Survivors of Sabana Seca Navy Base attack honored at memorial

'It's something we all needed': Navy veteran, others attacked by terrorists honored at ceremony

The Times and Democrat
By Gene Zaleski
January 2, 2019

Each of the service members did eventually receive a Purple Heart for the ordeal, but never have been memorialized until now. Allen was one of two women injured in the attack."This is our big recognition now," she said.

Orangeburg resident and retired U.S. Navy veteran Cottie Boyd Allen's life changed in the blink of an eye 40 years ago.

She was aboard a bus carrying 17 Navy communications technicians to work on a transmitting tower about a mile away from the Sabana Seca Navy base where she was stationed.

Gunmen intercepted the bus and opened fire in a terrorist attack against the unarmed soldiers.

"We were attacked," Allen recalled. "I was wounded four times."

"One bullet went through my face and landed in my temple area; one landed in my buttocks and in my thighs," Allen said. Shrapnel from the bullets is still within her body.

Allen, a native of New Jersey, lost consciousness and was listed in critical condition after the attack. She was transported to Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, which at that time served as a U.S. Navy base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico.
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Woman stole from late Navy SEAL Ken Martin Jr. and Mom

Woman gets 7 years for stealing from former Navy SEAL and his widowed mother

Associated Press
December 21, 2018

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — An Iowa woman has been given seven years in prison for stealing more than $192,000 from her now-dead fiance and his elderly mother.

Robin Ann Bertelli, of Cedar Rapids, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. She pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft.

Prosecutors say the 61-year-old Bertelli stole checks from July 2013 through September 2016 that belonged to former Navy SEAL Ken Martin Jr. and Martin's mother and wrote them payable to herself, forging their signatures.

Prosecutors say Bertelli started a relationship with Martin around 2013 and moved in with him and his mother. Martin died in February 2016 while on vacation with Bertelli in Puerto Rico from what Bertelli said was an accidental drowning after hitting his head on a rock.
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At least 5 dead after Air National Guard plane crashed in Gerogia

Deadly military plane crash on Savannah, Georgia, road - live updates
CBS News
May 2, 2018

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- An Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane on a training mission crashed Wednesday along a road near a Georgia airport, killing at least five National Guard members from Puerto Rico, authorities said. Black smoke rose into the sky from a section of the plane that appeared to have crashed into a median on the road.

Firefighters later put out the blaze.

Capt. Jeff Bezore, a spokesman for the Georgia Air National Guard's 165th Air Wing, said the crash killed at least five people. He said he couldn't say how many people in total were on the plane when it crashed around 11:30 a.m.

Bezore said in a statement that the identities of those on the plane would be released upon notification of their next of kin.

The Air Force said the plane belonged to the 156th Air Wing out of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico National Guard Spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen told The Associated Press that all those aboard were Puerto Ricans who had recently left the U.S. territory for a mission on the U.S. mainland.
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Sailor Went From Submarine to KIA Saving Lives--On Vacation

Submariner stranded in Puerto Rico delivered critical aid in his mom's sedan

The Virginia Pilot
Brock Vergakis
December 25, 2017

While the Navy sent helicopters, ships and doctors from Hampton Roads to help, Rivera was simply on vacation. He managed to get to an Army Reserve Center base, secured orders to temporarily join a military police battalion there, then was given an incredible autonomy to help in a way few others could – all without ever wearing a uniform.

Joel Rivera, right, shown here in a photo from 2011, aboard a submarine during a submarine rescue exercise as part of Bold Monarch 2011.RICARDO J. REYES/U.S. NAVY PHOTO 

NORFOLK — Joel Rivera rumbled down dirt roads in his mother’s Kia Forte weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico – on a mission for the U.S. military that he never imagined when he joined the Navy 14 years ago as a submariner.

Dressed in civilian clothing, Rivera and his cousin drove through mountains searching for islanders needing food and water who were out of reach because large trucks couldn’t use debris-filled and washed-out roads. He’d drop off what little provisions he could carry in the four-door sedan and – whenever he could get a cell phone signal – report to military officials on the island about the hardest-hit areas.

“I’d really just pick a spot on a map that was secluded,” he said. “At this point the government was handing out food and water to the cities.

“I wanted to take care of the places where they were overlooking.” 
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Disabled Veteran Turned Down By FEMA After Hurricane Maria?

Disabled veteran says FEMA denied him aid after Hurricane Maria because he gets VA benefits

WFTV News

Lauren Seabrook

November 3, 2017

Because he is already receiving Veterans Affairs assistance, he said FEMA told him he didn’t qualify for a FEMA hotel room.

ORLANDO, Fla. - As thousands of people come to Florida from Puerto Rico in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been giving assistance to evacuees.

Armando Figueroa, though, told Channel 9 Friday that he was not among them.

Tears were streaming down his face as he sat inside Orlando International Airport where FEMA is operating an assistance center.

A disabled veteran who served 15 years in the U.S. Navy and another 16 in the Army, Figueroa is on 100 percent disability after he was paralyzed by an improvised explosive device while serving in 2008.

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After Hurricane Maria, The Flood of PTSD Cases

Two suicides counted in Puerto Rico's hurricane death toll

CBS News

October 5, 2017

As time goes on, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may also become an issue for many. 

"PTSD doesn't develop immediately, it develops after about a month," Asim Shah, M.D., chief of the division of community psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, told CBS News.

A resident walks down the dark hallway of a senior citizens' condo building with no electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 30, 2017.

 

 JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Locked out of his home and with nowhere else to go, Wilfredo Ortiz Marrero rode out Hurricane Maria inside a Jeep, which was lifted off its wheels by floodwaters in the parking lot. He then endured days without enough food or running water.

The lights are back on at his residence for low-income elderly people in the San Juan suburb of Trujillo Alto, and food has started arriving, but he still waits as long as he can each night to leave the company of others in the lobby. Alone in his room, he sometimes starts to shake.

"You get really depressed," he said Wednesday.

The hurricane that pummeled Puerto Rico two weeks ago and the scarcity-marked aftermath are taking a toll on islanders' equilibrium. The U.S. territory's government counted two suicides among the death toll, which now stands at 34, and with many communities still waiting for power and clean water, there is concern about others reaching a breaking point. 
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VA Resources For Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands After Hurricanes

VA providing support to Veterans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria

VAntage Point

September 22, 2017

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, VA announced today that it continues to provide vital health care and other support to displaced Veterans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

In Puerto Rico where electricity was knocked out by Hurricane Maria, the San Juan VA Medical Center  — currently operating on generator power and staffed by 800 employees — is providing health care for 338 inpatients, with primary care and mental health services available for walk-in patients.

“We have been in constant contact with VA Caribbean Healthcare System leadership in San Juan and are sending relief resources to the VA medical center as soon as possible through available transportation assets,” said VA press secretary Curt Cashour. “Along with hurricane-hardened construction standards, the San Juan VAMC has enough fuel, water and other supplies to last at least seven days, if not more.”

Since Hurricane Maria also damaged communication systems, such as cellular phone towers and telephone landlines, VA officials have been monitoring the VA Caribbean Facebook page, and responding to family requests for status of both patients and staff.

Meanwhile, all community clinics, including Vet Centers in Puerto Rico and USVI, have been closed until further notice. Patients with appointments will be contacted as soon as possible to reschedule. Veterans Benefits Administration offices are also closed. VA national cemeteries in Puerto Rico are also temporarily closed.

VA is also coordinating standby personnel to deploy in the event they are needed, along with mobile shelters for use as sleeping quarters, as well as mobile medical units, which can be used to augment medical services in the area.

VA teams will begin damage assessments as soon as it is safe to do so and travel routes are clear. Once assessments are complete, officials will share information about when VA clinics will be operational.

The following resources are available for Veterans and employees impacted by the hurricanes:

• VA Employee Accountability hotline for staff to report their status and safety: 866-233-0152
• VISN 8 TelCare 24/7 hotline to assist Veterans with health-care advice and information, to include facility status updates and emergency prescription refill information: 877-741-3400
• Current operating status of VA Caribbean Healthcare System: https://www.caribbean.va.gov/emergency/index.asp
• Get more information about the VA Caribbean Healthcare System at https://www.caribbean.va.gov/, or on its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/VACaribbean
• VA’s blog with information on VA facilities and services impacted by hurricanes Irma and Maria: http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/hurricane-irma/.

Army Investigating Death of Fort Bragg Soldier Found in Woods

Army investigating death of Fort Bragg soldier 
Fay Observer 
By Amanda Dolasinski 
Staff writer 
Feb 14, 2017 Updated 2 min ago 

The Army Criminal Investigation Command is looking into the death of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier whose body was found in a wooded area more than a week ago. 

Spc. Victor Aponte-Rosado, 31, of Caguas, Puerto Rico, was found in woods near Preachers Road on Fort Bragg around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, according to Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army's CID. Grey said someone found something suspicious in the woods and reported it. 

He declined to give any details about possible injuries or details surrounding the death. read more here

Army Reservist Among The Dead At Pulse

Second Army Victim Identified among Casualties of Orlando Shooting
Military.com
by Brendan McGarry
Jun 17, 2016

A second U.S. Army victim has been identified among the casualties of the deadly shooting at an Orlando nightclub.

Angel Candelario-Padro served in the Puerto Rico National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve, officials said.

"It is again with our deepest sadness, our heartbreak that we inform you that National Guardsman SPC. Angel Candelario-Padro was among the victims we have lost," said Matt Thorn, executive director of OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents the U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Candelario-Padro, whose home of record at the time of enlistment was Guanica, Puerto Rico, served as a member of the Puerto Rico National Guard and was assigned as a musician to the 248th Army Band, officials said. He also played clarinet with his hometown band and had just moved to Orlando from Chicago, Thorn said.

He served as a specialist in the Guard from Jan. 12, 2006, until Jan. 11, 2012, at which point he transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Houk, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, confirmed in an email to Military.com.
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Puerto Rico National Guards Scandal Probe 7 Years of Kickbacks

Army recruiting scandal nets new indictments as long probe of kickbacks continues
Washington Post
By Lisa Rein
October 23, 2015

These fraudulent bounties were collected for seven years by recruiters and “recruiters assistants” for the Puerto Rico National Guard.

The scheme was as simple as the system was porous.

Army National Guard soldiers signed up as assistants to help recruiters, getting paid a referral fee each time someone enlisted and another bonus if they went to basic training. If someone joined as an officer, the payment jumped as high as $8,500.

But the assistants didn’t wait that long. According to federal court documents, they simply entered the potential recruit’s name, date of birth and Social Security number into an online account, then told the company under contract with the National Guard that they had signed up another soldier when they had not. When the bonuses was wired to their bank account, they gave half the money to the recruiters, who were barred from getting payments themselves.
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Vietnam Veterans Sings Song of Thanks at Soup Kitchen

Vietnam vet sings at Harrisburg soup kitchen
Lionel Gonzalez, 67, sings his thanks after a meal in March 2015 at Harrisburg's Downtown Daily Bread soup kitchen.

The Vietnam veteran and state retiree isn't homeless or necessarily needy. But he grew up hungry in Puerto Rico and knows well the value of a hot meal.

He says he likes spending time talking with other patrons at Downtown Daily Bread, where he plans to volunteer. He also said he likes the food. His spontaneous songs, belted in rich baritone, are his way of saying thanks.

Director of VA Caribbean Arrested in Florida

High ranking VA official faced drug charge after DUI arrest
The Washington Times
By Jim McElhatton
September 7, 2014

A high-ranking Veterans Affairs official who oversees nearly a dozen medical facilities was charged with drunken driving and possession of a controlled substance on a Florida roadside at nearly 2 a.m. one night in April, repeatedly refusing a Breathalyzer before he was taken to jail, records show.

Though prosecutors later cited “concerns about the stop” and dropped the case, the arrest still raises questions about off-duty conduct standards and whether DeWayne Hamlin, who oversees a medical center and 10 outpatient clinics in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, notified the VA to explain the source of an oxycodone pill found on him during the stop, according to records and interviews.

Mr. Hamlin, a member of the Senior Executive Service, an elite cadre of federal managers, was arrested just before 2 a.m. on April 26 after an officer saw him parked on a roadside in Pasco County with the car engine running, according to a police report obtained through an open records request.

“While speaking to DeWayne I observed his eyes were bloodshot, glassy and I could detect the strong odor of alcohol,” the arresting officer wrote. During a pat-down, the officer said he found an oxycodone pill in Mr. Hamlin’s front pocket.

Mr. Hamlin “advised he did not have a valid prescription for this medication and would not say anything else,” the officer stated in the police report.
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From the VA
Director Caribbean Healthcare System DeWayne Hamlin was appointed Director of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 14, 2012. As VACHS Director, Mr. Hamlin is responsible for a highly complex healthcare system consisting of a main medical center in San Juan and 10 outpatient clinics located throughout PR and the U.S. Virgin Islands serving a population of more than 110,000 Veterans.

Director Lexington KY Mr. Hamlin served as Associate Director at the James, A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida. Prior to the Associate Director assignment, Mr. Hamlin was the Chief, Facilities Management Service at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics. The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics are affiliated with the University of South Florida College of Medicine and has a large, active research and education mission. Prior to Tampa, he was appointed Chief, Engineer at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia and Chief, Facilities Management Service at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Seattle. Mr. Hamlin started his VA career in 1990, at the Portland, Oregon VAMC.

Soldier from Florida among dead at Fort Hood

Three soldiers slain at Fort Hood identified
CNN
By Ralph Ellis
updated 3:20 PM EDT, Fri April 4, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Sgt. Danny Ferguson came from Mulberry, Florida

Sgt. Carlos A. Lazaney was from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Sgt. Timothy Owens grew up in Effingham, Illinois

Sixteen others wounded in the shooting rampage

CNN) -- The three soldiers killed Wednesday at Fort Hood, Texas, came from different places. Two grew up in small towns, and one came from a seaside city in Puerto Rico. They all died in a shooting rampage that also left 16 others wounded.

Sgt. Danny Ferguson
Ferguson was killed trying to hold a door shut to stop the shooter, his fiancée, Kristen Haley, told CNN affiliate WTSP-TV in Tampa, Florida.

"He held that door shut because it wouldn't lock. It seems the doors would be bullet proof, but apparently they're not," Haley told the station. "If he wasn't the one standing there holding those doors closed, that shooter would have been able to get through and shoot everyone else."

Haley, also a soldier, said Ferguson was a native of Mulberry, Florida, and an outstanding athlete at Mulberry High, where he graduated in 1993. The small town is about 30 miles east of Tampa.

He'd just returned from Afghanistan, she said.

"This was his life. He was proud to be part of a great service," Haley told WTSP.

CNN also spoke to Ferguson's parents in the Tampa Bay area. They declined to comment.
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WWII veteran makes dream come true for Vietnam veteran

WWII veteran makes dream come true for Vietnam veteran
Marietta Daily Journal
by Jon Gillooly
September 28, 2012

ACWORTH — The wish of a World War II veteran made a Vietnam veteran’s dream come true on Thursday in the form of a new Habitat for Humanity house in Acworth.

Before he died in February, the late Army Lt. Col. Ashley Ivey donated a half-acre wooded lot on Womack Avenue off Cobb Parkway to Habitat for Humanity with the stipulation that any home built there go to a disabled veteran.

During the house dedication ceremony, Ivey’s niece, Beth Hoeve of Roswell, recalled how much her late uncle loved his country.

“While serving as a navigator … in WWII, he was shot down in German-occupied Holland, and the Dutch Resistance risked their lives to smuggle him to safety,” she said. “He never forgot their kindness. Col. Ashley and his (late) wife, Ruth, knew the importance of their faith in God and put it into action by serving others.”

Ivey went on to serve in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He spent his retirement as a substitute teacher at North Cobb High School and as an active member of Acworth United Methodist Church, the Southern Order of Storytellers and other civic and volunteer activities.

Ivey died just months before he could see his dream of providing homeownership to another veteran realized. He had hoped that his donation would inspire others, especially members of the military, to also donate to veterans.

The property he left went to Vietnam veteran Lt. Victor Alvarado of Acworth, a grandfather of seven. A native of Puerto Rico, Alvarado injured his back while offloading 250-pound C-130 tires at Homestead Base, south of Miami, while serving in the Air Force. Later back surgery worsened the problem, he said.
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US National Guard helicopter crashes in Puerto Rico, 6 feared dead

US National Guard helicopter crashes in Puerto Rico, 6 feared dead

DANICA COTO
Associated Press
8:56 a.m. EST, December 21, 2010
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Puerto Rico National Guard helicopter has crashed in the ocean after returning from a drug raid, with all six people aboard feared dead, officials said Tuesday.

Two of the passengers are prosecutors with the local justice department and the other four are officials with the National Guard, three of them crew members, said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad.

Crews are searching for those aboard, and Police Chief Jose Figueroa Sancha told NotiUno radio station that officials found the fuselage of the UH-72 helicopter just north of the island.

The helicopter was returning from the neighboring island of Vieques when it disappeared late Monday just north of the coastal city of Rio Grande. One pilot had 10 years of experience and the other had at least six years, and neither reported any problems during the flight, said National Guard Gen. Antonio Vicens.
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US National Guard helicopter crashes in Puerto Rico

Island residents sue U.S., saying military made them sick

Island residents sue U.S., saying military made them sick
By Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein,
CNN Special Investigations Unit
February 1, 2010 -- Updated 2103 GMT (0503 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Vieques was one of Navy's largest firing ranges and weapons testing sites
Thousands of residents say testing has made them seriously ill
Government says under "sovereign immunity," residents have no right to sue
See how residents are coping with illnesses on "Campbell Brown" tonight 8 ET
Hear from residents of Vieques, where thousands of people say U.S. weapons testing has made them seriously ill, on tonight's "Campbell Brown," 8 ET

Vieques, Puerto Rico (CNN) -- Nearly 40 years ago, Hermogenes Marrero was a teenage U.S. Marine, stationed as a security guard on the tiny American island of Vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Marrero says he's been sick ever since. At age 57, the former Marine sergeant is nearly blind, needs an oxygen tank, has Lou Gehrig's disease and crippling back problems, and sometimes needs a wheelchair.

"I'd go out to the firing range, and sometimes I'd start bleeding automatically from my nose," he said in an interview to air on Monday night's "Campbell Brown."
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http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/02/01/vieques.illness/index.html

Police: Iraq a factor in Puerto Rico soldier's suicide

Police: Iraq a factor in PR soldier's suicide
1 hour ago

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A soldier who had told his family he did not want to return to Iraq apparently killed himself in a Puerto Rican motel days before he was to join his unit and head back to the war zone, police in the U.S. territory said Monday.

Army Spc. Nokware Rosado Munoz, 28, had been arguing with his pregnant wife about his upcoming redeployment before hanging himself Sunday, said Lt. Edilberto Rivera Santiago, director of the police homicide division in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon.

"They were having problems because he had been activated again," Rivera said.

Rosado was scheduled to rejoin his unit at Fort Bliss, Texas, this week, before moving on to Iraq.
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Police: Iraq a factor in PR soldier's suicide