Former SEAL talks about finding peace Marshall Independent Mike Lamb March 25, 2017
Apparently, Williams has discovered that stability. He is now a sought after evangelist. His book, “SEAL of God,” is a best seller. He is also a frequent guest of CNN News Room, Anderson Cooper 360 and Fox News.
I stood toe to toe with Chad Williams after he spoke during the Promise Banquet at Southwest Minnesota State University Thursday night.
The former U.S. Navy SEAL stood no taller than me. He spoke softly. Just moments earlier, he spoke powerfully to dozens of people who listened to his inspirational speech on becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL and his life after the military.
Like others before him, he came back home to the U.S. with the same type of mental issues that haunt other military veterans. Veterans are returning with serious mental issues. Of the 1.7 million veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, 300,000 (20 percent) suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression, according to the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research.
Williams admitted during his presentation that he also did not come back home in a good frame of mind. He was drinking until he blacked out, often times with blood on his clothing. He spoke waking up realizing the knuckles on his hands needed stitches.
His mother and father told him not to come to back to their house. They feared him. read more here
Army vet battled post-deployment demons until childhood friend became casualty of his personal war The Times Tribune BY PETER CAMERON, STAFF WRITER PUBLISHED: MARCH 26, 2017
“To this day, I blame the military for my son’s death as much as I do Matt ... ” Jim Evans said. “I wish there was a way to indict the military. If they would have taken care of Matt when he came home, maybe we wouldn’t be in this position now.”
MICHAEL J. MULLEN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Kimberly and Jim Evans hold a photograph of their son, Mike, and grandson, Michael. Mike Evans tried to help his childhood friend, Matthew Gajdys, after his deployment.
Matthew Gajdys came out of the Army at war with himself.
After tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he returned to Dickson City in 2012 and struggled to return to civilian life.
He couldn’t find steady work. He was angry, impulsive and drinking more than a case of Coors Light every day. He started bar fights as a release for his frustration. His undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder made him a stranger to his wife. She kicked him out.
Homeless and hopeless, Gajdys was rescued by a childhood friend. Mike Evans opened the Moscow trailer park home he shared with his 8-year-old son to the troubled veteran.
When Gajdys moved in, his demons came with him.
Four months later, Gajdys was in jail and Evans was dead. read more here
Family prays for safe return of missing Iraq War vet WSB 12 News Atlanta by: Matt Johnson Mar 25, 2017
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Friends and loved ones of a missing Iraq War vet gathered Saturday night to pray for his safe return, some three years after he disappeared.
Chase Massner is a husband, a father and a veteran.
His mother Stephanie has worried about him every day for three years.
“That's her only son and you know, it’s really affected her,” stepsister Karen Cunningham told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson.
She was one of about 30 people turned out at Noonday Park Saturday night to pray for Massner's safe return.
His wife Amanda told Johnson doctors had treated Massner for post-traumatic stress disorder in 2014.
His family said he was last seen at a friend's house in Kennesaw three years ago this coming Monday. read more here
‘The Wall’ is turning 35, and the man behind it wants to honor this generation’s fallen Military Times By: Jan C. Scruggs March 24, 2017
On a cold and windy March day, veterans from each of the 50 states broke ground with shovels to show wide support.
On Sunday, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will host a ceremony to commemorate the 35th anniversary of its historic groundbreaking. The idea for a memorial engraved with names of the fallen flowed from my academic research and from testimony before the Senate on what is now called post-traumatic stress, a common reaction to witnessing violence.
Jan Scruggs, left, and project engineer Gary Wright look over plans for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on March 23, 1982. Groundbreaking took place March 26. Photo Credit: Bill Auth/AP
The memorial was planned as a societal acknowledgement of those who served, funded by the American people. I started the effort in 1979 while a GS-7 at the Labor Department, thanks to the permission of my wife. This was nonstop work, day after day.
In 1982, the money was in hand, as was a permit to begin construction. The effort barely succeeded. I hope the lessons learned can ease the path to success for a Global War on Terrorism Memorial that will honor a new generation of service members. read more here
Marine veteran who lost both legs in Afghanistan sworn in as NY police officer FOX News March 25, 2017
A Long Island man who served in the Marines and lost both legs below the knees after stepping on a bomb in Afghanistan was sworn in Friday as possibly the first fully active duty double amputee police officer in the country.
Matias Ferreira, 28, graduated from the Suffolk County Police Academy in Brentwood, L.I. His first assignment as a precinct patrol officer begins next week. He told Fox 5 New York he isn’t worried if he breaks a leg on the job.
“If I break my leg I go the trunk of my car and put on a new one and I’m back on duty,” he told the station.
The 2011 blast in Afghanistan shattered his legs, forcing doctors to amputate. The machine-gunner spent nearly a year recovering in a hospital outside Washington.
Ferreira stands on titanium prosthetics, Newsday reported. He dreamed of being a cop as a kid. read more here
