#MissingVeteranAlert: PTSD Veteran

Hardin County veteran reported missing
Jackson Sun
Cassandra Stephenson
Sept. 24, 2018

A 30-year-old veteran suffering from PTSD has been missing for several days, according to the Hardin County Sheriff's Department.

Terry Michael Woodall was last seen in Hardin County. He recently received treatment at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Memphis, according to the Hardin County Sheriff's Department.

Officials have no vehicle description and do not know Woodall's intended direction of travel.

Woodall is described as a 6-foot-tall white male weighing approximately 195 pounds.
read more here

Memphis VA Removed Employee--Or Not?

VA Removing Employee Arrested for Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon 
VA News Release

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it is taking immediate steps to propose the termination of a Memphis VA Medical Center employee arrested over the weekend for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal impersonation of a police officer.

Upon learning of the employee’s arrest, VA Press Secretary Curt Cashour said, “This behavior is not in line with the norms and values of the VA, and as a result the employee has been suspended from all duties. VA has initiated the process for removal from employment.

“Secretary Shulkin has made clear that VA will hold employees accountable when they fail to live up to the high standards taxpayers expect from us. And that’s exactly what we’re doing in this case.”

Memphis woman back working at VA after being charged with aggravated assault

FOX 13 News

Marius Payton

September 20, 2017

A woman charged with aggravated assault is back at work tonight and guess who's paying her salary? You the taxpayer.

Linda Turner was charged with 2 counts of aggravated assault and criminal impersonation after  police said she pulled a gun on a grandmother and her 2-year-old granddaughter. 

FOX13 has been digging into this story and found that Turner works at a facility that has had its issues here in Memphis, that's the VA Medical Center.

She has been employed at the VA Medical Center since 1998, but this weekend, police said she pulled a loaded gun on a grandmother who was walking her two-year-old grand-daughter across a busy street.

Wednesday, Turner was back at work at a facility struggling to clean up its image, but there is a difference of opinions on how the aggravated assault issue should be handled.

read more here

Aubrey Gene Laney, Coast Guard Veteran To Be Laid to Rest

Memphis Funeral Home to bury homeless veteran with military honors
WMC Action News 5
Ashley Sharp
July 12, 2017

(Source: WMC Action News 5)

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - A homeless veteran who died in March will finally be laid to rest on Thursday at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery.

Aubrey Gene Laney, who served in the United States Coast Guard, passed away with no family members to make his funeral arrangements.

The Memphis Funeral Home and the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program decided to step in and provide Laney a public memorial service and internment with military honors befitting of a veteran.

Corey Hague, the location manager at Memphis Funeral Home, hopes that the community will come together to attend the service honoring a man who dedicated part of his life to serving the country.
read more here

Memphis VA Erased Claims of Veterans?

FOX13 Investigates: Claims of Memphis veterans being erased from VA system
FOX 13 News
by: Marius Payton
Nov 24, 2016

Waiting over a year just to see a doctor. FOX13 Investigates, obtained a secret wait list from a whistleblower who works at the Memphis VA hospital.

This list shows ridiculous wait times for dozens of vets to get the care they need and some may never get it at all. Some of these veterans are suffering from mental health issues and need help.

Of the 47 people on the list, the longest wait is 403 days, the shortest 206. We've all heard the phrase "Support Our Troops". Well, a whistleblower who wishes to remain anonymous tells FOX13 there are hundreds of veterans in need of support and the VA hospital here in Memphis is treating them more like villains instead of the heroes that they truly are.

"We were told not to add any more people to the electronic wait list.” When we asked what happens to the people who are on the existing list, the whistleblower responded emotionally. “They were still on the consultation list and then the consultations were discontinued.”

FOX13 obtained this internal email telling the staff, "Once a veteran is placed on the EWL, or electronic wait list, the consult should be discontinued."
read more here

Veterans "thrown to the wolves" Memphis VA Medical Center

‘We’re left to the wolves’: Videos allegedly show Memphis VA leaving disabled vets unattended
FOX News
August 26, 2015

Video footage allegedly showing veterans -- many of whom are quadriplegics or paraplegics -- being left unattended at a Memphis Veterans Affairs hospital during staff meetings is reviving concerns about how VA hospitals treat American servicemembers.

The videos, first reported by Communities Digital News (CDN) and said to be filmed at the Memphis VA Medical Center, show patients being left alone for about 30-45 minutes each evening during a staff meeting attended by all hospital staff, whistleblower and former Memphis VA employee Sean Higgins told FoxNews.com.

Higgins said the videos, filmed by a close friend of his, show a breach of hospital policy, which dictates that even during meetings, there should be a nurse at the nurse’s station. He said the videos all show the spinal injury ward, which contains quadriplegics and paraplegics.
read more here



When you watch this video, think about the fact this is a hospital. There is no one there. No nurses. No doctors. There are patients, but there are no visitors. I have never, ever seen anything like this in my life. I've been to plenty of VA hospitals, civilian hospitals and several nursing homes. The only time I ever saw anything like this was at the Lake Nona VA hospital during a tour OF A HOSPITAL THAT WAS NOT OPENED YET AND NO PATIENTS NEEDING TO BE TAKEN CARE OF!

Paralyzed Veterans of America Reacts to Video Footage of Paralyzed Veterans Left Alone at Memphis VA
August 26, 2015 03:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a recent video aired on Fox & Friends today, a paralyzed veteran who was housed on the spinal cord injury inpatient ward at the Memphis VA Medical Center said he felt "thrown to the wolves" in the video, which showed a nursing station unmanned for an extended period. A former Memphis VA employee and whistleblower who saw the video said patients are typically left alone for about an hour each evening during staff meetings attended by all hospital staff, despite a requirement that at least one nurse remain stationed at all times.

“We can no longer scrimp on the cost of freedom where our Nation's most disabled heroes are concerned.”

Sherman Gillums Jr., deputy executive director of Paralyzed Veterans of America and a paralyzed veteran himself, said, “This video speaks to a need that our organization has stressed to VA leaders, Congress, and the public for quite some time: VA needs more nurses in specialized care services like spinal cord injury centers.”
read more here

Doctor at Memphis VA stabbed, police search for patient

Patient stabs doctor at Memphis VA hospital
WREG News
BY ASHLEY CROCKETT
SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis VA doctor is in stable condition after a patient turned the knife on them in Tuesday morning stabbing.

Patients at the VA tell WREG the scene was chaotic inside the hospital. They heard a special code over the intercom and knew something wasn’t right. Bob Perry said he was in the cafeteria when he heard the call for help.

“You rarely know what is going,” Perry explained, “I could tell by the urgency of the code it was something real bad.”

Other patients told WREG they saw several officers start running. But they weren’t fast enough, because the patient got away.


“The way things are in this day and time I’m not surprised,” added Perry.
read more here

Veteran killed by police had just been to the Memphis VA

Veteran shot, killed by Germantown police had PTSD, friend says

Jennifer Pignolet , Samantha Bryson
2:33 PM, Jul 17, 2014
59 mins ago

Two days after Germantown Police shot and killed 24-year-old Army veteran Justin Neil Davis, details emerged about his life and the night he died, as questions about his treatment at the Memphis VA Hospital remain unanswered.

Willie Logan, spokeswoman for the Memphis VA, said she was still working to determine how much information she could release about Davis.

“He was a veteran receiving care at the Memphis VA,” Logan said.

McNeal Vallandinghan, who attended Houston High School with Davis and also served in the military, said Davis had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and took medications for PTSD and to help him sleep.

Vallandinghan said he was the last one to talk to Davis before the police arrived at Cameron Brown Park around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday and found Davis in his car with a rifle. He said Davis told him he had been at the VA about 6:30 p.m. to have an MRI on his back, and that while he was there, told a VA employee he was having suicidal thoughts before he left.

Vallandinghan said he had spoken to Davis before the VA appointment, but Davis didn’t mention having suicidal thoughts until after the MRI.
read more here

WWII Medal of Honor Hero Vernon McGarity passed away at 91

Medal of Honor Recipient Vernon McGarity Dies
May 24, 2013
Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Former World War II Army squad leader and Medal of Honor recipient Vernon McGarity has died at age 91, a funeral home said Thursday.

McGarity died of cancer on Tuesday night in Memphis, said Taylor Loeffel, a spokeswoman for Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery. Funeral services were set for Saturday.

President Harry Truman awarded the Medal of Honor to McGarity in October 1945.

According to the U.S. Army Center of Military History, McGarity was a Technical Sergeant in the 393d Infantry, 99th Infantry Division, during World War II.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran sacrificed his life to save neighbor

Vietnam Veteran Killed Trying to Save Neighbor in House Fire
November 30, 2012
by Daniel Hight
WREG Memphis

It’s not always like the movies, sometimes acting heroic will cost you your life.

The Shelby County Fire Department says a man was killed trying to rescue a woman from a burning home Thursday evening.

The courage of 69-year-old Willie Harris cost him his life. It’s the kind of bravery you would expect from a Vietnam veteran who went into a burning home to help save a disabled woman.

“I was like ‘wow’,” said Marcus Webb, a neighbor. “I was astonished to see that.” Harris made it back out but it was enough to kill him. The homeowner managed to climb out of a window as flames gutted the home.
read more here

Double amputee Marine returns to community greeting

Injured Marine Returns Home to Munford
WREG Memphis
September 27, 2012
by Natasha Chen

(Munford, TN) A marine injured in Afghanistan was due to return home to West Tennessee late Thursday night, after spending nearly a year recovering from an explosion.

As of 11p.m., his flight from D.C. was delayed until early Friday morning. Some supporters in his hometown were still waiting to welcome him back through downtown Munford.

L. Cpl. Christian Brown lost both his legs in the blast last November, and after several months, developed the ability to walk using prosthetics.

Late Thursday night, dozens of Patriot Guard Riders waited with close family and friends at Memphis International Airport to escort him home to Munford.
read more here

Memphis falls short on PTSD

Memphis falls short on PTSD
City policy does not recognize officer's psychological injury 
By Amos Maki
Posted April 2, 2012

Memphis Police Department officer Gabriel Lawson was one of dozens of officers who responded to a disturbance at the DoubleTree Hotel Downtown on July 3, 2011. Once inside, Lawson and others found fellow officer Timothy Warren had been shot. While still under fire from his shooter, the officers pulled the fatally wounded Warren from the line of fire and stayed with him until paramedics arrived.

Alexander Haydel of Cleveland, Miss., has been indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the shootings, accused of killing his wife's former husband at the hotel before shooting the officer. Shortly after the shootout, which also left Arthur Warren -- who is unrelated to the fallen officer -- dead, Lawson began displaying signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, including flashbacks, nightmares, emotional detachment and insomnia. Lawson took an extended leave and sought medical help. read more here

Memphis VA fighting against suicides

Memphis VA Fights Veteran Suicide
Updated: Friday, 02 Sep 2011, 8:14 PM CDT
Published : Friday, 02 Sep 2011, 8:14 PM CDT

Lynn
Lampkin
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The suicide rate for American veterans is so startling, that the Veteran Affairs Department is now stepping in. Friday in Memphis, the VA kicked off the start of National Suicide Prevention Week.

WARNING | GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

"I was in military uniform. I had my 40 caliber pistol at my waistband. I said I'm going to kill myself. I put the gun to my head… and I pulled the trigger."

14-year military veteran Patrick Crowder said the images he saw while serving in desert storm are permanent.

"There were a lot of burned bodies and soldiers left in the truck and vehicle over a mile radius. It was devastating. The smell of burning flesh is something I can still smell today."
read more here

Memphis VA Fights Veteran Suicide: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

Rep. wants probe of VA psychologist firing

Rep. wants probe of VA psychologist firing
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 15, 2009 15:16:10 EST

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee congressman has intervened in the case of a psychologist who was fired from the Memphis Veterans Medical Center for her handling of a phone call from a distraught Iraq war veteran.

Rep. Steve Cohen sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki asking for an investigation into the firing of clinical psychologist Sidney Ornduff, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis reported.

Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, compared Ornduff’s popularity to that of Florence Nightingale, the 19th-century nurse known for advising and comforting wounded soldiers.

“I want him to investigate and see what happened, to look into that case and, if possible, encourage her to come back because I think she’s a star,” he said.

Cohen said it’s wrong for the administration and veterans to lose Ornduff as a resource.

Memphis VA spokeswoman Willie Logan released a statement late last week saying the agency wasn’t aware of Cohen’s letter but would respond to any request made by Shinseki.

Cohen’s letter marks the latest development in a nearly two-year ordeal that began in the early morning hours of April 2, 2007, when veteran Jared Rhine called the Memphis VA and demanded to speak to Ornduff.

click link for more

Norman Bussel, Yorktown ex-POW describes struggles

Yorktown ex-POW describes strugglesLower Hudson Journal news - West Harrison,NY,USA
By Brian J. Howard
The Journal News • November 9, 2008

YORKTOWN

A few months after he was liberated from a German prisoner-of-war camp, Norman Bussel was invited to a wedding he just couldn't bring himself to attend.


Bussel wasn't doing well, the trauma of the past year still painfully fresh for him. Still, the pilot from his bomber crew was getting married in Atlanta and Bussel thought he could make it.

But five days before the wedding, he received a letter from the sister of his navigator, one of four fellow crew members killed when their B-17 was shot down over Berlin. She didn't understand how six men could make it off the plane while four others could not.

"To me, the implication was that I'd stepped over his dead body and just left him," Bussel, now 85, said in the living room of his Mohegan Lake home.

From the time he'd boarded in Rattlesden, England, on April 29, 1944, until the time he bailed out, the 19-year-old technical sergeant saw only one other crew member, and then only briefly while they were over the English Channel. He never heard a bail-out order, never even left his radio room until he leapt from the plane.

It exploded seven seconds later, as he was counting to 10 before pulling his parachute cord.

After reading that letter, Bussel skipped the wedding and went on a two-week drinking binge.

He recounts that day, including his subsequent capture by angry villagers, in moving detail in his book, "My Private War: Liberated Body, Captive Mind - A World War II POW's Journey," published yesterday by Pegasus Books.

A journey is what he shares, from his enlistment at 18 over his mother's objection to his grueling detainment in Stalag Luft IV in eastern Germany.

The story doesn't end with the camp's liberation by Gen. George S. Patton's tank corps, though. That comes a little more than halfway through the book. What follows is the story of his long struggle with survivor guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"My medication of choice was alcohol," the Memphis, Tenn., native said. "I expect if drugs had been around then I'd have done them as well."
click link for more

Morgan Freeman injured in car accident

Morgan Freeman injured in car accident
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is in serious condition at a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital after being involved in a car accident Sunday night, according to hospital officials. CNN affilliate WMC-TV of Memphis reports Freeman was in a wreck in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, about 100 miles south of Memphis. full story
Send prayers out to him. He's one of the best actors we have. I love every movie he's in.