Hill wing breaks to address suicides
By Joseph M. Dougherty
Deseret News
Published: Wednesday, June 3, 2009
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Two civilian suicides in recent weeks have prompted the commander of the 309th Maintenance Wing to have his employees "stand down" during two shifts for mandatory talks about suicide prevention.
The two suicides, one of which happened in the past week, bring the base total to four for the year.
That total puts Hill Air Force Base's suicide rate of 17 per 100,000 above Utah's rate of 15.2 per 100,000.
The suicide-prevention talks centered around the importance of communication and how employees can help find those who are in a personal crisis, said Rich Essary, spokesman for the base's 75th Air Base Wing.
Employees of the 309th also attended presentations by the wing's wellness advocates, who showed a 30-minute video about suicide prevention.
Wellness advocates are like emergency friends — listeners who can suggest productive courses of action. Eight wellness advocates are assigned to the 309th, and some have been credited with helping workers regain focus and work their way out of depression.
Brig. Gen. John Cooper, commander of the 309th, said he realizes he has employees who have financial, relationship, medical, substance-abuse or emotional problems. He wants to create an environment in which his employees are wingmen who look out for one another.
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Hill wing breaks to address suicides
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Subcommittee approves bill easing PTSD compensation for vets
How can any Republican or Democrat say anything is too good for the troops or our veterans? These are the same people that were in position to send them into combat in the first place right? If a man or woman is willing to set aside "normal" life as a civilian, ask their families to sacrifice for the sake of the nation, then risk that life facing death or life changing wounds, how can there be anything at all that is "too good" for them in return? Think about it.
Think about what we ask of them and what they deliver on. What is it they ask in return? They ask that they be only used as a last resort; they are provided with the plans to carry the mission they are given out; they are trained to do their jobs; they are fed and clothed with uniforms that don't fall apart in the crotch (yes, this happened too) and in the end, they ask their families are taken care of if they pay with their lives, and should they live, they will not have to suffer neglect or financial hardships for surviving. Not a lot to ask for since from every corner of this nation we are able to spout out "Support the Troops" "Freedom isn't free" and use the words "from a grateful nation" yet when you get right down to the bottom of all this talk, talk is cheap but actually doing what we claim is very expensive.
I've been tracking PTSD in this country for far too long to know exactly how bad it is for them and how much worse it's going to get. They have to put up with people saying PTSD is not real and that they are just trying to suck off the system. Lord help these people if they ever encounter a traumatic event that changes the rest of their lives, but in order for that to happen they would have to have a tender soul and feel for others first. So that's unlikely.
They have to carry on with the mission watching over the backs of their buddies, while nightmares and flashbacks are eating them away. They have to then come home, bulldoze past ignorant fools trying to make them feel as if they are responsible for the pain they are carrying with them, and then, then they get to fight the VA to have their claims honored. No easy task either when they have to prove what moment in time did it to them. It's almost as if the VA cannot understand that sometimes it's not one, two or three times, but hundreds of them. Simply being able to show that they were fine when they were in boot camp and not fine after their deployment into hell the first time, the second time or third time and so on, would be honorable but all they have to go thru is just not enough for some law makers who have never once lived with them, talked to them or held them in their arms.
John McCain and Bush whined about the GI Bill being "too good" and would make the troops want out to go to college. Members of congress, guess which side, took to the floor of the congress and said there just wasn't enough money to increase the VA to take care of the wounded when they absolutely no problem at all funding two military campaigns without plans or accounting at the same time both were producing more wounded veterans. Was that really supporting the troops?
Want to use the excuse about money? Well that one doesn't work either because when you consider how much they could be making as a private citizen instead of military pay, you would then understand that they are not in the military for the money. Then consider when they are wounded by body or soul, and they cannot work they receive a lot less than they could working. The VA does not pay bonuses and it does not pay overtime. It does not give merit raises but it does give measly cost of living increases. If you think those increases keeps pace with inflation or what gas prices did last year, you must be living under a rock.
Set aside the over 900,000 claims in the system already still waiting to be processed and denied that they have to wait their turn on. Set aside the fact that between now and the time they begin to be treated, PTSD gets worse and when you add in the extra burden of bills that cannot be paid because they can't work and the VA won't approve their claim, is hell for them and their families. Set aside the fact that for the last 8 years we had people in charge without a clue what to do. Set all of that aside and then please tell me, what could possibly be too good for any of them after all we ask of them?
So please tell me how any member of congress would ever say that anything is too good for any of these men and women? Ever think about how many years lapse between the time a soldier or Marine is wounded by PTSD and they actually sought help? How about over 30 years later and they don't get retro pay for the 30 years they were suffering in silence. Think about how much money they save the government? Then take it a step further and look at the Korean veterans and WWII veterans seeking help for the first time.
My father-in-law had a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart because of serving this country in WWII, but never sought one dime from the VA. We had to pay to bury him. My husband came home in 1971 and knew he brought home an enemy inside of him but he thought he could work and the VA was for the "guys missing legs" so he didn't receive a dime until 1999, six years after PTSD was full blown and killing him. He knew something was wrong in 1971 but he didn't cost the government a dime all that time. He sucked it up as PTSD got worse. He had a job and made good money, worked overtime, got longevity bonuses and raises along with promotions for when he learned to use another piece of equipment. PTSD got so bad, his doctors told him he had to stop working. That, well that came two years shy of 20 years on the job. That cost us money as well as the lost overtime and raises but I still had my husband living instead of in the ground with a very early death. Then we had to go without any income from him while we fought to have his claim approved. All he had was a decreased pension coming in instead of the pay check we were used to living off of. His retroactive pay only went back to the time he filed his claim and not back to Vietnam. Think of how much money he saved the government and what it cost him to do it.
If you want to try to tell me that making it easier to have a claim for PTSD approved is "too good" for the men and women serving this country, you better be prepared for an ear full because when you consider that civilians like you and me would get workman's comp if we suffered from trauma on the job and they can't just walk off the job and go to a trauma center or make an appointment with a psychologist, you'd know what they have to go thru. They have to still pick up their weapon and risk their lives the next day and the next day until they can do it no more. They have to stay until they are ordered back home. Everything they do from the time they enlist until the time they are discharged is for the sake of all of us. So why aren't we asking will we ever be good enough to them instead of what's too good for them?
Make sure your congressman votes to approve this bill and get it done for their sake!
Think about what we ask of them and what they deliver on. What is it they ask in return? They ask that they be only used as a last resort; they are provided with the plans to carry the mission they are given out; they are trained to do their jobs; they are fed and clothed with uniforms that don't fall apart in the crotch (yes, this happened too) and in the end, they ask their families are taken care of if they pay with their lives, and should they live, they will not have to suffer neglect or financial hardships for surviving. Not a lot to ask for since from every corner of this nation we are able to spout out "Support the Troops" "Freedom isn't free" and use the words "from a grateful nation" yet when you get right down to the bottom of all this talk, talk is cheap but actually doing what we claim is very expensive.
I've been tracking PTSD in this country for far too long to know exactly how bad it is for them and how much worse it's going to get. They have to put up with people saying PTSD is not real and that they are just trying to suck off the system. Lord help these people if they ever encounter a traumatic event that changes the rest of their lives, but in order for that to happen they would have to have a tender soul and feel for others first. So that's unlikely.
They have to carry on with the mission watching over the backs of their buddies, while nightmares and flashbacks are eating them away. They have to then come home, bulldoze past ignorant fools trying to make them feel as if they are responsible for the pain they are carrying with them, and then, then they get to fight the VA to have their claims honored. No easy task either when they have to prove what moment in time did it to them. It's almost as if the VA cannot understand that sometimes it's not one, two or three times, but hundreds of them. Simply being able to show that they were fine when they were in boot camp and not fine after their deployment into hell the first time, the second time or third time and so on, would be honorable but all they have to go thru is just not enough for some law makers who have never once lived with them, talked to them or held them in their arms.
John McCain and Bush whined about the GI Bill being "too good" and would make the troops want out to go to college. Members of congress, guess which side, took to the floor of the congress and said there just wasn't enough money to increase the VA to take care of the wounded when they absolutely no problem at all funding two military campaigns without plans or accounting at the same time both were producing more wounded veterans. Was that really supporting the troops?
Want to use the excuse about money? Well that one doesn't work either because when you consider how much they could be making as a private citizen instead of military pay, you would then understand that they are not in the military for the money. Then consider when they are wounded by body or soul, and they cannot work they receive a lot less than they could working. The VA does not pay bonuses and it does not pay overtime. It does not give merit raises but it does give measly cost of living increases. If you think those increases keeps pace with inflation or what gas prices did last year, you must be living under a rock.
Set aside the over 900,000 claims in the system already still waiting to be processed and denied that they have to wait their turn on. Set aside the fact that between now and the time they begin to be treated, PTSD gets worse and when you add in the extra burden of bills that cannot be paid because they can't work and the VA won't approve their claim, is hell for them and their families. Set aside the fact that for the last 8 years we had people in charge without a clue what to do. Set all of that aside and then please tell me, what could possibly be too good for any of them after all we ask of them?
So please tell me how any member of congress would ever say that anything is too good for any of these men and women? Ever think about how many years lapse between the time a soldier or Marine is wounded by PTSD and they actually sought help? How about over 30 years later and they don't get retro pay for the 30 years they were suffering in silence. Think about how much money they save the government? Then take it a step further and look at the Korean veterans and WWII veterans seeking help for the first time.
My father-in-law had a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart because of serving this country in WWII, but never sought one dime from the VA. We had to pay to bury him. My husband came home in 1971 and knew he brought home an enemy inside of him but he thought he could work and the VA was for the "guys missing legs" so he didn't receive a dime until 1999, six years after PTSD was full blown and killing him. He knew something was wrong in 1971 but he didn't cost the government a dime all that time. He sucked it up as PTSD got worse. He had a job and made good money, worked overtime, got longevity bonuses and raises along with promotions for when he learned to use another piece of equipment. PTSD got so bad, his doctors told him he had to stop working. That, well that came two years shy of 20 years on the job. That cost us money as well as the lost overtime and raises but I still had my husband living instead of in the ground with a very early death. Then we had to go without any income from him while we fought to have his claim approved. All he had was a decreased pension coming in instead of the pay check we were used to living off of. His retroactive pay only went back to the time he filed his claim and not back to Vietnam. Think of how much money he saved the government and what it cost him to do it.
If you want to try to tell me that making it easier to have a claim for PTSD approved is "too good" for the men and women serving this country, you better be prepared for an ear full because when you consider that civilians like you and me would get workman's comp if we suffered from trauma on the job and they can't just walk off the job and go to a trauma center or make an appointment with a psychologist, you'd know what they have to go thru. They have to still pick up their weapon and risk their lives the next day and the next day until they can do it no more. They have to stay until they are ordered back home. Everything they do from the time they enlist until the time they are discharged is for the sake of all of us. So why aren't we asking will we ever be good enough to them instead of what's too good for them?
Make sure your congressman votes to approve this bill and get it done for their sake!
Subcommittee approves bill easing PTSD compensation for vets
By Otto Kreisher
CongressDaily June 4, 2009
The House Veterans Affairs Disability Assistance Subcommittee on Wednesday approved a bill that would make it easier for veterans to receive financial compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bill was referred to the full committee on a voice vote, despite votes against it from at least two of the three Republican members.
Sponsored by Disability Assistance Subcommittee Chairman John Hall, D-N.Y., and 16 other Democrats, the bill would allow a veteran to qualify for the monthly compensation for combat-related PTSD just by demonstrating that the psychological disorder was caused by something that happened while he or she was serving in the "combat theater" as defined by the Defense secretary. Currently, the Veterans Affairs Department requires proof that the stress occurred during "combat with the enemy."
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http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0609/060409cdam1.htm
Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas talks about progress with the VA
Senior Community Bulletin
Winter Park/Maitland Observer - Winter Park,FL,USA
June 4, 2009
Congresswoman, Suzanne Kosmas announced that the Veterans Administration will begin processing applications for the higher education benefits available through the New GI Bill. The GI Bill for the 21st Century, which was passed by Congress and signed into law last year, provides a full, four-year college education to any veteran who has served since September 11, 2001 for at least 90 aggregate days or at least 30 days with a disability discharge.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun processing applications for the new benefit program, and veterans will be able to use the new educational benefits beginning Aug. 1. Congresswoman Kosmas encouraged all eligible veterans to visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ to sign up or call the GI Bill hotline with any questions at 1-888-GIBILL-1. A detailed pamphlet on the GI Bill for the 21st Century is available on Congresswoman Kosmas' Web site, www.kosmas.house.gov.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America Central Florida Chapter commends Congress for increasing funding to veterans and moving toward advanced appropriations for VA's healthcare services.
On Wednesday, April 29, Congress passed a budget resolution that provides $53.4 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs. That's almost $5.6 billion more than the previous year's budget, an increase of nearly 12 percent. Additionally, the resolution has a provision creating advance appropriations for the VA's health care services next fiscal year.
The Paralyzed Veterans continues asking representatives and senators to support the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (HR 1016, S 423). That act would permanently mandate advance appropriations for the VA. A bi-partisan mix of 101 representatives and 43 senators has co-sponsored the act. Five of Florida's 25 representatives have become co-sponsors. Advance appropriations would help VA hospitals improve care and reduce patient-waiting times. Officials would be better able to allocate employment and equipment resources if they knew their budgets months ahead. Unlike other hospital systems, the VA cannot borrow against projected future income to add employees or equipment.
Florida has about 1.75 million veterans, about 9 percent of its population. VA spent about $5.5 billion in Florida in 2007 Much of it went toward health services. Through its various health care services VA had 5,263, 276 outpatient and about 46,000 hospitalizations in 2007. For information, contact Patrick McCallister, Government Relations Director, at 800-940-2378, or patrick.mccallister@yahoo.com.
go here for more
http://wpmobserver.com/WPMObserver/article.asp?ID=1928
Winter Park/Maitland Observer - Winter Park,FL,USA
June 4, 2009
Congresswoman, Suzanne Kosmas announced that the Veterans Administration will begin processing applications for the higher education benefits available through the New GI Bill. The GI Bill for the 21st Century, which was passed by Congress and signed into law last year, provides a full, four-year college education to any veteran who has served since September 11, 2001 for at least 90 aggregate days or at least 30 days with a disability discharge.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun processing applications for the new benefit program, and veterans will be able to use the new educational benefits beginning Aug. 1. Congresswoman Kosmas encouraged all eligible veterans to visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ to sign up or call the GI Bill hotline with any questions at 1-888-GIBILL-1. A detailed pamphlet on the GI Bill for the 21st Century is available on Congresswoman Kosmas' Web site, www.kosmas.house.gov.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America Central Florida Chapter commends Congress for increasing funding to veterans and moving toward advanced appropriations for VA's healthcare services.
On Wednesday, April 29, Congress passed a budget resolution that provides $53.4 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs. That's almost $5.6 billion more than the previous year's budget, an increase of nearly 12 percent. Additionally, the resolution has a provision creating advance appropriations for the VA's health care services next fiscal year.
The Paralyzed Veterans continues asking representatives and senators to support the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (HR 1016, S 423). That act would permanently mandate advance appropriations for the VA. A bi-partisan mix of 101 representatives and 43 senators has co-sponsored the act. Five of Florida's 25 representatives have become co-sponsors. Advance appropriations would help VA hospitals improve care and reduce patient-waiting times. Officials would be better able to allocate employment and equipment resources if they knew their budgets months ahead. Unlike other hospital systems, the VA cannot borrow against projected future income to add employees or equipment.
Florida has about 1.75 million veterans, about 9 percent of its population. VA spent about $5.5 billion in Florida in 2007 Much of it went toward health services. Through its various health care services VA had 5,263, 276 outpatient and about 46,000 hospitalizations in 2007. For information, contact Patrick McCallister, Government Relations Director, at 800-940-2378, or patrick.mccallister@yahoo.com.
go here for more
http://wpmobserver.com/WPMObserver/article.asp?ID=1928
Fundraising begins for Washington ‘Wall That Heals’ project
Fundraising begins for Washington ‘Wall That Heals’ project
Half-scale Vietnam memorial will visit city in April 2010
By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2009 2:20 AM EDT
Vietnam veteran and Washington resident George H. Schryer is getting closer to realizing his dream of bringing a special part of American history to Beaufort County.
Schryer, who was in the Air Force, is leading the movement to have The Wall That Heals — a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. — brought to the original Washington. It’s part of his efforts to ensure that America’s service men and women are not forgotten.
“The statue memorializes the more than 58,000 men and women who were killed during the 10-year-long Vietnam War,” Schryer said.
The traveling memorial is owned and operated by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a private, nonprofit organization, Schryer explained.
Plans are now in place to display the memorial in Washington April 22-25, 2010.
“I have been wanting to do this for quite some time,” said Schryer, who is incoming commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6088 in Washington and District II Commander. “I couldn’t get all the pieces to fit, and we had to find the right location.”
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Fundraising for Wall That Heals
Half-scale Vietnam memorial will visit city in April 2010
By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2009 2:20 AM EDT
Vietnam veteran and Washington resident George H. Schryer is getting closer to realizing his dream of bringing a special part of American history to Beaufort County.
Schryer, who was in the Air Force, is leading the movement to have The Wall That Heals — a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. — brought to the original Washington. It’s part of his efforts to ensure that America’s service men and women are not forgotten.
“The statue memorializes the more than 58,000 men and women who were killed during the 10-year-long Vietnam War,” Schryer said.
The traveling memorial is owned and operated by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a private, nonprofit organization, Schryer explained.
Plans are now in place to display the memorial in Washington April 22-25, 2010.
“I have been wanting to do this for quite some time,” said Schryer, who is incoming commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6088 in Washington and District II Commander. “I couldn’t get all the pieces to fit, and we had to find the right location.”
go here for more
Fundraising for Wall That Heals
Driver plows into crowd gathered for opening ceremony of Vietnam Wall
Driver plows into crowd, several injured in Plymouth, Mass.
Play video
(NECN: Plymouth, Mass.) - Police in Plymouth, Massachusetts, say an elderly woman lost control of her vehicle this afternoon, driving into a crowd of people.
Somewhere between five and seven people suffer injuries. Two people suffer serious injuries, but none are considered to be life-threatening.
The reason for the large crowd gathered outside was an opening ceremony for the Vietnam Veteran Wall at the American Post 40.
Play video
(NECN: Plymouth, Mass.) - Police in Plymouth, Massachusetts, say an elderly woman lost control of her vehicle this afternoon, driving into a crowd of people.
Somewhere between five and seven people suffer injuries. Two people suffer serious injuries, but none are considered to be life-threatening.
The reason for the large crowd gathered outside was an opening ceremony for the Vietnam Veteran Wall at the American Post 40.
Actor David Carradine has been found dead
David Carradine dead, hanging in closet
Story Highlights
NEW: Actor was found in a Bangkok hotel hanging by a rope in a closet, police say
NEW: Rope was believed taken from the hotel room curtains, police say
Carradine became famous in the 1970s after starring in the TV series "Kung Fu"
Carradine, 72, was also known as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films
Actor David Carradine has been found dead, hanging by a nylon rope in a hotel room closet in Bangkok, Thailand, according to a Thai police official. The rope was believed taken from hotel room curtains, Bangkok Police Col. Pirom Chanpirom said. Investigators found no signs of forced entry, he said. full story
UPDATE
Carradine's body to return home, while questions remain
Story Highlights
NEW: David Carradine's family orders autopsy when body returns to United States
Actor's family, manager dispute suicide theory
Carradine found hanging by rope in Bangkok hotel closet, police say
By Alan Duke
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- David Carradine's wife and his manager disputed suggestions that the actor's death was a suicide, while rescue workers and police in Bangkok, Thailand, said the actor's neck and genitals were found bound with rope.
After Carradine's body arrives back to the United States this weekend, an autopsy ordered by Carradine's family will be conducted, according to the actor's co-manager.
"They're doing everything possible to get to the bottom of what really happened," said Carradine's co-manager Tiffany Smith.
Carradine, 72, became famous in the 1970s when he portrayed the traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu."
Bangkok police said Carradine was found hanging by a nylon rope in a Bangkok hotel room closet Thursday morning.
He was the star of "Kung Fu" TV series; also known as "Bill" in "Kill Bill" films
go here for the rest
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/05/carradine.death/index.html
Story Highlights
NEW: Actor was found in a Bangkok hotel hanging by a rope in a closet, police say
NEW: Rope was believed taken from the hotel room curtains, police say
Carradine became famous in the 1970s after starring in the TV series "Kung Fu"
Carradine, 72, was also known as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films
Actor David Carradine has been found dead, hanging by a nylon rope in a hotel room closet in Bangkok, Thailand, according to a Thai police official. The rope was believed taken from hotel room curtains, Bangkok Police Col. Pirom Chanpirom said. Investigators found no signs of forced entry, he said. full story
UPDATE
Carradine's body to return home, while questions remain
Story Highlights
NEW: David Carradine's family orders autopsy when body returns to United States
Actor's family, manager dispute suicide theory
Carradine found hanging by rope in Bangkok hotel closet, police say
By Alan Duke
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- David Carradine's wife and his manager disputed suggestions that the actor's death was a suicide, while rescue workers and police in Bangkok, Thailand, said the actor's neck and genitals were found bound with rope.
After Carradine's body arrives back to the United States this weekend, an autopsy ordered by Carradine's family will be conducted, according to the actor's co-manager.
"They're doing everything possible to get to the bottom of what really happened," said Carradine's co-manager Tiffany Smith.
Carradine, 72, became famous in the 1970s when he portrayed the traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu."
Bangkok police said Carradine was found hanging by a nylon rope in a Bangkok hotel room closet Thursday morning.
He was the star of "Kung Fu" TV series; also known as "Bill" in "Kill Bill" films
go here for the rest
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/05/carradine.death/index.html
Pvt. William Andrew Long came from military family
Slain soldier came from military family
By Jon Gambrell - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jun 4, 2009 10:37:51 EDT
CONWAY, Ark. — The father of a soldier slain outside a recruiting center sought a quiet life for his family in rural Arkansas after years of military service, but the battlefield came home to find them.
Daris Long’s son, Army Pvt. William Andrew Long, was shot Monday in suburban Little Rock while he stood and smoked a cigarette, far from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Long, 23, died in an attack that also wounded Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula, 18. The alleged gunman, Abdulhakim Muhammad, also 23, told investigators he wanted to kill as many Army personnel as he could “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past,” police said.
But Ezeagwula and Long had never seen battle. Both only completed basic training recently and had volunteered to help attract others into military service. Long was heading to South Korea, not even the Middle East, for his service.
“He was a hero. The other young lad that’s in the hospital, he’s a hero,” Daris Long told Little Rock television station KATV. “They weren’t on the battlefield, but apparently, the battlefield’s here.”
Long’s service adds to his family’s military tradition, his father said. The elder Long served in the Marine Corps while his wife, Janet, was in the Navy.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_recruiting_center_shooting_2_060309/
By Jon Gambrell - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jun 4, 2009 10:37:51 EDT
CONWAY, Ark. — The father of a soldier slain outside a recruiting center sought a quiet life for his family in rural Arkansas after years of military service, but the battlefield came home to find them.
Daris Long’s son, Army Pvt. William Andrew Long, was shot Monday in suburban Little Rock while he stood and smoked a cigarette, far from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Long, 23, died in an attack that also wounded Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula, 18. The alleged gunman, Abdulhakim Muhammad, also 23, told investigators he wanted to kill as many Army personnel as he could “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past,” police said.
But Ezeagwula and Long had never seen battle. Both only completed basic training recently and had volunteered to help attract others into military service. Long was heading to South Korea, not even the Middle East, for his service.
“He was a hero. The other young lad that’s in the hospital, he’s a hero,” Daris Long told Little Rock television station KATV. “They weren’t on the battlefield, but apparently, the battlefield’s here.”
Long’s service adds to his family’s military tradition, his father said. The elder Long served in the Marine Corps while his wife, Janet, was in the Navy.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_recruiting_center_shooting_2_060309/
AF retiree sending 28,000 pizzas and beer to troops
AF retiree sending 28,000 pizzas to troops
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 21:17:22 EDT
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — A retired Air Force master sergeant who last year sent more than 2,000 pizzas to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is planning to up the ante this Independence Day.
Mark Evans is planning to ship 28,000 deep-dish pizzas, packed in dry ice, to the war zones.
Evans says sending the pizzas to the troops is like telling them they are doing a great job.
Evans said he is approaching corporations and private citizens for donations for this year’s shipment. It is his intent that every soldier at nine forward bases in Iraq and Afghanistan get a third of a pizza.
Evans says DHL Express has volunteered to ship the pizzas that will be obtained from Uno Chicago Grill. MillerCoors is donating 10,000 cases of beer.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_pizza_troops_deployed_060309/
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 21:17:22 EDT
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — A retired Air Force master sergeant who last year sent more than 2,000 pizzas to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is planning to up the ante this Independence Day.
Mark Evans is planning to ship 28,000 deep-dish pizzas, packed in dry ice, to the war zones.
Evans says sending the pizzas to the troops is like telling them they are doing a great job.
Evans said he is approaching corporations and private citizens for donations for this year’s shipment. It is his intent that every soldier at nine forward bases in Iraq and Afghanistan get a third of a pizza.
Evans says DHL Express has volunteered to ship the pizzas that will be obtained from Uno Chicago Grill. MillerCoors is donating 10,000 cases of beer.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_pizza_troops_deployed_060309/
NASCAR stops all for moment of silence on Memorial Day!
I just got off the phone with someone who was there. He asked about my trip to Washington and then he told me this. He said that everyone in the crowd was misty. What a wonderful way to honor the men and women that paid the price with their lives! Amazing video!
NASCAR Pauses for Moment of Silence
Drivers, Crews, Fans Honor Fallen
Heroes
Updated: Monday, 25 May 2009, 4:40 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 25 May 2009, 4:00 PM EDT
By EMILY STONE/myfoxdc
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Just as Americans across the country stopped their holiday barbeques and celebrations Monday to remember their country's fallen heroes, drivers and fans at NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina did the same.
In a moving tribute, NASCAR officials brought the race to a halt at lap 166, bringing out the red flag and joining the nation in a moment of silence at 3 p.m. to honor U.S. veterans and servicemen and women. NASCAR threw out the yellow caution flag at lap 163, and the drivers came to a stop three laps later— shutting off their engines on the frontstretch at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Crew members lined pit road to observe the moment of silence, and flags were at half staff all around the track.
The crowd, at least for the most part, was also quiet during the tribute. Some drivers, like Tony Stewart, waved small American flags out the window of their cars as they drove to a stop.
The 600-mile race was scheduled to be run on Sunday, but it was delayed and pushed to Monday due to rain in the Charlotte area.
President Barack Obama called on the nation stop at 3 p.m. local time and observe the National Moment of Remembrance . He also proclaimed Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace.
Watch video of NASCAR's tribute by clicking on video to the left.
NASCAR Pauses for Moment of Silence
Drivers, Crews, Fans Honor Fallen
Heroes
Updated: Monday, 25 May 2009, 4:40 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 25 May 2009, 4:00 PM EDT
By EMILY STONE/myfoxdc
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Just as Americans across the country stopped their holiday barbeques and celebrations Monday to remember their country's fallen heroes, drivers and fans at NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina did the same.
In a moving tribute, NASCAR officials brought the race to a halt at lap 166, bringing out the red flag and joining the nation in a moment of silence at 3 p.m. to honor U.S. veterans and servicemen and women. NASCAR threw out the yellow caution flag at lap 163, and the drivers came to a stop three laps later— shutting off their engines on the frontstretch at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Crew members lined pit road to observe the moment of silence, and flags were at half staff all around the track.
The crowd, at least for the most part, was also quiet during the tribute. Some drivers, like Tony Stewart, waved small American flags out the window of their cars as they drove to a stop.
The 600-mile race was scheduled to be run on Sunday, but it was delayed and pushed to Monday due to rain in the Charlotte area.
President Barack Obama called on the nation stop at 3 p.m. local time and observe the National Moment of Remembrance . He also proclaimed Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace.
Watch video of NASCAR's tribute by clicking on video to the left.
Honoring the sacrifices of veterans still needs work
This is from my friend Lily Casura over at Healing Combat Trauma. She went to an event for Memorial Day that was not well attended.
There were many times over the years that I understood military and veterans families are a minority in this nation but even knowing that, when you're surrounded by other veterans and their families, you realize that this is one minority it's a honor to be among.
Rolling Thunder's Ride for The Wall produced, as with every year, hundreds of thousands of veterans and supporters. The Nam Knights ended up with hundreds of their own. They came from all over the country at their own expense and some of them spent the year saving up for this trip to honor the fallen from Vietnam. Financial hardship in a down economy aside, there were also the endless miles of riding motorcycles to get there, facing rain, crazy drivers and traffic jams. All of it was worth it to every single one.
Across the nation there were gatherings to honor the fallen from all wars and most were well attended because people care and wanted in someway to honor the sacrifices made by showing up instead of just offering slogans like "Freedom isn't free" because their hearts are tugged to be there in solidarity.
The event covered by my friend Lily normally would have saddened me but after what I witnessed Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC, I know enough people care enough to go above and beyond to prove it.
I grew up surrounded by veterans and married one. Most of the groups we've belonged to over the years have been veteran related. We don't know any other way of life although we do have other interests, we know our non-veteran friends cannot relate to any of this so we just enjoy their company as Americans and friends. For the most part, we spend the bulk of our days with other veterans and their families and I, well you know what I do because you read it here everyday on this blog. Sure there are more popular blogs with the usual posts touching the masses and what is popular in the news, but to tell the truth given the fact I can post on anything I want, I'd rather spend my time doing something to focus on veterans and the troops. They are the vast majority of my posts because I understand what it's like. My speciality is trauma related but it's the veterans tugging at my heart the most. The way I figure it, this minority should be getting a lot more attention than they do and I'm just doing my part to help that happen. I'm also grateful people like Lily are out there and showing up at ceremonies to honor the fallen as well as being fully invested in telling their stories. She's been a great friend to veterans for a very long time and a very dear friend of mine.
There were many times over the years that I understood military and veterans families are a minority in this nation but even knowing that, when you're surrounded by other veterans and their families, you realize that this is one minority it's a honor to be among.
Rolling Thunder's Ride for The Wall produced, as with every year, hundreds of thousands of veterans and supporters. The Nam Knights ended up with hundreds of their own. They came from all over the country at their own expense and some of them spent the year saving up for this trip to honor the fallen from Vietnam. Financial hardship in a down economy aside, there were also the endless miles of riding motorcycles to get there, facing rain, crazy drivers and traffic jams. All of it was worth it to every single one.
Across the nation there were gatherings to honor the fallen from all wars and most were well attended because people care and wanted in someway to honor the sacrifices made by showing up instead of just offering slogans like "Freedom isn't free" because their hearts are tugged to be there in solidarity.
The event covered by my friend Lily normally would have saddened me but after what I witnessed Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC, I know enough people care enough to go above and beyond to prove it.
I grew up surrounded by veterans and married one. Most of the groups we've belonged to over the years have been veteran related. We don't know any other way of life although we do have other interests, we know our non-veteran friends cannot relate to any of this so we just enjoy their company as Americans and friends. For the most part, we spend the bulk of our days with other veterans and their families and I, well you know what I do because you read it here everyday on this blog. Sure there are more popular blogs with the usual posts touching the masses and what is popular in the news, but to tell the truth given the fact I can post on anything I want, I'd rather spend my time doing something to focus on veterans and the troops. They are the vast majority of my posts because I understand what it's like. My speciality is trauma related but it's the veterans tugging at my heart the most. The way I figure it, this minority should be getting a lot more attention than they do and I'm just doing my part to help that happen. I'm also grateful people like Lily are out there and showing up at ceremonies to honor the fallen as well as being fully invested in telling their stories. She's been a great friend to veterans for a very long time and a very dear friend of mine.
Honoring the sacrifices of veterans still needs work
By Lily G. Casura
Thursday, June 04, 2009
As part of last week’s celebrations around Memorial Day, I went to the presentation at the St. Helena public library on Thursday night, intended to honor those locally who had died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2000. The presentation honored veterans who had lost their lives from both Napa and Sonoma counties, and there were 10 of them — in addition to over 500 from California, total.
The program, which was held in the library’s wine collection room, represented the work of several volunteers and many hours, and was led by Jennifer Baker, library director.There could be a number of reasons, but veterans themselves have one. Scrawled in black dry-erase marker on a white board in Iraq, one Marine wrote, “America isn’t at war. The U.S. military is at war. America is at the mall …”
go here for more
Fort Hood Soldiers' spouses help single soldiers
Soldiers' spouses help single soldiers
6/3/2009 5:45 PM
By: Brandi Powell
As more members of the military return to Fort Hood, volunteers work to make sure soldiers without family nearby are provided with the comforts of home.
A group of community members and wives of other soldiers set up 500 rooms on Fort Hood on the first day of Operation Restful Night. The group plans to set up 2,000 more rooms in the next few weeks with care packages, including sheets from JC Penny and toiletries provided by the USO.
"It's a special feeling because you're giving so much to them, and they've given so much to us," Karessa Lang, an employee at Killeen's JCPenny, and volunteer for the day, said.
go here for more
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=242269
6/3/2009 5:45 PM
By: Brandi Powell
As more members of the military return to Fort Hood, volunteers work to make sure soldiers without family nearby are provided with the comforts of home.
A group of community members and wives of other soldiers set up 500 rooms on Fort Hood on the first day of Operation Restful Night. The group plans to set up 2,000 more rooms in the next few weeks with care packages, including sheets from JC Penny and toiletries provided by the USO.
"It's a special feeling because you're giving so much to them, and they've given so much to us," Karessa Lang, an employee at Killeen's JCPenny, and volunteer for the day, said.
go here for more
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=242269
Prosecutor of Timothy McVeigh now seeks justice for soldier son
Officials seek new trial for soldier
Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — An Edmond mother seeking justice for her soldier son said she is hopeful but is not sure efforts to get a new trial will work.
On March 20, 1st Lt. Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing an Iraqi detainee he took aside for questioning.
Behenna’s supporters say Ali Mansur was a member of an Al Qaeda cell operating in Behenna’s area of operation, and Mansur was suspected of organizing an attack on Behenna’s platoon in April 2008. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in that attack.
Army officials ordered the release of Mansur, and Behenna was ordered to return him to his home. While Behenna was questioning him, the shooting occurred.
Supporters say during the interrogation Mansur attacked Behenna, who acted in self defense. Prosecutors said the killing was premeditated murder, that Behenna shot Mansur “execution style.”
Behenna’s mother, Vicki Behenna, said her son deserves a new trial because prosecutors withheld evidence allowing them to argue that Lt. Behenna murdered Mansur while seated, when forensic experts agree Mansur was standing, corroborating her son’s testimony.
Vicki Behenna knows law. She is a professor in Oklahoma City University’s School of Law and she was a lead member of the team that prosecuted Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case.
go here for more
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/local_story_155000421.html
Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — An Edmond mother seeking justice for her soldier son said she is hopeful but is not sure efforts to get a new trial will work.
On March 20, 1st Lt. Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing an Iraqi detainee he took aside for questioning.
Behenna’s supporters say Ali Mansur was a member of an Al Qaeda cell operating in Behenna’s area of operation, and Mansur was suspected of organizing an attack on Behenna’s platoon in April 2008. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in that attack.
Army officials ordered the release of Mansur, and Behenna was ordered to return him to his home. While Behenna was questioning him, the shooting occurred.
Supporters say during the interrogation Mansur attacked Behenna, who acted in self defense. Prosecutors said the killing was premeditated murder, that Behenna shot Mansur “execution style.”
Behenna’s mother, Vicki Behenna, said her son deserves a new trial because prosecutors withheld evidence allowing them to argue that Lt. Behenna murdered Mansur while seated, when forensic experts agree Mansur was standing, corroborating her son’s testimony.
Vicki Behenna knows law. She is a professor in Oklahoma City University’s School of Law and she was a lead member of the team that prosecuted Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case.
go here for more
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/local_story_155000421.html
Timothy's Law should include PTSD
Bolster coverage for mental health
June 4, 2009
Two years ago, state lawmakers made the sensible decision to correct a grave injustice in mental health-care coverage. They passed "Timothy's Law,'' which has forced insurers to cover more treatment for mental health care.
But the law was passed with a sunset provision, which means it will expire at the end of this year unless the state takes action. Gov. David Paterson is calling for such action - and lawmakers should adhere to his proposal.
Specifically, Paterson recently offered legislation to make the law permanent, timing his announcement with what would have been the 21st birthday of Timothy O'Clair, for whom the law is named. The 12-year-old Schenectady boy hanged himself after his parents were unable to obtain the mental health treatment he needed due to their health insurance coverage limits.
June 4, 2009
Two years ago, state lawmakers made the sensible decision to correct a grave injustice in mental health-care coverage. They passed "Timothy's Law,'' which has forced insurers to cover more treatment for mental health care.
But the law was passed with a sunset provision, which means it will expire at the end of this year unless the state takes action. Gov. David Paterson is calling for such action - and lawmakers should adhere to his proposal.
Specifically, Paterson recently offered legislation to make the law permanent, timing his announcement with what would have been the 21st birthday of Timothy O'Clair, for whom the law is named. The 12-year-old Schenectady boy hanged himself after his parents were unable to obtain the mental health treatment he needed due to their health insurance coverage limits.
Include post-traumatic stress disorder
Not only should this law be extended and made permanent, but it also should be expanded to include those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from the disorder and could ultimately benefit from such coverage. Committees in the Senate and Assembly are reviewing bills introduced this year that define the stress disorder as a biologically based mental illness that would also be covered under Timothy's Law in order to assure "returning veterans, victims of terror and other violent crimes and others suffering from PTSD are afforded the care they need through their insurance coverage to address their disease."
go here for more
Bolster coverage for mental health
11 year old Florida boy walking for homeless children
At 11, he's a veteran at helping others
By Lindsay Ruebens
lruebens@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jun. 03, 2009
DAVIE HINSHAW – dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.com
Zach Bonner has drawn attention from the White House and Hollywood, started his own charitable foundation, and now is walking across the South to raise awareness about homeless children. And he's only 11.
On Tuesday, Zach walked into Charlotte as part of a 1,225-mile trek he calls “My House to the White House.”
Zach began his journey in 2007, walking from Tampa to Tallahassee. The second leg of the trip went from there to Atlanta last year. And in May, he left Atlanta for his the final stretch, which will end in Washington this summer.
Zach started volunteering at age 6, when he collected water and supplies for Hurricane Charley victims near his Florida home.
go here for more
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/759903.html
By Lindsay Ruebens
lruebens@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jun. 03, 2009
DAVIE HINSHAW – dhinshaw@charlotteobserver.com
Zach Bonner has drawn attention from the White House and Hollywood, started his own charitable foundation, and now is walking across the South to raise awareness about homeless children. And he's only 11.
On Tuesday, Zach walked into Charlotte as part of a 1,225-mile trek he calls “My House to the White House.”
Zach began his journey in 2007, walking from Tampa to Tallahassee. The second leg of the trip went from there to Atlanta last year. And in May, he left Atlanta for his the final stretch, which will end in Washington this summer.
Zach started volunteering at age 6, when he collected water and supplies for Hurricane Charley victims near his Florida home.
go here for more
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/759903.html
PTSD on Trial:Prosecutors didn't know Nicholas Horner was 3 tour Iraq veteran
Just what part - if any - PTSD may have played in the local shootings remains a question. Consiglio said that at this point, prosecutors don't even know if Horner saw combat in Iraq.
Two innocent people are dead and another one wounded. Three families left to grieve over this when they had done nothing wrong except to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Horner's family is left to suffer because of what he did and Horner sits in jail for committing these attacks.
The most stunning part of all of this is that the prosecutors didn't know he was a 3 tour Iraq veteran or that he was being treated for PTSD. How is this possible? Didn't his defense attorney think it was worth mentioning? How can justice be delivered if the jury and the courts have no idea what these veterans take home with them sometimes?
Horner did it. He shot three people. He is responsible for that because he decided to pick up a gun but we need to be asking if Horner is yet another victim in all of this because he arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time with PTSD.
All across the country things are happening to help our veterans heal. Veterans centers open up and the veterans end up having a place to open up, beginning the process of healing, minimizing the anger raging inside of them, removing the isolation they feel, comforting the pain they have trapped behind the walls of their soul and supporting each other. Veterans courts take the special circumstances of combat veterans into account to deliver proper justice. If Horner lived in another part of the country, something like this may have been prevented. At the very least, he would have appeared before a judge with knowledge of PTSD and prosecutors at least aware this man had been deployed into combat three times.
Is Altoona Pennsylvania part of the problem? Are they doing enough to treat their veterans? Do they have any compassion for them? Are they interested in true justice for our veterans? If the VA hospital treating Horner did all they could, then what failed? If they didn't then why didn't they? If Horner was a danger to others, then why was he allowed to walk freely instead of being hospitalized? Did his doctors know?
When veterans come back from combat there are so many questions that need to be addressed but as for Horner and the three people he shot, the truth was absent from this trial if the prosecutors didn't know he had been sent into combat three times and came back with PTSD.
'I feel so guilty'
Horner expresses remorse for double homicide, blames post-traumatic stress disorder
By Phil Ray, pray@altoonamirror.com
Editor's note: On May 15, the Mirror received and then confirmed that the adjacent letter is from Nicholas Horner, who is charged with murdering two people in Altoona April 6. With the exception of deleting a phone number, the letter appears without editing.
Nicholas A. Horner, writing from Blair County Prison, is "sorry to all of Altoona" for the shootings that occurred in early April when he allegedly killed a high school senior and a retiree.
"I shoot 3 people, killing 2 and injuring 1," Horner wrote in a letter sent to the Mirror in mid-May.
Horner, an Iraqi War veteran, is repentant for the killings that took the lives of 19-year-old Scott Garlick, a senior at Hollidaysburg Area High School who was working at the 58th Street Subway, and 64-year-old Raymond Eugene Williams, who was walking to his mailbox two blocks away, and for injuries to Michele Petty, another Subway employee.
go here for more
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/519641.html?nav=742
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Man arranged wife's rape through ads on Craigslist.com with kids at home
There are times when the evil people are capable of leaves me speechless. This is one of those times.
N.C. man accused of arranging wife's rape on Craigslist
Story Highlights
Police: Man arranged wife's rape through ads on Craigslist.com
Male appeared in bedroom and sexually assaulted man's wife Sunday, police say
Attacker was armed; husband was in bedroom at the time, police say
Husband charged with rape, sexual offense
(CNN) -- A North Carolina man is accused of arranging to have his wife raped through personal ads on the Web site Craigslist, police said Wednesday.
The 25-year-old man, of Kannapolis, North Carolina, was arrested in connection with the incident that occurred at his home early Sunday, police said in a statement.
Police responded to the home at about 2:45 a.m. after receiving a 911 call indicating a male armed with a knife appeared in the couple's bedroom and sexually assaulted the man's wife, authorities said.
The man was present at the time of the assault, and two young children were in the home, but were unharmed and unaware of the incident, the police statement said.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/03/north.carolina.arranged.rape/index.html
For military For families, toughest times may lie ahead
I used to post on Military Spouses for Change, later changed to Military Spouses of America. It wasn't that I experienced what they are going thru now that I wanted to share what I know, but for the sake of what they will face tomorrow when their husbands and wives turn from "troop" to veteran. I figured it this way. If they can last through deployments and redeployments, their marriages have a fighting chance but unless they understood fully what can come home with them, there was little hope of hanging onto even a strong marriage.
What ended up happening is that no matter how much I posted and shared what I knew, they would end up responding with they didn't need more things to worry about. Frustrating beyond belief because there I was ready to hand then over 27 years of knowledge gained the hard way and make it easy on them, but they wanted no part of it.
No hard feelings considering I knew exactly why they didn't want to know. Neither did I. I didn't have a military marriage. I had a veteran marriage. In the beginning of learning what PTSD was and what it did, I regretted looking at what could happen when the worst was finally sinking in my brain. Back then my husband's PTSD was mild. Thinking about what the future could hold scared the hell out of me. Then I knew that if I understood it, I'd know what to do and how to deal with it. So I grabbed everything I could from book stores, bought any magazine with Vietnam stories in it and went to the library to read about ancient warfare and this wound of the centuries. I knew whatever I learned, I was preparing for a battle of my own and I was armed and ready.
Now I try to tell the wives and husbands of today's warriors to prepare for their own battle. While some will take away what I have to share too many others walk away. They just don't want to know. If they think it is hard now, they will be shocked for what can come after and my heart breaks for them. Too many of them will see their marriages end needlessly. I'm glad that Casey's wife is trying to wake them up. I really hope she succeeds because I failed miserably doing it.
For families, toughest times may lie ahead
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 19:55:06 EDT
The wife of the Army chief of staff warned Wednesday that the worst problems for military families may lie ahead.
Sheila Casey, the wife of Army Gen. George Casey Jr., said in testimony before a Senate panel that military families are tough and generally resilient, but the cumulative effects of eight years of war are showing.
“Families are stretched and stressed,” she said. “I often refer to them as the most brittle part of the force. ... We can no longer ask them to make the best of it.”
go here for more
For families, toughest times may lie ahead
What ended up happening is that no matter how much I posted and shared what I knew, they would end up responding with they didn't need more things to worry about. Frustrating beyond belief because there I was ready to hand then over 27 years of knowledge gained the hard way and make it easy on them, but they wanted no part of it.
No hard feelings considering I knew exactly why they didn't want to know. Neither did I. I didn't have a military marriage. I had a veteran marriage. In the beginning of learning what PTSD was and what it did, I regretted looking at what could happen when the worst was finally sinking in my brain. Back then my husband's PTSD was mild. Thinking about what the future could hold scared the hell out of me. Then I knew that if I understood it, I'd know what to do and how to deal with it. So I grabbed everything I could from book stores, bought any magazine with Vietnam stories in it and went to the library to read about ancient warfare and this wound of the centuries. I knew whatever I learned, I was preparing for a battle of my own and I was armed and ready.
Now I try to tell the wives and husbands of today's warriors to prepare for their own battle. While some will take away what I have to share too many others walk away. They just don't want to know. If they think it is hard now, they will be shocked for what can come after and my heart breaks for them. Too many of them will see their marriages end needlessly. I'm glad that Casey's wife is trying to wake them up. I really hope she succeeds because I failed miserably doing it.
Extent of Nazi Camps Far Greater Than Realized
Extent of Nazi Camps Far Greater Than Realized
Decade-Long Study by Holocaust Museum Scholars Could Alter Public Understanding
By Monica Hesse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A little more than a decade ago, researchers at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum decided to create an encyclopedia of concentration camps. They assumed the finished work would be massive, featuring a staggering 5,000 to 7,000 camps and ghettos.
They underestimated by 15,000.
Their ultimate count of more than 20,000 camps -- which they reached after a year of research -- is far more than most scholars had known existed and might reshape public understanding of the scope of the Holocaust itself.
"What's going to happen is that the mental universe of how scholars operate is going to change," said Steven Katz, director of Boston University's Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies. "Instead of thinking of main death camps, people are going to understand that this was a continent-wide phenomenon."
The Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos: 1933-1945 "is the first major reference work for Holocaust studies since . . . the fall of the U.S.S.R." and the opening of many European archives, says Paul Shapiro, director of the museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. As a result, more information was available to researchers than had ever been before.
go here for more
Extent of Nazi Camps Far Greater Than Realized
Decade-Long Study by Holocaust Museum Scholars Could Alter Public Understanding
By Monica Hesse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A little more than a decade ago, researchers at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum decided to create an encyclopedia of concentration camps. They assumed the finished work would be massive, featuring a staggering 5,000 to 7,000 camps and ghettos.
They underestimated by 15,000.
Their ultimate count of more than 20,000 camps -- which they reached after a year of research -- is far more than most scholars had known existed and might reshape public understanding of the scope of the Holocaust itself.
"What's going to happen is that the mental universe of how scholars operate is going to change," said Steven Katz, director of Boston University's Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies. "Instead of thinking of main death camps, people are going to understand that this was a continent-wide phenomenon."
The Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos: 1933-1945 "is the first major reference work for Holocaust studies since . . . the fall of the U.S.S.R." and the opening of many European archives, says Paul Shapiro, director of the museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. As a result, more information was available to researchers than had ever been before.
go here for more
Extent of Nazi Camps Far Greater Than Realized
DAV reaching out to women veterans
DAV reaching out to women veterans
By Don Bowen/Fremont Tribune
Wednesday, Jun 03, 2009 - 11:19:39 am CDT
Renee Barnes just wanted a place to fit in.
She had finished serving 13 years in the U.S. Army veterinary corps.
Like many soldiers who serve that long, her time in service took her to many places around the world and in different U.S. locations. But when her time was over in 1995, she didn’t know where to turn.
“I was hurt physically,” Barnes said, adding she also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder like many soldiers.
“A lot of things happened that I didn’t feel comfortable in the outside world,” she continued. “I really needed a place to feel like I belonged. In here, I feel like I belong.”
Two months ago, Barnes joined the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 18 in Fremont.
“I didn’t even know this existed,” she said, sitting around a table at the DAV building at the corner of D and Second streets in downtown Fremont with a group of other veterans.
DAV service officer and past chapter commander Al Martinez said Barnes is one of two women who are among the nearly 200 members of the Fremont DAV.
But Martinez pointed out that even though there are only two women members in the military veterans organization, he has helped at least 20 women over the past few years get military disability benefits.
“We give them the option to join,” he said. “We’d like them to join, but we don’t require it. We’re here to help all veterans.”
go here for more
DAV reaching out to women veterans
By Don Bowen/Fremont Tribune
Wednesday, Jun 03, 2009 - 11:19:39 am CDT
Renee Barnes just wanted a place to fit in.
She had finished serving 13 years in the U.S. Army veterinary corps.
Like many soldiers who serve that long, her time in service took her to many places around the world and in different U.S. locations. But when her time was over in 1995, she didn’t know where to turn.
“I was hurt physically,” Barnes said, adding she also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder like many soldiers.
“A lot of things happened that I didn’t feel comfortable in the outside world,” she continued. “I really needed a place to feel like I belonged. In here, I feel like I belong.”
Two months ago, Barnes joined the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 18 in Fremont.
“I didn’t even know this existed,” she said, sitting around a table at the DAV building at the corner of D and Second streets in downtown Fremont with a group of other veterans.
DAV service officer and past chapter commander Al Martinez said Barnes is one of two women who are among the nearly 200 members of the Fremont DAV.
But Martinez pointed out that even though there are only two women members in the military veterans organization, he has helped at least 20 women over the past few years get military disability benefits.
“We give them the option to join,” he said. “We’d like them to join, but we don’t require it. We’re here to help all veterans.”
go here for more
DAV reaching out to women veterans
Veterans Reach Out To Help Peers Deal With PTSD
Veterans Reach Out To Help Peers Deal With PTSD
Posted By: Maureen O'Brien, News Director 3 mins ago
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- Major General Bill Libby says studies show that 25 to 30 percent of Maine National Guard soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from some form of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That's one reason Libby is supporting a new program called Veterans Helping Veterans.
The project has teamed up a group of about fifteen counselors and therapists from the Midcoast area who are all veterans themselves. They're reaching out to those new, returning vets, to offer help for those who need it.
Rob Pfeiffer, a founder of the group, says the counseling is offered free or very low cost. Pfeiffer, who is a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Vietnam, is also a family counselor. He says there are still far too many vets from past wars who have not sought help for their own PTSD issues. He's hoping that the old and young vets will feel comfortable talking with others who have been there, and know some of what they've gone through.
General Libby - also a Vietnam combat veteran - thinks the new program is a good idea. He says a lot of Guard soldiers and other vets haven't been willing to ask for help, because they think it shows some kind of weakness. But Libby says that even he sometimes needs to talk to someone about his own war experiences. He's hoping more vets will be able to step forward and ask for the help they need.
To contact Veterans Helping Veterans you can call Rob Pfeiffer at (207) 236- 3777.
Click here for more information. (and to see video)
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=105487&catid=2
NEWS CENTER
Posted By: Maureen O'Brien, News Director 3 mins ago
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- Major General Bill Libby says studies show that 25 to 30 percent of Maine National Guard soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from some form of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That's one reason Libby is supporting a new program called Veterans Helping Veterans.
The project has teamed up a group of about fifteen counselors and therapists from the Midcoast area who are all veterans themselves. They're reaching out to those new, returning vets, to offer help for those who need it.
Rob Pfeiffer, a founder of the group, says the counseling is offered free or very low cost. Pfeiffer, who is a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Vietnam, is also a family counselor. He says there are still far too many vets from past wars who have not sought help for their own PTSD issues. He's hoping that the old and young vets will feel comfortable talking with others who have been there, and know some of what they've gone through.
General Libby - also a Vietnam combat veteran - thinks the new program is a good idea. He says a lot of Guard soldiers and other vets haven't been willing to ask for help, because they think it shows some kind of weakness. But Libby says that even he sometimes needs to talk to someone about his own war experiences. He's hoping more vets will be able to step forward and ask for the help they need.
To contact Veterans Helping Veterans you can call Rob Pfeiffer at (207) 236- 3777.
Click here for more information. (and to see video)
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=105487&catid=2
NEWS CENTER
Group of suspects in Walmart shooting included women and a child
Fourth person arrested in connection with Wal-Mart shooting
By KOMO Staff & News Services TACOMA -- A fourth person has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of an armored car guard during a robbery at the Lakewood Wal-Mart store on Tuesday.
Police arrested the man from a home near the corner of S. 58th Street and South Houson Streets in Tacoma around 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to Lakewood police spokeswoman Heidi Hoffman.
It's not clear yet what role police suspect that person had in the shooting.
The arrest comes several hours after police arrested another man in connection with the shooting during a traffic stop in Fife. Sources told KOMO 4 News the man was one of the two suspected gunmen. A woman and child were in the car, and Lakewood Police took the woman in for questioning.
Another man and a woman were arrested Tuesday night and booked into the Pierce County Jail, Hoffman said. Those two are suspected accomplices and sources told KOMO News one is a Wal-Mart employee.
The robbers are seen in security video
Hoffman said surveillance video at the store makes it clear that the robbery was planned and that the shooter made no attempt to take the money without violence.
"They just walked up and executed him," Hoffman said. "It was very violent, very cold blooded."
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46850547.html
By KOMO Staff & News Services TACOMA -- A fourth person has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of an armored car guard during a robbery at the Lakewood Wal-Mart store on Tuesday.
Police arrested the man from a home near the corner of S. 58th Street and South Houson Streets in Tacoma around 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to Lakewood police spokeswoman Heidi Hoffman.
It's not clear yet what role police suspect that person had in the shooting.
The arrest comes several hours after police arrested another man in connection with the shooting during a traffic stop in Fife. Sources told KOMO 4 News the man was one of the two suspected gunmen. A woman and child were in the car, and Lakewood Police took the woman in for questioning.
Another man and a woman were arrested Tuesday night and booked into the Pierce County Jail, Hoffman said. Those two are suspected accomplices and sources told KOMO News one is a Wal-Mart employee.
The robbers are seen in security video
Hoffman said surveillance video at the store makes it clear that the robbery was planned and that the shooter made no attempt to take the money without violence.
"They just walked up and executed him," Hoffman said. "It was very violent, very cold blooded."
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46850547.html
Police continue search for missing Ocoee woman
Police continue search for missing Ocoee woman
Bianca Prieto Sentinel Staff Writer
3:55 PM EDT, June 3, 2009
Ocoee police continue their hunt for a missing 27-year-old woman who was last seen leaving a MetroWest bar May 26.
Tracy Ocasio disappeared after watching an Orlando Magic playoff game with friends at Taproom. Police say James Virgil Hataway, 28, is the only person of interest in the case so far.
"He was the last person to talk to her," Ocoee Detective James Berish said.
Crimeline is now offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in the case.
go here for more
Police continue search for missing Ocoee woman
Woman: I was choked by 'person of interest' in Tracy Ocasio disappearance
Bianca Prieto Sentinel Staff Writer
3:55 PM EDT, June 3, 2009
Ocoee police continue their hunt for a missing 27-year-old woman who was last seen leaving a MetroWest bar May 26.
Tracy Ocasio disappeared after watching an Orlando Magic playoff game with friends at Taproom. Police say James Virgil Hataway, 28, is the only person of interest in the case so far.
"He was the last person to talk to her," Ocoee Detective James Berish said.
Crimeline is now offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in the case.
go here for more
Police continue search for missing Ocoee woman
Woman: I was choked by 'person of interest' in Tracy Ocasio disappearance
Liza Murphy has been missing from her home in Emerson, New Jersey
Liza Murphy has been missing from her home in Emerson, New Jersey, since August 19, 2007.
Mom: 'I fear the worst, that my daughter is gone'
Story Highlights
Woman disappeared after argument with husband
Husband tried to kill himself after disappearance, denies involvement
Cadaver dogs detected Liza Murphy's scent near George Washington Bridge
Know something? Call 201-262-2800
By Rupa Mikkilineni
Nancy Grace Producer
NEW YORK (CNN) -- After arguing with her husband, Liza Murphy walked out of their home in Emerson, New Jersey, leaving behind her purse, her cigarettes, her cell phone and her three children, her husband told police. There has been no sign of her since August 19, 2007.
Liza Murphy has been missing from her home in Emerson, New Jersey, since August 19, 2007.
Murphy's friends and family reported her missing the next day.
"In my heart, I fear the worst, that my daughter is gone," said her mother, Sophia Stellatos.
Police searched extensively for Murphy, especially around a reservoir not far from her home, but they found nothing. Cadaver dogs caught her scent near the George Washington Bridge, but the trail went cold, police told the family.
Deepening the mystery, her husband, Joe Murphy, tried to take his own life a few days after his wife disappeared by walking into oncoming traffic and throwing himself in front of a fire truck, police say.
He was hospitalized and recovered from his injuries, but police say he hired a lawyer and is no longer cooperating with investigators.
Story Highlights
Woman disappeared after argument with husband
Husband tried to kill himself after disappearance, denies involvement
Cadaver dogs detected Liza Murphy's scent near George Washington Bridge
Know something? Call 201-262-2800
By Rupa Mikkilineni
Nancy Grace Producer
NEW YORK (CNN) -- After arguing with her husband, Liza Murphy walked out of their home in Emerson, New Jersey, leaving behind her purse, her cigarettes, her cell phone and her three children, her husband told police. There has been no sign of her since August 19, 2007.
Liza Murphy has been missing from her home in Emerson, New Jersey, since August 19, 2007.
Murphy's friends and family reported her missing the next day.
"In my heart, I fear the worst, that my daughter is gone," said her mother, Sophia Stellatos.
Police searched extensively for Murphy, especially around a reservoir not far from her home, but they found nothing. Cadaver dogs caught her scent near the George Washington Bridge, but the trail went cold, police told the family.
Deepening the mystery, her husband, Joe Murphy, tried to take his own life a few days after his wife disappeared by walking into oncoming traffic and throwing himself in front of a fire truck, police say.
He was hospitalized and recovered from his injuries, but police say he hired a lawyer and is no longer cooperating with investigators.
go here for more
Recruiting center shooting suspect had other targets
New info released on recruiting center suspect
By Chuck Bartels - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 14:27:26 EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Muslim convert accused of killing a soldier outside a recruiting center may have been considering other targets including Jewish and Christian sites — and had the firepower to carry out more attacks, according to law enforcement officials.
A joint FBI-Homeland Security intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press said officers found maps to Jewish organizations, a child-care center, a Baptist church, a post office and military recruiting centers in the southeastern U.S. and New York and Philadelphia.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and in light of newly discovered information, the FBI cannot rule out additional subjects, targets, or the potential for inspired copycats who might act out in support of the original act,” the intelligence assessment said.
Abdulhakim Muhammad, 23, of Little Rock had targeted soldiers “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past,” authorities said, saying he had said he wanted to “kill as many people in the Army as he could.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_recruiting_center_shooting_060309/
By Chuck Bartels - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 14:27:26 EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Muslim convert accused of killing a soldier outside a recruiting center may have been considering other targets including Jewish and Christian sites — and had the firepower to carry out more attacks, according to law enforcement officials.
A joint FBI-Homeland Security intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press said officers found maps to Jewish organizations, a child-care center, a Baptist church, a post office and military recruiting centers in the southeastern U.S. and New York and Philadelphia.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and in light of newly discovered information, the FBI cannot rule out additional subjects, targets, or the potential for inspired copycats who might act out in support of the original act,” the intelligence assessment said.
Abdulhakim Muhammad, 23, of Little Rock had targeted soldiers “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past,” authorities said, saying he had said he wanted to “kill as many people in the Army as he could.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_recruiting_center_shooting_060309/
Operation Open Arms now offers mental health services to military
Operation Open Arms now offers mental health services to military
By MARIANNE PATON, news@breezenewspapers.com
POSTED: June 3, 2009
Thanks to Operation Open Arms, soldiers visiting Lee County can now seek assistance with coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder free of charge.
Earlier this year, OOA founder Capt. John "Giddyup" Bunch put out a call to area counselors for their help with a growing problem among members of the military.
"In January of this year, I had read that more of our soldiers were dying from self-inflicted wounds than all of those kill in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan combined and I knew I had to do something about it," he said. "I then began calling area therapists to enlist their help and now we have a great team that will provide counseling pro bono."
According to Bunch, members of the military can obtain counseling through the Veteran's Administration, but the soldier would have to clear the need for treatment with his or her superior officer, wade through a mountain a paper work and possibly face the threat of the negative stigmatizement commonly associated to those who are in need of mental health treatment.
"In addition to avoiding the sigmatism frequently attached to any mental health issue, these soldiers are on leave for a limited time and often times are made to make a co-payment for services provided by the VA." he said. "Our program is completely confidential and won't cost the soldier a dime."
go here for more
Operation Open Arms now offers mental health services to military
By MARIANNE PATON, news@breezenewspapers.com
POSTED: June 3, 2009
Thanks to Operation Open Arms, soldiers visiting Lee County can now seek assistance with coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder free of charge.
Earlier this year, OOA founder Capt. John "Giddyup" Bunch put out a call to area counselors for their help with a growing problem among members of the military.
"In January of this year, I had read that more of our soldiers were dying from self-inflicted wounds than all of those kill in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan combined and I knew I had to do something about it," he said. "I then began calling area therapists to enlist their help and now we have a great team that will provide counseling pro bono."
According to Bunch, members of the military can obtain counseling through the Veteran's Administration, but the soldier would have to clear the need for treatment with his or her superior officer, wade through a mountain a paper work and possibly face the threat of the negative stigmatizement commonly associated to those who are in need of mental health treatment.
"In addition to avoiding the sigmatism frequently attached to any mental health issue, these soldiers are on leave for a limited time and often times are made to make a co-payment for services provided by the VA." he said. "Our program is completely confidential and won't cost the soldier a dime."
go here for more
Operation Open Arms now offers mental health services to military
The Wall That Heals in Johnson City TN
The Wall That Heals
Bristol Herald Courier - Bristol,TN,USA
By Mac McLean
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: June 3, 2009
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Support for Parkinson’s disease sufferers blended perfectly with a desire to honor America’s veterans Tuesday as 300 motorcycles escorted The Wall That Heals to Freedom Hall’s Liberty Bell track.
Among the bikers was Mike Johnston of Bristol, Tenn., a veteran who has Parkinson’s and, as a member of the Northeast Tennessee Parkinson’s Disease Support Group has traveled more than 23,000 miles on his bike to champion efforts to find a cure.
“There’s a lot of days I can’t ride because the tremors are so bad, but other days I can ride as good as I ever could,” Johnston said. And being a part of Tuesday’s procession was a good day, he could ride and champion both of his causes: his fellow veterans and his desire to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
The Wall That Heals is a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The half-scale version travels the country, giving people a chance to pay their respects to those who died in the Vietnam War, said Richard “Gunny” Lyons with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
“This is for people who can’t get to Washington,” Lyons said, adding that The Wall That Heals can attract crowds of 4,000 to 10,000 people when it is on display.
It also brings large escorts of motorcycle riders organized by veteran’s support groups, including Rolling Thunder.
click link above for more
Bristol Herald Courier - Bristol,TN,USA
By Mac McLean
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: June 3, 2009
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Support for Parkinson’s disease sufferers blended perfectly with a desire to honor America’s veterans Tuesday as 300 motorcycles escorted The Wall That Heals to Freedom Hall’s Liberty Bell track.
Among the bikers was Mike Johnston of Bristol, Tenn., a veteran who has Parkinson’s and, as a member of the Northeast Tennessee Parkinson’s Disease Support Group has traveled more than 23,000 miles on his bike to champion efforts to find a cure.
“There’s a lot of days I can’t ride because the tremors are so bad, but other days I can ride as good as I ever could,” Johnston said. And being a part of Tuesday’s procession was a good day, he could ride and champion both of his causes: his fellow veterans and his desire to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
The Wall That Heals is a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The half-scale version travels the country, giving people a chance to pay their respects to those who died in the Vietnam War, said Richard “Gunny” Lyons with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
“This is for people who can’t get to Washington,” Lyons said, adding that The Wall That Heals can attract crowds of 4,000 to 10,000 people when it is on display.
It also brings large escorts of motorcycle riders organized by veteran’s support groups, including Rolling Thunder.
click link above for more
94 percent of military families feel disconnected from the rest of us
U.S. Rep. Joe SestakCongressman Sestak closed it this way
Vets, beyond Memorial Day
By JOE SESTAK
AS A 31-year Navy veteran, I'm grateful for the Daily News editorial on veterans and share your concern that few Americans are as aware of the true meaning of Memorial Day as they should be, and even fewer continue to recognize its purpose once it's passed.
A recent survey sponsored by Blue Star Mothers of America found that 94 percent of the military families polled felt they were disconnected from our society. The group represents the relatively few American families touched by our current conflicts. When we consider that less than one percent of our population is directly involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's all the more important that we never take those who are serving and waiting for granted.As for the men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, many go outside the wire every day for entire 15- month deployments, not knowing if the car beside them, or even a person walking down the street, will explode. A 2008 Army survey reported that more than one in eight soldiers in these conflicts take anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications or sleeping pills. Yet the number of behavioral health workers in the theater of combat decreased from one for every 387 troops in 2004 to one for every 734 in 2007.
The challenges of helping veterans of current conflicts are compounded by the fact that we have not, for three generations, appropriately dealt with the psychological impact of war on our warriors. Thomas Childers, author of the recently published "Soldiers from the War Returning," uncovered 1.3 million hospitalizations for neuropsychiatric symptoms during WW II. He found that divorce filings by vets were twice the civilian rate, and, in January 1946, only 6,000 of the 52,000 disabled veterans who applied for jobs found employment.
During my lifetime our nation broke faith with our Vietnam veterans. The severe recessions of 1969 and 1974 did much to complicate the return of that generation, and those men and women came home not only to a struggling economy, but also to a lesser GI Bill than their fathers and a VA unprepared to deal with the unique nature of that war and the changes to our society since the 1940s. Partly as a result of these past failures, as well as the stress of today's military operations, one in four homeless Americans are veterans and every day 18 vets commit suicide.go here for more
As George Washington so eloquently put it:
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." *
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak is a Democrat who represents the 7th District.
It is the same way I end my emails.
Is there really any need to wonder why military families feel isolated and alone? I've lived with veterans all my life, so I guess it's only natural that I care. Yet when I go out with friends, the conversation usually turns temporarily to what I do. The conversation doesn't last long and someone always seems to change the subject but that someone is never me. While PTSD is more easily discussed among veterans in social gatherings, again, they are never lengthy conversations unless the person happens to be living with PTSD.
Strangers will notice my Chaplain shirt and make some kind of comment like "I didn't know they made female chaplains" and I'll add fuel to the fire by saying " Yes, they even make female veterans chaplains." The conversation usually ends there. If I say very little without mentioning veterans, the conversation lasts longer. When you think we are a nation of over 300 million people and there are less than 30 million veterans, it's easy to understand the disconnect.
While TV shows like MASH were popular and some movies like Saving Private Ryan, the TV coverage of two live military campaigns has been virtually non-existent. During the Vietnam War there were daily reminders of the sacrifices being made by the warriors but it was not a movie and the American public had enough. The Gulf War was covered more but considering how fast it was over, it did not "get on people's nerves" as much as Vietnam did. With Shock and Awe, the bombing of Baghdad, again, it seemed to be over almost as fast as it began and soon the military was rolling in to the heart of the city. By then, Afghanistan was all but forgotten.
Afghanistan was invaded in 2001 and 12 US lives were lost. As of today the total is 695 with each year claiming higher and higher fatalities and casualties. The Coalition forces did not lose any lives until 2002 when 20 were killed. As of today that number is 473. Last year was the worse year with 155 US lives lost and 139 Coalition forces lost according to ICasualties.org.
Iraq has been going on for 2,265 days and has claimed the lives of 4,308 US lives, 179 from the UK and 139 from other nations. The US is pretty much alone in Iraq now. It's hard to believe both of these military campaigns have been going on that long.
What is even harder to believe is the American public are too consumed with their own problems to even notice. They don't see the hardship on the troops redeploying or on their families saying good-by yet again, or the strain of being a single parent. They don't see the hardship on the citizen soldiers or their families when they ship out as they try to make ends meet in between deployment and homecoming. They surely don't see the numbers of PTSD wounded either.
When we read reports in the newspapers about the growing numbers there is another disconnect between acknowledging the difference between what the VA has for reported numbers and what the Department of Defense has. These numbers are not combined. One more fact is that until a claim is approved by the VA, they are not counted either and there are over 900,000 claims in the backlog pile getting higher everyday. I was talking with someone in suicide prevention and I stated clearly given the numbers we had after Vietnam, the redeployments and increase risk of PTSD, we're looking at a million within the next two years. He said we were already at 600,000. Try telling that to the American public when the broadcast media has been missing in action on this. How many special reports have they done? How many investigative reports have they done?
Even with the killing at Camp Liberty in Iraq by Sgt. Russell, there was very little reporting done. How can we expect the American public to become involved if they know nothing? The bigger question is, how can we fill in the break between military families and the rest of society when this minority remains out of the spotlight?
U.S. D-Day Memorial struggles to stay afloat
U.S. D-Day Memorial struggles to stay afloat
By Sue Lindsey - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 17:28:32 EDT
BEDFORD, Va. — On the eve of the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the foundation that runs the National D-Day Memorial is on the brink of financial ruin.
Donations are down in the poor economy. The primary base of support — World War II veterans — is dying off. And the privately funded memorial is struggling to draw visitors because it is hundreds of miles from a major city.
The memorial opened eight years ago at a ceremony attended by President George W. Bush. It was built in Bedford because the community suffered among the highest per-capita losses in the United States on D-Day.
Facing the prospect of cutting staff and hours, the memorial’s president believes its only hope for long-term survival is to be taken over by the National Park Service or by a college or university.
So far, he has found no takers.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_d_day_memorial_060209/
By Sue Lindsey - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 17:28:32 EDT
BEDFORD, Va. — On the eve of the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the foundation that runs the National D-Day Memorial is on the brink of financial ruin.
Donations are down in the poor economy. The primary base of support — World War II veterans — is dying off. And the privately funded memorial is struggling to draw visitors because it is hundreds of miles from a major city.
The memorial opened eight years ago at a ceremony attended by President George W. Bush. It was built in Bedford because the community suffered among the highest per-capita losses in the United States on D-Day.
Facing the prospect of cutting staff and hours, the memorial’s president believes its only hope for long-term survival is to be taken over by the National Park Service or by a college or university.
So far, he has found no takers.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_d_day_memorial_060209/
D-Day veteran: "The horror I saw"
D-Day veteran: "The horror I saw"
US veteran Robert Sales was dropped on the beaches of Normandy as part of the D-Day landings, a crucial turning point in the war with Nazi Germany.
In one of the biggest military exercises in history, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops on 6 June 1944. On D-Day alone up to 3,000 Allied soldiers died, with 9,000 wounded or missing.
As the world prepares to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the operation, Mr Sales reflects on his experience, admitting, "I had never dreamed of a disaster like this".
US veteran Robert Sales was dropped on the beaches of Normandy as part of the D-Day landings, a crucial turning point in the war with Nazi Germany.
In one of the biggest military exercises in history, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops on 6 June 1944. On D-Day alone up to 3,000 Allied soldiers died, with 9,000 wounded or missing.
As the world prepares to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the operation, Mr Sales reflects on his experience, admitting, "I had never dreamed of a disaster like this".
SOS from VFW: Combat Vets in Trouble
After posting about the idiot denying the reality of PTSD, I have found restoration of my fellow informed readers of reality. This article was followed by over 300 comments and most of them were positive. They comment on how they are veterans or have someone in their family suffering from PTSD. After you read the article, please read some of the comments and know, the plague of deniers of PTSD are the minority and have everything to be ashamed of instead of the veterans.
Also on this
VFW chief: Look out for struggling soldiers
By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 13:55:21 EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is urging more than 1.6 million veteran members to reach out to soldiers who may be considering suicide.
Commander in Chief Glen Gardner issued the open letter following the announcement last week that 11 soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., have committed suicide in 2009 — the highest of any Army post.
The Army reached the highest rate of suicides on record last year.
Gardner said Wednesday that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to open up to other combat veterans about personal or psychological problems.
“Your credibility goes up greatly with these young people” if you have served in combat, he said. “VFW people are not counselors, they are not trained to be counselors, but those of us who have been in combat can listen and understand what they are talking about.”
He asked the members to listen, be sympathetic and take soldiers to professional counseling through the military or the Veterans Affairs. He said this is first time the Kansas City, Mo.-based veterans group has asked its members to seek out both active duty and National Guard and Reserve soldiers who may be struggling.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_vfw_plea_troops_060309/
SOS from VFW: Combat Vets in Trouble
David Wood
Their stories are legion. The stress behind their stories, stress that combat veterans often hold tight inside, can be painful and destructive.
There was the Marine in Afghanistan who told me he has post-traumatic stress disorder so bad he can't stand to be safe at home, where he sometimes drops to the floor, thinking a loud noise is an incoming mortar. He keeps volunteering to return to combat, where his hair-trigger reflexes make sense. Where he's comfortable.
For veterans, telling their stories can be helpful. Having someone listen? Priceless.
With a new generation of veterans returning from combat and military suicides on an alarming rise, listening is the idea behind a global alert from the Veterans of Foreign Wars to its 2.2 million members. Find a vet. Offer to listen.
"The need has overwhelmed the capacity of government and civilian mental health centers,'' said VFW Commander Glen M. Gardner, Jr., who served as a Marine in Vietnam.
"I urge every VFW member to get immediately involved by seeking out and extending a hand of friendship and help'' to local veterans. "Our government cannot battle this enemy alone, nor should that 22-year-old combat veteran," Gardner said in a May 29 appeal to his members.
For most combat veterans, the stress of wartime deployment eases over time.
"Whether people have full-blown PTSD or just some of the symptoms, most people do get better over a short period of time with the support of family and friends," said Dr. Sonja Batten, deputy director of the Pentagon's Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.
go here for more
Combat Vets in Trouble
Also on this
VFW chief: Look out for struggling soldiers
By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 13:55:21 EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is urging more than 1.6 million veteran members to reach out to soldiers who may be considering suicide.
Commander in Chief Glen Gardner issued the open letter following the announcement last week that 11 soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., have committed suicide in 2009 — the highest of any Army post.
The Army reached the highest rate of suicides on record last year.
Gardner said Wednesday that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to open up to other combat veterans about personal or psychological problems.
“Your credibility goes up greatly with these young people” if you have served in combat, he said. “VFW people are not counselors, they are not trained to be counselors, but those of us who have been in combat can listen and understand what they are talking about.”
He asked the members to listen, be sympathetic and take soldiers to professional counseling through the military or the Veterans Affairs. He said this is first time the Kansas City, Mo.-based veterans group has asked its members to seek out both active duty and National Guard and Reserve soldiers who may be struggling.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_vfw_plea_troops_060309/
Ignorance of PTSD is a plague against veterans
by
Chaplain Kathie
With literally hundreds of articles to read during the week, I tend to pass by opinion pieces. There is just not enough hours in the day to respond to all of them. This one got to me. Maybe I'm in a bad mood this morning? Lack of sleep tends to do that.
A broken warrior By Catherine Whitney was as great piece telling the story of her brother, a Vietnam veteran wounded by PTSD. This lead to a response from a reader denying the reality of PTSD. While I've read too many of this kind of ignorance from the uneducated over the years, there is no excuse for them to attack the veterans they are claiming they care about. What is behind the denial of PTSD and baseless claims? The end result is that this kind of attitude is like a plague against veterans and the generations of warriors risking their lives, putting themselves in harms way and suffering for doing what the rest of us have not.
Here is the comment posted on Hutchinson News Online and my reply in case they will not allow it to be published.
And now read what produced the comment by Mr. Rogers.
When you live with PTSD in your own home, you know what is real. When you help other veterans and police officers, firefighters and their families, you know what is real. When you work with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, you know what is real. People like Mr. Rogers, well, they are part of the reason the stigma lives on and I really believe they are the biggest insult to veterans because they seem to think they are looking for a free ride. I don't know about this Mr. Rogers or his history but he fails to understand that this kind of suffering is real, they can make a lot more money working for a living instead of being unable to work and collecting disability from the VA and suffer all kinds of indignation in the process. If people like Mr. Rogers cared at all about our veterans, he would invest some time in finding out what PTSD is, what it does to them instead of spending time attacking them. He is too much like too many still in some kind of bubble finding fault with the wounded instead of themselves getting in the way of them getting the help to heal. The dishonor only exists because of people like Mr. Rogers and frankly I'm glad he does not live in my neighborhood!
Chaplain Kathie
With literally hundreds of articles to read during the week, I tend to pass by opinion pieces. There is just not enough hours in the day to respond to all of them. This one got to me. Maybe I'm in a bad mood this morning? Lack of sleep tends to do that.
A broken warrior By Catherine Whitney was as great piece telling the story of her brother, a Vietnam veteran wounded by PTSD. This lead to a response from a reader denying the reality of PTSD. While I've read too many of this kind of ignorance from the uneducated over the years, there is no excuse for them to attack the veterans they are claiming they care about. What is behind the denial of PTSD and baseless claims? The end result is that this kind of attitude is like a plague against veterans and the generations of warriors risking their lives, putting themselves in harms way and suffering for doing what the rest of us have not.
Here is the comment posted on Hutchinson News Online and my reply in case they will not allow it to be published.
The PTSD myth
Catherine Whitney's "Broken Warrior" piece about veterans and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was about 180 degrees off course. It perpetuates the myth that there is an epidemic of mental illness in veterans because of their military experiences. My 30 years in the VA disability benefit bureaucracy showed a far different situation. Almost every VA employee I ever met who evaluated PTSD claims concluded that most were bogus grabs for money.
The truth is that the VA pays out billions of dollars a year in payments for PTSD where it does not exist. A huge self-serving industry has sprung up around this "disorder." Veterans profit by claiming the condition when they don't have it. VA medical clinicians diagnose the condition because their jobs depend on it. There is also profit for the attorneys, service organization representatives, VA bureaucratic personnel, politicians, and, yes, even authors who grandstand on this. The result is a siphoning of money away from the truly deserving vets with the real injuries and wounds.
Catherine Whitney would have you believe that it is difficult for a veteran to receive a diagnosis and money for PTSD. Actually, the money and diagnosis are available to about every vet, with or without a combat history. There is no objective test for the condition. It exists if the vet seeking money says he has it and the VA clinician needing a job supports him. The VA tends to pay more PTSD money to the rear echelon clerks than to vets with primary combat duties. That the money is paid inversely to actual combat experience is just a clue to the enormity of the fraud and abuse surrounding this diagnosis.
Ms. Whitney blamed her brother's alcoholism and situation in life to his military experiences rather than face the fact that some people just become alcoholics. She said that today's war heroes too often become tomorrow's poor or resort to suicide when there is no statistical evidence of that. Such unsupported claims were exposed years ago by the book "Stolen Valor" by B.G Burkett. Anyone who wants a true picture of the PTSD situation should go find a copy. What you shouldn't do is listen to people like Catherine Whitney or anyone trying to make a buck from the true sacrifices of vets.
MARK ROGERS
Pretty Prairie
Mr. Rogers,
What is your history with researching PTSD, living with it or even knowing someone with it? How many veterans have you talked to so wounded they have to struggle just to find reasons to get up out of bed after another night of reliving what they went thru in their dreams? Have you ever seen a veteran going thru a flashback? Somehow, I doubt you know very much about this but apparently think you can justify your lack of knowledge and ambivalence by writing about it.
Here are some facts for you because apparently while you have an opinion, it is not based on facts but merely assumptions.
PTSD comes from an outside force after a traumatic event that is captured within the soul/emotions, in case you are not a religious person. Scientists have found the part of the brain changed by PTSD responsible for the emotions in humans. It's been proven.
Next, if you ever read history regarding warfare, you'd see all the signs of it. Ancient Greek and Romans recorded the aftermath of war. It is recorded in the pages of the Bible even though there is a tendency to over look it. Abraham was a warrior and so was Moses. Read Judges and Kings or the Psalms of David and see it. Every generation of Americans have endured this invisible wound going back to the Revolutionary War. It's been called many things. Nostalgia, Soldier's Heart, Shell Shock and then arriving at Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by 1978. By then there were 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD and this was published in several studies. The DAV commissioned a study by Jim Goodwin, Psy.D, Readjustment Problems Among Vietnam Veterans, The Etiology of Combat Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it was all there.
By 1986 there were 117,000 suicides. Two later studies put the numbers between 150,000 and 200,000. Over 300,000 ended up homeless. Incarcerations of Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD and self medicating with street drugs and alcohol became part of the aftermath. One more fact you lack is that had it not been for Vietnam veterans coming back and fighting to have this wound treated as a service connected disability, the rest of us would find no help at all. That includes police officers, firefighters and emergency responders. It includes people suffering from traumatic events like crimes and accidents along with natural disasters. All generations of veterans have been helped because of what Vietnam veterans did.
Now, you can look at PTSD anyway you want, but when you publicly come out making baseless claims against the reality, you are a plague much like the morons in the past unable to think like a human with emotions. People like you are part of the reason my own husband would not go for help when PTSD was mild and he had a better chance to heal more fully. Because of people like you he didn't want help until it was almost too late. I had the ammunition to overrule people like you because I knew exactly what PTSD was and what it was doing to him along with all the other veterans I had helped thru the years.
Next time you go to the VA try talking to a Marine back from Iraq, if they'll talk to you at all. I'm a Chaplain so they know they can trust me. I've held enough of them in my arms when they were crying and apologizing for the pain they were carrying because people like you would rather judge them than help them heal. No one is slamming veterans because they have PTSD, but people like you slam them and insult them all the time because you deny this wound is real. These brave men and women ended up doing their duty, finishing their mission, caring for their brothers in arms with the pain eating away at them with flashbacks and nightmares and did not allow themselves to think of themselves until their duty was over. And you, you with your ignorance insult them?
And now read what produced the comment by Mr. Rogers.
A broken warrior
By Catherine Whitney - Special to the Los Angeles Times
My brother, Jim, was a soldier once, but when he died, at age 53, he was long past the time when anyone called him a hero. He died alone, in poverty, alienated from family and friends, his life and death complicated by war wounds that penetrated far deeper than the pieces of shrapnel that won him his Purple Heart. Jim was a Vietnam combat engineer who survived the war but later became another kind of statistic - a lost soul, a veteran who never recovered from his experiences.
Jim didn't seek help, nor did the Army offer it during his 20-year military career. Instead, to try to deal with his pain, he began to drink. He was forced into retirement when he was 37, with nothing but a drawer full of medals, a subsistence-level pension and a crushed spirit.
We hear a lot of talk about post-traumatic stress disorder afflicting troops and veterans. To its credit, the military has tried to update its attitudes and systems to accommodate the growing number of traumatized soldiers returning from our current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But PTSD is still viewed as an abnormal response to battlefield trauma rather than the reaction of a normal person to the horrors of war. And so the stigma remains.
Tragically, it is often left to individual soldiers and veterans to seek help. Many are career military, as my brother was, and they fear the dishonor associated with a diagnosis of PTSD.
go here for more
http://www.hutchnews.com/Columns/brokenmkow
When you live with PTSD in your own home, you know what is real. When you help other veterans and police officers, firefighters and their families, you know what is real. When you work with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, you know what is real. People like Mr. Rogers, well, they are part of the reason the stigma lives on and I really believe they are the biggest insult to veterans because they seem to think they are looking for a free ride. I don't know about this Mr. Rogers or his history but he fails to understand that this kind of suffering is real, they can make a lot more money working for a living instead of being unable to work and collecting disability from the VA and suffer all kinds of indignation in the process. If people like Mr. Rogers cared at all about our veterans, he would invest some time in finding out what PTSD is, what it does to them instead of spending time attacking them. He is too much like too many still in some kind of bubble finding fault with the wounded instead of themselves getting in the way of them getting the help to heal. The dishonor only exists because of people like Mr. Rogers and frankly I'm glad he does not live in my neighborhood!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
3 brothers found dead in Lake Houston likely drowned
Police: 3 brothers found dead in Lake Houston likely drowned
Bodies found near Dwight D. Eisenhower Park
08:32 PM CDT on Monday, June 1, 2009
By Michelle Homer & Rucks Russell / 11 News
HOUSTON -- Something went terribly wrong during a family fishing trip Sunday and three brothers ended up dead.
A fisherman spotted the bodies just after 10 a.m. Monday in the Big Eddie Tributary that flows into Lake Houston.
Homicide investigators were called to the scene, but said there were no signs of foul play and the cause of death appeared to be accidental drowning.
The brothers, ages 21, 16 and 14, were fishing from the shore. The younger ones were visiting their brother from Mexico and had just arrived here five days ago.
go here for more
brothers found dead in Lake Houston likely drowned
linked from CNN
Bodies found near Dwight D. Eisenhower Park
08:32 PM CDT on Monday, June 1, 2009
By Michelle Homer & Rucks Russell / 11 News
HOUSTON -- Something went terribly wrong during a family fishing trip Sunday and three brothers ended up dead.
A fisherman spotted the bodies just after 10 a.m. Monday in the Big Eddie Tributary that flows into Lake Houston.
Homicide investigators were called to the scene, but said there were no signs of foul play and the cause of death appeared to be accidental drowning.
The brothers, ages 21, 16 and 14, were fishing from the shore. The younger ones were visiting their brother from Mexico and had just arrived here five days ago.
go here for more
brothers found dead in Lake Houston likely drowned
linked from CNN
For soldiers, stress after war may be the biggest enemy
For soldiers, stress after war may be the biggest enemy
by Karen Leigh
June 02, 2009
Insurgents are stealthy fighters, their attacks unexpected, startling and violent.
Combined with the stress of longer deployments, loneliness and brutal desert conditions, they are the perfect trigger for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Soldiers now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing the highest levels of PTSD since the Vietnam War.
Some just have trouble sleeping. Some find themselves emotionally numb or easily startled.
In the most extreme cases, soldiers have killed themselves – and fellow soldiers.
The nonprofit aid organization Veterans for Common Sense said that as of December 15, 2008, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, had diagnosed 115,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets with PTSD.
“These are staggering numbers,” said VCS executive director Paul Sullivan. “We can either admit that there’s a very serious problem and begin treatment, or we can ignore the problem and wait until the PTSD turns into unemployment, drug use, and suicide – very expensive social problems.”
go here for more
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=132737
by Karen Leigh
June 02, 2009
Insurgents are stealthy fighters, their attacks unexpected, startling and violent.
Combined with the stress of longer deployments, loneliness and brutal desert conditions, they are the perfect trigger for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Soldiers now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing the highest levels of PTSD since the Vietnam War.
Some just have trouble sleeping. Some find themselves emotionally numb or easily startled.
In the most extreme cases, soldiers have killed themselves – and fellow soldiers.
The nonprofit aid organization Veterans for Common Sense said that as of December 15, 2008, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, had diagnosed 115,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets with PTSD.
“These are staggering numbers,” said VCS executive director Paul Sullivan. “We can either admit that there’s a very serious problem and begin treatment, or we can ignore the problem and wait until the PTSD turns into unemployment, drug use, and suicide – very expensive social problems.”
go here for more
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=132737
Zoo Train Derails, Injuring 22 People
Zoo Train Derails, Injuring 22 People
By BRETT BARROUQUERE, AP
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 2) - A small train carrying visitors to the Louisville Zoo fell off the tracks Monday, sending 22 people to hospitals including one child who was critically injured, officials said.
The train of open-air cars is pulled by a small engine and circles the zoo along a two-mile track. It was carrying about 30 passengers when three cars and the engine fell off the rails near the gorilla exhibit. A person briefly trapped was able to be freed, zoo spokeswoman Kara Bussabarger said.
Seventeen children were taken to Kosair Children's Hospital for treatment, including one in critical condition and another in serious, said spokesman Brian Rublein. Five adults were taken to University of Louisville Hospital, and spokesman David McArthur said all were in fair or better condition and that one might be admitted.
go here for more
Zoo Train Derails, Injuring 22 People
By BRETT BARROUQUERE, AP
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 2) - A small train carrying visitors to the Louisville Zoo fell off the tracks Monday, sending 22 people to hospitals including one child who was critically injured, officials said.
The train of open-air cars is pulled by a small engine and circles the zoo along a two-mile track. It was carrying about 30 passengers when three cars and the engine fell off the rails near the gorilla exhibit. A person briefly trapped was able to be freed, zoo spokeswoman Kara Bussabarger said.
Seventeen children were taken to Kosair Children's Hospital for treatment, including one in critical condition and another in serious, said spokesman Brian Rublein. Five adults were taken to University of Louisville Hospital, and spokesman David McArthur said all were in fair or better condition and that one might be admitted.
go here for more
Zoo Train Derails, Injuring 22 People
Soldier's Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts
Laurie Malms photo
Sgt. W. Eric Rodman and his mom, Laurie Malms
Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts
By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- Each time Laurie Malm's son "goes down range," as he describes his three deployments to Iraq, she has sent lap-size quilts for his whole unit.
The project isn't what's hard, because Malm of Fernandina Beach usually enlists the help of willing volunteers from quilting guilds.
The hard part for Malm is knowing this is her son's third time being sent into a dangerous war zone.
The first time was when her son's Army unit marched on Baghdad in 2003.
"He was there when they invaded," Malm said in a phone interview. "What I wrote to President Bush and Colin Powell at the time: 'If you are sending my son to die, there better be weapons of mass destruction and a horde of them.' So now, to know that there wasn't, and so many of the soldiers have fallen, I feel it's wrong."
Rodman's return was welcomed with a parade for his unit, and Malm thought it was over.
As a result of the first project, she started Lollipops Designer Bindings -- an online business that sells bias bindings made for quilting and sewing enthusiasts -- when she learned "how many quilters hate to make bias," she said, referring to the bindings created using strips cut on the bias of the fabric.
For her son's recent deployment she assembled nearly 40 volunteers to make more than 20 quilts with the help of her friend Gracye Beeman, owner of The Sewing Garrett in Daytona Beach. Beeman has a special sewing machine that helps speed up the process of building a quilt.
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Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts
Police: Good Samaritan beheaded in Florida
Police: Good Samaritan beheaded in Florida
By Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in south Florida say a homeless man beheaded a good Samaritan who had given him a place to stay.
Lee County Sheriff's deputies went to 70-year-old Charles Rogers' apartment Thursday and found his body still in his wheelchair. His head had been placed near the front door.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/46486397.html
By Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in south Florida say a homeless man beheaded a good Samaritan who had given him a place to stay.
Lee County Sheriff's deputies went to 70-year-old Charles Rogers' apartment Thursday and found his body still in his wheelchair. His head had been placed near the front door.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/46486397.html
Body found in river where Fort Lewis soldier disappeared
Body found in Nisqually River
By KOMO Staff OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Search and rescue crews have recovered a body from the Nisqually River.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46733502.html
By KOMO Staff OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Search and rescue crews have recovered a body from the Nisqually River.
PFC Robert Wheatley Jr. was one of nine people on three rafts which capsized in the river when they hit a log jam. The other eight made it to shore safely.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46733502.html
Maj. Steve Hutchison adopted dog finds a home in the U.S.
Slain soldier's dog finds a home in the U.S.
A dog adopted by a 60-year-old Army major who was killed last month in Basra, Iraq, will have a home in Michigan.
After Maj. Steve Hutchison was killed on May 10, the saga of his “illegal” adoption of the stray dog he named Princess Leia became one of the fondest stories told by members of his unit.
In their telling, Hutchison signed a memo authorizing the dog as a member of the unit, which trains Iraqi border security officials. But even when that got him in trouble with his bosses, Hutchison didn’t give up.
click link for the rest
A dog adopted by a 60-year-old Army major who was killed last month in Basra, Iraq, will have a home in Michigan.
After Maj. Steve Hutchison was killed on May 10, the saga of his “illegal” adoption of the stray dog he named Princess Leia became one of the fondest stories told by members of his unit.
In their telling, Hutchison signed a memo authorizing the dog as a member of the unit, which trains Iraqi border security officials. But even when that got him in trouble with his bosses, Hutchison didn’t give up.
click link for the rest
Few answers year after body of guardsman found
What will it take to get the military to finally figure out what happened? A movie of the week deal? How could they leave the family suffering without answers? Will reporters beat down their doors for answers? Someone must know something!
Few answers year after body of guardsman found
By Holbrook Mohr - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 12:47:16 EDT
JACKSON, Miss. — One year after the skeletal remains of a Kentucky soldier were found in the woods on a South Mississippi military base just days before his unit left for Iraq, his death is still a mystery.
Spc. Ryan Longnecker, a Kentucky National Guard soldier, was training at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Miss., when he disappeared Aug. 6, 2007. His body was found June 3, 2008.
Several theories about the death and apparent inconsistencies in the case have left Longnecker’s family with questions they fear may never be answered, said Shirley Ann Longnecker of Cambridge City, Ind., the soldier’s paternal grandmother.
“They were supposed to give lie detector tests to a couple of the guys that he had a run-in with earlier, and somebody’s keeping them from talking about it,” the grandmother said. “We still feel like there could be foul play, but we don’t know.”
Longnecker’s nose and jaw were broken when the remains were found in a secluded area on the massive, 136,000-acre base just two days before his unit shipped out, Shirley Ann Longnecker said. The military would not confirm that to The Associated Press.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_longnecker_one_year_060209/
Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans
Silver Star Families of America Aiding Dying Veterans
The Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans who are eligible.
Silver Star Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR
Log (Press Release) – May 30, 2009 – OUR WOUNDED, OUR ILL AND OUR DYING
The Silver Star Families of America has one mission: To remember, honor and assist the wounded and ill of our armed forces from all wars. And while we struggle to meet the needs of our wounded and ill we cannot forget those that need us the most; our dying veterans.
More than 1,800 veterans die every day. (More than 600,000 a year) This represents one quarter of all deaths in the United States. 85 per cent of veterans do not receive V.A. care and most still die in their own communities with only about 4 per cent dying in V.A. facilities.
Our dying brothers and sisters deserve to die with dignity, respect and honor. And they deserve to die pain free with Spiritual and emotional support.
Hospice care is part of the basic eligibility package for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. (VHA) If hospice care is appropriate for enrolled veterans and has been approved by a VA physician, VA medical centers will either provide hospice care directly in their facilities or purchase it from community hospices.
“The need for education extends beyond the public to community hospice and VA providers as well. Many community hospices are unaware of the dedicated inpatient hospice units that exist in VA facilities. Likewise,VA facilities are often unfamiliar with the services community hospices can offer and how to work with them. There are also complex issues surrounding payment reimbursement and administration.” (Hospice Veteran Partnership Tool Kit)
End of life issues are always hard for us to deal with but it is an essential part of the mission of the Silver Star Families of America. We have started to issue Prayer Blankets to Hospice units at selected V.A. facilities. We can use your financial help.
Please go to: http://www.silverstarfamilies.org/VA_HOSPICE_CARE.html
Death is part of life and we will leave no veteran behind until they finally leave us for their last duty post.
The Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans who are eligible.
Silver Star Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR
Log (Press Release) – May 30, 2009 – OUR WOUNDED, OUR ILL AND OUR DYING
The Silver Star Families of America has one mission: To remember, honor and assist the wounded and ill of our armed forces from all wars. And while we struggle to meet the needs of our wounded and ill we cannot forget those that need us the most; our dying veterans.
More than 1,800 veterans die every day. (More than 600,000 a year) This represents one quarter of all deaths in the United States. 85 per cent of veterans do not receive V.A. care and most still die in their own communities with only about 4 per cent dying in V.A. facilities.
Our dying brothers and sisters deserve to die with dignity, respect and honor. And they deserve to die pain free with Spiritual and emotional support.
Hospice care is part of the basic eligibility package for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. (VHA) If hospice care is appropriate for enrolled veterans and has been approved by a VA physician, VA medical centers will either provide hospice care directly in their facilities or purchase it from community hospices.
“The need for education extends beyond the public to community hospice and VA providers as well. Many community hospices are unaware of the dedicated inpatient hospice units that exist in VA facilities. Likewise,VA facilities are often unfamiliar with the services community hospices can offer and how to work with them. There are also complex issues surrounding payment reimbursement and administration.” (Hospice Veteran Partnership Tool Kit)
End of life issues are always hard for us to deal with but it is an essential part of the mission of the Silver Star Families of America. We have started to issue Prayer Blankets to Hospice units at selected V.A. facilities. We can use your financial help.
Please go to: http://www.silverstarfamilies.org/VA_HOSPICE_CARE.html
Death is part of life and we will leave no veteran behind until they finally leave us for their last duty post.
10th Mountain soldier's death in Iraq under investigation
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Marko M. Samson, 30, of Columbus, Ohio, died May 31 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 277th Aviation Support Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock
Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock
By Laci Holcombe FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Monday, June 01, 2009
Story last updated at 6/1/2009 - 1:21 am
The unique bond that is formed between people who serve together in war was strongly displayed Friday when members of a Marine platoon that served together in
Vietnam gathered to remember and catch up.
Despite the years that have passed, the bond between these men remains strong.
Friday was an evening of recognition for First Platoon, India Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment. They gather twice a year for memories and camaraderie.
Larry Wilson, their platoon leader more than 40 years ago, helps sponsor and organize these reunions.
"In 1997, we had our first reunion in Big Bear, Calif.," said Wilson, "and it was the first time I had seen anybody since I led them in battle in 1967."
"So when we got together," said Wilson, "it was such a wonderful experience that we decided we should do this more often."
He said they decided to honor platoon member Lionel (Jerry) Lucero of Lubbock this year because he was their "tunnel rat." Wilson said they sent him into the tunnels to look for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, which used tunnels for storage and to hide from American forces.
"So I decided that this year we should come to Lubbock and see Jerry," said Wilson. Wilson said he had served here in the FBI in the 1970s, so he had a fondness for the city.
go here for more
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060109/fea_445807128.shtml
By Laci Holcombe FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Monday, June 01, 2009
Story last updated at 6/1/2009 - 1:21 am
The unique bond that is formed between people who serve together in war was strongly displayed Friday when members of a Marine platoon that served together in
Vietnam gathered to remember and catch up.
Despite the years that have passed, the bond between these men remains strong.
Friday was an evening of recognition for First Platoon, India Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment. They gather twice a year for memories and camaraderie.
Larry Wilson, their platoon leader more than 40 years ago, helps sponsor and organize these reunions.
"In 1997, we had our first reunion in Big Bear, Calif.," said Wilson, "and it was the first time I had seen anybody since I led them in battle in 1967."
"So when we got together," said Wilson, "it was such a wonderful experience that we decided we should do this more often."
He said they decided to honor platoon member Lionel (Jerry) Lucero of Lubbock this year because he was their "tunnel rat." Wilson said they sent him into the tunnels to look for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, which used tunnels for storage and to hide from American forces.
"So I decided that this year we should come to Lubbock and see Jerry," said Wilson. Wilson said he had served here in the FBI in the 1970s, so he had a fondness for the city.
go here for more
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060109/fea_445807128.shtml
Local ex-Marine spreads word about Camp Lejeune's once-toxic water
Local ex-Marine spreads word about Camp Lejeune's once-toxic water
ByFernandoQuintero
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 2, 2009
When he discovered he had bladder cancer in 2005, Mike Segura of Casselberry began searching for answers.
"The day I was diagnosed, I said, 'Lord, I don't know why I got this,'" said Segura, 51. "Right then, I felt peaceful. I could see He had a purpose."
In April 2008, Segura found a possible answer — and a purpose. A letter from the U.S. Marine Corps informed him he may have been exposed to toxic chemicals during his stay at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. During four decades, an estimated 500,000 civilians and soldiers were exposed to tainted drinking water on the base.
Segura's purpose, it turns out, is to help spread the word to others who lived on or near Camp Lejeune. He thinks his illness — and those of many others — was caused by exposure to the toxins that seeped from a dry cleaner and industrial activity at the camp into its water supply.
go here for more
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-aseccamp-lejeune-contamination-0060209jun02,0,6976866.story
ByFernandoQuintero
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 2, 2009
When he discovered he had bladder cancer in 2005, Mike Segura of Casselberry began searching for answers.
"The day I was diagnosed, I said, 'Lord, I don't know why I got this,'" said Segura, 51. "Right then, I felt peaceful. I could see He had a purpose."
In April 2008, Segura found a possible answer — and a purpose. A letter from the U.S. Marine Corps informed him he may have been exposed to toxic chemicals during his stay at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. During four decades, an estimated 500,000 civilians and soldiers were exposed to tainted drinking water on the base.
Segura's purpose, it turns out, is to help spread the word to others who lived on or near Camp Lejeune. He thinks his illness — and those of many others — was caused by exposure to the toxins that seeped from a dry cleaner and industrial activity at the camp into its water supply.
go here for more
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-aseccamp-lejeune-contamination-0060209jun02,0,6976866.story
Monday, June 1, 2009
Soft Spots continues to get rave reviews
ASU alum, Iraq War vet finds healing in his book, 'Soft Spots'
Clint Van Winkle, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, was struggling to cope with life after combat upon his return to the States in 2003. Awful memories and images of devastation, callous violence and mind-scenes that included burned bodies and dead children were impossible to erase, and help was hard to find. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A 2005 graduate of Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (B.A., English), Van Winkle found a small but important piece of the elusive healing process through his authorship of “Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) a book that evolved from essays he had written. The critically acclaimed book is a detailed account of his service in the early stages of the Iraq War and, more importantly, war’s aftermath and his frustrating experiences upon his return home.
“This memoir of combat in Iraq, and the post-traumatic stress disorder that followed, contains more literary touches than most, and it’s an admirable effort…it presents a vivid picture of what many vets endure,” reads one review in Publishers Weekly. Another review, by The Washington Post’s Juliet Wittman, notes, “Nothing gets held back in “Soft Spots”…despite the author’s lacerating honesty, the narrative is dreamlike and surreal.”
Van Winkle was a Marine sergeant in Iraq, commanding an amphibious assault vehicle section while attached to Lima Company 3rd BN 1st He crossed into Iraq on the first day of the war and moved about the country constantly, encountering all the horrors of war as only a front-line combatant can. Among those horrors were “soft spots,” the term used to refer to a fallen Marine, killed in battle, and accidentally stepped on in the midst of rubble. Marines.
go here for more
http://asunews.asu.edu/20090601_iraqvet
Clint Van Winkle, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, was struggling to cope with life after combat upon his return to the States in 2003. Awful memories and images of devastation, callous violence and mind-scenes that included burned bodies and dead children were impossible to erase, and help was hard to find. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A 2005 graduate of Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (B.A., English), Van Winkle found a small but important piece of the elusive healing process through his authorship of “Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) a book that evolved from essays he had written. The critically acclaimed book is a detailed account of his service in the early stages of the Iraq War and, more importantly, war’s aftermath and his frustrating experiences upon his return home.
“This memoir of combat in Iraq, and the post-traumatic stress disorder that followed, contains more literary touches than most, and it’s an admirable effort…it presents a vivid picture of what many vets endure,” reads one review in Publishers Weekly. Another review, by The Washington Post’s Juliet Wittman, notes, “Nothing gets held back in “Soft Spots”…despite the author’s lacerating honesty, the narrative is dreamlike and surreal.”
Van Winkle was a Marine sergeant in Iraq, commanding an amphibious assault vehicle section while attached to Lima Company 3rd BN 1st He crossed into Iraq on the first day of the war and moved about the country constantly, encountering all the horrors of war as only a front-line combatant can. Among those horrors were “soft spots,” the term used to refer to a fallen Marine, killed in battle, and accidentally stepped on in the midst of rubble. Marines.
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http://asunews.asu.edu/20090601_iraqvet
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