Honored Vietnam Veteran Speaker May Have Lied

Vietnam veterans claim of 9 Purple Hearts raises questions
Times Free Press
December 31, 2017

"I've got 57 medals," Holloway proudly proclaimed, remarking that some were pinned to his chest by President Lyndon B. Johnson himself.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Times Free Press in November 2016 published a story that included information about Vietnam veteran Stephen D. Holloway, who was speaking at a Veterans Day event in Pikeville, Tenn., and claimed to be the most-decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. Holloway's public claims were challenged by veterans of Vietnam and other conflicts, and the Times Free Press has spent more than a year investigating his military record. To date, Holloway maintains his claims are accurate, though few of his medals and awards have convincing documentation. This is part 1 of a two-day series.

Silver Star. Bronze Star.

Prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Nine Purple Hearts.

Sounds extraordinary, but that's what 69-year-old Vietnam veteran Stephen Douglas Holloway claims.

For three of those claims, the Hixson resident's DD-214 — the official document every military veteran who serves is given when discharged from duty — backs it up.

One of Holloway's multiple DD-214s, anyway.

If Holloway's Purple Heart claims are true, veterans who study military awards, documents and records say, he would be the most decorated service member to serve in the Vietnam War.

But so far, the Times Free Press has been unable to verify any of those claims through military channels, or through Holloway himself.

A fake Purple Heart claim flies in the face of the people who have legitimately received them. 

"There's only one person that's been awarded nine Purple Hearts. His name was [Albert L.] Ireland. He was a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps. And he has officially been awarded nine Purple Hearts. No one else in history has," said Kendrick, who received the Purple Heart four times and has the documents to prove it. read more here

Most decorated American soldier in US Military history

The title of most decorated American soldier probably goes to Robert Lewis Howard, a US Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam War. Howard was born July 11, 1939 and he died at age 70 on December 23, 2009. Robert L. Howard was wounded 14 times while serving over 54 months of combat. He was awarded 8 Purple Hearts, 4 Bronze Stars, and was nominated for the Medal of Honor in three separate cases.

Robert L. Howard enlisted in the US Army at Montgomery, Alabama and retired in the rank of Colonel. read more here

Ten time a hero, Curry T. Haynes
Having recovered from malaria, he was “good to go” a second time and reported back to his unit. With one Purple Heart to his credit, if Haynes was wounded two more times he would earn a trip back to CONUS, the Continental United States. The rule was: Three Purple Hearts earned a soldier the much-sought-after ticket home on the Freedom Bird. Most likely the architects of the “three-strikes-and-you’re-out of the war” rule had meant the policy should be applied to three separate engagements. Hayes earned nine more Purple Hearts in one engagement.

National Guardsman Died Saving Others from FIre

National Guardsman Rescued Others Before Dying in NYC Fire

Associated Press

December 31, 2017

NEW YORK -- The victims of New York City's deadliest fire in decades include a man who immigrated to the Bronx from Ghana and dreamed of becoming a military policeman.

A relative told The New York Times that Emmanuel Mensah had rescued a number of people before going back into the burning building, where he died of smoke inhalation.

read more here

Massive fire that killed 12 started by child playing with stove, causing 'unprecedented' loss

ABC News

Julia Jacobo and Morgan Winsor

December 29, 2017

A massive apartment fire that killed at least 12 people -- including a 1-year-old girl found with her mother in a bathtub -- was sparked by a small child playing with a stove, city officials said.

When the family fled the first-floor apartment unit, they left the door open, allowing the flames to spread into the stairwell and shoot up the staircase of the five-story residential building.

"It took the fire so quickly upstairs, people had little time to react," New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a press conference Friday morning. "Open stairs act as chimneys."

The burned-out halls of the building are seen in video released by New York fire officials on Friday. Soot and ash cover the hallway and stairwell from floor to ceiling.

read more here

Veterans lost within all the scams and stunts

Hope Eyes Open Before More Close
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 31, 2017

Even in one of the worst years for veterans, there had been some hope within all the scams and stunts. For all the folks out there asking for money do to absolutely nothing to prove they deserved it, people responded. They responded because they do care about our veterans. The problem is they put the spotlight on themselves and left veterans in the darkness where hope could not be found.

I wish I could say I do not judge the universe. I wish I could say that all the do-gooders out there are actually doing some good, but the majority are doing what comes easy for them.

How hard is it to talk about a number when "its an easy number to remember" even if it is not true? How hard is it to talk about a headline when they never even bothered to read the report it came from?

I've been asking that question for years. I am still waiting for an answer. Too many of them have stopped waiting for answers as hope vanished. They found people pretending to care while shutting their eyes to what veterans needed. The result was thousands of veterans shut their eyes for the last time. No one gave them another reason to at least try to stay alive.

They fought for us.
(Yes I am trying to raise some money so that I can at least break even this year but we're talking about a budge of $2,500 a year. What I do is over the phone and online, little overhead but 45 hours a week worth of work. Now think about that as you read the charity frauds below.)

It has been over a decade since raising awareness became more important than doing anything to actually change the outcome. The result was billions going into charities and more veterans going into graves.

Just in this year, here are some of the self serving groups and individuals who were supported while no one thought to ask for any proof for what they claimed.

The Gregory's charities raised $782,434 between 2014-2015. None of the money was ever used for equine therapy, saving horses' lives, or supporting veterans, the lawsuit states. California

Veterans in the area, meanwhile, are disgusted knowing scammers are targeting people who support them. The scammers’ lies are hurting real veterans charities. Jason Parzy, 37, thought he'd walk away with $300 cash as he entered the Cash For Gold store in Wesley Chapel, according to investigators. Florida

Veterans in Need Foundation: In the charity’s most recent IRS filing, it reported collecting $448,000 in donations in the latest year available and almost $2.2 Million over five years. Again, Florida

It was a donation that would change everything. A Gresham man promised to contribute $425,000 to a nonprofit organization that provides gym memberships to veterans. The Beaverton-based charity, Lift For The 22, celebrated the announcement with a check presentation streamed live on its Facebook page. Oregon

After firework tent sales were over on July 8th, the tent closed down, and left. 24 days later, and neither Americans for Independent Living nor the Black Hawk County VA received a single penny in donations from Iowa Fireworks Company, which led KWWL to follow the money. Iowa 

The attorney general said some of Project VetCare’s leaders had diverted money to pay for a range of personal purposes, including a cruise vacation, a heating system for the executive director’s home, and loans and stipends for directors and their relatives.Robert Chambers, co-founder of Project VetCare, was among those named in the report. The investigation found that he used the organization’s fund to pay for a Toyota van and that his daughter had received a stipend payment. New Hampshire

Veterans shelter accused of making profit by making veterans work. North Carolina 

Madigan sued the charity after a 2015 Tribune investigation found that VietNow had raised more than $20 million between 2003 and 2014 but spent 80 percent of those donations on for-profit telemarketers. Most of the remainder went for administrative costs, the Tribune reported, leaving just a fraction of the donations for programs to help military veterans. Illinois

Telemarketers making money instead of veterans all over the country like this one. 

And recently, yet again in Florida, there was this guy.

An Ormond Beach man has been accused of running a sham veterans charity after investigators said he scammed several local businesses that had provided services for a benefit golf tournament headlined by a former NFL player.

Did anyone ask for proof from any of those groups before they wrote checks? Did anyone bother to check to see what all the "awareness raisers" were doing with the money they got? Anyone ask anyone what the result of all this was?

Love On The Rocks? Seems to say most of it. 

First, they say they want you
How they really need you
Suddenly you find you're out there
Walking in a storm
When they know they have you
Then they really have you
Nothing you can do or say
You've got to leave, just get away
We all know the song

Prisoners and puppies changing lives 4 paws at a time

Puppies Raised In Prison Go On To Help Disabled Veterans
WNPR
David Desroches
December 29, 2017

Prisons have actually been training dogs since the 1980s. A Dominican nun is credited with  bringing the first training program to a Washington state prison back in 1981.

Jerrod Chapel working with his dog, Pete, teaching him how to fetch things for a future disabled veteran.DAVID DESROCHES / WNPR 

Inside Enfield Correctional Institution there are all the expected security measures: Huge steel doors. Armed guards. Barbed-wire fences. Locked gates.

But in one area of the prison, there's something a little different.

There's a room with a huge mural painted on the back wall. It shows men and women in army fatigues playing with dogs. One woman is in a wheelchair. Inside this room, there are all sorts of props built to mimic items in a home: a refrigerator; a portion of a wall with a light switch on it; a door -- literally a door to nowhere -- in the middle of the room, with a leash attached to a handle.

This room is where inmates train puppies to be service dogs for veterans.

One of the dogs Santiago got to train was Caspar, a big yellow lab, mixed with a little golden retriever. A few months ago, Caspar found a home with Bob Rapone. He's a Vietnam veteran who's been living with PTSD ever since he came home nearly 50 years ago.

read more here

Las Vegas Shooting Survivors Still Wait for Help

Vegas Strong Fund pays 12 Las Vegas shooting victims — then stops
Las Vegas Review Journal
Nicole Raz
December 29, 2017

P.J. DeMasseo, a survivor of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting, cashed a check for $1,000 Friday from the Vegas Strong Fund.

Survivors of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting--Jennifer Holub (left), Heather Gooze and Stacie Armentrout discuss ways to deliver immediate financial assistance to survivors and families of the 58 who died in the shooting in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. Nicole Raz/Las Vegas Review-Journal

He is one of 12 people who received checks this week from the nonprofit totaling $14,800.

He also could be one of the last.

The checks — ranging in amounts from $200 to $3,900 — mark the first distributions to Oct. 1 victims by a nonprofit established in response to the shooting. But it was unclear Friday whether additional victims would receive money from the fund.

The Vegas Strong Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created by the Nevada resort industry after the shooting. The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has raised more than $22 million for victims of the Strip mass shooting — and gained far more attention than the Vegas Strong Fund — isn’t expected to distribute money until March. Many victims have expressed concern with that timeline because they have immediate financial needs, and others won’t qualify for assistance from the Victims’ Fund at all.

Enter the Vegas Strong Fund. The $14,800 came from more than $12 million in commitments and cash collected so far. Most recipients will not qualify for assistance from the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, which will benefit those who suffered physical injuries and the families of those killed.
read more here