Air Force Veteran Fights Wrongful Discharge...at 90!

The Air Force expelled her in 1955 for being a lesbian. Now, at 90, she is fighting back

The Washington Post
Kyle Swenson
January 11, 2018

Her military career was over when she inked her name on the document. On March 3, 1955, James received an “undesirable” discharge from the Air Force.

Helen James at her home in California. 

(Courtesy of Helen James)

The barracks were thick with anxious whispers and rumors, but she figured there was nothing incriminating about leaving the air base for a sandwich.

On a Friday night in 1955, Airman Second Class Helen Grace James and another female service member left the field after work for dinner in a nearby town. The place was too crowded to sit down, so after getting food the two drove the wooded area south of where Hempstead Harbor stabs into Long Island. They found a quiet spot to eat. James cut the engine. She was reaching for her sandwich when flashlight beams ignited the car interior. Air Police. From the base. They had been followed.

“They asked us what we were doing,” James recently told The Washington Post.

James went on to a very successful life after the military. But she never fully pulled free from the experience. Now, at 90, and living in California, she’s fighting to right the historical wrong with a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force. The complaint asks the court to upgrade her discharge to “honorable,” thus restoring the California woman’s rights and honor as a veteran.read more here

How much veterans news reports have you missed this week?

These are some of the stories on Google+ that you may have missed...
  Police and PTSD "like your brain getting shot"

They say it’s an illness, a disorder, cumulative stress disorder, post-traumatic distress — but it’s an actual injury, no different from being a cop and getting shot and having this disability now because of an injury. It's like your brain getting shot.” Matt Frank

Vietnam Veteran learned to love again...from dog

"He married once, twice, three times. He attributes much of the failure of the first two to post-traumatic stress disorder, a diagnosis he didn’t get until some 15 years ago. But he fathered two kids. For a man who can make the literal claim that “half of me is still in Vietnam,” no shelf seemed too high." #combatptsd

John Young, astronaut who grew up in Orlando, dies at 87

Young’s sharp wit struck a high note when asked about then-President John F. Kennedy’s plan to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth. According to a NASA story posted at the time of his retirement in 2004, Young quipped: “I thought returning safely to Earth sounded like a good idea.” Young was in NASA’s second astronaut class, chosen in 1962, along with the likes of Neil Armstrong, Pete Conrad and James Lovell. Young flew twice during the two-man Gemini missions of the mid-1960s, twice to the moon during NASA’s Apollo program, and twice more aboard the new space shuttle Columbia in the early 1980s. Orlando Sentinel

Indiana National Guard Soldier's Death Under Investigation

Indiana Guard officials said 43-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Mark Boner of Fort Wayne died early Saturday. combatptsdwoundedtimes.org

WWII Veteran Honor Restored and Medals Back

"Virgil Westdale was part of the most decorated battalion in military history: the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, after he was stripped of his Army Air Corps badge during the war because he was a Japanese-American. Westdale had his pilot's license taken away and was demoted to a Private in the Army."

Veterans' Group Calls on Troops to Own the 'Me Too' Movement

Long standing "efforts" have left far too many suffering and far too few being treated like a criminal for doing it to them!

"Military officials say this is because the Defense Department has its own longstanding efforts underway to educate about sexual assault and prevent it. But some veterans and critics say that, despite policy, training, and initiatives to prevent reprisal, it's still too difficult for victims of military sexual assault to speak out publicly on the issue."

Rental units set aside to help low-income veterans

"Thanks to Air Force veteran Bill Phillips and his active-duty son William Phillips, three more veterans and their families will have an affordable place to live while they get back on their feet. The Phillipses are working with Community Action of Skagit County to rent the units in their Mount Vernon four-plex to low-income veterans."

'Get ready to fight:' Veterans condemn DOJ rollback of Obama-era marijuana policy

Too many VA doctors have said they would prefer their veterans were using medical pot instead of most of the drugs they are allowed to prescribe. For this to happen goes against what doctors want to do for their patients.

"He did away with a guideline signed in 2013 during President Barack Obama’s administration by former Deputy Attorney General James Cole – and known as the Cole memo – that discouraged U.S. attorneys from prosecuting marijuana-related cases in cannabis-friendly states. In a statement, Sessions called the change a “return to the rule of law.”

Zillah memorial pays respects to city’s veterans

"The pathway on which the sentinels are positioned is reminiscent of the World War II Memorial in the nation’s capital while the black granite for the sentinel walls was inspired by the Vietnam War Memorial, Clark said."

Navy: Fallen pilot’s ‘heroic’ flying saved lives in Philippine Sea crash

"Navy Lt. Steven Combs determined an emergency landing of his transport plane on the choppy waters of the Philippine Sea was necessary as the aircraft he was piloting failed only miles from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, according to Navy officials."

Scientists seek veterans for final act of service - CBS News

"For many soldiers who are involving themselves in this research — and many of the families who are donating their brains to this research — they're viewing this as sort of a final act of service, so that they can help the soldier coming up behind them or help the veteran who they served within Iraq or Afghanistan," says 60 Minutes producer Ashley Velie, who produced this week's piece with Alfonsi. #tbi

Gulf War veteran Frank Williams is back home for his last battle

"Now, Frank Williams is fighting brain cancer. He's stage IV. It forced him to quit his long career as a civilian graphics artist at Fort Bragg. But he may create more art so that his voice can live on. "I don't want to become forgotten," he says."

And those are just from 3 days ago. You'll have to check to see what else you missed this week.

Navy Veteran's Mom Denied VISA, Missed His Funeral

Navy veteran’s mother denied visa to attend his funeral

WREG 3 News

Luke Jones

January 9, 2018

"He's already done for this country, but what has this country done for him? What did this country do for him?" Truong asked.

BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. — He proudly served his country, but when it came time to bury him, a Navy veteran's father said the government wouldn't grant his son's mother a visa to attend his funeral.

Ngoc Truong, a four-year Navy veteran, died of leukemia Dec. 17 at the age of 22.

Truong's father, who owns a jewelry store in Blytheville, said Truong's Vietnam-born mother applied for a visa twice but was denied both times.

She ended up missing the funeral.

"That's what made me fuming mad. Fuming. Why?" Truong said.

read more here

Did Burn Pits Kill Joe Biden's Son?

Biden addresses possible link between son’s fatal brain cancer and toxic military burn pits

PBS

Dan Sagalyn

January 10, 2018

The issue appears to be personal for Biden, whose son, Beau Biden, a former Delaware attorney general, died at age 46 in May 2015 from glioblastoma multiforme, the most common form of brain cancer.

A U.S. Army soldier watches bottled water that had gone bad burn in a burn-pit at Forward Operating Base Azzizulah in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, February 4, 2013. File Photo by REUTERS/Andrew Burton 

Former Vice President Joe Biden said he thinks toxins found in smoke from burning waste at U.S. military installations in Iraq and at other facilities abroad could “play a significant role” in causing veterans’ cancer.

“Science has recognized there are certain carcinogens when people are exposed to them,” Biden said in an interview with Judy Woodruff last week. “Depending on the quantities and the amount in the water and the air, [they] can have a carcinogenic impact on the body.”

Biden’s comments shed light on a debate that has roiled physicians, former service members and the Department of Veteran Affairs about whether the health of some U.S. military personnel was compromised by garbage disposal methods used by contractors and the military at overseas bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a major in the Delaware Army National Guard, Beau Biden’s judge advocate general unit was activated in late 2008. He served in Iraq for much of 2009 at Camp Victory in Baghdad and Balad Air Force Base, 50 miles north of the Iraqi capital. Both bases used large burn pits. Earlier, he helped train local prosecutors and judges in Kosovo after the 1998-1999 war. read more here

Has Florida Doctor found cure for burnpits

Vets exposed to burn pits falling ill, treatment invented in Tampa Bay
WTSP News
Liz Crawford
January 9, 2018

Dr. Harrell said he's cured all of the veterans he's treated so far. His goal now is to make his treatment easily accessible for all veterans suffering from burn pit exposure.

PALM HARBOR, Fla
You've likely heard many stories over the years of veterans dealing with PTSD or soldiers learning to live as an amputee but there's another lesser-known challenge tormenting our soldiers.

Exposure to toxic burn pits while in Iraq and Afghanistan could have devastating effects on the lungs. While tens of thousands of veterans have signed the VA's burn pit registry, nothing else is being done...until now.

Joe Hernandez served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the US army. During that time he was exposed to toxic burn pits where the military burned waste like chemicals, ammunition, oil, anything they had to get rid of.

Hernandez explained that depending on which way the wind would shift, he would breathe in the burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan for extended periods of time.

“It’s war, it's not pretty. You got so many other things that are going to kill you on a daily basis so it’s like well what are you going to do?” Hernandez revealed.

When Hernandez came home in 2009, he struggled and had to adjust to becoming a regular civilian. Eventually, he found relief in fitness and started a new career in Florida as a personal trainer. However, Hernandez started to notice that although he was in great shape, he was lethargic and got winded way too easy, and even struggled to breathe.
read more here