Gary Sinise honors military in Melbourne

Actor Gary Sinise honors military in Melbourne -- with music 
Florida Today 
Jennifer Sangalang 
October 1, 2017

"Lieutenant Dan, certainly, when I played that I got more involved with our wounded through the Disabled American Veterans Organization and started supporting them," he told FLORIDA TODAY. The group contacted Sinise three weeks after the movie opened in 1994, inviting him to a convention.

Actor Gary Sinise, left, met some fans before his Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performance, in conjunction with the USO, at the King Center in Melbourne. Sinise is best known for his role as Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump" and Detective Mac Taylor in "CSI: NY." (Photo: PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX PREISSER)

"I was so fortunate to be able to go and attend this event," she added.

"It was awesome, beyond any expectations I had," John Carrigan of Melbourne said of the show. "The band was great, they covered lots of different music genres, but made it their own."

He was especially moved "when Gary talked to the audience and shared his family story and how he came to appreciate veterans. It was moving when he gave a shout-out to Vietnam vets and asked them to stand up."

In "Forrest Gump," Sinise wowed audiences with his portrayal of Lieutenant Dan Taylor. In the film, his character becomes a disabled veteran. Sinise's work led to an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
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Two Pilots Killed in Cherokee National Forest Navy Jet Crash

2 pilots killed in Navy training jet crash in Tennessee
USA TODAY NETWORK
Travis Dorman and Hayes Hickman
Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel
Published Oct. 2, 2017

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. — Both pilots aboard a Navy training jet that went down in Cherokee National Forest have been confirmed dead, military personnel said Monday.

The T-45C Goshawk, attached to Training Squadron Seven (VT-7), was the same aircraft reported missing Sunday from the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss., according to Lt. Liz Feaster, public affairs officer for the chief of Naval Air Training. Military personnel arrived in the Cherokee National Forest early Monday to begin investigating the crash.

The names of the pilots, an instructor and a student, are being withheld for 24 hours after the notification of next of kin.

The crash site is believe to be about 15 miles southeast of Tellico Plains and 2 miles from the Tennessee-North Carolina border near the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Tellico Trout Hatchery, about 500 miles from Meridian.
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Will Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Advisory Committee Remember Us?

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Announces Formation of New Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Advisory Committee; Names Senator Elizabeth Dole Chair

Committee to focus awareness and action on the needs

of military families and caregivers, as well as the veterans they support

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the formation of the Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Federal Advisory Committee as part of VA Secretary David Shulkin’s commitment to supporting our nation’s Veterans and those who care for them,.

The new Committee will be chaired by former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, a noted advocate for military caregivers, and the founder of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and the Hidden Heroes Campaign, both of which regularly collaborate with the VA on issues related to military caregiving.

“The VA is committed to the delivery of highest quality care and support to our Veterans, and recognizes the essential role their families, caregivers, and survivors have every day,” said Secretary Shulkin. “Senator Dole is an accomplished and experienced advocate for Veterans’ caregivers I am honored that she will Chair this landmark Committee.”

The Committee will advise the Secretary, through the Chief Veterans Experience Officer, on matters related to Veterans’ families, caregivers, and survivors across all generations, relationships, and Veteran status, with a focus on gaining a better understanding of the use of VA care and benefits services, and factors that influence access, quality, and accountability for those services. A key element of the committee’s work will be to engage Veteran family members, research experts, and family service providers as a way to better understand their needs and identify ways VA can continue to support them in the best possible way.

“Military families, caregivers, and survivors are truly our nation’s hidden heroes, and make great sacrifices each and every day on behalf of their loved ones, so we must do more to support them on their journey. VA, under Secretary Shulkin’s leadership, is stepping up at a time of tremendous need and opportunity,” said Senator Elizabeth Dole, herself a caregiver to her husband, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole, a World War II veteran injured in combat. “I am proud to serve as chair of such a critical committee, alongside some of the nation’s top voices on the issues that affect Veterans and their families.”

Serving alongside Senator Dole on the committee will be Mr. Sherman Gillums (Vice Chair), Ms. Mary Buckler, Ms. Bonnie Carroll, Ms. Melissa Comeau, Ms. Harriet Dominique, Ms. Jennifer Dorn, Ms. Ellyn Dunford, Dr. Robert Koffman,  Lt. Gen. (U.S. Army, Ret.) Mike Linnington, Mr. Joe Robinson, Ms. Elaine Rogers, Brig. Gen. (U.S. Army, Ret) Dr. Loree Sutton, Mr. Francisco Urena, Ms. Shirley White, Ms. Lee Woodruff, and Ms. Lolita Zinke.

They finally want to include us as unsung heroes!

USS Kirk Crew Honored for Rescues After Vietnam War

Vietnam Veterans Recognized for Rescuing More Than 30,000 Refugees
NBC 4 News
Brie Stimson
Liberty Zabala
October 1, 2017

"If I wasn’t there, if the Navy chose not to send me, they would have been all killed…there’s no question in my mind,” Vietnam veteran CAPT Paul Jacobs told NBC 7.

Jacobs and the crew of the USS Kirk received two congressional commendations from the U.S. government at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park this weekend for their role in leading the effort to save more than 30,000 Vietnamese veterans near the end of the war.

Saturday was the first time the crew had been recognized formally by the U.S. government. The ceremony included dignitaries and congressional, county and city officials.

On April 30, 1975, Jacobs was told to return to the coast to rescue what was left of the South Vietnamese Navy.
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Demons Defeated UK Veteran--MoD Left Him Unarmed to Fight PTSD

'Demons are winning': Heartbreaking last letter of traumatised soldier who killed himself after he was 'failed by MoD'

The Mirror

Sean Rayment

September 30, 2017

The wife of a British soldier who committed suicide after being ­diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder says he was ­abandoned by the military.

Sarah Emslie said her husband, who served in both Gulf wars, took his own life after a 20-year battle with mental illness triggered by the horrors of war.

Mike Emslie, 44, who hanged himself a week before Christmas, left a suicide note saying: “The demons are winning the battle.

“I have seen things nobody should ever see and I see it everywhere I go.”

Sarah said they asked the Army for help but were told that there were no resources available to treat veterans with PTSD.

Instead – like many other military ­sufferers – the couple were simply advised to visit their GP and seek advice from military charities.

Mike served in both Gulf wars in Iraq (Image: Daily Record)

Mike Emslie's last email to his wife

My sweet, darling wife, this is probably the toughest email I’m going to write. But this isn’t the real me.

The demons are winning the battle, I can’t keep going any more and I’m so tired. I have seen things nobody should ever see and I see it ­everywhere I go and it’s eating away at me. It hurts babe, it’s been 20 years of pain and so much that I can only think of one way to stop the pain.

I know that you think I’m a coward for doing this but the pain is way to much for me, I’m not a strong man any more I don’t want to feel the pain any more.

Tell our son I love him so much and that I’m am so proud of the person he has grown into. Everything I have left I give to you both. Please don’t mourn me I don’t ­deserve it. Just know I’ve never stopped loving you both. I’ll be looking down on you both. All my love, Mike.
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