Vietnam vets honored with ceremony in Canonsburg
Legislators call awards 'overdue'
Thursday, August 19, 2010
By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
He wasn't born until five years after the last shots were fired in the Vietnam War, but state Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said he thought a formal thank you was "long overdue" for veterans who had been treated as anything but heroes.
"It's hard for me to grasp the politics that were going on at the time and how the vets were treated," said Mr. White, who co-sponsored an awards ceremony honoring Vietnam vets with state Rep. Timothy Solobay, D-Canonsburg.
About 167 local veterans, living and dead, were recognized at last Thursday's ceremony at Canon-McMillan High School.
None of the veterans interviewed for this story had been formally thanked or recognized previously.
Alex Nakoneczny, 60, a former Army corporal, of Houston, said he was shocked by the reception he received when he returned from Vietnam in August 1970.
"I couldn't figure that out," he said, recalling his first steps off a plane in San Francisco, where protesters were gathered. "They called us baby killers."
It's been 40 years since that day, and Mr. Nakoneczny and his contemporaries aren't bitter.
"This is a good thing," he said. "And good things are worth waiting for."
The more than 200 veterans and their families who gathered in the high school auditorium greeted a fellow soldier, Joshua Haines of Cecil, with thundering applause and a standing ovation that lasted 30 seconds.
The 22-year-old Army specialist and 2006 Canon-McMillan graduate recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq and was humbled by the recognition, especially because "the Vietnam vets were the first ones we saw when we got off the plane" on the return home, he said.
Read more: Vietnam vets honored with ceremony in Canonsburg
Thursday, August 19, 2010
4th Stryker brigade returns to cheers at Lewis McChord
End of an era as combat troops return to Lewis-McChord
By KOMO Staff and Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - A group of soldiers representing the last U.S. combat unit in Iraq has returned home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, marking the end of an era.
About 150 soldiers from the Army's 4th Stryker brigade marched into Soldiers Field House on Thursday morning.
The brigade's 2nd Infantry Division was officially designated the last combat brigade to leave Iraq under Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq.
Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the troops were leaving well ahead of President Barack Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/101082124.html
By KOMO Staff and Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - A group of soldiers representing the last U.S. combat unit in Iraq has returned home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, marking the end of an era.
About 150 soldiers from the Army's 4th Stryker brigade marched into Soldiers Field House on Thursday morning.
The brigade's 2nd Infantry Division was officially designated the last combat brigade to leave Iraq under Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq.
Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the troops were leaving well ahead of President Barack Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/101082124.html
Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD
Family Members: Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Family members said the man accused of shooting his two neighbors and then killing himself spent three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Police identified the gunman in Wednesday night’s shooting as 27-year-old Dennis Dugger.
Gwinnett County police said Dugger, who lived in the Indian Trail Apartment Homes, shot several rounds into the ceiling of his apartment leading into the victims’ apartment because he was upset with the amount of noise the couple was making.
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Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Family members said the man accused of shooting his two neighbors and then killing himself spent three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Police identified the gunman in Wednesday night’s shooting as 27-year-old Dennis Dugger.
Gwinnett County police said Dugger, who lived in the Indian Trail Apartment Homes, shot several rounds into the ceiling of his apartment leading into the victims’ apartment because he was upset with the amount of noise the couple was making.
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Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD
Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies learn about PTSD
Officers learn to deal with situations involving PTSD
By Kyle Martin
Staff Writer
Thursday, Aug 19, 2010
Fifteen months is a long time to fear that every piece of roadside garbage is going to explode or that a suicide bomber is tracking your Humvee.
Multiply that time by three or four deployments to Afghanistan or Iraq and it's easy to understand why returning servicemen and women have a hard time letting their guard down.
"I have soldiers in my (therapy) group who walk the perimeter of the room before sitting down," said Mwende Mualuko, a medical resident at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta. "They can't sit with their back to the door."
Mualuko was sharing her knowledge about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Wednesday morning with a small group of Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies. Helping her out with the presentation on how law enforcement can safely handle people with the disorder was Dr. Miriam Hancock, who also counsels patients at the PTSD clinic.
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Officers learn to deal with situations involving PTSD
By Kyle Martin
Staff Writer
Thursday, Aug 19, 2010
Fifteen months is a long time to fear that every piece of roadside garbage is going to explode or that a suicide bomber is tracking your Humvee.
Multiply that time by three or four deployments to Afghanistan or Iraq and it's easy to understand why returning servicemen and women have a hard time letting their guard down.
"I have soldiers in my (therapy) group who walk the perimeter of the room before sitting down," said Mwende Mualuko, a medical resident at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta. "They can't sit with their back to the door."
Mualuko was sharing her knowledge about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Wednesday morning with a small group of Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies. Helping her out with the presentation on how law enforcement can safely handle people with the disorder was Dr. Miriam Hancock, who also counsels patients at the PTSD clinic.
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Officers learn to deal with situations involving PTSD
Last U.S. combat forces crossed the border into Kuwait
The last U.S. combat forces cross the border into Kuwait, bringing Operation Iraqi Freedom to a close after nearly 7½ years. NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, reports live from the border.
Goodbye, Iraq: Last US Combat Brigade Exits
August 19, 2010
Associated Press
KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait -- A line of heavily armored American military vehicles, their headlights twinkling in the pre-dawn desert, lumbered past the barbed wire and metal gates marking the border between Iraq and Kuwait early Thursday and rolled into history.
For the troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism but lightened by the whoops and cheers of Soldiers one step closer to going home. Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Goodbye, Iraq: Last US Combat Brigade Exits
August 19, 2010
Associated Press
KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait -- A line of heavily armored American military vehicles, their headlights twinkling in the pre-dawn desert, lumbered past the barbed wire and metal gates marking the border between Iraq and Kuwait early Thursday and rolled into history.
For the troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism but lightened by the whoops and cheers of Soldiers one step closer to going home. Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd ID, was officially designated the last combat brigade to leave Iraq under Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana joined the troops on their final journey out of the country.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s parents will get day in court
Lawsuit against KBR over soldier's electrocution to go forward
By Lisa M. Novak
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 18, 2010
A lawsuit against military contractor KBR for the 2008 death of an Army Special Forces soldier will go forward, according to a ruling Tuesday by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal appeals court rejected KBR’s request to dismiss the wrongful death suit, brought by Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s parents in 2008. Maseth was electrocuted in January 2008 while showering at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, a facility maintained by KBR.
A Defense Department investigation concluded KBR did not properly ground the water pump which led to Maseth’s electrocution.
Prior to Maseth’s death, the company said it was never directed to perform repairs or upgrades in the building where he lived.
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Lawsuit against KBR
By Lisa M. Novak
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 18, 2010
A lawsuit against military contractor KBR for the 2008 death of an Army Special Forces soldier will go forward, according to a ruling Tuesday by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal appeals court rejected KBR’s request to dismiss the wrongful death suit, brought by Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s parents in 2008. Maseth was electrocuted in January 2008 while showering at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, a facility maintained by KBR.
A Defense Department investigation concluded KBR did not properly ground the water pump which led to Maseth’s electrocution.
Prior to Maseth’s death, the company said it was never directed to perform repairs or upgrades in the building where he lived.
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Lawsuit against KBR
Pit Viper bites man twice at Lowe's
Man hospitalized after viper bite at Ocala Lowe's store
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
10:21 p.m. EDT, August 17, 2010
A man was hospitalized Tuesday after he was bitten twice by a pit viper at a Lowe's Home Improvement store, an Ocala Fire Rescue official said.
Brigade Chief Brian Stoothoff said a man in his 40s was bitten twice on his left hand in the store's garden section. The man was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center and was expected to recover, Stoothoff said.
According to Stoothoff, the man was conscious when emergency crews responded to the store on Silver Springs Boulevard about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday.
Stoothoff said the venomous snake was caught and transported to the hospital with the patient so it could be identified, in case antivenin was necessary.
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Man hospitalized after viper bite at Ocala Lowes store
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
10:21 p.m. EDT, August 17, 2010
A man was hospitalized Tuesday after he was bitten twice by a pit viper at a Lowe's Home Improvement store, an Ocala Fire Rescue official said.
Brigade Chief Brian Stoothoff said a man in his 40s was bitten twice on his left hand in the store's garden section. The man was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center and was expected to recover, Stoothoff said.
According to Stoothoff, the man was conscious when emergency crews responded to the store on Silver Springs Boulevard about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday.
Stoothoff said the venomous snake was caught and transported to the hospital with the patient so it could be identified, in case antivenin was necessary.
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Man hospitalized after viper bite at Ocala Lowes store
Vietnam vet went from homeless shelter to Baghdad
Returning home from a war zone
Bayonne welcomes back 55-year-old vet
by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer
Aug 18, 2010
Willmont Griffin – often called “Griff” – is a Vietnam-era veteran even though his tour of duty only required him to serve in that country for two days. He was one of the U.S. Marines pulling terrified people into a CH-53 helicopter just before Saigon fell in April 1975 after Communist forces captured the city.
Thirty-five years later and now an airman with the New Jersey Air National Guard, Griffin returned home from another war zone, Iraq, his second tour of duty to a combat zone since leaving the U.S. Marines in 1977. He was recently named Legionnaire of the Year at the Bayonne American Legion Post.
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Returning home from a war zone
Bayonne welcomes back 55-year-old vet
by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer
Aug 18, 2010
Willmont Griffin – often called “Griff” – is a Vietnam-era veteran even though his tour of duty only required him to serve in that country for two days. He was one of the U.S. Marines pulling terrified people into a CH-53 helicopter just before Saigon fell in April 1975 after Communist forces captured the city.
Thirty-five years later and now an airman with the New Jersey Air National Guard, Griffin returned home from another war zone, Iraq, his second tour of duty to a combat zone since leaving the U.S. Marines in 1977. He was recently named Legionnaire of the Year at the Bayonne American Legion Post.
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Returning home from a war zone
Australia Veterans Support and Advocacy Service
Unsung heroes
18 Aug 10
By Judith Maizey
TURN the pages of veteran Gaven Thurlow’s old photo album and you won’t find a single shot of him in Vietnam.
You will find a few photos of him as a young soldier in uniform, but as part of his recovery from post traumatic stress disorder, the 59-year-old from Jimboomba burnt all the Vietnam pictures.
``I just got rid of them all, I burnt them all individually,’’ he said.
Attached to 161 Independent Reece Flight as an observer on Sioux helicopters, Mr Thurlow was posted to Vietnam in 1971 from January 14 to December 24, based at Nui Dat.
With the rank of staff sergeant, he was medically discharged from the regular army 29 years later for a range of psychological and physical problems on a full service pension.
As co-founder of the Veterans Support and Advocacy Service Australia group in Jimboomba, Mr Thurlow said he used to talk to other veterans about his worst times in Vietnam, but he did not do that any more.
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Unsung heroes
18 Aug 10
By Judith Maizey
TURN the pages of veteran Gaven Thurlow’s old photo album and you won’t find a single shot of him in Vietnam.
You will find a few photos of him as a young soldier in uniform, but as part of his recovery from post traumatic stress disorder, the 59-year-old from Jimboomba burnt all the Vietnam pictures.
``I just got rid of them all, I burnt them all individually,’’ he said.
Attached to 161 Independent Reece Flight as an observer on Sioux helicopters, Mr Thurlow was posted to Vietnam in 1971 from January 14 to December 24, based at Nui Dat.
With the rank of staff sergeant, he was medically discharged from the regular army 29 years later for a range of psychological and physical problems on a full service pension.
As co-founder of the Veterans Support and Advocacy Service Australia group in Jimboomba, Mr Thurlow said he used to talk to other veterans about his worst times in Vietnam, but he did not do that any more.
read more here
Unsung heroes
Another Judge says Stolen Valor is not a crime
A month ago it was a Colorado judge and now it is one out of California
Court says lying about Medal of Honor no crime
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle August 17, 2010 06:48 PM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
(08-17) 18:48 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal law making it a crime to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor or other military decorations violates freedom of speech, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Although a Southern California water board member convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act made "deliberate and despicable" claims that he had received the Medal of Honor, the Constitution prohibits the government from prosecuting someone for merely lying, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a 2-1 ruling.
"The right to speak and write whatever one chooses - including, to some degree, worthless, offensive and demonstrable untruths - without cowering in fear of a powerful government is, in our view, an essential component of the protection afforded by the First Amendment," Judge Milan Smith said in the majority opinion.
Read more: Court says lying about Medal of Honor no crime
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Judge rules Stolen Valor Act unconstitutionalBy Dan Elliott - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jul 16, 2010 19:14:54 EDT
DENVER — A law that makes it illegal to lie about being a war hero is unconstitutional because it violates free speech, a federal judge ruled Friday as he dismissed a case against a Colorado man who claimed he received two military medals.Rick Glen Strandlof claimed he was an ex-Marine who was wounded in Iraq and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star, but the military had no record he ever served. He was charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have won a military medal.U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn dismissed the case and said the law is unconstitutional, ruling the government did not show it has a compelling reason to restrict that type of statement.
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Court says lying about Medal of Honor no crime
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle August 17, 2010 06:48 PM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
(08-17) 18:48 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal law making it a crime to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor or other military decorations violates freedom of speech, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Although a Southern California water board member convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act made "deliberate and despicable" claims that he had received the Medal of Honor, the Constitution prohibits the government from prosecuting someone for merely lying, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a 2-1 ruling.
"The right to speak and write whatever one chooses - including, to some degree, worthless, offensive and demonstrable untruths - without cowering in fear of a powerful government is, in our view, an essential component of the protection afforded by the First Amendment," Judge Milan Smith said in the majority opinion.
Read more: Court says lying about Medal of Honor no crime
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