Dying Vietnam Veteran's Bucket List Had Marry Wife Again--So They Did

Terminally ill veteran surprises wife with wedding: 'It was on my bucket list'
KVAL 13 News
Ashley Force
Nay 20, 2017

ALBANY, Ore. – A wedding 50 years in the making has finally happened, and it was a surprise to the bride.

A terminally ill Vietnam veteran made it his goal to give his wife the wedding she never had.

The KVAL news team was first introduced to Charles Upton during our recent coverage of Honor Flights.

Upton was one of the local veterans traveling to Washington DC.

The trip was something on his bucket list he made during his battle with cancer. A surprise wedding for his wife was another check off the list.
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Las Vegas Patriot Fest Shows "Magnitude of lives lost" in Vietnam

Replicated monument draws Vietnam vets to Patriot Fest in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Katelyn Newber
May 20, 2017

“It’s a powerful thing. When you see how small the names are and how big it is, you see the magnitude of how many people lost their lives.” Branan Allison

A replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall hosted by American Veterans Traveling Tribute at Craig Ranch Park on Friday May 19, 2017 in North Las Vegas.
Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review Journal

As his motorized wheelchair rolled past 58,307 names on the replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Dennis Daniels was consumed with grief. He reminded his wife, Aleta, to use her walker as she traced three familiar names on the wall.

But Dennis was afraid to look.

“It just brings back instant memories,” the 70-year-old said. “I don’t want to look and see if they’re up there.”

The Danielses were attending the third annual American Patriot Fest, underway at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas, on Saturday during Armed Forces Day.

This was the first year the American Veterans Travel Tribute organization brought the replica, sized down 80 percent from the fixture in Washington, D.C., said Branan Allison, the president of Source 1 Events, which organized the festival. The memorial will be open to the public until 3 p.m. Sunday.

Allison said he hopes to bring the memorial to the festival each year.
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In Depth of Despair Veteran "Drove to Top of Mountain" and Died

Soldier and father Dylan Jones took his own life after suffering with PTSD
Wales Online
BY PHILIP DEWEY
20 MAY 2017

'More should have been done' for Dylan Jones, 37, who was traumatised by his time in the Armed Forces

Dylan served tours of Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan with the armed forces

Dylan Jones served in the Armed Forces for 18 years and served tours in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq, as a member of the Welsh Guards, 14 Signal Regiment and Royal Welch Fusiliers.

But an impressive career in the forces took an emotional toll.

One friend died in his arms after being shot. A number of others were killed by an explosive device.

Sick of suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), on July 4, 2015, the 37-year-old, of Llansawel, Carmarthenshire, drove to the top of a mountain and took his own life - leaving twin children behind.
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Sergeant First Class Kevin Heins came home

Myrtle Beach police officer comes home after serving in Afghanistan for a year
WBTW 13 News
By Sina Gebre-Ab
Published: May 20, 2017

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Dozens of people filled Myrtle Beach International Airport to welcome a local hero home on Saturday.

Sergeant First Class Kevin Heins came home to Myrtle Beach, after serving in Afghanistan for a year with the Army Reserves. He’s served in the Reserves for a little over 27 years, and this was his last deployment overseas, much to the joy of his wife and two teenage children. 

Heins is also a Captain with the Myrtle Beach Police Department. He’s been a part of the force for 25 years, and many of his fellow officers were also at the airport to welcome him back.
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Illinois VA Bill Worth-less than Veterans Deserve

This is the headline: 

Illinois VA bill would address veteran suicides

But clearly shows the lack of knowledge behind it,

HB2647 is a 10-point plan to prevent the 22 daily suicides of veterans across the country. After three amendments, the bill has passed the House and the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee. It is up for a second reading in the Senate.
"It's about time they do something like this," said Dennis Boden, commander of the Quincy American Legion Post. "It seems to me that vets have been neglected."
The bill amends the Department of Veteran Affairs Act, requiring the department, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, to identify veterans returning from heavy casualty units or units where at least one service member committed suicide upon returning stateside.

I left this comment:

How many more Bills will politicians write but leave veterans still paying the price? Considering I only read the first couple of paragraphs where it has the nauseating misquoted number of "22 a day" which came from the VA along with the fact that it was limited data from just 21 states, from 2012, it shows no one read the report. Then there was the followup research with "20 a day" but that was also the same number the VA found committed suicide in 1999 when no one was making money or a name for themselves "raising awareness" about it. The other fact is there were over 5 million more veterans in the country. You know, the older guys no one talked about and still never seem to mention when they are over 65% of the suicides that still happen. How about politicians actually take the time to understand what has been done, failed and then know enough to actually do something about it?

Did you know that Illinois doesn't know how many veterans in that state commit suicide?

Tom Cullerton advances measures to combat veterans’ suicide epidemic
SPRINGFIELD - State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) has started tackling obstacles found during the Veterans Suicide Taskforce hearings.
Cullerton advanced Senate Bill 1693 to allow deceased veterans with military service to include their veteran status, branch of military and the period of time served in the military on their death certificate.
“We need to get to the cause of veteran suicide,” Cullerton said. “The only way to tackle the problem is to have a complete picture. This is a simple way to collect statistics and honor Illinois’ veterans.”
The idea was suggested by DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgenson, who indicated that veteran suicide was under reported since Illinois death certificates do not include information on the history of U.S. military service.

I need to go to the bathroom now since I am sick to my stomach thinking of all the veterans who will still commit suicide while politicians leave them paying the price with their lives.