Homeland Heroes Providing Comfort When They Come Home

A HERO'S WELCOME

Organization provides comforts of home to those who serve the country

Eagle Tribune
Breanna Edelstein
July 30, 2017

"We meet the vet wherever they are in life. Whatever we can do, we do. And if we can't, we find someone who can." Julie Weymouth

Ryan Hutton/Staff photo
Homeland Heroes Foundation Executive Director Julie Weymouth sits at her desk in Hudson warehouse.

"Weymouth in 2012 started her effort with a trip to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where she sat down with a chaplain and asked for some direction."

SALEM, N.H. — The Royer family watched the black faux-leather couch in their Rochester living room slowly dip and sag for a decade without being able to afford a new one.

Several weeks ago, they finally lugged it out of their home when they were given a new one, along with other free housewares, thanks to widespread community support for a local organization dedicated to helping active-duty military personnel, veterans and their loved ones.

Julie Weymouth, executive director of the Homeland Heroes Foundation of Salem, has seen the scenario play out hundreds of times since she helped start the nonprofit back in 2012. For a variety of reasons including financial hardship, emotional struggles and other circumstances, many who have served their country find themselves in need after returning home. So, too, do families while a loved one is deployed. 

Several tours to Afghanistan had taken a toll on Jeremy Royer, 37, a U.S. Army Veteran. The father and husband spent significant time on the aging living-room sofa, struggling with the residual effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, night terrors and unshakably aching joints.

Finances already were tight when his 37-year-old wife, Miranda, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma last fall. Doctors said the football-sized mass in her chest was encroaching quickly on her heart, and she'd need to fight for her life.
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UK Amputee Soldier Can't Get Treated...Because He's Scottish?

Soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan can't receive hospital treatment in England 'because he's Scottish'

‘I am sitting here without my legs because I fought for this country’ 
The Independent 
Narjas Zatat 
July 28, 2017 

A Scottish soldier who lost both his legs while serving for the British Army in Afghanistan has been told he can no longer continue to receive specialist treatment in England. 

Lance Corporal Callum Brown said staff at the Queen Elizabeth Birmingham Trust hospital, which houses experts in amputee and veteran care, said NHS England could no longer provide funding. 

The 28-year-old, from the west coast Scottish town of Ayr, was injured by a bomb blast during a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2011 and airlifted home. 
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Hundreds of Motorcycles Showed Up For Dying Vietnam Veteran's Ride

Update

Vietnam veteran dies days after bikers honor him with 'last ride' motorcycle event

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Wish comes true for dying Vietnam Veteran
WZZM
Phil Dawson
July 28, 2017

MUSKEGON, MICH. - Before he dies, Muskegon Vietnam veteran and hospice patient Wayne Whisler wanted to ride a motorcycle one last time.

And Friday afternoon his wish came true.

“It was great,” he says.

The last ride was arranged after Whisler told a care Hillcrest Nursing and Rehab Center care giver Theresa Flynn how much he liked her Harley, and how much he would like to hang out with some bikers and go for a ride.

She sent a message to Muskegon Motorcycle Club member Vic Martin.

“Spend a little time with him, let him look at the motorcycles and enjoy himself for a few hours,” says Martin.

“And we needed to get as many bikes out here as we could,” adds motorcycle rider David Edwards.

Friday afternoon, a convoy of several hundred motorcycles streamed into the Hillcrest parking lot. Whisler was loaded onto a sidecar and taken for a road trip.
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God and Country, Homeless Veteran Thankful For Kindness

BIG HEARTS: Abilene couple pays for homeless veteran's hotel stay
Big Country
By: Brittany Pelletz
Posted: Jul 27, 2017

ABILENE,Texas (KTAB) - "You get to meet all kinds of people working in this industry," says Veronica Fisher, the manager at Super 8 in Abilene.

It's one of the reasons why Veronica Fisher and her husband, Jason Timms got into the hotel business. Each time someone checks in, a new adventure awaits.

"I believe God sent us here. God sends you where you need to be to get help," says Joseph Stewart, a guest at the Super 8.

Joseph Stewart, served in the United States Marine Corps and has lived a life of service, ministering to others.

Jason Timms, an employee of the hotel says, "He was having a rough time."

Stewart adds, "After we got here, I got low on funds."

"When I heard his story, and with him being a veteran, I feel like if you fought for my country, you need the help," Timms adds.
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Veteran Found the Tree to Hang Himself, But Wrote Book Instead

He Found the Tree to Hang Himself; Instead, Marc Raciti, Wife Now Help Other Vets

Phoenix New Times
Lindsay Moore
July 28, 2017

Marc enlisted in the military as a private at 25 and retired 24 years later as an Army major. He was deployed five times and “frequently provided good medicine in bad places” as an orthopedic physician assistant.

Among all the lush Hawaiian greenery stood a bare, gray trunk with roots shooting out in all directions. It was easy to miss and even easier to forget. Birds wouldn’t even perch on the bony branches.

Marc and Sonja Raciti wrote, edited, and published a book on how PTSD affects veterans and their families.

Marc Raciti said that he and the tree shared a connection. This was the tree he chose to hang himself on.

“We’re both strong and had this greatness about us, but we’re both broken,” he said.

He wrote the notes, he brought a rope, and he was prepared to go. But instead, he fell asleep leaning on the long roots that formed a natural armchair. He dreamed of the drop from the tree branch and waited for whatever version of the afterlife would present itself.

He woke up and decided to seek help.

Marc is shy to talk about how he met his wife, Sonja, at Schofield Barracks army base in Hawaii. He lets her do most of the talking about how they were set up by a mutual friend and waited a whole year to meet to each other.

But when it comes to the mental health of veterans, Marc is quick to speak up. He’s written and published a book on the subject, specifically centered on his own journey.

His self-published novel, I Just Want to See Trees, was recently named a finalist in the International Book Awards for two categories, Health: Psychology/Mental Health and History: Military, earning the book a small golden sticker on the front cover.

The title and cover are a tribute to the large, dead tree Marc considered hanging himself on. He named the tree, and the poem it inspired, "Unforgiven."
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