Vietnam Veterans of America’s National Leadership Conference in Orlando

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release
August 2, 2010
No. 10-017

Contact:
Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146

Entertainer Vikki Carr To Receive Award
At Vietnam Veterans of America’s National Leadership Conference

(Washington, D.C.) – Vikki Carr, one of the most popular and accomplished entertainers in the United States, will receive the VVA President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts on Saturday, August 14, in Orlando, Florida. The honor will be presented at the conference’s final event, the Awards Banquet, at the Rosen Centre, the site of the Leadership Conference.

Ms. Carr, who has won three Grammy Awards and has released more than 60 best-selling recordings, will be honored for her visit to Vietnam in 1966 with the actor and comedian Danny Kaye, and for her long, distinguished entertainment career in radio, television, film, music and theater.

The Leadership Conference brings together hundreds of Vietnam veteran advocates from around the nation. They will take part in four days of seminars, meetings, and other activities. Opening Ceremonies will be held Wednesday, August 11, at 8:45 am.

In keeping with VVA’s founding principle, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” members of Veterans of Modern Warfare, dedicated to serving our nation’s most recent veterans, will join Vietnam veterans in their leadership training. VVA’s supporting organization, the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, will hold its biennial convention and national elections concurrently with the Leadership Conference. More information on Vietnam Veterans of America and this event can be found at www.vva.org

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

Many veterans in San Francisco back home without a hope

Many veterans in San Francisco back home without a hope
By: Mike Aldax
August 8, 2010

Many return home with post-trauma symptoms, a debilitating injury and an inability to readjust to normalcy after leaving for war as a child and returning as an adult. Some turn to suicide — a recent Veterans Affairs report revealed that as many as 18 veterans try to take their own lives each day in the U.S. Seven percent of those attempts are successful and 11 percent of those will try again within nine months, the report said.

Kevin Crane wants to be perfectly clear: He doesn’t have one bad comment about the U.S. military.

The 33-year-old veteran said he knew very well what he signed up for when he joined the U.S. Army after 9/11. He said he is proud of the brave souls who protect their country. Salutes are in order, he said.

Even though Crane left the service with a back injury, the responsibility to care for his kids while his ex-wife was serving in Iraq — and the struggle of competing in a tight job market — the vet, who recently emerged from homelessness in The City, refuses to badmouth the armed forces.

“There’s an old saying, ‘If the military wants you to have a family, they’d issue you one,’” Crane said.

Frank Knowlton will not talk trash, either. At 61, he still waves the American flag proudly.


Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: Many veterans in San Francisco back home without a hope

Faith and french fries

Faith and french fries
The journey to Northland Church

by
Chaplain Kathie

The church back home in Massachusetts was my home. I was baptized there as an infant, attended Sunday school then taught it, sang in the choir, volunteered for just about everything going on ending up serving on a board, got married there twice and then had my daughter baptized there, watched her go to Sunday school until she graduated and never once really thought about leaving. I belonged there. I knew just about everyone.

When it came time to move to Florida, the last thing on my "to do list" was finding a church. I managed to find a Greek Orthodox church not too far from home, but in central Florida, there really aren't that many. I went most Sundays but never felt like I belonged there. Soon I became a CEO. The same kind of people I used to complain about attending church during Christmas and Easter Only, became me. I didn't lose my faith but I was no longer filled.

Then I was hire by a Presbyterian church as Administrator of Christian Education. The youth Pastor was a darling woman. Her face lit up when she sang or delivered the children's message with the kids surrounding her. I loved my job. I got to sing and dance twice a week with the pre-school kids during chapel. I got to tell the kids about what Christ had done for me and shared the love I felt. It was a wonderful job but since I had two services on Sunday, attending my church was not possible. When I lost my job, I tried to go back to the Greek Church but there was something missing. I reverted back to being a CEO.

Working with the veterans and their families is very spiritually rewarding but draining at times. I need to be filled but I also have a need to find a church where they want to get involved in taking care of veterans. Last year I visited over 20 churches trying to get them involved but only heard back from one of them. The pastor who called me was a chaplain and understood what I wanted to do but he was going to a different church out of state. I decided to stop waiting for a newspaper report to cover a local story of a church getting involved and started to visit churches to see what their services were. At least this way I figured I could maybe find a place where I felt I belonged.

Today I picked Northland Church in Longwood FL. It's one of those mega size churches. I heard a lot about Northland because of their involvement in the community. So this morning as a famous Florida thunderstorm decided to open up, I headed to church for the 11:00 service. I came close to the intersection near the church and saw cars lined up to pull into the parking lot. That was impressive in itself because it was really pouring out.

Sitting in line I was watching several cars try to cut in line and other people just let them do it. No honking horns or fingers flying up in the air. They just let them do it. There were people in rain slickers directing traffic, which was a unique experience for me considering I had not been to a service that size before.

There was someone there to great me, handed me a newspaper size bulletin and I was welcomed. I found a seat not too far from the stage where I could get a good view of not just the band, singers and pastor, but could get a view of the congregation as well. It was a blend of young and old. At first I thought I was attending a rock concert with Christ tossed in but people responded wonderfully. Then after a prayer, Pastor Joel took to the stage and after listening to his preaching, there was no more wondering why he is so highly regarded.

He delivered a powerful message of being a Christian for the sake of Christ and not for ourselves. That Christ didn't come just to get us into Heaven, but to get Heaven into the earth and He was doing that through all of us. Pastor Joel talked about how important it was when we talked to others and how we should do it with love. Then came the message I wanted to shout out "Amen" to. That we could change the world and we were doing it everyday.

My family always said I wanted to change the world and I always wondered what was wrong with that. What's wrong with wanting to change what you believe is wrong when it is to help someone else? The rest of his sermon was wonderful. I have a feeling I'll be going back there again.

On the drive home, my stomach was growling, so I stopped by McDonalds and ordered a number one (Big Mac and fries) I knew I'd be hungry enough to eat most of it. The smell of the fries got to me and while I was driving, I reached into the bag and started stuffing my mouth with them. They were hot and fresh. You can always tell when they are right out of the fryer instead of sitting under the heat lamp. Delicious! Then I thought about the message I heard less than fifteen minutes before. Changing the world and doing it with love.

My faith had gotten stale. While it was still made up of the same ingredients, it was just sitting there in a heat lamp instead of being fresh out of the fryer full of texture, life and flavor. Instead of warming my tongue it started to just lay there while I tried to chew what I had bitten off. Fresh fries make me want to savor the flavor as long as possible and even after they are gone there is an aroma in the air reminding me of something I enjoy.

Doing what I do and tracking all these depressing stories of suffering, there comes a story that renews my hope and my strength comes back. I need them like a drug to give me a rush of "good" again. Yet even with those stories, bad tends to outweigh the good and I come crashing into a world of sadness wondering what the hell I'm doing here if no one is listening and not much changes.

I've been in such a dark place spiritually and financially that I haven't been able to make any videos lately except for the Memorial Day one I made for some friends to play at their church. My ministry continued but there was something missing inside of me. I lost my flavor for it. It doesn't matter how much faith any of us have if we stop feeding it. I was starving my soul and needed to be fed again. I did end up eating all of my lunch and felt filled up again but now I wonder if it was more about what I left Northland with and not what I left McDonalds with?

Many working to ease vet burdens again?

For the love of God please tell me that they are not just rediscovering this now? They were doing this at the Bedford VA hospital in Massachusetts in the 80's and 90's! When did they stop doing this?

PTSD is complicated and comes with a lot of other problems. One of the biggest complications is discovering if clinicians are dealing with substance addictions or abuse. Big difference. Some are addicted to the chemicals of alcohol and street drugs. Others are looking for the relief they find with the chemicals, trying to get numb so they don't feel anything. Then there are others with PTSD and addiction. If they are not addicted to alcohol or drugs, then treating them as if they are will not work. They have to be treated for PTSD. If they are addicted then treating them for PTSD won't work. If they have dual diagnosis then they have to be treated for both. This isn't new. They knew this over 30 years ago. In patient Rehabs were addressing what needed to be addressed on an individual basis and they were kept there for about a month so that by the time they were released, the clinicians knew exactly what they were dealing with.

HELP AND HOPE
Many working to ease vet burdens
Groups adjust treatments to address PTSD and substance abuse
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Increased attention, services and studies are being focused on veterans who are struggling with personal burdens from deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and other international trouble spots.

The Veterans Administration -- often seen as a lumbering bureaucratic bogeyman; the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and other organizations are making concerted efforts to meet the needs of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse problems.

VA facilities are now adjusting treatments for PTSD and alcohol and drug abuse, said Rebecca Croff, chief of the Psychology Section and director of the Mental Health Clinic at the Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit.

"We realize they have to be treated at the same time," Croff said.

Read more: Many working to ease vet burdens freep.com Detroit Free Press Many working to ease vet burdens

3 US service members killed in Afghanistan

NATO: 3 US service members killed in Afghanistan
By HEIDI VOGT (AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Three US service members were killed in recent attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military coalition said Sunday.

All three died Saturday, bringing the day's death toll for NATO to five.

Two of the Americans died in an insurgent attack, while the third was killed by a bomb blast, NATO said in statements. The military coalition did not provide further details.

The Danish government previously announced two of its soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle struck a bomb in southern Helmand province.
read more here
3 US service members killed in Afghanistan

Charlie Company Marine finds future after falling apart

Charlie Company's Lance Cpl. Andrew Tetloff may just have managed to save some lives by talking about this. He could have kept his life more of a secret than talking about it and played it safe but he did a remarkable job of telling his story, telling what he did wrong and why he did it, taking responsibility and how he is moving on. His character was still there and so many people stepped up to help him and yes, forgive him, that it proved what can happen when people have support. Justice is not just about locking people up but taking a look at their lives. When it comes to someone in the military, their past does matter. No history of problems but back from war suddenly they are getting into trouble screaming "help me" and veterans' courts are trying to address this. This is a great article to read.

Aug. 8, 2010
Marine finds a future after falling apart
Supporters help him out of addiction, into success
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


MIDLAND -- Going from combat camo and Kevlar armor as a Marine in the Middle East to an orange jumpsuit, chains and shackles as a defendant back home was a hellacious four-month journey for Andrew Tetloff.

"We got off that bus, and there was all this screaming and cheering," Tetloff recalled of the parade he and his comrades received in Lansing after returning from their deployment. "It was one of the best moments of my life -- if not the best."

That was late April 2007, and Lance Cpl. Tetloff, of Charlie Company, 1/24th U.S. Marine Reserves, was home after seven months in the middle of violent Fallujah, Iraq.

"Then it was, 'OK, you're done,' " now what? he said.

By early September 2007, scared, strung out on opiates and struggling to readjust to life stateside, a 22-year-old Tetloff was snatching money from startled customers at a Midland ATM. Quickly arrested, he immediately owned up to the crimes and soon stood ashamed before a Midland County judge, pleading guilty and accepting the blame and punishment.

Tetloff's story is not a cautionary tale of a good Marine gone bad. It is, instead, a story of one young man's struggles, his rebound and his unusual allies.

go here for the rest
Marine finds a future after falling apart

RELATED INFORMATION
Reconnecting with Band of Brothers

They've become cops, rebuilt businesses, trained allies overseas, gone to school, re-enlisted and returned to quiet civilian lives.

With today's article, the Free Press begins an occasional series reconnecting with Michigan's Band of Brothers -- all Marine Reserves -- their families and friends who shared their lives with readers and online viewers.

Throughout their 2006-07 deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, the Free Press followed the men and families of the 1/24th Marine Reserves through combat, holidays, struggles, triumphs, memorials and homecomings with written stories and videos.

The stories of Michigan's Band of Brothers were honored with a national Emmy for current events.

In the weeks and months ahead, the Free Press will be presenting some of those same men and their families as they are today.

Joe Swickard



Read more: Marine finds a future after falling apart freep.com Detroit Free Press Reconnecting with Band of Brothers

A Cheerful Heart Does Good Like a Medicine

My adorable friend Lily over at Healing Combat Trauma , just did it again. She wrote a great piece on the families part in helping veterans heal. If you want to know what she wrote about me, you'll just have to click the link and finish reading it yourself because frankly she gave me too much credit.

While it is true I did what I did because I loved my husband and still do, (we're going on 26 married in September) it was because of what I knew about my husband and his character that I saw veterans through different eyes. I adore all of them.

Lily and I had a discussion about the difference between victim and survivor. What we need to do is see these men and women as survivors of what few other humans have been through. Then maybe we'll understand them better and know how to help more than sit back, feel sorry for them, complain about them and walk away a lot less. With over 300 million people less than one percent of the population serve today and while we have about 24 million veterans in this country, less than that are combat veterans. Understanding them, helping them and their families will in turn help the rest of the population living with PTSD.

Doubt it? Then think about the fact when Vietnam veterans came home there was nothing there for them when they needed help to heal from what used to be called "shell shock" and they were on their own. What they did was fight for the research to help them heal. That research lead to psychologist, mental health workers, more research into trauma and yes, even Chaplains trained in crisis intervention. So much came out of what they did that it is impossible to come close to all the mental health advances made over the last 40 years that did cannot be tied back to them.

How we treat our veterans and the troops will spread into how we all treat each other after traumatic events. It will help everyone understand that the part of the marriage vow of "in sickness and health" does not always come with a physical illness but often with an emotional one. It will help communities join together to help each other the way things used to be when everyone knew their neighbor and could count on them. Our future depends on how we treat these unselfish people willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the rest of us.

Marriages don't have to end. Kids don't have to grow up hating their parent because they don't understand why they act the way they do or blame themselves for it. They don't have to kill themselves or ever reach the point of hopelessness their only option seems to end their lives. None of this has to happen if people would only look at these men and women as survivors of something horrible.

August 06, 2010
A Cheerful Heart Does Good Like a Medicine: The Struggles of Living with PTSD...in Your Spouse
by
Lily Casura
I went to a retreat recently for combat veterans and their families. The retreat is in its third or fourth year of existence, and did a fine job with its core mission, which was providing community for veterans who had lost the camaraderie they'd experienced with other vets in combat. In theory it would also have been a supportive experience for family members who ordinarily might not find anyone else to talk with about living with and loving a combat veteran. PTSD wasn't the focus by any means -- it rarely came up -- but of course because of the demographic, many of the people at the retreat were struggling with the experience of having, or living with, someone with combat-based PTSD. And since the focus of the retreat was building community, not therapeutic counseling, the PTSD topic was somewhat of the elephant in the room, at least to me. So many people experiencing it, on one side of the aisle or another (veteran or spouse), yet few addressing it directly and certainly no one officially.
read more here
A Cheerful Heart Does Good Like a Medicine

After three wars, veteran finally honored for years of service

Mt. Selman veteran finally honored for years of service

By Jamey Boyum
MOUNT SELMAN, TX (KLTV) - Robert Littlefield served the United States during three wars and Friday was finally honored for all the years he dedicated to his country. A representative with Congressman Hensarling's office and the Veteran's Administration went to his home for the presentation, along side his family.

"We're here to present you with your medals and I think Phillip here has a flag for you and its for your time in service," said David Thomason, a Veteran Service Officer, beginning the presentation.

Littlefield gave 24 years of service, starting in the Navy back in 1942, then, on to Korea and Vietnam in the Air Force. He was an aviator, using early navigation equipment in flight, and eventually became a master sergeant during his time in Vietnam. His medals include the National Defense Medal, the American Campaign Medal, The Asian Pacific Campaign, and the World War II Victory Medal.
read more here
Veteran finally honored for years of service

Virginia Army National Guardsman awarded Soldier's Medal

Guardsman earns medal for saving lives

Staff and wire reports
Posted : Saturday Aug 7, 2010 10:50:30 EDT

A member of the Virginia Army National Guard has received the Soldier’s Medal for heroism after a boating accident on the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia.

Chief Warrant Officer Clifford Bauman received the Soldier’s Medal on July 24 for saving the lives of three men during the October 2009 incident.

The award is the Army’s highest for noncombat-related actions.

Bauman is serving an active-duty tour with the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
read more here
Guardsman earns medal for saving lives

Veteran's charity chief used stolen identity

Veteran's charity chief used stolen identity while misdirecting funds to GOP
Alysse Dalessandro
Aug 6th 2010 at 6:00PM

A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for the former director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, a man known as "Bobby Thompson" whom investigators now believe used a stolen identity to commit widespread fraud.

"The real Bobby Thompson, whose identity was stolen, including his Social Security number and date of birth, has absolutely no connection to the U.S. Navy Veterans Association,"

See full article from WalletPop: Veterans charity chief used stolen identity