VIDEO: Afghanistan veteran Alex Askew from Crayford releases Just Another Week song with band Shadey Scandals to help others through tough times This Is Local London Giulia Crouch April 20, 2017
Now Alex has a full-time job as a sign-maker, a house in Heath Road and a 20-month-old baby daughter with Lisa. He attributes much of his recovery to playing music and would encourage others to do the same.
A military veteran who suffered PTSD and became homeless after a tour in Afghanistan has written a song to help other ex-servicemen going through difficult times.
Photos by Lisa Askew
Alex Askew, a keen guitarist from Heath Road in Crayford, struggled to cope when he left the armed forces three years ago.
The 34-year-old said: “I did six months in Afghanistan and when I came back I was so frustrated.
“I suffered a bit of depression.”
Alex struggled to find work when he returned to south-east London and became homeless.
He ended up living in his car with his wife Lisa who he met online when he was in the RAF in Afghanistan.
Together they spent three years living with friends, family and at B and Bs as they couldn’t afford anywhere else.
It was during this time he penned the song Just Another Week which he has since recorded with his band Shadey Scandals.
read more here
The Gregory's charities raised $782,434 between 2014-2015. None of the money was ever used for equine therapy, saving horses' lives, or supporting veterans, the lawsuit states.
CARMEL, Calif. —
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a civil lawsuit seeking to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars from two Carmel charities that claim to rescue horses and support wounded veterans with therapeutic riding.
Becerra said both charities are fake.
Matthew G. Gregory, his wife, Danella J. Gregory, and their adult children, Matthew J. Gregory and Gina D. Gregory, operate Central Coast Equine Rescue and Retirement (CCERR) and Wounded Warriors Support Group (WWSG), Becerra said.
The Attorney General's Office says the Gregory family is a group of con artists.
"CCERR and WWSG run raffles purportedly to support veterans and horses, but instead spend the donated proceeds for personal use," the AG's Office wrote in a press release.
Personal uses included spending $10,000 at a hunting store, buying cars, shopping at Victoria's Secret and Nordstrom, paying off personal credit card debts, traveling, and restaurant bills, according to the lawsuit.
The two charities accept donations through a Carmel-by-the-Sea mailbox, but don't have a physical location. Matthew Gregory also appears at car shows across the state to hold raffles. read more here
U.S. Army Veteran acquitted of illegally displaying flags at LA Veterans Affairs facility My News LA POSTED BY DEBBIE L. SKLAR APRIL 18, 2017
A 75-year-old military veteran was acquitted Tuesday of illegally hanging an American flag on the fence of a Veterans Affairs facility in West Los Angeles without permission.
The federal misdemeanor count against Robert Rosebrock stems from a VA statute that prohibits the posting of materials or “placards” on a VA property except when authorized by the head of the facility.
Rosebrock was cited on Memorial Day 2016 for allegedly displaying two napkin-sized American flags on a fence adjacent to the “Great Lawn Gate” entrance to the Veterans Park. He and fellow veterans have been assembling at the site nearly every Sunday and Memorial Day for the past nine years to protest what they believe is the VA’s failure to make full use of the expansive property for the benefit and care of veterans, particularly homeless veterans.
At the conclusion of a bench trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve Kim found Rosebrock not guilty of the violation, which carries a maximum six-month prison sentence. The judge concluded that no evidence was presented showing Rosebrock lacked permission to post the flags or that Rosebrock had displayed them in the first place. read more here
Man with prosthetic leg carries woman across Boston Marathon finish line WCVB Apr 18, 2017
BOSTON In the closing moments of the Boston Marathon, a moment captured at the finish line is capturing the hearts of many.
At the end of the course, a man with a prosthetic leg was seen carrying his guide and the American flag across the finish line.
Earl Granville said 50 feet before crossing the line on Boylston Street, he looked to his guide, Andi Piscopo, and decided to have some fun with the finish. He picked her up and carried her across the line much to the delight of those gathered at the finish line and on social media.
A video WCVB posted to their Facebook page has been seen by millions, leaving Granville in disbelief. "Never had I thought just a spur-of-the-moment thing would blow up like this," he said.
Piscopo was feeling just fine and didn't need help to cross the finish line. As Granville's guide, it was her job to keep an eye on him medically and keep his pace count. The team has run in multiple endurance races together.
"To see him accomplish his goals, it makes me want to do more," Piscopo said. "He inspires me to be a better person."
Granville is a nine-year veteran under the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and lost part of his leg in the summer of 2008 when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
"My downward spiral happened after that," Granville said. "A lot of hardships I faced, a lot of things I was doing, a lot of unhealthy choices I was making." read more here
Marine who lost leg in Afghanistan ran Boston Marathon carrying American flag
The Dallas Morning News (Tribune News Service)
By ELINE DE BRUIJN
Published: April 18, 2017
A Marine who lost his leg in Afghanistan crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday the same way he had run most of the course -- with a U.S. flag in hand.
Jose Luis Sanchez, of San Antonio, carries the United States flag across the finish line in the 121st Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17, 2017, in Boston. ELISE AMENDOLA/AP
"I was like I'm not gonna let this beat me, dude. I used that to fuel my drive," he said. "Never again am I going to feel sorry or feel these emotions. I'm not gonna feel weak anymore. At that point, I never looked back."
Sanchez's unit wrote him messages on the flag, which was flown at every location during their tour, he told WBZ-TV.
Sanchez was fighting post-traumatic stress disorder when he decided to open the flag and read it five years after the unit had given it to him, he said.
read more here
Veteran with PTSD goes on trial Written by Silver City Daily Press April 18, 2017 A decorated Silver City veteran goes on trial today in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces for allegedly growing marijuana and having an unregistered firearm. Trevor Lee Thayer, a 46-year-old father of three and decorated U.S. Army veteran with the 82nd Airborne, was charged in 2012 after a SWAT-style search of his residence by the DEA and ATF, according to a news release from his defense team at the Bowles Law Firm in Albuquerque.
At that time, Thayer was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome and was in possession of a medical marijuana license, his attorneys said. Thayer, a Desert Storm veteran, had applied to renew his medical marijuana license and paid a renewal fee, but had apparently not yet received the card at the time of the search. According to his defense team of Bob Gorence and Jason Bowles, further investigation had revealed that the state had cashed Thayer’s check but the equipment for printing the cards in Santa Fe was broken and that delayed the mailing of his card. The charges allege that Thayer did not have a valid medical marijuana card at the time of the 2012 search. read more here
