Monday, May 22, 2017

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vandalized in Chicago


UPDATE




Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial vandalized

Chicago police are looking for whomever who wrote their own names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Vietnam veteran David Goddard said he saw two women writing their names on the wall near State Street and Wacker Drive Sunday afternoon.

Vietnam Veteran's 67 Corvette Sold for $675K?

Vietnam War hero's dream Corvette fetches $675K at auction
The Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY NETWORK
John Tuohy
May 21, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS — A marina blue 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe bought by a Vietnam War hero and maintained by his son sold for $675,000 at an Indianapolis auction Saturday.

The unrestored sports car, with 8,553 miles on it, was bought by Carmel, Ind., resident Gary Runyon at Dana Mecum’s 30th Spring Classic at the State Fairgrounds.

"It was very exciting but also very, very difficult," to part with the car, said its owner, Matt Litavsky. "It was all kind of a haze."
read more here

SCAM ALERT on Veterans Choice Program

Telephone scam targets veterans looking for healthcare

WITN News
May 22, 2017

A new telephone scam is targeting veterans who are making some decisions on healthcare.
The Veterans Choice Program allows certain vets to use health care providers outside of the Veterans Affairs System.
If eligible, veterans or families can call a toll-free number to get started on the program.
But here's the problem: scammers have set up a phony telephone line that closely resembles the real program number and they're sending out letters to veterans with this fake number on it.
When you call the fake number, you'll hear an automated message that says you're entitled to a rebate if you give a credit card number.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

WWII Veteran Finally Receives Bronze Star 73 Years Late

WW II vet receives Bronze Star 73 years after it was awarded
The State
BY JEFF WILKINSON
May 20, 2017

AIKEN During World War II, Pfc. James R. “Boots” Beatty of Barney, Ga., served in the 1st Special Service Force, also called The Devil's Brigade, an elite American-Canadian commando unit.
The 1,800 “Force Men,” as they were the called, were the first commando unit, trained in special tactics from mountaineering to skiing to amphibious operations. They were the predecessors of today’s Army Rangers, Green Berets and Navy Seals.

They fought the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands, then the Germans in Italy and southern France, conducting night raids behind enemy lines, killing as many enemy soldiers as possible and capturing the rest. In Italy they would leave cards on the bodies of dead German soldiers with the ominous warning: “Das Dike Ende Kommt Noch!” which translates as “The Worst Is Yet To Come.”
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Vietnam Veteran Message on PTSD "There’s no need to suffer alone anymore.”

Iowa veterans speak out about getting service members the help they need
The DesMoines Register
Molly Longman
May 20, 2017

Vietnam veteran Larry Clayton approached a podium under the Iowa State Capitol Rotunda Saturday with a message for Iowans.

He wanted veterans, their families and their friends to realize the physical and mental health problems veterans face during and after their service — and to understand that there’s help.

“I am proud of the part I played in the Vietnam conflict, and I pray for all those soldiers who did not come home and those who came home physically or emotionally broken,” Clayton said. “And I thank God every day that he has seen fit to grant me peace during my life.

"Others haven't been nearly as fortunate."

Clayton talked about the effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant chemical sprayed over South Vietnam to eliminate forests and militia crops used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. The chemical is linked to diseases such as B-cell leukemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

He talked about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the high rate of veteran suicides.

He wanted veterans to know this: “Admit to yourself that you or a family member might benefit from some medical attention.

"There’s no need to suffer alone anymore.”
read more here