WWII Navy Photographer Shares Images From USS Astoria

Navy photographer wanted his work to be shared
USA TODAY NETWORK
Jay Levin, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record
August 25, 2016

Fewer than 700,000 of the nearly 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive today, according to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. More than 400 veterans of that era die every day, almost 160,000 this year.

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Herman Schnipper, a mild-mannered Navy photographer who chronicled the danger and drudgery of war while on board the light cruiser USS Astoria, died Wednesday at his home here, where his vast trove of World War II images is stored.

He was 92.

Herman Schnipper of Hackensack, N.J., was a Navy photographer aboard the USS Astoria during World War II, shown Dec. 9, 2014. He made copies of every picture he took and categorized them.

(Photo: Mitsu Yasukawa, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record)

“I don’t want them to be put in a box and forgotten. I want to show people the war,” Schnipper told The Record in 2014, referring to the black-and-white prints he has held on to since his military discharge a few months after the war’s end.

At the time of the interview, Schnipper was in declining health and his family felt an urgency to decide what to do with the photographs, which they want to be accessible to the public.
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Canadian Couple Heartbroken, Separated After 62 Years of Marriage

The Heartbreaking Story Behind Photo of Elderly Couple Crying
ABC News
By AVIANNE TAN
Aug 25, 2016

An elderly couple from the town of Surrey in British Columbia, Canada, was recently photographed crying after apparently being moved to separate nursing homes a few months ago.

Anita Gottschalk, 81, and Wolfram Gottschalk, 83, have been heartbroken since they've been forced to live in separate nursing homes, according to their 29-year-old granddaughter Ashley Bartyik.

The emotional photo was taken Monday during a visit between the couple. Ashley Bartyik, the couple's granddaughter, told ABC News today she's worried that their "heartbreak and the stress could literally kill them."

"This is the saddest photo I have ever taken," Bartyik, 29, wrote in the photo's caption. It has been shared nearly 3,000 times on Facebook.

She explained that after 62 years of marriage, her grandparents have been separated for eight months "due to backlogs and delays by our heath care system."
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Stolen Valor: Iraq Veteran Collected Over $700,000 In Benefits

Veteran,48, lied about being injured in combat in Iraq to claim over $700,000 in disability benefits and a Purple Heart
DAILY MAIL
By REGINA F. GRAHAM FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED:25 August 2016

Darryl Lee Wright pleaded guilty to two counts 
of felony wire fraud earlier this year

A veteran in Washington state claimed over $700,000 in federal benefits after lying about being severely disabled.

Darryl Lee Wright pleaded guilty to two counts of felony wire fraud earlier this year for fabricating claims of disability and receiving payment from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The 48-year-old claimed that he was severely disabled from being wounded in combat in Iraq, and as a result, collected $751,400 in federal benefits.

Wright was found living well in Snoqualmie, dating two women simultaneously and working a steady job, despite claiming that he was incapacitated by wounds physical and psychological that he suffered in Iraq while serving in the Idaho National Guard in Iraq, Seattlepi.com reported.

He was caught telling a war story that wasn't true about his 2005 tour in Iraq.

In order to prove the lie, he created fake documents and pressured government workers in an effort to force his way into thousands of dollars of benefits that are meant to help Americans who were actually injured while serving.

Wright filed the bogus paperwork with the Army under the names of people he actually served with, Jennings said.
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From ABC News

ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

WWII Navy Veteran Gets Anchors Aweigh Tribute Sitting on Porch

Tribute to WWII Veteran Goes Viral When Group Sings 'Anchors Aweigh' at His Doorstep
ABC News
By ELIZA MURPHY
Aug 24, 2016,

When one WWII veteran could no longer visit his local battleship to relish in stories of his days at sea, a special group brought the memories of his Navy days right to his doorstep.

Ernest Thompson, of Gardena, California, got the surprise of a lifetime when the Chief Selects of the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center showed up on his neighborhood street to serenade him with “Anchors Aweigh.”

The unsuspecting Thompson, 98, stood on his front porch in salute.

“Neighbors came out of their houses to witness a once in a lifetime experience. My grandfather told me that it was one of the best days of his life!” Thompson’s grandson, Jonathan Williams, wrote in a Facebook post explaining the story behind the video, which has now gone viral with nearly five million views.
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76 Year Old Veteran Killed Himself At VA After Being Turned Away

Veteran Kills Himself in Parking Lot of V.A. Hospital on Long Island
New York Times
By KRISTINA REBELO
AUG. 24, 2016

“He went to the E.R. and was denied service,” one of the people, who currently works at the hospital, said. “And then he went to his car and shot himself.”

A 76-year-old veteran committed suicide on Sunday in the parking lot of the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Long Island, where he had been a patient, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

Peter A. Kaisen, of Islip, was pronounced dead after he shot himself outside Building 92, the nursing home at the medical center.

The hospital is part of the Veterans Affairs medical system, the nation’s largest integrated health care organization, which has been under scrutiny since 2014, when the department confirmed that numerous patients had died awaiting treatment at a V.A. hospital in Phoenix. Officials there had tried to cover up long waiting times for 1,700 veterans seeking medical care. A study released by the Government Accountability Office in April indicated that the system had yet to fix its scheduling problems.

Why Mr. Kaisen decided to end his life was not immediately known, but two people connected to the hospital who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his death said that he had been frustrated that he was unable to see an emergency-room physician for reasons related to his mental health. “He went to the E.R. and was denied service,” one of the people, who currently works at the hospital, said. “And then he went to his car and shot himself.”
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