Navy Cross Recipient Staff Sgt. Cliff Wooldridge Leaving Corps

Hero Marine who killed Taliban fighter with his hands leaves the Corps
KCEN
Jeff Schogol
Marine Corps Times
September 01, 2016

After shooting four enemy fighters, then-Cpl. Wooldridge ran out of ammunition and ended up in a life-and-death struggle with a man who tried to pull the pin on a grenade attached to Wooldridge’s vest.

Navy Cross recipient Staff Sgt. Cliff Wooldridge, who killed a Taliban fighter in hand-to-hand combat, has left the Marine Corps after spending nine years in the service.

Sgt. Clifford Wooldridge, receives the Navy Cross on May 18, 2012 for combat actions in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while attached to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, in 2010. Photo Credit: Photo by Cpl. Sarah Anderson.

“I enjoyed my time in the Marine Corps,” Wooldridge told Marine Corps Times. “It’s had a huge impact on my life. I’m going to miss the men I’ve served with and miss being in the fight with them.”

Wooldridge, 28, said his last day in the Marines was Tuesday. He said his time in the Corps made him appreciate life and not take it for granted.

“It made me a man and I am forever grateful for the men who mentored me and led by example,” he said.
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Pennsylvania National Guardsman Helped Heart Attack Victim Live

Pa. Army Guard Soldier aids heart attack victim
Pennsylvania National Guard
By By Sgt. Shane Smith
Joint Force Headquarters
September 01, 2016

His quick and decisive actions garnered praise from witnesses and fellow Soldiers.

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Pfc. Fred Vandenheuvel was enjoying dinner with fellow Guard members at a Greensburg restaurant when he witnessed a man collapse. With a background in law enforcement and as a first responder, he leapt into action.

Pfc. Fred Vandenheuvel, a member of the Pennsylvania Army

National Guard’s 252nd Engineer Company rendered aid to a

man who suffered a heart attack while dining in a local

restaurant.

(Courtesy Photo) (Photo by Courtesy Photo)

“At first I wasn’t sure what had happened,” recalled Vandenheuvel, a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 252nd Engineer Company. “The man wasn’t moving. I thought he may have had a heart attack.”

The man was still conscious and complaining of intense chest pain when Vandenheuvel first reached him. Vandenheuvel was asked to call the man’s wife.

“I told his wife where we were, what had happened, and asked if her husband had any prior medical history or heart issues,” he said. “She told me her husband has a history of heart problems.”

Vandenheuvel called 911 and remained on the line with paramedics until they arrived.
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National Vietnam Veterans Foundation Shuts Down

Reminder" This is not Vietnam Veterans of America 



Veterans charity that gave less than 2% of revenue to veterans closes its doors for good
CNN
By Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick
September 1, 2016

"Tom Burch has resigned from the Foundation and NVVF is shutting down completely, " Kaufman wrote in an email to CNN. "All fundraising has ceased and the only thing being done is the distribution of blankets, personal care kits and related items in the warehouse."

New York (CNN)The National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, a zero-rated charity that was the object of a CNN report in mid-May, has closed its doors for good, according to one of the charity's executives.

In an email to CNN, David Kaufman, the charity's vice president, says the Veterans Foundation "has severed all ties" to the organization's president, Thomas Burch, who along with serving as president of the charity also has a full time job as a government lawyer with the Veterans Affairs agency in Washington.
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Charities Sensationalizing PTSD For More Donations?

Gee do you think the same thing is going on here? Exactly how does talking about an issue like PTSD help anyone unless they actually start talking about what will make lives better?

There has been so much BS in the US, UK, Australia and Canada about PTSD Awareness for so long now that if someone is not aware of what it is, then they never will be. What I really want to know is, why do they need so much money to talk about a problem or deserve the money when they are not doing anything to actually address the problem? Any clue? Considering work on PTSD and our veterans started over 40 years ago, none of this is new but they act like they just discovered it. They sure as hell haven't cured it.

Military charities accused of sensationalizing post-combat stress to get more donations
Civil Society UK
Fundraising
Hugh Radojev
2 Sep 2016

A spokeswoman for Walking with the Wounded said that Parker’s comments were supported by the rest of the organisation. She also said that he made the comments because he wanted the whole military charity sector to be more “transparent and open” with the public.

The chief executive of Walking with the Wounded has told The Times that some military charities “sensationalize” the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on returned veterans in order to raise more money from the public.

Ed Parker, chief executive of Walking with the Wounded, is quoted in an article in The Times today saying that military charities are exaggerating the problem of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returned veterans in order to continue raising money from the public.

In The Times' piece, Parker said that the way PTSD is being used by military charities to raise funds has gotten “out of hand” and could be disguising the fact that many veterans are suffering from other issues, such as alcoholism and anxiety. The chief executive of the charity, which runs expeditions with Prince Harry and supported over 600 veterans last year, said that military organisations know that the “PTSD label has become one that is very engaging… You are always going to slightly sensationalise how you fundraise.
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Senator Marco Rubio Too Busy With Fundraisers To Take Care of Disabled Sergeant?

ELECTION: Murphy accuses Rubio of neglecting to help wounded warrior
News 13 Orlando
By Greg Pallone, Reporter
August 31, 2016

Riley said he thought that because Rubio was running for president and ran TV ads backing the military, his son's situation would get noticed. But instead, Rubio held at least 18 fundraisers when Sgt. Riney was being brought back to Florida in need of financial help, Murphy's campaign said.

Army veteran Tim Riney Jr. was injured in a Stryker vehicle accident in Colorado in February 2015. (Courtesy of Tim Riney)

Just hours after winning their party nominations for U.S. Senate, Rep. Patrick Murphy and Sen. Marco Rubio are both on the attack.

Murphy introduced father of wounded warrior in Rubio attack
Murphy, vet's dad accused Rubio of not helping son
Son was severely injured and paralyzed in 2015 Stryker vehicle accident

Murphy on Wednesday accused Rubio of putting his presidential bid in front of helping a wounded soldier, and introduced a wounded warrior as the face of his campaign.

Tim Riney of Safety Harbor, near Clearwater, is the father of Army veteran Timothy Riney, who was paralyzed after a military training exercise in February 2015. Riney was hurt and a fellow soldier killed after their 18-ton Stryker vehicle plunged over an embankment at Fort Carson, Colo.

“They are saying it's the worst accident with a Stryker in the history of the country, and you don't have time to help us?” the elder Riney said of Rubio.

Riney said his son needed help with medical costs, and it took five months for Rubio's office to get back to him. Meanwhile, his son was transferred to a Tampa VA hospital, and they struggled to get financial assistance for home wheelchair accessibility.

“Marco Rubio is so set on putting himself first that even when a Florida veteran is lying paralyzed in a hospital bed, he can't find the time to help out," Murphy said Wednesday.
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