Flag covered veteran's body on gurney instead of being in a casket?

Funeral home faces backlash after visitation with veteran’s body on gurney
FOX 2 News St. Louis
MAY 12, 2017

The funeral home and the family came to an agreement before Friday afternoon’s service. Taylor was placed in a coffin in time for the service and the burial.

CATOOSA COUNTY, GA – A dispute between the family of a deceased veteran and a funeral home has gone viral. A picture of George Taylor’s body on display at a visitation has outraged many on Facebook. The deceased was placed on a gurney and draped with an American flag.

Taylor’s family says Heritage Funeral Home refused to put Taylor in a casket because of problems with the life insurance payment. His family was given little or no notice before the visitation.

WTVC-TV reports that funeral home representatives who say they did what the family asked and did nothing wrong. They also said since the photo was shared on social media, they’ve been receiving threats from the community.

The family and the funeral home came to an agreement on Friday. Taylor’s body was placed in a coffin in time for the service and burial.
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Tucson Fire Department Fighting PTSD "Firefighters are normal people, too!"

Tucson Fire Department taking strides to ensure mental, physical health of troubled employees
Arizona Daily Star
By Caitlin Schmidt
May 13, 2017

“Firefighters are normal people, too, and people have stress in their lives. Those things are what we’re trying to deal with.” Assistant Chief Joe Gulotta.

Kelly Presnell Arizona Daily Star 2016

Tucson Fire Department offers first responders a medical plan that addresses post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues

For years, Tucson-area fire departments have been working with a local health-care program to create a comprehensive medical plan that addresses stress and mental health in first responders.

April was a difficult month for the Tucson Fire Department, with a murder-suicide perpetrated by one of its own taking place days before the sentencing of a former captain for three murders.

On April 15, Frederick Bair, a captain, shot and injured his ex-wife and fatally shot her friend at Firebirds restaurant at La Encantada. Bair killed himself in the incident. Days later, former Capt. David Watson was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his ex-wife, her mother and her mother’s friend.

Bair’s shocking act of violence hit department members hard. Firefighters and paramedics across the department were shaken by the incident. But it also affected Dr. Wayne Peate, who’d known Bair for decades.

“One of the things that firefighters do well is work as a team. I could see them grieving, but I could start to see the team forming to support those who needed help,” said Peate, who has worked as a doctor with the Tucson Fire Department since the 1990s and started a company that subcontracts with the Fire Department to provide health and wellness programs.
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Flag Gently Placed in Hands of a Broken Mother

Guest Post
On Behalf of a Grateful Nation
Elmer Miguel
May 11, 2017

"The family, sobbing quietly, held one another and stared at the flag awaiting the ceremony. It would soon be presented, triangular and crisp, gently placed in the hands of a broken mother."

A crowd huddled around the flag draped casket. Pewter and silver opposed the bold bright colors of the cloth. She did not wave on this day, rather she lay solemnly embracing the venerated Marine beneath.

The family, sobbing quietly, held one another and stared at the flag awaiting the ceremony. It would soon be presented, triangular and crisp, gently placed in the hands of a broken mother.

The surviving warriors, those who had been scorched by the flames of warfare, wished he was still alive yet coveted his glory. They dreamed of dying in close combat as he did, fierce and loud as a hurricane. Their hearts, normally happy and strong, now crushed by the finality of the grave. What once was a possibility in the mind now was a reality in the flesh. Their shoulders strained under the heaviness of his body as they carried him to the grave. Disbelief, sorrow, and pride spilled from their chests. With stern faces and focused stares into the skyline, they refused to break military bearing though their eyes were on the brink of bursting. In those moments a few tears seeped through the hardiest defenses.

“On behalf of the President of the United States, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for Wade’s honorable and faithful service.”
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Australia Veterans Joining Together to Save Lives of Other Veterans

'He had 10 knives and a machete': The unvarnished truth about veteran suicides
Sydney Morning Herald
David Wroe
May 13, 2017

Andrew "Mung" Perry, an Air Force sharpshooter who had spent eight months in Afghanistan watching the backs of other Australian troops, tried eight times to kill himself after he returned, with some incidents requiring police tactical response teams. On the eighth attempt, in December 2015, he took his life.

One of the good moments Kamaia Alexander had with her stepfather after he came back from Afghanistan was when he was in hospital recovering from a suicide attempt. That day was like the old times when they had joked and played pranks together.

Andrew "Mung" Perr was an Air Force sharpshooter who had spent eight months in Afghanistan.

"We made his escape plan. Our plan was to get the food trays and skate our way out. We forgot that home was actually uphill, not down. It was a good plan in our heads," she says.

But there were mostly bad moments, like one afternoon in bushland north-east of Darwin. Alexander was just 18 at the time.

"He had 10 knives and a machete on his person. He had carved some words into his legs," she says.

"We spent from 4.30 in the afternoon to midnight to slowly convince him to get rid of each knife.

"Once I got him down to one knife, I got him to drop it and I ended up just lying on the dirt with him and giving him a hug and letting him cry."
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Australian veterans joining forces in the fight against military suicide
Sydney Morning Herald
David Wroe
May 13, 2017

On New Year's Day, Garth Camac got a call from a former soldier under his command telling him that a mutual friend was in trouble.

Garth Camac served on two tours of Iraq and was also commander of a unit that lost five of its members in Malaysia in 1993. Photo: Robert Shakespeare

The mutual friend, also an ex-soldier, had taken a potentially fatal cocktail of drugs. He was also threatening to kill himself. He'd just passed out while on the phone to the man who was now calling Camac for help.

Camac, who has a lengthy history working with struggling ex-military personnel and is now associated with a group called Warriors Return, hit the phones and summoned the cavalry in Queensland.

"I was able to co-ordinate police and ambulance and other mates to get involved and get him into ICU and he's now recovering well," Camac recalls.

Three months later, another case emerged. Ashley Meek, a veteran who'd served in Iraq and East Timor and gone on to become a South Australian policeman, had posted a Facebook message stating "F--- the police, F--- the Army" and indicating he was going to kill himself.

Though Camac didn't know him, they had at different times served in the same battalion. Once again, a network of veterans kicked into gear, contacting emergency services and each other to be ready to provide support. State police were already on the case, but this time everyone was too late. Meek walked into the hospital in the small town of Cowell, 500 kilometres west of Adelaide, and killed himself in front of medical staff.
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Vietnam Veteran Came Home With PTSD and Music

How music is healing the wounds of Richmond Veteran with PTSD
WTVR 6 News
BY GREG MCQUADE
MAY 12, 2017

RICHMOND, Va. -- In his darkened, cluttered basement Steve Koslowski finds sheer bliss with a beat.

Koslowski immerses himself in song.

“Most days I am down here for five, six seven hours,” said Koslowski. “You name it. It runs the entire gambit.”

From the Bee Gees and Bach to Chopin and Shaft.

“I can go back and listen to Isaac Hayes if I want to,” he added.

“Eighteen of us went in country North Vietnam 30 miles west of Hanoi. Four of us came out,” he said.

The experience in his late teens scarred him on the outside and in. Koslowski showed reporter Greg McQuade the scars of three bullet holes he says were from the enemy in Vietnam.

“I have bullet holes here. Here and here. They went in there. Came out there. Bounced off,” said Koslowski.

PTSD led to a string of unsuccessful jobs driving trucks and a failed first marriage. He was at the end of his rope. But rediscovering music is slowly pulling Koslowski out of his dark place.
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