended up dismissing all the other generations responsible for keeping this nation free. You know, all the pre-9-11 veterans who should matter equally, especially on the 4th of July, but they don't.

All July 4 Winn Dixie profits go to Hope for the Warriors
Pensacola News Journal
Troy Moon
June 29, 2016

Want to do something for military personnel other than throw a "We Support the Troops" sticker on the back of the car?

Go shopping at any Winn Dixie on July 4. Because 100 percent of the profits from the holiday will be given to Hope for the Warriors, a nonprofit organization that assists veterans, active duty military and their families.

***But not interested in all other generations who waited longer with the same wounds and with a lot less help***

"It makes me proud to work for a company that is able to do something like this,'' said David Logan, district manager for Winn Dixie, which has 14 stores in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida and Baldwin County, Alabama. "It's awesome to be able to give back to the community on such a great day."

The Independence Day donation program is a venture of Southeastern Grocers, Winn Dixie's parent company. More than 700 Winn Dixie grocery stores across the Southeastern states will participate. Last year's profit donation drive raised more than $3 million for veterans.
read more here

So who are Hope for the Warriors? I had to look them up too.

OUR PROGRAMS
We provide a full cycle of care to restore self, family, and hope to post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen.

Instead of donating to charities that actually take care of all generations of veterans, they managed to yet once again tell the majority of veterans in this country they just don't matter as much. 

Look up the DAV, the VFW and the American Legion and then ask yourself why a campaign to raise funds for veterans on the 4th of July was not for them since they take care of most of the veterans forgotten about all over the country by the groups getting the attention and the funds. Deplorable!

Veteran Arrested After Fireworks Caused Flashback

EXCLUSIVE: Fireworks Trigger Waukesha Veteran's PTSD Leading to Arrest
WDJT News
By Amanda Porterfield, Anchor/Reporter
Updated: Jun 28, 2016

CBS 58's Amanda Porterfield has the exclusive interview. Fireworks going off at a nearby festival over the weekend scared the vet.

His wife said he fired shots into the air and that ended with him in jail. This couple says - this incident has been scary. We're not naming them to maintain their privacy.

However, they wanted to tell their story - to highlight the struggles many veterans have around fireworks and especially the 4th of July.

She says - her husband was a combat veteran in Afghanistan. He is in the reserves and has suffered from PTSD for years.

"When the fireworks went off it triggered him."

She says for her husband hearing those fireworks was like being in the war all over again.

"It just sounded really loud and really close and he's told me before the fireworks sound like the guns over in Afghanistan."

She says on Friday, he was working on his truck outside when the booms went off. He ran upstairs - grabbed his rifle - then crouched on the side of his car - gun in the air as if he were hiding from the enemy.

"I called 911 and as I was on the phone with the operator I heard five gunshots. He shot the gun off as he was sitting by his vehicle. He was so upset he hyperventilated and passed out. He didn't hurt anyone. He thought he was being attacked."
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July 4th Ended Veteran's PTSD Battle and His Life

Army vet takes his life after July 4th fireworks trigger PTSD 
WVLT-TV
By: Winnie Wright

Jul 09, 2015 VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) - On July 4th, Jon Kreft says he and his brother Mike were in a bar playing pool, when Mike, an Army Combat veteran, began hearing fireworks.

"I was walking behind him, and every time a firework would go off, he was covering his ears and he would jump and flinch," says Jon.

"Then he just started crying and started running down the road." He followed Mike home. He knew his brother's PTSD had been triggered by the fireworks.

He was going to play music to soothe him. "He went to the bedroom, and right when I was about to get the play button going, I look up, and he looks at me and says I love you."

The 27 year-old shot and killed himself. Jon says Mike asked friends and family not to light fireworks on the 4th of July holiday, knowing it was one of his PTSD triggers. However, the message wasn't relayed to his unsuspecting neighbors. 
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Will Winn Dixie Honor The Other Veterans Too?

UPDATE

Southeastern Grocers, which owns Winn-Dixie, Harveys and BI-LO, raised $3,044,091.38.

The money was raised with donations made between July 1 and July 5, plus all profits earned from sales on July 4 at the three supermarket chains. The donations were collected across Southeastern Grocers' nearly 790 stores.

And now at least you know what they think of the other veterans left out of all of this.

I went searching to find out how much Winn Dixie donated from their July 4th sales. No information yet on that yet.

While searching I started to wonder more and more about the one question no one seems willing to answer. What about the others? What about all those other over 20 million veterans?

Winn-Dixie is extremely proud to announce that on Saturday, July 4th, every cent of every dollar of profit generated at every Winn-Dixie store, will go to Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). Every last cent.

Wounded Warrior Project® helps our servicemen and women who have given the United States of America everything they have, to defend our freedom.

As many as 400,000 service members live with the invisible wounds of war, including combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Another 320,000 are believed to have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment.

So what about all the others who also have "given the United States of America everything they have, to defend our freedom?" Guess they just kindof sortof forgot to mention that those numbers are OEF and OIF but millions more were forgotten about.

VA National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics

It is great to talk about PTSD but is sucks to leave out the veterans responsible for getting everything ready for all generations coming home from combat.

The number of Veterans with PTSD varies by service era:

Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF): About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in OIF or OEF have PTSD in a given year.

Gulf War (Desert Storm): About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year.

Vietnam War: About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans (or 15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 (or 30%) of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime.
National Center For PTSD

Those veterans, have all been forgotten about in all of this. Yes, Vietnam veterans are not included in this "honor" even though they came home with the same exact wounds the post 9-11 veterans come home with.  No different than WWII veterans still alive and forgotten.  Korean veterans, still alive and forgotten. Gulf War veterans, still alive and forgotten.

The trouble is, they all deserved better than to be forgotten about as if they never mattered at all.

Will Winn Dixie do the same for them?