Amputee Marine Getting Purple Truck

War hero to get gift of purple pickup
After losing legs, he helps children
Arkansas Online
By Hunter Field
This article was published today at 3:02 a.m.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Marshall Kennedy, a Marine who lost his legs when a bomb exploded beneath him six years ago in Afghanistan, cringes when he says the word "hero."

PHOTO BY SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Marshall Kennedy lost his legs when a bomb exploded six years ago in Afghanistan.

But on Wednesday afternoon, he's having to say that word over and over again inside a Fayetteville coffee shop. He's explaining the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative Child-Rescue Corps program, H.E.R.O. for short, of which he became a part after leaving the Marines.

Each time, he pauses and squirms in his seat.

"I didn't do anything special," he said, explaining his aversion to the word when talking about himself. "I just did my job. That was it."

Kennedy, 32, of Farmington will receive a hero's welcome at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday when the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a service organization for combat-wounded veterans, plans to give him a specially equipped Ford Raptor truck.

It's the second year the national organization has searched the country for a Purple Heart recipient to receive the modified purple truck, and the first year an Arkansan was selected. read more here

Fundraiser to help Wounded Warriors go home for Christmas

Fundraiser to help Wounded Warriors go home for Christmas
Sun Journal
By Charlie Hall
Published: Sunday, November 24, 2013

A chance meeting between a New Bern businessman and a leader of the Military Order of the Purple Heart eight years ago blossomed into a major local fundraising project.

Wounded Warriors Leave Fundraiser has raised more than $2 million to give recovering wounded Marines a most special Christmas gift —a trip home for the holidays.

Steve Tyson’s business is real estate and his community involvement includes being a Craven County commissioner. With military service of his own, he often attends functions involving veterans.

Jim Casti of Newport is a retired Marine and multiple winner of the Purple Heart. He is a leader in the nonprofit organization for combat-wounded veterans.

The two were seated beside each other at a 2005 military fundraiser in Havelock, an event unrelated to the Purple Heart group. Their conversation set the stage for what has become an annual holiday event in New Bern —the Wounded Warrior Christmas Leave Fundraiser. This year, it is Dec. 11 at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center.
read more here

Disabled Vietnam Veteran selected by AAMCO for repairs and appreciation

Orlando veteran gets car fixed via AAMCO program for Purple Heart recipients
By Carolina Salazar
Staff Writer
May 26, 2013

For months, Army veteran Eduardo Figueroa had been saving money for his wedding, but an unexpected expense came up: the transmission of his 12-year-old sport utility vehicle failed, and to fix it, he needed around $4,000.

Fortunately, something else also happened: He was chosen for free car repairs at a local AAMCO service center.

The Puerto Rican veteran, 63, was selected to be part of AAMCO's "50 Cars in 50 States" national program. Through a partnership with the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), the auto chain is helping combat veterans with the goal of repairing one car in each state — for free.

"I am really grateful to receive this help. Otherwise I would have taken out a loan. This has saved me from going into debt," Figueroa said while picking up his repaired 2001 Acura MDX, which he on to go to his medical appointments.

The east Orange County resident explained that his SUV transmission failed just as he learned about the program, so he rushed to submit his application.
read more here

Disabled American Veterans among groups VA taps to help with claims

Now this is a smart thing to do. Administrations come and go but these groups have been around through many of them, no matter what party was in charge.

VA taps vets groups to help fast track claims
By LEO SHANE III
Published: August 10, 2012
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials hosted a workshop last week to brief 10 veterans service organizations on plans to fast track certain veterans benefits claims, and how they can help in the process.

The VSOs involved in the process were the
American Legion
AMVETS
Disabled American Veterans
Marine Corps League
Military Order of the Purple Heart
National Association of County Veterans Service Officers
National Organization for Veterans Advocates
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Vietnam Veterans of America
read more here

Purple Heart Recognition Day, Orange County, Orlando

Photo by Orange County Board of Commissioners

Purple Heart Recognition Day, Orange County, Orlando August 7, 2012

Orange County Florida Honoring Purple Hearts

If you live in the Orlando area and think I'm busy, Cathy Haynes makes me look lazy.


From Cathy Haynes

Tomorrow - Tues., August 7 - is Purple Heart Day, recognizing military personnel wounded or killed in combat.

Tomorrow - Tues., August 7 - is Purple Heart Day, recognizing military personnel wounded or killed in combat. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs with the Orange County Board of Commissioners will issue and present a Proclamation honoring the local Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) and all Purple Heart medal recipients. The presentation is at 1:30 pm in the Commissioners Chambers of the Administration Building.

You are welcomed to attend with others who have served our country!

Please RSVP to me prior to 9 am if you plan to attend, especially if you wish to have a copy of the Proclamation after the presentation.
  chaynes11629@yahoo.com
Promptly at 1:30 pm, Orange County Administration Building, 1st Floor in the Commissioners Chambers, 201 South Rosalind Ave., Orlando.
You will need to go thru the Building Security area - metal detector.

Group of Newark area vets working to help next generation

Group of Newark area vets working to help next generation

Written by
Anna Sudar
Advocate Reporter

NEWARK -- When Laird Lee returned home from the Vietnam war, he didn't receive a warm welcome.

Like many other Vietnam veterans, people called him names and spit on him.

A Purple Heart veteran, Lee decided to turn his negative experience into something positive. He joined the Glenn Cunningham Chapter 840 of The Military Order of the Purple Heart to make sure veterans of the next generation get the honor they deserve.

"We remember that, and that's why now we have an organization here in Newark. We are trying to let (veterans) know they deserve to be heroes and welcome them home," Lee said. "That's why we are putting our hearts and souls into this."
read more here
Group of Newark area vets working to help next generation

Alabama man charged under Stolen Valor was AWOL

Ala. man faces stolen valor charges

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 5, 2010 15:23:08 EST

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A Huntsville man has been charged with wearing military medals he did not earn.

Skyler Tarquin Smith was arrested by federal agents at an American Legion post Tuesday night, when he thought he was about to be inducted into a chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Officials say he was wearing a uniform as well as a Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge and Purple Heart.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/03/ap_army_alabama_faker_030510/

Military veterans take horse farm tour

Military veterans take horse farm tour
By Jillian Ogawa
jogawa@herald-leader.com
PARIS — Willie T. Hunter had just returned home from Vietnam, where he had lost his hearing, permanently, in his left ear, and had narrowly escaped death after being hit by a rocket.


Wearing his U.S. Army uniform, he was pelted by a tomato and a lemon, Hunter recalled, while getting off a plane shortly after his arrival in the states.


"When we came back, we were called baby killers," Hunter said.


It's that experience that motivates Hunter, 64, of Louisville to help veterans who served in recent conflicts in the Middle East.


"I had a bad taste in my mouth for a long time," said Hunter, who served in the Army for 20 years. "I didn't want them to go through what I went through."


On Thursday, Hunter was among the veterans from past conflicts who gathered at Runnymede Farm, a Thoroughbred farm, with veterans currently in the Warrior Transition Battalion in Fort Knox, which helps injured soldiers make the return home or to their unit.


The Military Order of the Purple Heart, a charitable organization, and the Clay family, which owns the farm, invited the veterans on a private tour of the farm as a way to show appreciation for the sacrifices the soldiers made.
go here for more
http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/506509.html

Military Order of the Purple Heart Leader Allegedly Misused Charity Funds

Wounded Vet Charity Accuses Own Executive of Fraud
Military Order of the Purple Heart Leader Allegedly Misused Charity Funds
By ANNA SCHECTER


The executive director of a charity for wounded veterans that pulls in more than ten million dollars per year in donations has allegedly spent tens of thousands of dollars of the charity's funds inappropriately to benefit foundation executives and given out hundreds of thousands of dollars of donated funds in exchange for family favors, according to current and former executive board members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH).

Richard (Dick) Esau was fired from the MOPH Service Foundation after it brought in a forensic auditor to investigate Esau and the charity's finances, according to Henry Cook, outgoing national commander of the MOPH, and Ray Funderburk, former national public relations director for the MOPH.

"This investigation is ongoing and it's going to get bigger," said Cook. "It is outrageous and unfair to those who donate their hard earned money to help veterans."

The findings of the audit by a forensic independent accounting firm thus far warranted Esau's termination, according to Foundation President James Blaylock. The Foundation's Executive Committee "authorized a continued auditing process into any and all areas that the forensic auditor felt were appropriate," Blaylock wrote in the letter to MOPH members alerting them that Esau was fired.

ABC News reported in November 2007 that the Foundation received an "F" rating from the charity watchdog group American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) for their extremely high fundraising costs and relatively small percentage of donations that actually went to help wounded veterans and their families.

go here for more

http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfAUG08/nf082208-3.htm