November 21, 2008
Followup: Readers respond to unemployed single mom's story
At least six people want to interview Annie Lesso for a job.
Dozens more want to donate money to her and help her give her kids Christmas. Others want to give her advice.
Dozens of readers reacted to Lesso's story, which appeared in the St. Petersburg Times Friday, and detailed her plight trying to get a job in the current economy.
Lesso, a 45-year-old widow, was laid off Oct. 1 from her job as an airline manager. She has sent out 200 resumes and has not received one reply.
"There have been many articles in the Times that I wanted to respond to and offer some assistance,'' wrote Sandi Ford of St. Petersburg. "I had to respond to this one because it hit so close to home. I have been a single working mother most of my adult life and have been laid off twice so I know what Annie Lesso is going through. I felt exactly the way she does - that my faith would get me through - and it did.''
Several said they might have a job opportunity for Lesso. One paramedic company wanted to interview her for a management position that paid $45,000, the same amount she was making before she was laid off.
Another wanted to talk to her about a new career. "Your story about Annie Lesso was compelling and made me cry,'' wrote Lynne Herrick of Valrico, a district sales manager at American Family Life Assurance Co. "I have been a single mom and know the emotional strain it can put on you, knowing you are the provider of your children and yet through all of this she relies on God and is reaching out to others in her church. What an amazing woman!''
Related content:Lesso's struggles show job crisis is far-reaching
Friday, November 21, 2008
Angel to homeless, Brenden Foster died in his mom's arms
May the Good Lord comfort Wendy and Brenden's family. This little angel changed the world for the better.
Brenden Foster: 'I had a great time'
Brenden Foster, who inspired countless people around the world with his wish to feed the homeless, died early Friday in his mother's arms. He was 11. Read more »
By Elisa Jaffe BOTHELL, Wash. -- The day I met Brenden Foster, I met an old soul in an 11 year old's body.
"I should be gone in a week or so," he said calmly.
When I asked him what he thought were the best things in life, Brenden said, "Just having one."
I didn't understand how this child, who was a year younger than my own son, could be so courageous facing death.
"It happens. It's natural," Brenden told me.
Three years ago, doctors diagnosed Brenden with leukemia. The boy who once rushed through homework so he could play outside found himself confined to a bed. But there was no confining his spirit.
"I had a great time. And until my time comes, I'm going to keep having a great time," he said.
Brenden's selfless dying wish was to help the homeless.
"They're probably starving, so give'em a chance," he said, "food and water."
But Brenden was too ill to feed them on his own. So volunteers from Emerald City Lights Bike Ride passed out some 200 sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle.
Then Brenden's last wish took on a life of its own.
A TV station in Los Angeles held a food drive. School kids in Ohio collected cans. People in Pensacola, Florida gathered goods.
And here in Western Washington, KOMO viewers from all over took part in the Stuff the Truck food drive in Brenden's honor. Hundreds with generous hearts donated six and a half huge truck loads of groceries and more than $60,000 in cash to benefit Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline.
Brenden touched hearts all over the world. His wish came true, and he lived to see it.
"He had the joy of seeing all of the beautiful response to his last wish," said his grandmother, Patricia McMorrow. "It gives him great peace and he knows that his life has meaning."
"He's left a legacy and he's only 11," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's done more than most people dream of doing just by making a wish."
click link for more
Related Content
Hundreds help grant Brenden Foster's wish
Watch the story
Dying boy inspires goodwill in people near and far
Watch the story
Boy shares heartbreaking last wish
Watch the story
Brenden Foster: 'I had a great time'
Brenden Foster, who inspired countless people around the world with his wish to feed the homeless, died early Friday in his mother's arms. He was 11. Read more »
By Elisa Jaffe BOTHELL, Wash. -- The day I met Brenden Foster, I met an old soul in an 11 year old's body.
"I should be gone in a week or so," he said calmly.
When I asked him what he thought were the best things in life, Brenden said, "Just having one."
I didn't understand how this child, who was a year younger than my own son, could be so courageous facing death.
"It happens. It's natural," Brenden told me.
Three years ago, doctors diagnosed Brenden with leukemia. The boy who once rushed through homework so he could play outside found himself confined to a bed. But there was no confining his spirit.
"I had a great time. And until my time comes, I'm going to keep having a great time," he said.
Brenden's selfless dying wish was to help the homeless.
"They're probably starving, so give'em a chance," he said, "food and water."
But Brenden was too ill to feed them on his own. So volunteers from Emerald City Lights Bike Ride passed out some 200 sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle.
Then Brenden's last wish took on a life of its own.
A TV station in Los Angeles held a food drive. School kids in Ohio collected cans. People in Pensacola, Florida gathered goods.
And here in Western Washington, KOMO viewers from all over took part in the Stuff the Truck food drive in Brenden's honor. Hundreds with generous hearts donated six and a half huge truck loads of groceries and more than $60,000 in cash to benefit Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline.
Brenden touched hearts all over the world. His wish came true, and he lived to see it.
"He had the joy of seeing all of the beautiful response to his last wish," said his grandmother, Patricia McMorrow. "It gives him great peace and he knows that his life has meaning."
"He's left a legacy and he's only 11," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's done more than most people dream of doing just by making a wish."
click link for more
Related Content
Hundreds help grant Brenden Foster's wish
Watch the story
Dying boy inspires goodwill in people near and far
Watch the story
Boy shares heartbreaking last wish
Watch the story
Marine from Miami non-combat death in Iraq
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Gunnery Sgt. Marcelo R. Velasco, 40, of Miami, died Nov. 19 from injuries sustained in a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I MEF, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The incident is currently under investigation.
Viewers could have saved teen as they watched him die online
This is to all the people who watched this teenager die.
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? What would it have cost you if you contacted the police to let them know what you were seeing even if he was faking? Would it have cost you anything at all? What's wrong? Were you afraid some of the other people on line would have made fun of you if you were wrong but reacted as any decent, normal human being would have? The medical examiner said that if someone had picked up a phone and reported it, his life could have been saved but all of you just watched him die debating if he took enough pills or if he really did want to die. How horrible are you? Do you feel any shame? Remorse?
Is it because he's a stranger? Well I have news for you. So is everyone else you're online with.
I spend my days trying to save the lives of people who want to die because they have lost hope. They are all strangers but they are people who need help and then I go into CNN to see this! There is no excuse for any of you that would ever make this right. The difference between me and you is that I can go to bed at night knowing I did what I could everyday to make a difference in a stranger's life but you get to go to bed knowing someone took their own life while you watched and did nothing.
UPDATE ON THIS STORY
Teen Commits Suicide Live on Web
By RASHA MADKOUR, AP
Nov. 22) -The family of a college student who killed himself live on the Internet say they're horrified his life ended before a virtual audience, and infuriated that viewers of the live webcam or operators of the Web site that hosted it didn't act sooner to save him.
Only after police arrived to find Abraham Biggs dead in his father's bed did the Web feed stop Wednesday — 12 hours after the 19-year-old Broward College student first declared on a Web site that he hated himself and planned to die.
"It didn't have to be," said the victim's sister, Rosalind Bigg. "They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours."
Biggs announced his plans to kill himself over a Web site for bodybuilders, authorities said. He posted a link from there to Justin.tv, a site that allows users to broadcast live videos from their webcams.
go here for more
http://news.aol.com/article/teen-commits-suicide-live-on-web/256594?icid=200100397x1213345890x1200878860
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? What would it have cost you if you contacted the police to let them know what you were seeing even if he was faking? Would it have cost you anything at all? What's wrong? Were you afraid some of the other people on line would have made fun of you if you were wrong but reacted as any decent, normal human being would have? The medical examiner said that if someone had picked up a phone and reported it, his life could have been saved but all of you just watched him die debating if he took enough pills or if he really did want to die. How horrible are you? Do you feel any shame? Remorse?
Is it because he's a stranger? Well I have news for you. So is everyone else you're online with.
I spend my days trying to save the lives of people who want to die because they have lost hope. They are all strangers but they are people who need help and then I go into CNN to see this! There is no excuse for any of you that would ever make this right. The difference between me and you is that I can go to bed at night knowing I did what I could everyday to make a difference in a stranger's life but you get to go to bed knowing someone took their own life while you watched and did nothing.
Officials: Teen commits suicide on webcam as others watch
Story Highlights
Some urged him to take more drugs; others debated whether he had used enough
Hours passed before someone notified authorities, officials say
Teen had a history of depression; posted suicide note online
Dad laments that no one gave him "the assistance that he was crying out for"
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- With his webcam trained on him, a Florida teenager died in his bed of a drug overdose while others watched over the Internet, officials said Friday.
Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said it was clear that the teen committed suicide.
Some of those watching urged him to take more drugs while others debated whether he had taken enough to kill himself. Hours passed before someone finally notified authorities that he appeared lifeless, officials said.
The teenager was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon in Pembroke Pines, Florida, said Wendy Crane, investigator for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office.
The cause of death was found to be an overdose of benzodiazepine, an antidepressant, as well as other opiate drugs used to treat depression, Crane said. CNN is not reporting the teenager's name.
The youth's body was found in his apartment behind a locked door, which police broke down. Police turned off the webcam and computer, Crane said.Watch CNN's John Zarrella detail the webcam suicide »
The story
With his webcam trained on him, a Florida teenager died in his bed of a drug overdose while others watched over the Internet, officials said Friday.
Some of those watching urged him to take more drugs while others debated whether he had taken enough to kill himself. Hours passed before someone finally notified authorities that he appeared lifeless, officials said.
The teenager was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon in Pembroke Pines, Florida, said Wendy Crane, investigator for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office.
UPDATE ON THIS STORY
Teen Commits Suicide Live on Web
By RASHA MADKOUR, AP
Nov. 22) -The family of a college student who killed himself live on the Internet say they're horrified his life ended before a virtual audience, and infuriated that viewers of the live webcam or operators of the Web site that hosted it didn't act sooner to save him.
Only after police arrived to find Abraham Biggs dead in his father's bed did the Web feed stop Wednesday — 12 hours after the 19-year-old Broward College student first declared on a Web site that he hated himself and planned to die.
"It didn't have to be," said the victim's sister, Rosalind Bigg. "They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours."
Biggs announced his plans to kill himself over a Web site for bodybuilders, authorities said. He posted a link from there to Justin.tv, a site that allows users to broadcast live videos from their webcams.
go here for more
http://news.aol.com/article/teen-commits-suicide-live-on-web/256594?icid=200100397x1213345890x1200878860
Substance abuse numbers higher, but not drug counselors
The military seems to have a habit of making things go from bad to worse. First they don't do enough to get the soldiers to understand what PTSD, then they do, along with people stepping up across the nation, then they don't have enough people to take care of them. Then they want them to stop using drugs to kill off what they don't want to feel, but yet again, not enough people to take care of them. Like I said, it's like they're trying to hold off a tsunami with a beach shovel!
More soldiers seeking drug abuse help
By Gregg Zoroya - USA TODAY
Posted : Friday Nov 21, 2008 6:48:57 EST
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The number of soldiers seeking help for substance abuse has climbed 25 percent in the past five years, but the Army’s counseling program has remained significantly understaffed and struggling to meet the demand, Army records show.
About 13,500 soldiers sought drug counseling this year and 7,200 soldiers were diagnosed with an abuse or dependency issue and enrolled in counseling, according to Army data. That compares with 11,170 soldiers reporting to drug counseling in 2003, when 5,727 enrolled.
Army records show 2.38 percent of all soldiers had positive results on routine drug urinalysis screening, a 10-year record. In 2004, when combat troops returned from Iraq in large numbers, 1.72 percent had positive results.
The Army requires one drug counselor for every 2,000 soldiers, yet is currently operating with one for 3,100 soldiers, a chronic shortage exacerbated by the increase in substance abuse cases.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/gns_drughelp_112108/
National Resource Directory For Wounded Warriors, Families And Caregivers
Department of Defense Launches National Resource Directory For Wounded Warriors, Families And Caregivers
The Department of Defense today launched the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.
The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them.
“The directory is the visible demonstration of our national will and commitment to make the journey from ‘survive to thrive’ a reality for those who have given so much. As new links are added each day by providers and partners, coverage from coast to coast will grow even greater ensuring that no part of that journey will ever be made alone,” said Lynda C. Davis, Ph.D., deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.
Located at http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.org , the directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration.
“The VA is extremely proud to be a partner in this innovative resource. This combination of federal, state, and community-based resources will serve as a tremendous asset for all service members, veterans, their families and those who care for them. The community is essential to the successful reintegration of our veterans, and these groups greatly enhance the directory’s scope,” said Karen S. Guice, M.D., executive director, federal recovery care coordination program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The National Resource Directory will prove to be a valuable tool for wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families as they wind their way through the maze of benefits and services available to them in their transition to civilian life. The Department of Labor is pleased to have the opportunity to work with our partners at DoD,” said Charles S. Ciccolella, the assistant secretary of labor for the veterans’ employment and training service.
The National Resource Directory is organized into six major categories: Benefits and Compensation; Education, Training and Employment; Family and Caregiver Support; Health; Housing and Transportation; and Services and Resources. It also provides helpful checklists, Frequently Asked Questions, and connections to peer support groups. All information on the Web site can be found through a general or state and local search tool.
The National Resource Directory’s launch in November is a key feature of Warrior Care Month.
http://www.defenselink.mil/utility/printitem.aspx?print=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12357
The Department of Defense today launched the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.
The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them.
“The directory is the visible demonstration of our national will and commitment to make the journey from ‘survive to thrive’ a reality for those who have given so much. As new links are added each day by providers and partners, coverage from coast to coast will grow even greater ensuring that no part of that journey will ever be made alone,” said Lynda C. Davis, Ph.D., deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.
Located at http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.org , the directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration.
“The VA is extremely proud to be a partner in this innovative resource. This combination of federal, state, and community-based resources will serve as a tremendous asset for all service members, veterans, their families and those who care for them. The community is essential to the successful reintegration of our veterans, and these groups greatly enhance the directory’s scope,” said Karen S. Guice, M.D., executive director, federal recovery care coordination program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The National Resource Directory will prove to be a valuable tool for wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families as they wind their way through the maze of benefits and services available to them in their transition to civilian life. The Department of Labor is pleased to have the opportunity to work with our partners at DoD,” said Charles S. Ciccolella, the assistant secretary of labor for the veterans’ employment and training service.
The National Resource Directory is organized into six major categories: Benefits and Compensation; Education, Training and Employment; Family and Caregiver Support; Health; Housing and Transportation; and Services and Resources. It also provides helpful checklists, Frequently Asked Questions, and connections to peer support groups. All information on the Web site can be found through a general or state and local search tool.
The National Resource Directory’s launch in November is a key feature of Warrior Care Month.
http://www.defenselink.mil/utility/printitem.aspx?print=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12357
Col. James C. Burris, Vietnam War veteran passed away at 78
Col. James C. Burris, Vietnam War veteran
Baltimore Sun - United States
November 21, 2008
Col. James Curtis Burris, a highly decorated career Army officer who fought in the Vietnam War, died Nov. 13 at his Havre de Grace home of cancers related to exposure to Agent Orange. He was 78.
Colonel Burris, who was born and raised in Tulsa, Okla., graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1948.
Born into a military family, Colonel Burris was the grandson of two Civil War veterans and the son of a World War I veteran. He enlisted in the Army in 1948 and was selected to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1954.
Assigned to the infantry, he served in Korea and South and Central America. He completed three combat tours of duty in Vietnam during the 1960s, where he was a combat leader with the 101st Infantry Division. During his 25 years of service, Colonel Burris held numerous command assignments throughout the world.
He was decorated for valor and heroism during combat with two Bronze Stars, three Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, a Distinguished Flying Cross and 39 Air Medals for combat assaults in Vietnam.
Other decorations included the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist's Badge, plus numerous decorations from foreign governments.
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Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected
Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected
Target 11 Investigates Treatment Gaps
A recent study was highly critical of the care the soldiers are receiving when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Target 11 talked to a local soldier who said the military turned its back on him.
Robert Reeb spent the past 17 years in the military.
In the summer of 2006, he returned from Iraq and that's when his troubles began.
"I started using inhalants, and anything I could," said Reeb.
Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland.
But halfway through, the treatment program was cut off -- Reeb was ordered back to Pennsylvania and discharged under honorable conditions.
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard said Reeb was given numerous chances, but repeated problems eventually led to his discharge. But a recent survey by the RAND corporation uncovered troubling statistics about the treatment soldiers returning from battle receive.
While some 300,000 soldiers suffer from PTSD, the study revealed only half who need it are getting treated and of those, slightly more than half received care labeled "minimally adequate".
Terri Tanielian conducted the study and said the military can do better.
"There are a number of opportunities that exist within the Department of Defense and the VA where there are tools and settings where you would hope and expect that higher quality care would be delivered," said Tanielian.
Congressman Jason Altmire agrees it's a big problem.
"It's a problem with the quality of care they are getting," said Altmire.
Altmire believes the situation facing Reeb and other soldiers is preventable.
"Certainly he did not get the treatment on the front end that he should have. And unfortunately he took a downward spiral and his life went in a different direction," said Altmire.
go here for more
http://www.wpxi.com/news/18010844/detail.html
Target 11 Investigates Treatment Gaps
A recent study was highly critical of the care the soldiers are receiving when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Target 11 talked to a local soldier who said the military turned its back on him.
Robert Reeb spent the past 17 years in the military.
In the summer of 2006, he returned from Iraq and that's when his troubles began.
"I started using inhalants, and anything I could," said Reeb.
Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland.
But halfway through, the treatment program was cut off -- Reeb was ordered back to Pennsylvania and discharged under honorable conditions.
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard said Reeb was given numerous chances, but repeated problems eventually led to his discharge. But a recent survey by the RAND corporation uncovered troubling statistics about the treatment soldiers returning from battle receive.
While some 300,000 soldiers suffer from PTSD, the study revealed only half who need it are getting treated and of those, slightly more than half received care labeled "minimally adequate".
Terri Tanielian conducted the study and said the military can do better.
"There are a number of opportunities that exist within the Department of Defense and the VA where there are tools and settings where you would hope and expect that higher quality care would be delivered," said Tanielian.
Congressman Jason Altmire agrees it's a big problem.
"It's a problem with the quality of care they are getting," said Altmire.
Altmire believes the situation facing Reeb and other soldiers is preventable.
"Certainly he did not get the treatment on the front end that he should have. And unfortunately he took a downward spiral and his life went in a different direction," said Altmire.
go here for more
http://www.wpxi.com/news/18010844/detail.html
Decorated Marine one day, in jail another
How War Ravages the Warrior
Reported by: Sean Carroll
Email: scarroll@13wham.com
Last Update: 11/20 9:28 pm
(Caledonia, N.Y. /Iraq) - The decorated Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq. He was in the Marines for 13 years. After Iraq, he returned home and served two years in prison--for a home-invasion assault he committed in Virginia.
"I'm here to defend my country and take part in a war on terrorism and then, unfortunately, I go and terrorize an American couple in their own home," Gianforte said.
Gianforte still says, as he did from the get-go, that he does not recall one moment of that attack.
"If I can do anything to keep someone else from having to go through this, than so be it," he said.
"Let me go through the hell so you don't have to."
Sergeant Gianforte's hell began in Fallujah with house-to-house combat searching for insurgents.
"Five weeks, inside a city, everyday you're in fire-fights, everyday you're losing friends…it's watching 13 of your friends get killed," he said.
With two tours under his belt, Caledonia's marine found himself at a Virginia Beach base training for a third deployment.
One night he hit the town with his buddies, drank a bit, then, with another Marine, bashed in the door of Dan and Debbie Shain’s home.
"They were accusing him of being a terrorist and that he killed people, and that they were going to kill him and his family," said Debbie Malone-Shain.
After a SWAT team pulled Gianforte off Dan Shain's beaten body, the decorated marine found himself in jail.
click post title for more
Reported by: Sean Carroll
Email: scarroll@13wham.com
Last Update: 11/20 9:28 pm
(Caledonia, N.Y. /Iraq) - The decorated Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq. He was in the Marines for 13 years. After Iraq, he returned home and served two years in prison--for a home-invasion assault he committed in Virginia.
"I'm here to defend my country and take part in a war on terrorism and then, unfortunately, I go and terrorize an American couple in their own home," Gianforte said.
Gianforte still says, as he did from the get-go, that he does not recall one moment of that attack.
"If I can do anything to keep someone else from having to go through this, than so be it," he said.
"Let me go through the hell so you don't have to."
Sergeant Gianforte's hell began in Fallujah with house-to-house combat searching for insurgents.
"Five weeks, inside a city, everyday you're in fire-fights, everyday you're losing friends…it's watching 13 of your friends get killed," he said.
With two tours under his belt, Caledonia's marine found himself at a Virginia Beach base training for a third deployment.
One night he hit the town with his buddies, drank a bit, then, with another Marine, bashed in the door of Dan and Debbie Shain’s home.
"They were accusing him of being a terrorist and that he killed people, and that they were going to kill him and his family," said Debbie Malone-Shain.
After a SWAT team pulled Gianforte off Dan Shain's beaten body, the decorated marine found himself in jail.
click post title for more
Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive
Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive
KFDA - Amarillo,TX,USA
Posted: Nov 20, 2008 10:48 PM EST
Searching for Osama Bin Ladin was his mission and bringing democracy to the less fortunate was his goal.
Every American is affected by the war in Afghanistan and Iraq in some way.
2001 Palo Duro graduate and Army Sergeant David Vasquez earned a purple heart during his first of four tours to Afghanistan and Iraq.
By telling his story he says he wants to help Americans understand the struggles and triumphs of fighting the enemy.
During his first tour Sergeant Vasquez says his platoon was asked to pull hair samples from dead Iraqis for DNA tests, in hopes of finding Osama Bin Ladin.
"You'd come across what I'd describe as a dead dog." He says,"A couple of times you'd be engaged by some diehards I guess you could say who, I think they were high on Opium because allot of the times when they would engage us they didn't seem that they were sober."
The hardest part for Vasquez was loosing fellow platoon members he calls his brothers.
"Having them killed was like having a two by four to the face but you still have a job to do."
And demonstrating the courage to continue on is why Vasquez says many of his fellow solider's developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
go here for video
Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive2:39
go here for more of story
http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=9390442
KFDA - Amarillo,TX,USA
Posted: Nov 20, 2008 10:48 PM EST
Searching for Osama Bin Ladin was his mission and bringing democracy to the less fortunate was his goal.
Every American is affected by the war in Afghanistan and Iraq in some way.
2001 Palo Duro graduate and Army Sergeant David Vasquez earned a purple heart during his first of four tours to Afghanistan and Iraq.
By telling his story he says he wants to help Americans understand the struggles and triumphs of fighting the enemy.
During his first tour Sergeant Vasquez says his platoon was asked to pull hair samples from dead Iraqis for DNA tests, in hopes of finding Osama Bin Ladin.
"You'd come across what I'd describe as a dead dog." He says,"A couple of times you'd be engaged by some diehards I guess you could say who, I think they were high on Opium because allot of the times when they would engage us they didn't seem that they were sober."
The hardest part for Vasquez was loosing fellow platoon members he calls his brothers.
"Having them killed was like having a two by four to the face but you still have a job to do."
And demonstrating the courage to continue on is why Vasquez says many of his fellow solider's developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
go here for video
Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive2:39
go here for more of story
http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=9390442
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