Vietnam Veteran Donated Braille Flag So Others Could Feel It

Braille flag at Jacksonville VA clinic sends message of hope to blind community
Florida Times Union
Joe Daraskevich
May 31, 2017

Peters is a legally blind Army veteran who was born in Jacksonville but lives in St. Marys, Ga. He served as a special operations aviator in the Vietnam War and was the driving force behind bringing the braille flag to the Jacksonville clinic.

Anyone who visits the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Jacksonville will notice a new bronze American flag fastened to the wall near the main elevator.

The flag is barely larger than a square foot, but even people without sight can appreciate the gesture and understand the power of its message.

It’s meant to bring attention to the often-forgotten group of blinded veterans in the area. The Pledge of Allegiance is written in braille for anyone to feel.
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Air Force Veteran Defended Deputy Being Attacked

Veteran helps Pasco deputy take down man accused of punching officer
WFLA News 8
By Corey Davis
Published: May 30, 2017

Johnson, a U.S. Air Force veteran and licensed security trainer, said he did it to put an end to the confrontation as quickly as possible.

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is thanking a veteran who helped a deputy take down a combative man.

Officials said Ray Johnson stepped in to help when Jordan Caraballo started punching Deputy Jesse Larkin.

“I was able to get him down, control his head so he wouldn’t throw me and that’s when he started punching me in the abdomen,” Larkin said.

Larkin was responding to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 1700 block of Canoe Drive in Lutz on Monday.

“It was probably 20 seconds, but it felt like 10 minutes,” Larkin said.

Investigators said Caraballo had already thrown a glass object at a family member before Larkin arrived.

Calls to 911 reveal that Caraballo was arguing with his mother and sister, which led to several calls for help.
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Joshua Berry Survived Afghanistan, Fort Hood Massacre, but Not Being Home

Father raises awareness of veteran suicide after death of his son
FOX 19 News
Tuesday, May 30th

FORT THOMAS, KY (FOX19)
Hundreds of American flags have been placed across the Tri-State in the past few months.

On Memorial Day, more than 600 flags waved at Tower Park.

But there's an important message behind the patriotic displays.

"Families, the empty chairs at tables," said Howard Berry. "The grieving process and the questions, the unanswered questions."

Howard Berry started the Flags for Forgotten Soldiers campaign after the death of his son, US Army Staff Sergeant Joshua Berry.

Joshua had just returned to the US from a tour in Afghanistan in 2009 when shots were fired at him during the attack at Fort Hood, Texas. He was then diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

"He was treated here at this Cincinnati VA and committed suicide in February 2013," said Howard.

Since then, Howard has been on a mission, erecting groups of flags wherever they will let him.

660 star spangled banners, to be exact.
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Cincinnati News, FOX19-WXIX TV

Retirement Shockingly Awakens PTSD

Vietnam Veterans Experience PTSD in Retirement for the First Time
WGCU News
By MICHAEL HIRSH
May 30, 2017

David “Dozer” Henderson of Punta Gorda began experiencing intense PTSD symptoms after seeing news footage of bodies coming home from the war in Iraq. He currently runs a PTSD veterans therapy group. MICHAEL HIRSH

The U.S. Census shows Florida is home to nearly half a million Vietnam veterans. The VA’s health clinic in Cape Coral alone served 37,000 of them last year—and the number of Vietnam veteran baby boomers retiring to Southwest Florida just keeps increasing. A significant number of these new retirees are showing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder—or PTSD—often for the first time.

For a veteran who’s never shown symptoms of PTSD—or doesn’t remember ever showing symptoms—connecting new behaviors to what happened in a war fifty years ago can be difficult. Clinical psychologist Dr. Lynn Bernstein runs therapy groups specifically for Vietnam vets and family members in Englewood. She said the symptoms include:

“Not being able to handle stress,” said Bernstein. “The symptoms of avoiding people. Sleeplessness. Irritability. Road rage. Impatience with other people. Only associate with vets. Difficulty sharing their emotions.”

Bernstein said those symptoms combine with other, more well-known PTSD systems.

Bernstein and other therapists said PTSD occurs or reoccurs in retirement because it’s a time in life with less structure.

Vets have more time to think. They may have been using work as a way to cope. They were self-medicating by turning into workaholics. Now, that coping mechanism is no longer available, and any number of events can trigger symptoms. Even something as simple as going to an Asian restaurant, even though the vet may have eaten at the restaurant throughout their working life.
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Yes and maybe now you'll understand why 65% of the suicides involve veterans over the age of 50 then maybe you can explain to me why all the charities are not even talking about them or helping them? 

He Didn't Serve With the Living, But Honors the Dead

‘The Good Cemeterian’: Man Honors Veterans by Cleaning Headstones
NBC News
by PHIL MCCAUSLAND and KERRY SANDERS
May 29, 2017

"I feel connected to them," Lumish said. "And it's very important for me to be able to tell their story and I love to be able to show these individuals and show their accomplishments."

Andrew Lumish cleans the headstones of fallen soldiers.

One Florida man has taken it upon himself to help restore a Tampa graveyard and its veterans' headstones.

Though he has never served in the military, Andrew Lumish, 46, spends his little free time scrubbing and cleaning soldiers' gravestones — some dating back to the Civil War — in the L'Unione Italiana Cemetery.

Known as "The Good Cemeterian," Lumish found the headstones while pursuing his passion for photography. He thought they were beautiful but was bothered by the amount of dirt, mold and mildew that had overtaken them. Some of the men buried there did not have families to take care of their gravesites, so he stepped in to provide a little elbow grease and honor the fallen veterans.
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