Neurosurgeon desperately needed in New England

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos
February 27, 2024

URGENT Neurosurgeon desperately needed in New England

I am posting this FOR THE LOVE OF JACK

After a couple of years of my husband's suffering, we finally had an answer as to why it was happening to him. He had an MRI that showed too much fluid in the ventricles of his brain. They suspected it was Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.  

In between May and November, he was in and out of hospitals and rehabs. He was sent home with visiting nurses and for a while, he went into physical therapy as an outpatient. Eventually, we were told that nothing would work until he had a spinal tap to see if he improved.

We had to wait to see a Neurologist. That finally happened in November. He diagnosed my husband and it was as others suspected. The Neurologist was certain it was not brain shrinkage. He sent the MRI and report to a Neurosurgeon. We finally saw him in January.

First, he said he was sure it was brain shrinkage and ran down a list as to why nothing would help. I was not about to let my husband leave that office without knowing how the Neurologist was sure that was not his problem. Long story short, he excused himself, left the exam room, and returned to say he was willing to try a spinal tap.

The spinal tap was done last week and it helped but he needed a blood patch because of a really bad headache. That made him improve even more. I had hope again. That hope was crushed today when the Neurosurgeon called to tell me why a shunt wouldn't help and that all of a sudden his diagnosis was that my husband's nervous system was shutting down. He keeps changing what he's saying, so all trust in him is gone.

It is bad enough to see my husband suffer all this time, and then have to wait months for experts. Most of us have to deal with that. When you end up with an expert who can't decide what is happening or what to do about it, that's torturous. 

My husband went from going to the gym 5 times a week and riding his Harley, to not being able to walk and riding a wheelchair in two years. You know we've been together since 1982 and we'll be married for 40 years this year. This is the longest we've been away from each other. Watching him suffer is tearing me apart and that's why I haven't been able to focus on much else. My life and work are on hold because I'm falling apart. 

I feel blessed to have great people helping us get through all this and doing all they can to figure out what else they can do. If you've heard bad things about the VA, it isn't the VA doctors we have a problem with. It is out in the community because New Hampshire doesn't have a VA hospital. The VA has been wonderful. I don't know how I would have gotten through all this without them. 

I also feel blessed to have such loyal readers and I am praying someone knows a Neurosurgeon who can help my husband, or at least give us a second opinion that will make sense. I am desperate and pleading for help because if anyone deserves it, it is my husband. He's the reason why I've helped veterans and their families for over 40 years. All I do is because of him, so if you have found help with my books, videos, or posts, it is because of him. If I spent time with you on the phone and helped you find hope that you can heal, it was because of him. This time I need help from you for him. PLEASE HELP US FIND THE HELP HE NEEDS.

“honey-do dude” of Waveland

US widower and veteran fights grief and PTSD by offering home repairs – for free 

The Guardian
Ramon Antonio Vargas
Sun 4 Feb 2024

“That’s when stuff comes back to you,” Chauvin remarked to CBS.

Danny Chauvin, 76, the ‘honey-do dude’ of Mississippi, fixes doors and unclogs drains to protect his mental health after his wife died.

A retired US military veteran is coping with grief from his wife’s death and post-traumatic stress from fighting in the Vietnam war by providing daily handyman services to people in his community – for free.

Danny Chauvin is the so-called “honey-do dude” of Waveland, Mississippi, according to a CBS Evening News profile of him published Friday. He told the news program that one of his favorite parts of his marriage to his wife had been the small, mostly repair and building tasks she would ask him to complete around the house, which Americans colloquially refer to as “honey-do” jobs.

Chauvin, 76, lost that part of his life when his wife of 53 years, Patricia, died in November 2022 after being sick with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues, Mississippi’s Sun Herald newspaper reported. In the subsequent quiet of his home, Chauvin realized he was not only struggling with his grief as a widower, he also was struggling to manage the depression and post-traumatic stress he had been treated for after serving with the US army in Vietnam.
read more here

Read the Burn Pit bill yourself and know what else was in it, they voted against!

Veterans have been camping out on the Capitol steps after GOP blocks burn pit bill

NBC"
By Scott Wong, Ali Vitali and Frank Thorp V
August 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — Jen Burch, 35, a retired staff sergeant in the Air Force, looks strong and healthy from the outside. She says that inside, however, she’s suffering from ailments that she believes are related to her service during the Afghanistan war more than a decade ago.

While they were in Kandahar, Burch and her fellow service members were exposed to “burn pits, incinerators and poo ponds,” she said. When she left, she battled pneumonia and bronchitis. And in the years since then, she has been “in and out of ERs” and has struggled with intense migraine headaches and shortness of breath whenever she climbs a flight of stairs.

“I actually ended up trying to take my life because I just can’t handle it anymore. I just go crazy in my head,” Burch said at a rally Monday outside the U.S. Capitol.
read more here

This is the link to the PACT ACT
Among the things that are in the bill are provisions for those who served at Fort McClellan

(Sec. 801) The VA must conduct an epidemiological study on the health trends of veterans who served at Fort McClellan at any time between January 1, 1935, and May 20, 1999.

Veterans that served in Palomares, Spain and hule Air Force Base, Greenland

(Sec. 402) This section includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of radioactive materials at Palomares, Spain, or in the response effort following the on-board fire and crash of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber in the vicinity of Thule Air Force Base, Greenland, as radiation-exposed veterans for purposes of the presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.

Vietnam veterans

Veterans Agent Orange Exposure Equity Act of 2022
(Sec. 403) This section expands the presumption of service-connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents for veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. Specifically, the bill expands the presumption to cover veterans who served during specified time frames in Thailand at any U.S. or Royal Thai bases, Laos, Cambodia, Guam or American Samoa or the waters thereof, or on Johnson Atoll. Under the bill, such veterans are eligible for VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care.

Read the bill yourself and know that those that voted against this, are lying about the bill.

Group of military spouses breaking the silence of PTSD

‘You think you’re the only one’: Documentary amplifies voices of military spouses facing PTSD
Idaho Capital Sun

BY: CHRISTINA LORDS
APRIL 25, 2022

“We just felt that we really needed to talk to this group of spouses, which has been silent forever – all throughout history,” Betty said. “We thought we need to get as much history involved as we can.”

‘I Married the War,’ a new film produced and directed by Idahoans about the wives of combat veterans, will make its Idaho premiere May 4

During filming of a new documentary titled “I Married the War,” Director of Photography Bill Krumm captures military wife Laura Daniero Nickel for an interview with Lucien Nickel. (Ken Rodgers)

After the success of their first documentary film “Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor” in 2011, Betty and Ken Rodgers felt in their bones there were more stories to tell.

Their project got men who hadn’t shared their Vietnam War stories in decades — or, in some cases, ever — to open up their experiences. It helped people who didn’t live through the war know what that conflict was really like. And it helped Vietnam veterans connect with perhaps the only people who truly knew what they had gone through – each other.

Perhaps most importantly, for some veterans, it allowed them and their families to start to heal from their trauma.

But there were others who deserved to have their voices heard, their stories told, Betty said.

What about people like her, the wife of a Vietnam veteran? What about their experience healing their marriage from Ken’s post-traumatic stress, caused by his combat experience as a U.S. Marine trapped in one of the worst sieges in American wartime history – the siege of Khe Sanh in Vietnam? What about the wives of these veterans from every American war who come home battered physically and mentally and need care and understanding?
read more here

When I wrote my first book,  For The Love Of Jack back in 2002 (republished in 2012)  it was to #breakthesilence too many of us were living with. It was hard for veterans to talk, even to other veterans. It was even harder for wives to do it. When we did, we not only discovered we were not alone, we found support, gained knowledge and learned the ways of helping those we loved heal.

I am torn about the project above. I am grateful they were doing this at the same time greatly saddened that after all these years, anyone still feels as if they have something to hide or struggle with talking about it, makes it seem as if efforts among the pioneers like me, failed. If we succeeded, the stigma would be gone, hope would take over fear, knowledge would replace gossip and assumptions and no one would ever feel ashamed of surviving what they did, or loving them.

No battle in combat is ever fought alone and no one heals from what it does alone either!

Please pray for my friend

One of my best friends Gunny is in the hospital fighting for his life. He has COVID and is on oxygen. All he asked for was prayers. He has come to believe in the mighty hand of God and trusts the power of prayers. If it is not His will that Gunny be healed, then he wants prayers for his beloved wife.

Remember the veterans who fought so you could heal #PTSD

PTSD Patrol and Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 30, 2021

Every Memorial Day, I cry more than most people. Almost everyone thinks about the lives lost during wars, but few think about all those who died because of the wars they fought. It also grieves me that most Americans fighting their own battles with PTSD, have no clue that the help they receive, was created because Vietnam Veterans came home and fought for all of it.

While I got involved almost forty years ago, the Afghanistan and Iraq veterans ended up getting all the attention because their generation was coming home, suffering, and committing suicide. The problem was, the majority of the veteran suicides known, were mostly over the age of fifty. In other words, pre-9 11 veterans, but few seemed to care.

In 2015 I did a video with Mike and the Mechanics song The Living Years. Vietnam Veterans Remembered was to let them know that someone was paying attention to what was still happening to them.

When I lived in Florida, I always recorded the escort of the Wall going into Wickham Park. I used that footage along with images from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan because of the lyrics of the song. Too many forget that war they fought and too many do not know they are still fighting it.

"So we open up a quarrel Between the present and the past"

No Vietnam veteran wants to take away from the newer generations. They took a vow to fight for all generations. The thing is, they don't want to be pushed aside. It should never be one generation being helped while sacrificing the other generations.

Once in a while I go back through some old emails. This is from 2006 about the book I wrote, For The Love Of Jack. I wrote it about our generation before 2001 and then self published it to help the newer generation that would follow them, and their families. That is something I learned from them...to fight for all generations.

Thank you so much for sharing your pain and story, You have helped me with my family and you dont even know it....As I read your story I was sitting there realising that you were talking about me in so many ways...the way I had become and the way I was headed. And Yes I am a combat Vet, from a long line of vets.......if I could just find out why there is no answers...........But I wanted to say thank you.......

Let the images sink in on this video because the pictures from Afghanistan and Iraq were the only ones people seemed to care about, but the older generations waited longer, suffered longer and still fought for the newer generation so that they would not end up like them.

The thing is, my generation is still fighting so that the newer generation does not have to suffer instead of healing the wounds they carried for far too long. We are retiring and dying off but doing all we can "in the living years."

When Vietnam veterans came home and fought for all the research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, they were concentrating on what happens to those who fight the wars for this country. They had no clue that their efforts would end up helping everyone with PTSD. If you have PTSD and are getting help to heal, and you see a Vietnam veteran, say "thank you" to them because you have the hope of healing because of them.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

The Living Years

Song by Mike + The Mechanics

Every generation

Blames the one before

And all of their frustrations

Come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner

To all my Father held so dear

I know that I'm a hostage

To all his hopes and fears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Oh, crumpled bits of paper

Filled with imperfect thought

Stilted conversations

I'm afraid that's all we've got

You say you just don't see it

He says it's perfect sense

You just can't get agreement

In this present tense

We all talk a different language

Talking in defence

Say it loud (say it loud), say it clear (oh say it clear)

You can listen as well as you hear

It's too late (it's too late) when we die (oh when we die)

To admit we don't see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel

Between the present and the past

We only sacrifice the future

It's the bitterness that lasts

So don't yield to the fortunes

You sometimes see as fate

It may have a new perspective

On a different day

And if you don't give up, and don't give in

You may just be okay

So say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)

You can listen as well as you hear

Because it's too late, it's too late (it's too late) when we die (oh when we die)

To admit we don't see eye to eye

I wasn't there that morning

When my Father passed away

I didn't get to tell him

All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit

Later that same year

I'm sure I heard his echo

In my baby's new born tears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear)

You can listen as well as you hear

It's too late (it's too late) when we die (it's too late when we die)

To admit we don't see eye to eye

So say it, say it, say it loud (say it loud)

Say it clear (come on say it clear)

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: B.A. Robertson / Mike Rutherford (gb)

The Living Years lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC

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

letter from a soldier in Vietnam to his sister finally came after 52 years

Soldier's lost letter from Vietnam War finds its way home 52 years later

WHAS 11 News
Heather Fountaine
May 28, 2020

NORTH VERNON, Ind. — A five page letter from a soldier to his sister landed in the mailbox of North Vernon, Indiana’s Janice Tucker last week. The envelope was postmarked May 10, 2020, but the words written inside were from Vietnam in 1968.

“It begins with 'Hi sis. I just read your letter, wow.' And I'm thinking, I have a sister that lives in Jeffersonville and I didn't send her a letter,” laughed Tucker, confused by what she had received.

As she started reading, she realized it was a note from her brother, William Lone, talking about his time serving in the Vietnam War.

“So, I called my brother. He lives in South Carolina. I read the letter to him and he said, ‘I remember writing that letter to you.’”

“I was in the field where you’re out there sleeping in tents,” Lone described.

He said he had sealed the envelope and put a .05 cent stamp in the corner before handing it to another soldier to deliver the letter to his sister who was 17-years-old at the time.

“Janice was still at home then, so it was going to go to Floyds Knobs, Indiana.” Or at least, it was supposed to.

The delivery was delayed for decades, more than half a century in fact.
read it here

Spike Lee’s new film, Da 5 Bloods

'America told us to get over it': black Vietnam veterans hail Spike Lee film that finally tells their story

The Guardian
Sam Levin
May 23, 2020

The complexities of black veterans’ history are rarely reflected on screen, and some retired service members said they were anxious for Lee’s exploration, which portrays the powerful moment a group of African American soldiers listening to the radio in the Vietnamese jungle learned of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Dedan Kimathi Ji Jaga, right, 15 miles outside Da Nang, Vietnam, in 1968. Photograph: Courtesy Dedan Kimathi Ji Jaga

When Dedan Kimathi Ji Jaga returned from combat in Vietnam, he painted his walls black, covered his windows and sat in darkness all day. His injuries and post-traumatic stress were severe, but as with many African American soldiers in 1968, the US government gave him little support.

“They summarily released me back to the streets with no aid,” said the 72-year-old California resident.

Black veterans across America are hoping this painful and enduring legacy will get the attention it deserves in Spike Lee’s new film, Da 5 Bloods, which chronicles the journey of four African American vets who return to Vietnam in search of their fallen squad leader and buried gold.

“The plight of African American service members who served in Vietnam, where they are now, why they are the way they are, this should be brought to light,” said Richard D Kingsberry, a veteran in Charlotte, North Carolina, who began his service in 1972 in the navy. “A lot of African American service members never got cared for properly after they returned, and that is a life-altering impact.”
read it here

Nurse took care of blind Vietnam veteran...and service dog Cupid for 21 days~

Not just another patient: A nurse cared for a blind veteran and his guide dog while they were locked down in the hospital

CNN
By Lauren Lee
May 13, 2020

"Barbara stepped up and said, 'You don't worry about that. I will take care of that for you,'" Tasby recalled. For nearly three weeks, Borbeck walked, fed and cared for Cupid. She even enlisted other hospital staff to help out on her days off.

Nurse Barbara Borbeck cared for Cupid during Tasby's 21-day stay at Southern Hills Hospital.

Joe Tasby stands with his guide dog Cupid.

(CNN)Joe Tasby walked into the emergency room along with his faithful guide dog, Cupid. It was mid-March, and he thought he'd be home in a matter of days. But his hospital stay ended up lasting weeks. And when the coronavirus pandemic hit, no one could come into the hospital to care for Cupid.

Leave it to nurse -- and dog lover -- Barbara Borbeck to save the day.
read it here

Vietnam-Era Veterans Were Exposed to Agent Orange on Guam

Report Claims Vietnam-Era Veterans Were Exposed to Agent Orange on Guam

Military.com
By Patricia Kime
May 11, 2020

"We conclude that existing evidence establishes that it is, at the very least, 'as likely as not' that veterans who served in Guam from 1962 to 1975 were exposed to Agent Orange and other dioxin-containing herbicides," wrote NVLSP Executive Director Bart Stichman and several law students and attorneys.

A U.S. Huey helicopter sprays Agent Orange over Vietnam. The U.S. military used at least 11 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam from 1961 to 1972. Wikimedia Commons

New research could help Vietnam-era veterans who served in Guam and who have diseases linked to Agent Orange file for disability with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Two veterans advocacy groups published a policy paper Monday saying that veterans who served on Guam between 1962 and 1975 likely were exposed to herbicides disposed of on the Pacific island or used for vegetation control.

The groups -- the National Veterans Legal Services Program and the Jerome Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School -- say their link meets the VA's legal criteria for awarding affected veterans Agent Orange-related benefits.
read it here

Push for MOH: Private Kenneth David actions saved lives May 7th, 1970

Efforts being made to award Medal of Honor to Girard veteran

WFMJ 21 News
by Derek Steyer
May 7th 2020

While seven men died, 13 made it home, much in part to David's heroic efforts.

On the 50th anniversary of heroically saving numerous men in Vietnam, there are renewed efforts to award the Medal of Honor to a Girard veteran.

It was in the early morning hours of May 7th, 1970 when Private Kenneth David's company came under an intense attack on a mountaintop in Vietnam. David remembers like it was yesterday.

"I could see the explosions going off, I could see my buddies getting killed, it was one big nightmare," David said.

David didn't know it at the time, but he was one of only two men left alive to defend his portion of the perimeter.

"Explosions would go off and you see a face in front of you and you just shoot it," David said. "I had RPG shrapnel in my back, both my eardrums blown out."

Still, he unleashed a barrage of fire and for several hours single handily resisted enemy efforts and secured a landing zone so casualties could be extracted.
read it here

Vietnam Memorial Wall in Georgia vandalized

Johns Creek Vietnam Veterans wall vandalized

CBS 46 News
Jasmina Alston
Apr 28, 2020

"You didn't just hurt that structure, you hurt some people." Mike Mizell

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (CBS46) -- The Wall That Heals Vietnam Veterans Memorial was recently vandalized, according to the Johns Creek Veterans Association.

The group has been working on the project since last July and planned on having a grand opening on March 28, but the coronavirus pandemic put that on hold.

"When we can get into groups larger than ten, because we've been contacted by groups from all over the southeast wanting to come," Mike Mizell, from the association, said.
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."

Neighbor admits shooting Vietnam Veteran's PTSD therapy dog

Man admits fatally shooting neighbor's therapy dog

The Associated Press
April 30th 2020

Stroemel used an air rifle to shoot Toby, a 9-year-old Pomeranian-poodle mix, after the dog was escaped from his owner's home Sept. 17. The dog's owner is a Vietnam War veteran, and family members have said the animal helped relieve his post-traumatic stress disorder.

MAPLE SHADE, N.J. (AP) - A man who fatally shot his neighbor’s therapy dog last year has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty, authorities said.

William Stroemel, 64, of Maple Shade, also pleaded guilty Wednesday to a weapons possession count as part of a plea deal with Burlington County prosecutors. They will recommend that he receive a five-year state prison term when he's sentenced July 29.

Stroemel used an air rifle to shoot Toby, a 9-year-old Pomeranian-poodle mix, after the dog was escaped from his owner's home Sept. 17. The dog's owner is a Vietnam War veteran, and family members have said the animal helped relieve his post-traumatic stress disorder.
read it here

Veteran with cancer cannot get treatment from VA because of state borders and COVID-19

Veteran and family plead for hospitals to treat his stage 4 cancer

KALB News
By JOJUANA PHILLIPS
Apr 10, 2020

"I was informed that my father had no scheduled appointment. Even all of the CT scans, his chemo, everything had been canceled, but no one had contacted us," said Barron who's been trying to contact the VA Hospital in Shreveport to see if her father's treatments could be moved to that location.

BENTLEY, La. (KALB)- 64-year-old Byron Walters has been to Vietnam and back, serving his country in the United States Army.

He's currently battling the COVID-19 pandemic with the rest of Louisiana on top of stage 4 cancer.

"I have prostate cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer and liver cancer," said Walters as he explained that he's due for his fourth round of chemotherapy.

The VA Hospital in Houston, Texas has been treating him since he found out about his cancer and that's where he was scheduled to travel for his next appointment this month. He's been told that his treatments should be done no more than 3 weeks apart.
read it here

Wounded Times tribute to riders of past riders after Melbourne Veterans Reunion canceled for 2020

Melbourne Veterans Reunion Canceled for 2020

Florida Vietnam and All Veterans Annual Reunion
THIS YEARS REUNION HAS BEEN CANCELED

Campers need to contact Wickham Park after Monday 4/6/20 to change your reservations to 2021

Thank You Doc R.

The Florida Veterans Reunion is one of the largest and longest running veterans reunions in the country.

2021 dates Escort April 11th Reunion April 15th - 18th
read it here

Since the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne Florida has been canceled, for the right reasons, I am putting up videos from past years.

All of the people showing up to escort the Wall are disappointed this year you will not be able to do it, so here is my tribute to you!

2012

2013

2014

2015

Also footage from that ride on this video

2016

2017

2018

2019

Vietnam Veterans Day with the voice of first talking GI Joe

The voice of the first talking G.I. Joe action figure is a true American hero

The New York Post
By Melanie Gray
March 28, 2020

For the Corsairs, today is an opportunity for all Americans to recognize Vietnam veterans for their service, particularly because so many were shunned when they returned home from fighting America’s most unpopular war.

Bill Corsair, voice of the first talking G.I. Joe action figure.

Bill Corsair is the voice of the first talking G.I. Joe doll, a SAG award winner and a Guinness World Record holder.

But the title that the Manhattanite is proudest of: Army veteran.

Corsair, 79, went to Vietnam in January 1969 as part of the fabled First Cavalry Division. He came back 10 months later a changed man.

“To me, it was the bravest and most patriotic and unselfish thing I’ve ever done, and I can’t imagine my life if I hadn’t,” Corsair said from his Upper West Side home.

Today, as the country wages a health war on the home front, Corsair wants to honor those 2.7 million men and women who served alongside him by calling attention to Sunday’s National Vietnam War Veterans Day. Roughly 60,000 made the ultimate sacrifice.
read it here

Remember a lot of older veterans are not online. The phone is their lifeline!

UPDATE Media started to pay attention...

Coronavirus isolation dangerous for veterans with PTSD, Kentucky advocates warn
Louisville Courier Journal...April 3!

“Isolation in the veteran community is, in fact, a killer,” said Harrell, an Iraq combat veteran.

Veterans who struggle with PTSD, suicidal thoughts or depression are especially vulnerable during the pandemic, he said. read it here

UPDATE Calls to veteran crisis hotline up 12 percent during COVID-19 outbreak, Wilkie tells VSOs

“The isolation required now was a key part of my question,” Chenelly said. “How do we counteract the negative effects of that? How many veterans will take their own lives because of this isolation now? That’s a big reason we exist -- to keep them connected to make sure they don’t feel alone.”

Calls to veteran crisis hotline up 12 percent during COVID-19 outbreak, Wilkie tells VSOs
Here is the link

Isolated Veterans Need Help During COVID-19

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 14, 2020

The Coronavirus or COVID-19 is now in 49 states. It is wise for older people to isolate, since this hits us harder. Even worse if you have health issues. The problem with this is that older veterans face something most are not talking about and that is what isolation does to them.

Over all these years, the one thing experts keep stressing when dealing with PTSD, is that veterans get out with peers, join groups and spend time with others. We know that the majority of known cases of veteran suicides are still in the older veteran population. We also know that when they do spend time with other veterans, they help one another heal. Knowing you are not alone, is comforting and healing.

This is where you come in! If you know a veteran who has to isolate during this crisis, pick up the phone and call them. Do not just do it once, but spend a couple of minutes a day reaching out to them and you will change their whole day.

Remember a lot of older veterans are not online. The phone is their lifeline!

It will also give you an opportunity to know how their mood is. They may be passing off depression as nothing to worry about, and they may not even notice it themselves.

Offer to go to the store for them so they do not run out of supplies, especially toilet paper, which is insanely hard to find right now. If you cook or go out to eat, ask them if there is anything you can bring them. You do not even have to go into their house, and it may be wiser to not so that you do not expose them to whatever you were exposed to.

You'll be surprised how much little gestures of kindness can do to change the life of someone you care about!

If you are the isolated veteran, most of you are spending time watching TV. Stop watching news all day long. Stop watching war movies or with violence in them. Find comedies to lift your spirits. If you have hobbies, DO THEM! Keep busy and tackle projects you have put off.

James Craig “Doc” Glynn, Stolen Valor spoke at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery

Combating Stolen Valor: Why this disservice to veterans remains an ongoing problem

Florida Today
By John McCarthy
March 4, 2020

In a 2014 FLORIDA TODAY story about Port St. John veteran Melvin Morris being awarded the Medal of Honor, Glynn was quoted as having been with Morris in Vietnam on the mission that earned him the medal. Glynn’s military records show he was in basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky at the time.

In Florida, it is a felony to falsely claim military service while soliciting for charitable contributions or for the purpose of material gain.

During a ceremony at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery last March honoring Vietnam veterans, a Vietnam veteran with an impressive military record delivered the invocation.

James Craig “Doc” Glynn was introduced as a retired Green Beret medic and Army master sergeant who served in Vietnam and later in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The audience was told Glynn was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, 10 Bronze Stars and nine Purple Hearts, among other military commendations.

Glynn did serve in Vietnam as a medic, but the rest is not true. His military service ended in 1972, and the years since have included prison time for fraud and forgery.

Military veterans have a term for lying about military service as Glynn has done: Stolen Valor.
read it here