Camp Lejeune Marine Cpl. Jason M. Hassinger "shocked" with Silver Star

Lejeune Marine awarded Silver Star during change of command ceremony
August 24, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Don Bryan/The Daily News

Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan Jr. shakes hands with Cpl. Jason M. Hassinger after presenting citation and Silver Star medal during the 2nd Marine Division change of command ceremony at W.P.T. Hill Field Thursday.

The 2nd Marine Division commander’s last act as leader of the over 24,000 Marines was to award one of them the Silver Star at an elaborate change of command ceremony aboard Camp Lejeune Thursday morning.

At quite possibly the largest ceremony to take place on Lejeune this year, 5,000 of the 24,000 total 2nd Marine Division Marines bid farewell to their commander of two years, Maj. Gen. John Toolan — but not before he had the opportunity to award one of the Marines, Cpl. Jason Hassinger, the Silver Star for his heroic acts in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

During a security patrol in northern Marjah, Afghanistan, Hassinger’s squad became engaged in machine gun fire, and Hassinger took four shots to the chest of his personal protective equipment. Hassinger disregarded his injuries and calmly and fearlessly directed his team to overtake the enemy. He repeatedly refused medical evacuation until he finally collapsed from his wounds, according to the citation signed by the Secretary of the Navy.

“By his decisive actions, bold initiative, and complete dedication to duty, Cpl. Hassinger reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps,” the citation read.

“I’m shocked,” Hassinger told The Daily News after the ceremony. “It’s still sinking in ... I just did what my fallen sergeant, Sgt. Garrison, told me to do.”
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At least 10 shot at Empire State Building

UPDATE August 25, 2012

Decision by 2 Officers to Open Fire in Busy Midtown Leaves Bystanders Wounded
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and WENDY RUDERMAN
Published: August 24, 2012

As the two officers confronted a gunman in front of the Empire State Building on a busy Friday morning, they had to make a snap decision: Do they open fire in the middle of Midtown?

From a distance of less than 10 feet, the officers, Craig Matthews and Robert Sinishtaj, answered in unison; one shot nine times and the other seven.

Investigators believe at least 7 of those 16 bullets struck the gunman, said Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman. But the officers also struck some, if not all, of the nine bystanders who were wounded.
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UPDATE Empire State Building shootings kill 2 and wound 8, police say

At least 10 shot at Empire State Building, authorities say
By David Ariosto
CNN
updated 11:02 AM EDT, Fri August 24, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
At least 2 people are dead after the shooting
Police have closed streets around 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan
One man says he heard at least nine gunshots
Authorities converged on the building around 9 a.m. after reports of gunfire

New York (CNN) -- A shooting at the Empire State Building -- one of the most iconic tourist destinations in New York City -- killed two people and wounded at least eight others Friday, a law enforcement official said.

The shooter was one of the two killed, investigators said.

A security guard chased the gunman down 5th Avenue and helped alert police, who shot the man at least three times, witnesses said.

The man had opened fire with a large gun, they said.

"It's just a crazy scene here," said Rebecca Fox, who works across the street. She said she had been getting coffee with her headphones on when she saw people running.

Fox said she saw a woman who had been shot near a brewery, as well as blood splattered on the sidewalk.
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Fort Bragg has most Army suicides this year

Study: Fort Bragg has most suicides so far this year out of any Army installation
By: NBC17 STAFF
MyNC
Published: August 23, 2012

FORT BRAGG, N.C.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among the military. A new study released Thursday says this year’s Army suicides are surpassing last year’s suicide rate.

According to the study, there were 38 confirmed or suspected suicides in the month of July. There have been 116 deaths so far this year, compared to 95 during the same seven months last year.

Fort Bragg reported the most suicides out of any Army installation this year with a total of 13.
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Military spouses learn to cope with unexpected

The Unknown Soldiers: Military spouses learn to cope with unexpected
By Tom Sileo
Leavenworth Times
Posted Aug 23, 2012

Leavenworth, Kan
When Spc. Austin Monk deployed to Iraq in August 2009, the soldier's wife expected the worst.

"When your loved one deploys to Iraq, you expect them to come home injured ... (physically or emotionally) wounded, or you expect them to come back dead," Laura Monk told "The Unknown Soldiers."

She never thought her 20-year-old husband's combat deployment would end with a shocking diagnosis of leukemia.

"You never expect them to come back with cancer," she said.

"This is what I signed up to do," Austin said to his wife. Austin first complained about a terrible headache during one of the couple's Skype conversations. Then, on Halloween 2009, Austin wrote Laura a MySpace message saying he had a 104-degree fever.

"Don't worry about me," Austin added.

A few weeks later, fellow soldiers found Austin lying on the floor of his barracks. The ordeal that followed, which took the soldier from hospitals in Iraq to Germany, left Laura feeling helpless as she agonized over her husband's condition from thousands of miles away.

"They initially thought he had mono or tuberculosis and that the headache could have been from his wisdom teeth," Austin's wife said.

When Laura was informed her husband was suffering from leukemia, all she wanted was to be by his side.

"I'll be there soon," she said.
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What It's Like Waiting In The VA Benefits Line

Helping Our Heroes: What It's Like Waiting In The VA Benefits Line
KUHF.fm news
August 23, 2012
by: Edel Howlin

Veteran's disability claim issues are growing. In the past, it the issue might have been an injured knee or back but now veterans are dealing with many more medical issues, like traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder. So if the nearly 1.7 million veterans living in Texas submitted an average of ten disability claims each, well, that’s a lot of claims and a long waiting list. As part of our ongoing military series "Helping Our Heroes," Edel Howlin asks what's it like for a local veteran to be on that list?

U.S Army veteran Wallace Smith is from New Boston a small town just outside Texarkana.

He’s tall, broad and dressed very smartly today because he’s trying to find a job to get his life back on track.

Smith left the military in 1995 with severe migraines and an injured knee. He filed his disability claim with these two issues not knowing he’d left something out.

“And then I didn’t know about the Post Traumatic Stress ‘til later. There’s a lot of issues a lot of stuff we [were] exposed [to] that I really didn’t know. I was having a lot of anger issues. I didn’t know how to deal with them, so I was having problems with my family and relationships.”

Problems that landed him on the streets, in different treatment centers and jail. He will be the first to admit that he’d hit rock bottom. The good news is Smith is getting help from the U.S. Veteran’s Initiative in Houston. But eventually to get back on his feet, he needs a job and his disability benefits.

“It’d help me support my kids for one thing and it’d be a lot less stress on me. You know that’s kinda hard too, not being the man I’m supposed to be to my family and that’s hurt a lot of veterans — not being the men that we’re supposed to be.”

The U.S Vets office re-filed for Wallace’s disability benefits 90 days ago and counting. His name is on a list of over 38,000 pending claims in Houston with an average waiting time of 309 days.
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