Vietnam Veteran Gone Fishing as Final Wish

Final mission: Vietnam veteran makes fishing trip near his Point Marion home

Herald Standard

Alyssa Choiniere

September 10, 2017

Vietnam veteran Robert Lincoln gazed out at the scenery during a fishing trip on the Monongahela River in Point Marion Wednesday. Local veteran groups organized the trip, a fullment of his final wish. Alyssa Choiniere Herald Standard

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Robert Lincoln gave a thumbs up to his men, several many years his junior, their arms straining for a final shove as they launched the vessel for his final mission.

His last tour in Vietnam was cut short in 1970. Three months into his deployment in northern Vietnam, an explosion rocked his platoon and injured Lincoln. Nearly 50 years later, he had only one mission left — to set out onto the Monongahela River near his childhood home in Point Marion for a fishing trip.

“He said before he departs this world, he’d like to go fishing one more time in the Mon River,” said Darryl Smith of Veterans for Veterans of Western Pennsylvania, who organized the trip. “I said, ‘Buddy, we’ll get you down there if we have to carry you down.”

Lincoln set off in a power wheelchair, strapped to the back of a pontoon. His deteriorating health almost thwarted his goal. It took several months and an organized effort between several local veteran groups to fulfill. His health problems began with the explosion and compounded with age. He had lost both his legs to diabetes and much of his vision and hearing.

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Camp Pendleton Marines Death Under Investigation

Officials Investigating Death of Marine at Reconnaissance Course

Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
9 Sep 2017

Marine Corps officials have yet to determine the cause of death for a private first class who was found unresponsive during a training event last month at Camp Pendleton, California.

Michael P. Giannattasio (Photo courtesy Modetz Funeral Homes)

Pfc. Michael P. Giannattasio had been attending the Basic Reconnaissance Course at School of Infantry West, a physically demanding training course required for those who want to join the elite ranks of reconnaissance Marines.

He was discovered unconscious during a land navigation training event Aug. 30, according to a spokesman from Marine Corps Training and Education Command, Capt. Joshua Pena.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported Giannatasio's death.

Giannatasio, 22, was from Armada, Mich. According to a published obituary, he was the fourth of eight children.
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Evacuation orders for Central Florida counties

WESH 2 News
Check here for updates

BREVARD COUNTY:

Brevard County officials have announced a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in Merritt Island and some mainland low-lying areas along the Indian River Lagoon.

The order for people living in Evacuation Zone A begins at 3 p.m. Friday.

In addition, people who live in mobile or manufactured homes or in other flood-prone areas are also vulnerable and should evacuate, whether on the mainland or the barrier islands, county officials said.

Residents who do not plan to stay in public shelters are encouraged to stay with family or friends on the mainland, and to evacuate tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles, as traffic on highways and interstates is likely to be heavier.

FLAGLER COUNTY:

Flagler County has issued a mandatory evacuation order effective at 7 a.m. Saturday for the following areas:

Evacuation Zone A includes everything east of the Intracoastal including Marineland, Hammock, Flagler Beach along A1A.

Evacuation Zone F is in western Flagler County and includes areas near Dead Lake - St. Johns Park and the Haw Creek Basin - as the St. Johns River, which feeds Dead Lake.

Low-lying areas subject to flooding, as well as for those who live in mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and trailers.

Individuals with special medical needs, due to the potential loss of power.

There is a mandatory evacuation for nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Flagler County zones A,B,C and F.

Flagler County announced a voluntary evacuation for residents and said evacuation zones A, B, C and F (not Palm Coast alphabet sections) should consider leaving the area ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The county has also expanded their voluntary evacuation to include residents who live in a mobile home, a recreational vehicle, a trailer or an unsafe structure that is not rated to withstand strong winds.

Evacuation Zone A : Everything east of the Intracoastal including Marineland, Hammock, Flagler Beach along A1A.

Evacuation Zone B: neighborhoods along Colbert Lane to the south, all of the C section and the F section east of Florida Park Drive and the F section east of Palm Harbor Parkway. This zone also includes the area east of Old Kings Road, south of State Road 100 including Bulow and its adjacent neighborhood, Grand Haven and western Flagler Beach.

Evacuation Zone C: Woodlands area of Palm Coast

Evacuation Zone F: Areas near Dead Lake, St. Johns Park and the Haw Creek basin, as the St. Johns River, which feeds Dead Lake is tidal.

The Flagler Beach Police Department is asking residents to stop by for a placard that can help with post storm recovery if residents plan to evacuate.

SEMINOLE COUNTY:

No voluntary or mandatory evacuation notice has been posted by Seminole County at this time.

ORANGE COUNTY:

Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs issued a mandatory evacuation notice to all residents living in mobile homes in Orange County.

Officials are encouraging residents to stay with family or make their way to shelters which will open at 9 a.m. Saturday.

MARION COUNTY:

Marion County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in mobile homes and modular-type homes.

Residents are urged to evacuate those homes by 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept 9.

Evacuees are encouraged to first seek shelter with family or friends living in a site-built home. If that option is not available, you can check the list of shelters by clicking here.

VOLUSIA COUNTY:
Volusia County is asking residents on the beachside, in low-lying areas, and in RVs, mobile or manufactured homes are asked at this time to evacuate voluntarily. If you are uncomfortable in your home, you also are encouraged to evacuate.

Florida Hospital
Florida Hospital Oceanside is an 80-bed facility located beachside in Ormond Beach on A1A. This facility will evacuate 31 patients to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach on Friday, September 8. The emergency department at this facility is also expected to close, however the exact time has not yet been determined.

• Florida Hospital New Smyrna is a 112-bed facility located in New Smyrna Beach, a few short blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway. This facility will evacuate approximately 50 patients to Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City on Friday, September 8. The entire hospital will be closed and the emergency department at this facility will be closed to patients as of noon on Saturday, September 9.

• The ERs will be open and available for patients in emergency medical situations at:

◦ Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand
◦ Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City
◦ Florida Hospital Flagler is Palm Coast
◦ Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach

• All procedures, diagnostic testing and outpatient appointments scheduled for Monday, September 11 are cancelled and will need to be rescheduled for future dates.

• All freestanding Florida Hospital outpatient facilities and employed physician offices will be closed on Monday, September 11. Depending on the storm's track and localized impact, these facilities and offices plan to assess any damages on Tuesday, September 12 to evaluate reopening.

OSCEOLA COUNTY:

Residents in low-lying areas or in modular and mobile homes are officially advised to evacuate to safer accommodations, including shelters or staying with family or friends.

LAKE COUNTY:

Lake County has issued a voluntary evacuation order in Astor and Lake George.

Officials are asking the residents of those areas to safely self-evacuate by Saturday afternoon. Lake County has 13 emergency shelters that will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept 9.

The closest emergency shelters to Astor are Spring Creek Elementary, 44440 Spring Creek Road, Paisley and Umatilla Elementary, 40

1 Lake St., Umatilla. Both shelters are pet-friendly and Umatilla can also accommodate special needs persons.

More shelters 

You have to admit that Gov. Scott has done a fabulous job keeping all of us up to date on what is going on. He's on TV several times a day giving updates!

September 10th, 2017
Gov. Rick Scott: I’m not sparing any resources during Hurricane Irma
Florida Gov. Rick Scott tells TODAY that he’s extremely worried about the storm surges hitting Florida from Hurricane Irma. “It’s hard to believe anybody will survive it,” he says. Scott says he’s not sparing any resources to protect people from the storm.

Iraq Veteran and Service Dog Not Welcomed? Seriously!

Wounded veteran says California restaurant refused entry to dog

Fox News
Published September 08, 2017

A vision-impaired veteran claims he was wronged by a California restaurant after they refused to let his dog join him for dinner.

Readen Clavier, an Iraq War veteran who suffered head injuries when his vehicle was hit by an IUD in Balad, told KTVU that he was denied a meal at Inchin’s Bamboo in San Mateo because the employees didn’t want his comfort dog, Cole, sitting under the table.

“[They said] you can’t have a pet in here,” Clavier told KTVU. “I’m like, he’s not a pet, he’s a service animal.”

According to Clavier, the restaurant offered to seat him outside in a covered patio instead, but he simply opted to dine elsewhere.

KTVU reached out to the manager of the restaurant, who confirmed that Clavier and his dog were indeed offered a seat outside. He also says that he personally spoke with Clavier at the time of the incident, but suggested that Clavier didn’t actually need the dog for service reasons.

“He was speaking to me and to another lady,” said the Inchin’s manager. “And nobody was blind and everything [was recorded] on the camera."
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Stolen Valor to Grow Pot?

Oklahoma Vice: Veterans say pot grower lied about service in Iraq

News OK

Brianna Bailey

September 8, 2017

Command Sgt. Maj. Jared Worley of the  Kansas National Guard drove about three hours from Kansas to refute Constuble's claims about his military service at trial.On the witness stand, Worley testified that, Constuble spent less than two months in Iraq before he was found unfit for service and was sent home.

A Bartlesville man who claimed he grew marijuana to treat post traumatic stress disorder has spent much of the past decade lying about his time in Iraq, according to veterans who served with him.

Austin Eugene Constuble, 31,  told Oklahoma Vice he was forced to kill a special-needs child who insurgents strapped with an artillery shell in Iraq. He said he rescued bleeding children from a bombed out school. He also claimed he had been shot at and was injured by a roadside bomb.

None of those things are true.  

A jury in Washington County this week found Constuble guilty of cultivating marijuana at his grandmother's house and recommended a three year prison sentence.  

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