Maybe they should consider what worked to prevent military suicides?

Marine Corps Had Highest Active-Duty Suicide Rate of Any Service in 2022, Latest Data Shows

Military.com
By Drew F. Lawrence
31 Oct 2023

"What we can do is ensure that Marines know that it is OK to ask for help, it does not injure your career," Gen. Eric Smith, the commandant of the Marine Corps, said during the Military Reporters and Editors conference in Washington, D.C., last week when asked about the increased rate.

Recruits hike with ammo cans during a night movement and supply event during the Crucible aboard Marine Corps Depot Parris Island, Oct 3, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ryan Hageali)

The Marine Corps appeared to be struggling with suicide more than any other service branch over the past year, according to an annual Pentagon report on suicide data released last week.

It had the highest rate of active-duty suicides among all of the military services in 2022. The report, which measured the rates per 100,000 service members to account for the varying sizes of the different military branches, also reported that the Marine Corps had its highest suicide rate since 2011.
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What can they do? Are they seriously asking the same question after all these years? Yes, and that is exactly how we ended up in the military community and the civilian world too. Just to remind you nothing civilians receive for mental health would be there had it not been for Vietnam veterans coming back, suffering, and fighting to get help to heal what they survived. They didn't do it just for their generation but for all generations. It is doubtful they even considered how much their efforts would help every survivor of traumatic events around the world, but they did it.

But here we are with leaders still asking, "What can we do?" Maybe they should consider what worked that was forgotten about? 

I remember when I first got into all of this over 4 decades ago. I heard the same logic back then from several veterans. They talked about what they went through and then reminded me of the things I survived. I figured there was hope for every survivor if they could understand how human they were to the point where they could connect to someone after what they survived. That's how you can tell them it's OK to not be OK and ask for help. That's how you connect them to other humans after trauma and we can help each other heal no matter what caused our pain. The other remarkable thing about veterans and members of the military is that they have it within them to risk their lives to save others. Safe bet they would be willing to help us heal and in the process, help themselves heal as well. After all, that's what heroes do!

If not, then we'll see what we've been seeing since 2012 when the average yearly suicide rate was around 500 a year.

Department of Defense Suicide Report

Marine's Mom planted seeds of hopeful healing

Garden of Hope: One Mother’s Mission to Help Marine Son and Other Veterans Heal and Grow

Woman's World
By Bill Holton
September 3, 2023

“If I found a spot, what do you think of planting a bigger garden — one where other vets could come and grow, too?” she asked Jason. Instantly, a smile spread across his face. “Yup, let’s do it!” he said. “I saw the old light in his eyes,” Anne Marie says.

Suffering with PTSD, Anne Marie Mucci’s Marine veteran son had retreated from the world. Then, one spring, he helped his mom plant a vegetable garden and, amazingly, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm. As the seedlings grew over the summer, so did his spirit. “We have to share this with other vets,” Anne Marie thought. And so, their backyard project grew into The Veterans Garden — a mission of love and hope. Here, read their story of healing.

A son she didn’t recognize
When Anne Marie Mucci’s son, Jason, returned home after serving four years with the Marines in Iraq, he was a changed man. Struggling with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, he was no longer the outgoing young man she’d kissed goodbye.

“He barely spoke. Didn’t bother with friends or family. He basically went into his bedroom and didn’t come out,” Anne Marie confides to Woman’s World. His depression deepened when a Marine buddy died by suicide. Jason had a warehouse job, but spent most of his time in his room, sleeping, watching TV and playing video games.

Then, one spring day in 2016, Anne Marie decided to plant a vegetable garden in her West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, yard. As she turned shovelful after shovelful of soil, suddenly, Jason came up behind her. “Let me do that,” he offered — and Anne Marie couldn’t have been more shocked or grateful.
read more here and find inspiration for what you can do too!

This story brought back memories of when I first heard about my husband's uncle. He was a Merchant Marine during WWII. His ship was hit by a kamikaze pilot. The survivors were found in the ocean and in total mental distress from the sinking of their ship along with what they had to deal with until help came.

He was given a choice of going to an institution for the rest of his life, or, living on a farm with others like him. He chose the farm. They lived together and worked on the farm while the farmers took care of everything they needed and the veterans healed together.

I know a lot of readers don't know how far back all this goes. I hope you understand that they are still doing it because it worked.

People want to help and find inspiration in different ways. Maybe there is an idea you have about what you can do, not just for veterans, but for others you know with #PTSD. After all, millions of Americans join this club every year and need help too!

"This is a nightmare that I'm not going to wake up from." Brenda Marles

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center 'failed' veteran who died by suicide, lawsuit says

WPTV
By: Dave Bohman
Jul 27, 2023

This is a case about not listening to the needs of a Marine veteran who was reaching out to get help

WPTV
Brenda Marles describes the heartbreak of losing her husband to suicide and why she is suing the West Palm Beach VA.

According to her lawsuit, he went to the VA in January 2021 complaining "of anxiety, hallucinations, chest pain, insomnia, night sweats, and 'having crazy dreams.'"

The suit claims his PTSD was triggered in part by the Jan. 6 siege on the nation’s capital days earlier.

But after two visits to the West Palm Beach VA, the suit claims Rico Marles told his wife, "he did not believe anyone in the [Emergency Department] took his complaints seriously." Instead, "he felt 'brushed off.'"

After returning from his second VA visit, Brenda Marles said she fell asleep next to her husband. Then heard, "the sound of a pop."

Rico Marles shot himself.

Brenda Marles said her husband's suicide left her diagnosed with PTSD.

"This is a nightmare that I'm not going to wake up from," she said. read more here

I hate to read something like this. Not just because it is so sad, but because it is still happening. Veterans fight our battles and then have to fight the government for what they need to heal and recover. They give up and then it is up to the families to fight for them. That's what happened to us in the '90s. My husband is still here and the VA is doing everything he needs. Once his claim was finally approved they have been wonderful but it was a hell of a battle to get there. The thing that wounds my soul the most is this is still happening and Brenda Marles has to fight the battle as a widow and her own battle with PTSD after her husband committed suicide. WHY?

5 Marines killed in California Osprey crash identified include one from New Hampshire

Military Times
Andrea Scott
June 11, 2022

A Marine assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 (MWSS-371) provides security as a MV-22B Osprey sits on the landing strip at AUX II, one of the training ranges that belongs to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, Jan. 22, 2019. (Marine Corps)

Now, 24 hours after next-of-kin notification, the Marine Corps has identified the Marines ― all assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor (VMM) Squadron 364, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

They were based in Camp Pendleton, California, the Marine Corps said in a Friday statement.

Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, of Winnebago, Illinois, was a tilt-rotor crew chief.

Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, of Rockingham, New Hampshire, was an MV-22B pilot.

Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, of Johnson, Wyoming, was a tilt-rotor crew chief.

Capt. John J. Sax, 33, of Placer, California, was an MV-22B pilot.

Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, New Mexico, a tilt-rotor crew chief.

read more here

4 US Marines killed in Osprey crash during NATO exercise

4 US Marines killed in Osprey crash during NATO exercise in northern Norway

STARS AND STRIPES
BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN
MARCH 19, 2022

U.S. Marines prepare to take off in a MV-22B Osprey at Norwegian Air Force Base Bodø during Exercise Cold Response 22, Norway, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Four Marines were killed when their Osprey aircraft crashed Fricay in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, authorities said Saturday. (Elias Pimentel III/U.S. Marine Corps)

BJERKVIK, Norway — Four U.S. Marines were killed when their MV-22B Osprey crashed in northern Norway on Friday during a NATO training exercise, Norway's prime minister and Norwegian police said Saturday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere posted on Twitter at about 4 a.m. Saturday that the Marines died in the crash, following initial reports of them being missing. The Marines were participating in the multinational Cold Response exercise when the Osprey crashed in Beiarn, a remote coastal area about 725 miles north of Oslo.

The four Marines were assigned to 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, and continue to be listed officially as missing, according to a IIMEF statement Saturday.
read more on Stars and Stripes

St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office lost two deputies to suicide

1-Month-Old Baby Orphaned After Both Parents Die by Suicide Within Days of Each Other

PEOPLE
By Katie Campione
January 05, 2022

"While it is impossible for us to fully comprehend the private circumstances leading up to this devastating loss, we pray that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change, a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding mental well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis," Mascara concluded his statement.

Clayton Osteen, 24, and Victoria Pacheco were both St. Lucie County Sheriff deputies and shared a one-month-old son named Jayce

The infant son of two Florida sheriff's deputies is orphaned after both of his parents took their own lives.

Clayton Osteen, 24, and Victoria Pacheco both died by suicide in the past week, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday.

Shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve, authorities received a call that Osteen had attempted suicide. He was transported to the hospital for his injuries.

On Jan. 2, Osteen's family decided to remove him from life support, the sheriff's office said.

In the wake of her partner's death, Pacheco also died by suicide, the sheriff's department learned on Tuesday. Osteen and Pacheco shared a 1-month-old son named Jayce.

Osteen joined the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office in 2019. In 2020, he was awarded deputy of the year, according to his obituary.
read more here

'Close' Relative to Adopt Baby of Deputies Who Will Be Laid to Rest Together After Tragic Deaths

Osteen — a Florida native — was a former SWAT team member and was named 2020 Deputy of the Year, his obituary said. He also served in the U.S. Marines and as a non-commissioned officer. Loved ones remembered him for his humor and dependability.

580 Service Members Die by Suicide in 2020

580 Service Members Die by Suicide in 2020, New Pentagon Report Says

Air Force Times
By Greg Hadley
Sept. 30, 2021

Fliers are on display during the Suicide Explained and Suicide Intervention training inside the Bay Breeze Event Center at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., Sept. 17, 2021. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue.

Five hundred and eighty service members died by suicide in 2020, the Pentagon announced Sept. 30, when the Defense Department released its annual suicide report.

Those 580 deaths mark the most the DOD has recorded in at least five years, with the Active-duty component accounting for 384, the Reserve for 77, and the National Guard for 119. In the Air Force, 81 Active-duty members, 12 Reservists, and 16 Air National Guard members committed suicide in calendar year 2020, according to the report.

“The findings are troubling. Suicide rates among our service members and military families are still too high, and the trends are not going in the right direction,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement accompanying the release of the report. “This is a paramount challenge for our department. We must redouble our efforts to provide all of our people with the care and the resources they need, to reduce stigmas and barriers to care, and to ensure that our community uses simple safety measures and precautions to reduce the risk of future tragedies.”

While the total numbers increased, the Defense Suicide Prevention Office found that the rate of suicides per 100,000 individuals did not increase by a statistically significant margin from 2019 to 2020, assuaging some fears that the COVID-19 pandemic would lead to a surge.
read more here

As bad as that sounds for last year, the truth is, the military suicides have been averaging 500 a year since 2012.

While reporters are unable to add in the "reserve component" meaning National Guard and Reservists, that is the truth. 

Year after year, they make excuses and make promises as to how serious they are taking the deaths of service members because of their service. Year after year, the numbers prove whatever leaders are paying attention to, they are clearly not paying attention to what the men and women service actually need.

Considering the civilian world has not been able to bring down the numbers, yet the general public seems fixated on veterans committing suicide, ignoring the suicides of those who committed suicide while serving, it is unlikely anything will change for anyone.

Considering what happened at Fort Drum with the 10th Mountain Division. When I posted about three suicides at Fort Drum it was like a dagger to hope that someday, they will finally understand how what leadership has been doing has failed. 

'What are we missing?' Fort Drum seeks answers in wake of successive suicides

By Brian Dwyer
Fort Drum
Sep. 30, 2021

Three recent suicides of soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, which has the lowest suicide rate of any division in the Army, has served as a wake-up call for leaders.

“We’re doing, for a lack of better words, mental gymnastics to think 'what are we missing?' ” 10th Mountain Division Command Sergeant Major Mario Terenas said upon learning three soldiers took their own lives.

Tenth Mountain Division officials were adamant that the days of stigma, being fearful to ask for help with mental health, were gone. Officials also discussed the highest priority the division places on ensuring soldiers get that help they ask for. So when the calls came in two weeks ago for three suicides in three days, it was a massive wake-up call.

“Put simply, suicide is the military in a crisis,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told reporters Thursday.

In her eyes, Gillibrand says more needs to be done regarding mental health stigma within the military. She’s pushing for passage of the Brandon Act, named after a sailor who three years ago took his own life after being bullied by a superior.

The act would trigger help for a military member without alerting those who could retaliate or impact a career. It had been placed in the House's version of the fiscal 2021 Defense Policy bill, but was removed during final deliberations.

“Our service members make sacrifices that we can never forget. It is our obligation to ensure that adequate resources are devoted to taking care of them, our veterans and their families,” Gillibrand said.
read more here

A wake up call they have said they have been hearing for decades! Members of Congress in the last 20 years have done nothing meaning full. All they have done is repeat what didn't work before, spend more money and get their names on Bills, while the troops get their names on gravestones. Nothing more than putting words together for press releases, while families get a pressed, folded flag at the funeral of someone who didn't need to end up there. 

Families still say they don't know what to do to help other families not face the same outcome. How could they when the government, all the way from Congress to the leadership of every branch don't know what to do? How could anyone know what they need to hear, if no one is remember what they already heard for the last 4 decades as Vietnam veterans, Gulf War Veterans and the War on Terror veterans have testified over and over again to members of Congress and Brass?

The shooting in Lakeland Florida has left a lot of questions

The shooting in Lakeland Florida has left a lot of questions, but apparently the press is not asking the questions we are.

The murderer, was high on meth. How did he get a job working for a security firm? Do they do any background checks or drug testing?

How did he end up doing security for a church, where he supposedly heard God telling him to go to the house, where a who was supposedly trying to kill herself lived? 

Top that off with she didn't live there. Why did he bring the weapons to murder the people who did live there? Why did he kill the adults? Why did he kill the infant? Why did he shoot the 11 year old? Why did he shoot the dog?

The other question is, how does someone go from serving seven years honorably into committing mass murder?

If you think this has anything to do with PTSD, it doesn't even though he may or may not have it. This is more about meth and being armed while hallucinating than it does anything else. If you know anything about Lakeland FL, you are already aware of the meth problem there. 

"The Polk County Sheriff’s Office had a huge win with the largest meth seizure in county history. According to Sheriff Grady Judd, the mastermind of the operation was running the drug ring from inside prison."

Here are some of the reports about the shooting.

Shooter in Lakeland, Florida kills 4, including infant, shoots 11-year-old girl multiple times, sheriff says

Judd said Riley was a Marine Corps veteran and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spend four years in the Corps before being honorably discharged. He then spent another three years in the reserves.  

He worked at ESS Global Corp., providing executive protection and security. According to his girlfriend of four years, whom he lived with in Brandon, Riley had PTSD and was occasionally depressed but never violent.

The article also reported;

She said he worked security at a church in Orlando a week ago and came home saying he could speak directly to God.

Sheriff identifies 'survivalist' on meth arrested after 4 people shot to death in Lakeland 

Judd said the suspect is a self-described "survivalist" and told deputies he was on meth.

Deputies said Riley also shot and killed the family dog. The dog was named after a Polk County Sheriff's Office K-9.

Judd called Riley "evil," sharing that Riley said, "They begged for their lives and I killed them anyway."

Father and Son Marines Beat Enemy Together...Both Had COVID-19

SC veterans, father and son, battle COVID-19 together

WBTV News
By Jason Raven
May 29, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Thomas Bowman Jr. said in early April he began feeling under the weather.

Thankfully, both men have been released from the hospital and have made full recoveries. (Source: Family photo)

He originally thought it was his chronic sinusitis acting up. But on April 5, he began feeling worse and his symptoms were getting severe.

“The symptoms of COVID-19 had begun forming in my lungs. Headaches. Shortness of breath,” he said.

Bowman Jr. -- a Marine Corps veteran -- was admitted to the VA Hospital in Columbia. Bowman had pneumonia in his lungs and a high fever. He tested positive for COVID-19.

When he was talking with doctors, he remembered he had visited his mother and father a few days before he started to feel ill.

“Bowman Jr. had recently cut his own grass and his mother and father’s grass. He was very concerned they could possibly contract this illness,” Dr. Amy Lucas at the VA Hospital in Columbia said.

Bowman Jr. followed his father’s footsteps when he joined the United States Marine Corps. Now Thomas Bowman Sr., a Vietnam War veteran, followed his son’s footsteps when he also tested positive for COVID-19 and found himself hospitalized.
read it here

"What am I going to do now with my life?" Rory Hamill

Decorated combat vet who died highlights pandemic's effect on mental health

CBS News
By JAN CRAWFORD
May 28, 2020

"So when the lockdown did happen, it stripped him from everything he knew," Franciose told CBS News. "He couldn't do his public speaking. He couldn't go to school, to his outlet away from his own mind."

Washington — Rory Hamill was a father of three and a decorated combat veteran in the Marines. Hamill lost his life not at war — but in a growing mental health crisis that's being made worse by the deadliest public health crisis in a century. Hamill was one of many veterans who've been suffering.

"He was a hero to many people," Kristal Franciose said of her ex-husband, Marine Corporal Rory Hamill. A blast from an IED in Afghanistan in 2011 robbed him of his right leg. Hamill had a hard road home.

"A lot of the thoughts going through my head were, 'Why didn't I die?' What am I going to do now with my life?'" He told "60 Minutes" in 2015.
read it here

I wrote about Rory's suicide with a broken heart. Isolation sucks for people like him who have devoted their lives to help others. Knowing what pain is and what hope offers is not something easily walked away from.

I know because I have been doing it since 1982 and could not walk away no matter how many times I wanted to. Not doing what I believe I was put on this earth to do, rips me apart everyday. I keep wondering what else I can do to replace what I can no longer do, and at the end of the day, I do not go to sleep with the peace of knowing I did the best I could. Sure I know that these are unusual times and groups endanger the lives of others, but the human contact is vital, especially now.

If you are a veteran or family member, reach out to those willing and ready to help you. Find help that is out there! Use your phone or email. Find us, because if you are hurting, so are we because you are!

Email me at woundedtimes@aol.com or call me 407-754-7526.

"Meatball" wanted to become a Marine...lost 186 pounds to do it!

Marine infantry recruit drops 186 pounds to make it to boot camp

STARS AND STRIPES
By IMMANUEL JOHNSON
Published: May 28, 2020

Gabriel Ramirez spent his childhood dreaming of being a Marine, but that dream seemed unattainable as a 365-pound teen nicknamed “Meatball.”

Gabriel Mendez Ramirez lost 186 pounds on his way to becoming a Marine recruit. Ramirez, from Oceanside, Calif., graduated from Rancho Buena Vista High School last year and recently headed to boot camp.
BERNADETTE PLOUFFE/U.S. MARINE CORPS

This week, Ramirez, 18, was on his way to boot camp, 186 pounds lighter.

At the end of Ramirez’s sophomore year at Rancho Buena Vista High School in California, Marine recruiter Staff Sgt. Anna Rodrigues spoke to his class and later asked him about his interests.

“The kids I talk to, one thing I look for is heart,” Rodrigues said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I am looking for someone that won’t quit and will accept the challenge.”
read it here

Marine standing on a corner at attention and saluting for Memorial Day

U.S. Marine veteran stands at attention along Wendover Avenue on Memorial Day to honor combat veterans

FOX 8 News
by: Nelson Kepley
Posted: May 25, 2020

GREENSBORO, N.C. — If you were traveling down West Wendover Avenue near Interstate 40 Monday morning, you may have noticed a Marine standing on a corner at attention and saluting.

Surrounded by American flags, he was hard to miss; the honks, the waves, the stares. People stopped to take his photograph and so many said, “Thank you.”

“I did not serve during wartime. I served in peacetime, so I felt like it’s my duty to at least come out and remember those that were combat veterans, those that paid the ultimate sacrifice,” U.S. Marine veteran Skip Nix said.

Among those who stopped to take Nix’s picture was Becky Lemons, of Stoneville.

“It was an honor seeing him out there,” Lemons said.

Nix stood for two hours in a light mist flanked by two signs with a simple message.
read it here

Exit12's veteran movement workshop started by Marine

'I WAS A MARINE IN IRAQ, NOW I TEACH BALLET TO WAR VETERANS'

Newsweek
BY ROMÁN BACA
5/15/20

I grew up in a household where we were driven to help other people. My grandparents would go out of their way for others, even if it affected their own happiness and prosperity. And so this feeling of needing to be of help to others is probably part of my DNA.

In high school I had a friend who was a ballerina and I was intrigued, so I started taking classes—ballet, tap and jazz. The call of ballet was so interesting because it was so physical and yet so intricate and smart at the same time.

Exit12 Dance Company, which I co-founded in 2007, works predominantly with, and for, veterans of war. Sadly, all our 2020 tours have been cancelled or postponed because of COVID-19.

Román Baca, artist, choreographer and US Marine Iraq War Veteran, pictured in Iraq in 2006. ROMAN BACA

After losing two of my Marines to suicide in 2011, I started to develop Exit12's veteran movement workshop, Movement to Contact. We invite veterans to work with us and go through one of our movement workshops. Initially these were designed to rebuild the feeling of self and a sense of trust and teamwork. But a lot of veterans were reporting that they were also being inspired creatively. The workshops allowed them to create, choreograph and think imaginatively, and they would say, "wow! I did that! I wonder what else i could do with my life?"

We had one army veteran who served for the U.S. in the Vietnam War. He would self-report that the army trained him how to kill, that he was a killer, a shell he's been trying to shed his whole life. He came to a couple of our workshops and he did a couple of writing workshops with another veterans' organization. And now in his hometown, he is a peer veteran counsellor.

When I got into dance, I was drawn towards the story ballets that had impact and purpose. At university, we performed a piece by Antony Tudor called Dark Elegies. It's a piece where the children in a community die in a tragedy. We interpreted it as them playing on the beach and getting swept away by a huge wave.
read it here

Find more inspirational stories here

Stolen Valor: Phony Marine hit by $1.7 million judgment

Veteran Duped by Phony Marine Awarded $1.7 Million in Stolen Valor Case

Military.com
By Patricia Kime
14 May 2020

"The District Court was provided with proof that Mr. Shannon had fabricated many of the newly produced 'Top Secret' redacted documents in his 'VA file' ... and was presented with proof that Mr. Shannon had forged what he claimed was his DD214," an appellee brief to the Montana Supreme Court states.

A man holds an Eagle, Globe and Anchor pin in his hand.
(Photo: U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Timothy Lenzo)

Montana's highest court has upheld a judgment against a Lynchburg, Virginia, man who solicited at least one investor in his business dealings by claiming to have been a U.S. Marine.

The Montana Supreme Court last month upheld a lower court's decision ordering Laron Shannon, formerly of Kalispell, Montana, to pay $1.7 million in damages to Donald Kaltschmidt, of Whitefish. Kaltschmidt, according to the court, gave Shannon $250,000 to invest in a company Shannon said would hire veterans to clean oil rigs in eastern Montana and North Dakota.

But Shannon, who often wore Marine apparel such as caps and knit shirts with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and portrayed himself as a former Marine officer, never served on active duty as a commissioned Marine, according to court documents. When asked early during the court proceedings to produce a DD-214 record of service document, he did not immediately produce it.

read it here

"A Few Good Angels" and other miracles

Collection of miracles

Veterans Voice: Vietnam vet says divine intervention spared him
Providence Journal
By Mary K. Talbot, Special to The Journal
Posted May 3, 2020

Retired Sgt. Mike Montigny, 74

Seven years ago, he had just finished a round of golf. His partners on the course included old friends and some new acquaintances. One guest noticed the well-worn ring from Vietnam still on sitting on Montigny’s finger and with encouragement, Montigny shared his story with that newcomer, Ed Iannuccilli, former CEO of Rhode Island Hospital.

Later Iannuccilli would observe, “Churches are made out of wood, brick mortar and stone. Priests are human beings just like you and I. What happened to you is something spiritual that we can’t explain. Angels appear in all shapes and forms.”

Stories from Vietnam started flooding Montigny’s memory bank and Iannuccilli inspired him to begin chronicling those experiences. Soon the stories became chapters which turned into an inspirational book, “A Few Good Angels,” that Montigny published in 2016.

Mike Montigny left for Vietnam in 1965 and he attributes his unlikely return journey as one made possible only with divine interventions. Montigny was a survivor. Defying all predictions he made it “to hell and back” as a machine gunner for the U.S. Marines and lived to share his story.

Jason F. Wright: What you're about to read is a miracle or an odds-smashing coincidence
Northern Virginia Daily
Jason Wright
May 2, 2020

I asked Tyson what he learned from this memorable and moving moment on a morning train. “This was a real reminder to me of how personal and tangible God’s love is for each of us,” he said. “God is so aware of our circumstances. She may have been a stranger, but in reality, she was actually my sister. I know God works through His children, and what a cool chance it was for me to be an instrument for Him.”

'Absolute miracle': NYC surgeon, 74, beats 'severe form' of coronavirus with help of 3 doctor sons
FOX
Celeb Parke
May 1, 2020

Dr. Manuel Bulauitan, 74, is thanking everyone involved, especially his three sons, who are all doctors. They rushed to his side after their family noticed on FaceTime in mid-March that Bulauitan was sick.

Dr. Manuel C Bulauitan recovering on the medical floor after downgrading from the ICU. (Courtesy of Philippe Bulauitan)

"I am grateful that I'm here and my deepest thanks to all the medical professionals – from attending doctors and nurses – [they] are deep in my heart," Bulauitan told Fox News over the phone. "They tell me it's a miracle I survived."

Combat Wounded Veteran Rory Hamill inspired others to live on....until he lost his own battle

UPDATE: Do not become one more

Last night I could not get this story out of my mind. We loose too many people who decide their lives toward helping others, only to give up on themselves. This is not easy but it can be easier if you are willing to follow your own advice and ask for help when you need it!

If you are struggling to understand how this can happen, it is because those who put others first, put themselves last. That also includes asking for help when they need it. We need to do a lot more on encouraging veterans like Rory Hamill to follow their own advice before we continue to lose more like him.

Veterans Mourn, Outraged After Death of Another Decorated Local Marine Corps Combat Veteran

Shore News Network
May 3, 2020

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ – Rory Hamill served with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines during his combat deployment to Afghanistan in in 2009. He returned home from war as an amputee and went on to become a veteran’s mental health advocate. Hammil was a motivational speaker and veteran mentor with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Veteran’s Diversion Program. After returning home from Afghanistan, Hammil went to college and earned a degree in social sciences.

“Today, I learned that my friend, Rory Patrick Hamill, took his life yesterday,” said his close friend Jase Wheeler. “Have no idea what triggered him, but can say, I totally understand what it’s like when you battle PTSD on a daily basis. Add to that, the fact we have to quarantine, change every part of our daily routine, can’t get out to see friends, unable to do all the things that allow us to de-stress. It’s brutal. He was a father of 3, a motivational speaker, a hero and a friend.” read it here

Still pushing: Cpl. Rory Hamill
DIVIDS
Story by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht
New Jersey National Guard
02.13.2018

“All this stuff started coming out a few years ago,” said Hamill. “I thought I was fine, but it took me some time to realize things weren’t alright.”

His past deployment experiences coupled with his injuries caused Hamill a deep depression that led to alcohol abuse and a feeling suicidal. He knew he needed to turn a corner in his life.

“After one bad night, I found myself looking into the mirror, and realized that I needed to figure this out for my kids,” said Hamill. “They’re the driving force in my life.”

In addition to his kids, the other driving force in Hamill’s life is a calling to help fellow veterans.

“I don’t like quitting, at all,” said Hamill. “Call it pure stubbornness, but I don’t like giving up. I’ve always been told I can’t do stuff my entire life. It’s made me want to prove people wrong.”
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Marine died of COVID-19 within days of feeling sick

‘Just loved serving his country’: Marine with Houston ties remembered after dying of coronavirus

Click2Houston
Brandon Walker, Reporter
May 1, 2020

HOUSTON – Staff Sgt. Robert Mendoza was among the few and the proud.

“He just loved serving his country and he was willing to die for his country,” said Yolanda Mendoza, his mother.

Staff Sgt. Mendoza survived war. His assignments took him to Afghanistan in the months following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He braved multiple tours of Iraq. However, it wasn’t the battlefield that lay claim to his life. Mendoza fell victim to COVID-19.

Within days of feeling symptoms, he died at a hospital in San Diego, California — home base since enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in July 1994.

“I don’t even know where to begin with Robert. He knew since middle school he wanted to be a United States Marine,” Yolanda Mendoza said.
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Homeless veteran was assaulted, abandoned by hospital...helped by police officers and angels

"I saw a very frail, frail old man that physically appears much older than 62," Zamudio said.

Spittle later told Zamudio and Voice of San Diego he had been released from Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla after being assaulted in Pacific Beach over the weekend. He believes he has a broken rib and said he was initially unable to walk more than a couple feet.

Marine veteran Steven Spittle, 62...Let that sink in for a minute.

Now here is the story.

Police Turned To Activists For Help After Veteran Was Denied Access To Convention Center

By Voice of San Diego, News Partner
By Lisa Halverstadt
Apr 24, 2020

The city of San Diego is temporarily housing homeless residents at the Convention Center in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. (Adriana Heldiz/Voice of San Diego)

SAN DIEGO, CA — Marine veteran Steven Spittle, 62, had just been discharged from a local hospital after he said he was assaulted over the weekend. He's lived on the streets for years, so he said hospital staff paid for a cab to drive him to the temporary shelter at the Convention Center on Sunday afternoon.

But there wasn't a bed available for Spittle, who was in pain and too weak to stand. He laid outside the Convention Center, confused and unsure what to do.
v Lacking other options, an officer from the Police Department's Homeless Outreach Team called activist Amie Zamudio, who has teamed with another local activist, Tasha Williamson, to put up vulnerable homeless San Diegans in hotel rooms, to ask if she could take in Spittle for the night. Zamudio said yes and rushed to the Convention Center.

The situation captures the desperation playing out as homeless San Diegans seek shelter that's in limited supply during the coronavirus pandemic and local governments and activists scramble to respond. The mayor and other elected leaders have touted the decision to open the Convention Center to homeless residents as a significant step toward protecting the homeless community during the pandemic. Faulconer even called it "a centerpiece of our fight against the coronavirus," when he announced the facility would open to the homeless. But Spittle's experience demonstrates that the need for shelter is still greater than the capacity.

In the absence of resources, advocates like Zamudio and Williamson, who have temporarily housed more than 50 homeless San Diegans in a Midway hotel – an effort that's separate from the county's plan to house vulnerable residents in hotel rooms – have sometimes filled gaps.
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Marine veteran with PTSD pushed in front of Chicago Red Line moving train!

Man pushed in front of El train, killed was Marine who served in Afghanistan

WGN9 News
by: Tonya Francisco
Posted: Apr 8, 2020

Al Balde calls that good news, but says he can’t help but struggle with encouraging his son to join the military, saying he came back with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after his second tour in 2015.

CHICAGO — Family members say a former Marine who served two tours in Afghanistan was killed in a Chicago subway tunnel Tuesday after he was pushed onto the tracks and struck by a Red Line train.

Al Balde and his daughter came to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office Wednesday to identify the body of 27-year-old Mamadou Balde, who was killed Tuesday.
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Marine Veteran’s Family Can Attend Burial in San Diego

Coronavirus Keeps Marine Veteran’s Family From Attending Burial

NBC 7 News San Diego
By Bridget Naso
March 25, 2020

UPDATE ON 3/25: After NBC 7's reporting, Veterans Affairs, which runs the San Diego national cemeteries, reached out to the Chavez family to tell them 10 people would be allowed at the Marine combat vet's funeral. The family told NBC 7 they are grateful.

Also, new guidelines have been set up for national cemeteries. Military honors will not be conducted due to safety reasons, the VA said. Families can postpone internments and 10 family members will be allowed to attend burials with social distancing. Cemeteries are still open for visitation.

The family of Marine combat veteran Jose Chavez is preparing to lay him to rest, but because of the coronavirus pandemic not one family member or friend will be at the ceremonies.

The 62-year-old retired Master Gunnery Sergeant died March 12 after a two-year battle with cancer.
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