Veterans ride for lost brother, Eric Hall

Maybe this post should be titled, Out of Hopelessness, Comes Miracles? It's really amazing what Eric Hall did after he suffered so much back home. The sadness comes knowing he was not here to see it. He is somewhere in Heaven looking down and has God's ear to help his brothers. How do I know? Because that is exactly what is happening.

Leonard “Taz” Leary became a Chaplain for the Vietnam Brotherhood after suffering from PTSD. Joe “Blooper” Tine, President of the local Leathernecks MC is talking about it. If these are not miracles, nothing is.

There have been other stories on this blog about the reporting on Eric Hall from the time he was missing and everyone was looking for him, to when his body was found and what came later. Deaths like his tug at the heart of anyone becoming aware of them. They happen all too often. Yet somehow out of tremendous grief and anger, families rise above their own pain for the sake of other sons and daughters in need of help to prevent another parent from feeling the same kind of pain. In the process, other lives are saved because they understand that PTSD does not mean the end of life. It means they need help to heal to have a better life. They understand that all of it has a reason behind it and that reason is not because they are flawed, but because they are caring humans, exposed to horrific events in combat and felt the pain of others.

If you are a newer veteran, I'm begging you to get help to heal. If any pin head utters one single word against you, tell them science has proven PTSD, but they don't have a cure for idiots refusing to learn anything. If you are a Vietnam veteran, I can assure you that it is not too late to get help. My husband did and he's living life again. He's a Vietnam vet too. With one out of five coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan right now, they need all the help they can get and who better to help them than you? First you have to heal yourself and then you can help them. Make some miracles for your own family and then you can make some for other families feeling lost, alone and afraid.

Veterans ride for lost brother, Eric Hall
By GREG MARTIN
Staff Writer

A memorial ride Saturday to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder in honor of late U.S. Marine Eric Hall may have been led by his cousin, Adam Birge.

But many of the veterans participating in the ride said they felt like Hall's brothers, because they, too, know the horrors of war.

The intent of the Home Front Fight Motorcycle Ride — the second ride to be held since Hall, 24, died in Deep Creek on Feb. 3, 2008 — was to raise funds for the Eric Hall Memorial Foundation. The organization is dedicated to helping military personnel returning from war with PTSD, said Hall's aunt, Marge Baker of Deep Creek.

The foundation's goal is to establish a safe house or two to provide a refuge for PTSD victims, Baker said.

“Our family feels that if there were something like that for Eric, we would have been able to save him,” she said.

About two dozen people participated. After an hour's delay due to a torrential downpour, the riders embarked from the Black Widow Harley-Davidson/Buell dealership in Port Charlotte.

Often, due to the nature of combat, soldiers can't react to trauma until years later, said Leonard “Taz” Leary, chaplain for the Vietnam Brotherhood.

Leary said he didn't become aware that PTSD was the cause of his own anti-social traits until after Hall's death compelled him to review his VA file.

“I owe him my life,” Leary said.

Joe “Blooper” Tine, president of the Port Charlotte Chapter of the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club, said he experiences PTSD as “a startle reaction.” It could be set off by the sound of a helicopter or a 21-gun salute, he said.

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Veterans ride for lost brother, Eric Hall

Memorial bike run to benefit Eric Hall fund

Can you unbreak some hearts? Part of PTSD is feeling alone, abandoned to live with an enemy embedded within them. Hundreds of thousands of others have felt this unbearable pain and surrendered their lives to this invisible wound. We still have a chance to help heal the warriors simply by showing we care and remember them. In doing this, we help teach them that there is nothing they have to be ashamed of any more than had they been wounded by a bullet. When you act locally to support them, you are also telling veterans around the nation that the people of this nation do care and do appreciate them. If you can go to this bike run, please, if you feel any obligation to them at all, go to this fund raiser for this fallen warrior who died because of his loving heart and help heal a nation full of veterans like Eric Hall before it's too late to help them.

Raising PTSD awareness
Memorial run to benefit Eric Hall fund


PORT CHARLOTTE -- For many returning servicemen, the war doesn't end at home.

It never did for U.S. Marine Cpl. Eric Hall.

Family members are continuing their fight to ensure future veterans get the help the need.

On Saturday, hundreds of motorcyclists are expected to line the streets of Charlotte County in memory of those lost in the aftermath of war.

"Home Front Fight," a memorial ride dedicated to Hall, will begin at 11 a.m. at Black Widow Harley-Davidson/Buell, 2224 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte. Registration, which begins at 9 a.m., is $10 per bike.

Now in its second year, the bike run is intended to raise awareness about the silent scars affecting thousands of veterans like Hall, and the lack of treatment many receive.

The 24-year-old Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran was found dead inside a drainage pipe near his aunt's Deep Creek home March 9, 2008.
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Memorial run to benefit Eric Hall fund

Port Charlotte man killed himself in police standoff

Man kills himself in police standoff

STAFF REPORT


Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 1:38 a.m.
PORT CHARLOTTE -
A Port Charlotte man killed himself late Sunday after firing dozens of shots into the surrounding neighborhood and holding Charlotte County sheriff's deputies at bay for hours.



Thomas Edward Dickie, 46, was found dead about 11:30 p.m. after officers used an armored vehicle, borrowed from Lee County, to break through the door to his house in the 18400 block of Wintergarden Avenue.

A robot equipped with a video camera was sent into the house and found Dickie dead in the bathroom.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Dickie had problems with alcohol abuse and was an avid collector of guns, including automatic weapons.
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Welcome Back from Iraq benefit concert inspired by Eric Hall

Show Iraq Veterans We Care
Steve Echeverria Jr.


Herald Tribune

Sep 12, 2008

September 11, 2008 - Tony Rotondo never met Eric Hall.

The Port Charlotte resident did not know the Iraq War veteran who had moved to Charlotte County last winter to escape battlefield demons and ease his severe leg injuries.

But when the 24-year-old Hall, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was reported missing in January and then turned up dead in a drainage pipe two months later, Rotondo knew something had to be done for local veterans.

His solution was organizing a benefit concert and fundraiser for Iraq War veterans and their families so the community could show their support.

"We don't like seeing our troops die or get hurt," Rotondo said, "and when they do, and when they come home, we want to make sure they're taken care of.

"Vets need to see that the community is behind them and they feel they are not forgotten."

The "Welcome Back from Iraq" benefit concert begins at noon Saturday and features live music, down-home cuisine, a silent auction and other family-friendly events at the Charlotte County Fairgrounds, 2333 El Jobean Road in Port Charlotte.

Six music acts will perform at the event, including Sarasota vocalist Twinkle Schascle and R&B singer Janid. Magician Jimmy Rook of "America's Got Talent" fame will also make an appearance.

Attendees will also be able to buy pig roast, seafood and ice cream. The auction will feature autographed items from members of Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds, Rotondo said.
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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11147

Woman is charged after boy, 3, drowns

Woman is charged after boy, 3, drowns

By John Davis


Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 12:42 a.m.
NORTH PORT -
A woman has been charged with felony child neglect after she fell asleep while caring for a 3-year-old boy who drowned in the swimming pool at her home, according to police.


Brendyn Law was pronounced dead at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon. Mary Dorsch, 20, reportedly fell asleep while she and the child were watching television in her bedroom at the house in the 5000 block of Malamin Road, police said.

While she slept, the boy left the room and began playing around the swimming pool, throwing items taken from the house into the water, police said.
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ABC news back on Eric Hall's Story of Missing Marine

'Spider Hole' Gives Hope to Iraq Vet's Family
Mother, Volunteers Say Missing Ex-Marine With PTSD May Be Hiding in Woods of Florida
By DAVID SCHOETZ
Feb. 19, 2008

The discovery of a military-style "spider hole" that may have been used by a missing ex-Marine who is likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder has restored hope for the combat veteran's family that he is alive.

Eric Hall, 24, disappeared on Feb. 3 in Port Charlotte, Fla. He was staying with his grandmother when he experienced what his family and authorities have described as a "combat flashback."

The Marine, who was left with a permanent limp from a 2005 bomb blast in Iraq, began walking around the house shooting an imaginary gun at imaginary enemies.

Hall then took off on his motorcycle, which later was found with engine running lying in the middle of a road in Deep Creek, near Fort Myers, on Florida's west coast.

On Monday, one of those volunteers discovered what is generally known in the military as a spider hole, a dugout camouflaged hiding place. It measured approximately 2-and-a-half feet deep, 3 feet wide and 6 feet long. Near the hole, which was in a wooded area about four miles from where the motorcycle had been found, was a Reebok footprint matching the shoes Hall was reportedly wearing when he disappeared. There was also a hole in the ground that had been used as a military-style toilet.

Tracking dogs from the Southwest Florida K-9 Search Unit were called in, a spokeswoman for the group told ABC News. Using the scent from an article of clothing provided by Hall's family, the dogs immediately alerted to Hall's track, according to Becky Hall and Ret. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tim Baker, one of the volunteers involved in the search. A truck bed liner was found near the spider hole that could have been used to hide Hall's location during the day.

"What my gut tells me is that he was experiencing Iraq," Becky Hall told ABC News, "that he's still in that mode."

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http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4310896&page=1