Purple Heart Recognition Day, Orange County, Orlando August 7, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Purple Heart Recognition Day, Orange County, Orlando
Purple Heart Recognition Day, Orange County, Orlando August 7, 2012
Sgt. Barry Capito Vietnam veteran laid to rest with full military honors
Roanoke Vietnam veteran laid to rest with full military honors
Barry Capito had no family and little money when he died last month. With the help of a fellow veteran and a Roanoke funeral home, he received a proper burial.
By Matt Chittum
DUBLIN -- Barry Wayne Capito died a bachelor living paycheck to paycheck.
A close friend found the decorated Vietnam War veteran dead on his sofa in his Roanoke home last month.
With no family to speak of to make funeral arrangements, and no pot of money to pay for them, Capito's journey to his final resting place -- wherever that would be -- was hard to plot.
Until a concerned fellow vet and a Roanoke funeral home took up his cause.
Thanks to them, Capito, 64, was buried Monday morning in the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin with full military honors.
With rifles aimed toward overcast skies, the honor guard from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1184 in Pulaski fired a three-shot volley, and a solitary bugler played taps. Two soldiers lifted the U.S. flag from the casket and with crisp and practiced moves folded it into a triangle.
"I would hope somebody would do the same if it was me on the other side," said Ron Kotz, a claims agent with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services who took up Capito's cause though it wasn't part of his job.
Kotz, himself a 16-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, knew Capito from helping to connect him with veterans benefits over the years, though he didn't know him well. On Monday, Kotz accepted the folded flag.
"I'm going to leave it in my office," he said. "Unless somebody shows up who is next of kin, which I doubt, it will just stay there."
Capito grew up in southeast Roanoke, said Larry Johnson, the friend who found him dead.
v Capito was drafted into the Army during Vietnam, Johnson said. According to his service record, he was in Vietnam from Jan. 8, 1969, to Sept. 5, 1970 -- one year, seven months and 28 days.
He'd been awarded the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal, according to Kotz. Johnson said he left the Army as a sergeant.
read more here
Barry Capito had no family and little money when he died last month. With the help of a fellow veteran and a Roanoke funeral home, he received a proper burial.
By Matt Chittum
DUBLIN -- Barry Wayne Capito died a bachelor living paycheck to paycheck.
A close friend found the decorated Vietnam War veteran dead on his sofa in his Roanoke home last month.
With no family to speak of to make funeral arrangements, and no pot of money to pay for them, Capito's journey to his final resting place -- wherever that would be -- was hard to plot.
Until a concerned fellow vet and a Roanoke funeral home took up his cause.
Thanks to them, Capito, 64, was buried Monday morning in the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin with full military honors.
With rifles aimed toward overcast skies, the honor guard from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1184 in Pulaski fired a three-shot volley, and a solitary bugler played taps. Two soldiers lifted the U.S. flag from the casket and with crisp and practiced moves folded it into a triangle.
"I would hope somebody would do the same if it was me on the other side," said Ron Kotz, a claims agent with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services who took up Capito's cause though it wasn't part of his job.
Kotz, himself a 16-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, knew Capito from helping to connect him with veterans benefits over the years, though he didn't know him well. On Monday, Kotz accepted the folded flag.
"I'm going to leave it in my office," he said. "Unless somebody shows up who is next of kin, which I doubt, it will just stay there."
Capito grew up in southeast Roanoke, said Larry Johnson, the friend who found him dead.
v Capito was drafted into the Army during Vietnam, Johnson said. According to his service record, he was in Vietnam from Jan. 8, 1969, to Sept. 5, 1970 -- one year, seven months and 28 days.
He'd been awarded the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal, according to Kotz. Johnson said he left the Army as a sergeant.
read more here
Patriot Guard Riders standing for Wounded Warrior GySgt John Hayes, USMC
HOTH Mission
Wounded Warrior GySgt John Hayes, USMC
Home for Our Troops Adaptive Home Build
St Augustine, FL
FRI, 10 AUG 12
Last year the Patriot Guard Riders were honored by an invitation to escort Wounded Warrior USMC Cpl. Tyler Southern and his wife Ashley to receive the keys to their new adaptive home. At that celebration Cpl. Southern said his goal was to get his fellow Wounded Warrior, USMC GySgt. John Hayes (and family) their own adaptive home. That goal has come true and on Friday, August 10th 2012 the Patriot Guard Riders have been invited to honor Gunny Hayes and Family with a Flag Line to kick off the built site of his own Home for Our Troops adaptive home. Homes For Our Troops
Please consider visiting the Homes For Our Troops website and volunteer for this worthwhile cause.
Mission: The PGR will be standing a Flag Line at the Build Site to welcome Gunny Hayes and his family.
The build site is in rural St. John’s County. We will stage at the build site and set the Flag Line to receive Gunny Hayes and Family.
This is the wounded veteran the Nam Knights had the latest fundraiser for.
Wounded Warrior GySgt John Hayes, USMC
Home for Our Troops Adaptive Home Build
St Augustine, FL
FRI, 10 AUG 12
Last year the Patriot Guard Riders were honored by an invitation to escort Wounded Warrior USMC Cpl. Tyler Southern and his wife Ashley to receive the keys to their new adaptive home. At that celebration Cpl. Southern said his goal was to get his fellow Wounded Warrior, USMC GySgt. John Hayes (and family) their own adaptive home. That goal has come true and on Friday, August 10th 2012 the Patriot Guard Riders have been invited to honor Gunny Hayes and Family with a Flag Line to kick off the built site of his own Home for Our Troops adaptive home. Homes For Our Troops
Please consider visiting the Homes For Our Troops website and volunteer for this worthwhile cause.
Mission: The PGR will be standing a Flag Line at the Build Site to welcome Gunny Hayes and his family.
The build site is in rural St. John’s County. We will stage at the build site and set the Flag Line to receive Gunny Hayes and Family.
This is the wounded veteran the Nam Knights had the latest fundraiser for.
Vice President Biden spoke at the DAV Convention
Vice President Biden Speaks to the Disabled American Veterans
Donald Cloud
August 07, 2012
Saturday, Vice President Biden spoke with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) at their 91st National Convention in Las Vegas.
The 1.2 million-member DAV is made up exclusively of men and women that have been wounded while defending the nation. This group is dedicated to one, single purpose – building better lives for all our nation’s disabled veterans and their families.
The Vice President thanked the men and women for their service and sacrifices and for continuing to serve by supporting their fellow disabled veterans. He also encouraged them to continue fighting for the benefits that they have earned, need and deserve.
During his address to a crowd of almost 4,000 disabled veterans, Vice President Biden stressed, “Let me be crystal, absolutely crystal clear: we’re going to keep our commitment to American veterans, no matter what happens.”
The Vice President reviewed the promises President Obama has kept by increasing the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) budget to a historic $127 billion; expanding health care to 800,000 veterans; providing access to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment for over 500,000 veterans previously excluded; building the National Intrepid Center and five new polytrauma centers specialized in treating PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and amputations; continuing to modernize the entire VA claims system; providing monthly support and health insurance to family caregivers; and providing $4 billion to over 130,000 veterans who had suffered from Agent Orange exposure but were denied coverage for decades.
On jobs, the Vice President reinforced President Obama’s unwavering commitment to find jobs for every returning veteran. Since the President issued his challenge to private businesses last August, they have hired over 90,000 veterans and spouses through First Lady Michelle Obama’s and Dr. Biden’s “Joining Forces” initiative, with 1,700 companies pledging to hire 175,000 by the end of next year. The President also provided tax credits to businesses hiring veterans and disabled veterans and funded COPS and SAFER grants to hire veterans as first responders.
Vice President Biden also stressed that “there’s a lot more to do” and that the President and he would not rest until veteran unemployment and VA backlog are eliminated and every veteran receives the medical care that they deserve.
The Vice President concluded by saying, “… the contributions of each -- each of you have made to our nation is going to outlive us all. You’ve propelled America to heights our predecessors could not have even imagined. You’ve preserved our cherished liberties from -- for generations to come, and they’ll endure because your blood runs deep. Your blood runs deep not only in the soil of other countries, your blood runs deep in the veins of your kids and your grandkids and your great grandkids. So to ensure all this, we have to just make sure we remember -- we remember -- all the time the sacrifice you made.”
Donald Cloud is Special Advisor to the Vice President for Defense and Intelligence in the Office of the Vice President.
Donald Cloud
August 07, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden addresses the Disabled American Veterans convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. August 4, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Saturday, Vice President Biden spoke with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) at their 91st National Convention in Las Vegas.
The 1.2 million-member DAV is made up exclusively of men and women that have been wounded while defending the nation. This group is dedicated to one, single purpose – building better lives for all our nation’s disabled veterans and their families.
The Vice President thanked the men and women for their service and sacrifices and for continuing to serve by supporting their fellow disabled veterans. He also encouraged them to continue fighting for the benefits that they have earned, need and deserve.
During his address to a crowd of almost 4,000 disabled veterans, Vice President Biden stressed, “Let me be crystal, absolutely crystal clear: we’re going to keep our commitment to American veterans, no matter what happens.”
The Vice President reviewed the promises President Obama has kept by increasing the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) budget to a historic $127 billion; expanding health care to 800,000 veterans; providing access to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment for over 500,000 veterans previously excluded; building the National Intrepid Center and five new polytrauma centers specialized in treating PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and amputations; continuing to modernize the entire VA claims system; providing monthly support and health insurance to family caregivers; and providing $4 billion to over 130,000 veterans who had suffered from Agent Orange exposure but were denied coverage for decades.
On jobs, the Vice President reinforced President Obama’s unwavering commitment to find jobs for every returning veteran. Since the President issued his challenge to private businesses last August, they have hired over 90,000 veterans and spouses through First Lady Michelle Obama’s and Dr. Biden’s “Joining Forces” initiative, with 1,700 companies pledging to hire 175,000 by the end of next year. The President also provided tax credits to businesses hiring veterans and disabled veterans and funded COPS and SAFER grants to hire veterans as first responders.
Vice President Biden also stressed that “there’s a lot more to do” and that the President and he would not rest until veteran unemployment and VA backlog are eliminated and every veteran receives the medical care that they deserve.
The Vice President concluded by saying, “… the contributions of each -- each of you have made to our nation is going to outlive us all. You’ve propelled America to heights our predecessors could not have even imagined. You’ve preserved our cherished liberties from -- for generations to come, and they’ll endure because your blood runs deep. Your blood runs deep not only in the soil of other countries, your blood runs deep in the veins of your kids and your grandkids and your great grandkids. So to ensure all this, we have to just make sure we remember -- we remember -- all the time the sacrifice you made.”
Donald Cloud is Special Advisor to the Vice President for Defense and Intelligence in the Office of the Vice President.
Suicide Rate Now Likely Double or Triple Civil War
Disappointed in this study because they fail to address the fact that during the Civil War most died following amputations and serious wounds while today, they live on. Had more survived during those dark times in our history, there would have been more suicides. Plus the researchers would also have to take into account how news traveled back then.
How do they know? They don't. Read further down and see the word "estimate" along with what their research was.
What do they think "not deployed" means? Do they think the suicide had nothing to do with combat? How about the fact that most killed and maimed are killed by bombs? Do you think that might just be a factor in being so terrified they'd rather kill themselves now? What about Mefloquine? Hazing? Sexual Assaults? Or a lot of other causes for military suicides in the "31%" never deployed but must have passed their psychological tests, meaning they didn't have any issues when they signed up. When you have these kind of numbers coming out on military suicides, it shows how twisted some research can be when they answer the easy questions but never mention the obvious.
They used to shoot a lot of them for desertion too.
How do they know? They don't. Read further down and see the word "estimate" along with what their research was.
What do they think "not deployed" means? Do they think the suicide had nothing to do with combat? How about the fact that most killed and maimed are killed by bombs? Do you think that might just be a factor in being so terrified they'd rather kill themselves now? What about Mefloquine? Hazing? Sexual Assaults? Or a lot of other causes for military suicides in the "31%" never deployed but must have passed their psychological tests, meaning they didn't have any issues when they signed up. When you have these kind of numbers coming out on military suicides, it shows how twisted some research can be when they answer the easy questions but never mention the obvious.
They used to shoot a lot of them for desertion too.
New Study: U.S. Military Suicide Rate Now Likely Double or Triple Civil War’s
By BARTLEY FRUEH AND JEFFREY SMITH
Time Battleland
August 6, 2012
Can medical data from the U.S. Civil War help us better understand military suicides?
Your recent Time cover story in the July 23 issue detailed the tragic facts that suicide rates among active-duty U.S. military personnel rose dramatically over the past decade. Military suicide rates doubled between 2001 and 2006, while remaining flat in the general population, with more military fatalities attributed to suicide than to actual combat in Afghanistan during that period.
To make matters worse, we do not understand why. Stressors related to military training, overseas deployment, transition back to civilian life, and combat are widely believed to be major driving factors. However, 31% of soldiers who committed suicide had never been deployed to a war zone. Furthermore, suicide rates in British military forces have also increased recently, though to a lesser degree, and do not exceed the rate of the general population.
Is there a lack of historical context?
Compounding our inability to understand this current phenomenon is the lack of adequate historical data to provide context on whether high suicide rates were typical of prior wars. Review of archival records from past wars might help shed some light on the current military suicide epidemic.
In a recent study (Frueh & Smith, 2012) we reviewed historical medical records on suicide deaths among Union forces during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), a brutal war that many consider the first modern one, and for the year immediately after the war to estimate the suicide rate among its Union combatants. We also reviewed these same historical records for data on rates of alcohol abuse and other probable psychiatric illnesses.
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