Iowa prison escapee on lam for 37 years arrested in Arizona; wife says it's all a mistake The Republic Derek Hall March 30, 2018
Fugitive arrested in Ariz. after 37 years on the lam
Virginia Cagley said her husband was found to be permanently disabled by Veterans Affairs in 2006 as the result of post-traumatic stress disorder. He has been treated by the VA since 2004, she said.
"He had to go to Phoenix and get a letter sent to the (VA) stating that Iowa no longer wanted him and there was no warrant," Virginia Cagley said.
PHOENIX — Is he still wanted — or not?
Days after the arrest of a fugitive who had escaped from a prison work detail in Iowa in 1981, an alternative narrative has emerged.
Charles Leroy Cagley, 68, was arrested by Prescott Valley Police Department detectives this week, soon after the FBI notified the department about Cagley's fugitive status. read more here
Akron-area Afghanistan War veteran dies at 30 Beacon Journal/Ohio.com By Brandon Bounds March 30,2018 “He was an absolute jewel. He did everything for me.”
That’s just a taste of how Lynn Loftus described her grandson, Louis Loftus.
Louis, 30, died Tuesday because of heart complications, according to his grandmother. Despite living a relatively short life, she said, he made a tremendous impact on the world and those around him.
An Afghanistan War veteran, Sgt. Louis did two tours in the U.S. Army and was strongly affected by his experiences there. His was featured on national television several times talking about his service.
Louis served two combat tours in Afghanistan, serving with the 82nd Airborne and the 173rd Airborne. He was honorably discharged in November 2010.
In 2010, he gave an emotional interview with NBC Nightly News about losing a friend in combat.
“I’m kind of numb to it,” Louis said of his friend’s death in the television report. “I don’t really feel much. I pray for his family. I pray for his soul.”
Tears flowed as he began to break down emotionally.
“I try not to think about it. Because when you think about it, then I get like this,” he added, choking on his words.
NBC News documented his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder in a special that aired in 2012 after a reporter followed Louis for two years. read more here
Sgt. Louis Loftus Point Man breaks down talking about the lives lost. From 2010
Two years ago, Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel met Sgt. Louis Loftus on a battlefield in Afghanistan. Since then, Loftus has allowed NBC News to document his life as a soldier and a citizen. Loftus is one of 100,000 returning veterans that is being treated for PTSD. NBC’s Richard Engel reports.
‘Total Dishonor’: Marine Wife and Cemetery At Odds Over Headstone CBS Denver Michale Abeyta March 29, 2018
“It’s a total dishonor of service,” said Kimberly. “Like he doesn’t matter. Like what he did for our country doesn’t matter.”
DENVER (CBS4) – A widow in Denver who went through the pain of losing her husband to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is now going through the pain of something else.
Kimberly Vigil says her husband’s headstone at Fort Logan National Cemetery is wrong.
Cpl. Elias Vigil served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When asked to describe her husband Kimberly said, “Elias was full of life. He was an outdoorsman. He was a family man. He loved serving in the Marines.”
Vigil spent a tour in Kuwait, but like so many who have served, he came home with PTSD.
“He was very silent about it. We talked a little bit when I went with him to therapy, but it was very small sessions,” Kimberly said.
Eventually it was too much. In December of 2017, Vigil died by suicide and left behind Kimberly and four children.
“It was a nightmare,” she said. read more here
Veteran dies trying to save 2 kids from drowning at Florida beach Military Times By: Kyle Rempfer 3 hours ago
"Robidoux was deemed critically injured, and he was airlifted to a local hospital, where he later died. "He died as he lived — a hero," Robidoux's cousin, Annette, told Fox News. She added that he was “a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.”"
An Air Force veteran and pilot died after attempting to save two kids from drowning at a beach along the Florida Panhandle on Saturday.
Michael Robidoux saw two kids struggling in rough surf at Navarre Beach and jumped in to try and save them, Fox News reported. The current proved too strong, though.
Navarre Fire Chief Danny Fureigh said Robidoux got "caught in an undertow" as he swam out to the struggling kids, according to WEAR TV. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office said the incident happened just after 6 p.m, the local ABC affiliate reported. read more here
Are we really going to accept this betrayal? Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos March 30, 2018 Ok, I need to clear the air after the post from yesterday calling what President Trump did an evil act. That is exactly what is. Why is sending veterans into the private health system bad? If you are a citizen, you know what we have to deal with on a daily basis. If you are healthy, you have no problems, but if you need to see a doctor, you know it is never really fun. Just to clarify, I have a lot of problems with my back. I work a full time job, plus do 45 hours of volunteer work a week. I am busy, with no time to really take care of myself. Anyway, two years ago I started falling down a lot more often. I had pain running down my leg. I knew something was wrong. I called my Doctor and waited for an appointment. I would have had to wait longer but I am an established patient, so they got me in as soon as they could. It was about 4 days later, I was in the exam room and he was pretty sure I was dealing with nerve problems. He wanted me to get an MRI. I had to wait for that appointment, still in pain because he didn't know what he was dealing with. Then a couple more weeks, I had the MRI. He wanted me to see an Orthopedic surgeon. I had to wait for that appointment, still in pain. Two weeks later, I got an phone call saying they were sorry but they didn't take my insurance. Two more weeks and I ended up with an appointment with an office that accepted my insurance, and yep, you guessed it, another week before I got to see them. That doctor took an Xray, then looked at the MRI. Turns out that my back was a mess. A vertebrate moved, crushed discs, nerves and top that off with arthritis and fluid build up. Still in pain, we talked about an operation but we decided to do pain management instead. Yes, you guessed it. No pain meds, still in pain, then waited for an appointment. Once again, they didn't take my insurance, so we had to find another office. Needless to say, that took another three weeks. Finally got an appointment, they set up getting shots into my spine and I finally got some pain meds. Shots over and feeling better. Went for the followup and told him the pain was ok to deal with. That lasted 6 weeks. It came back worse. I called to have more shots done, but that Doctor left the practice. They didn't have anyone to replace him. I was also running out of pain meds. Phone call after phone call, finally I went to the office and told them I was not going to leave until they found me another office to go to. I ended up with someone who did not have the right authorization to do the shots. I went back to my primary care doctor. He referred me to another office and refilled my meds. Waited longer again, then went for the consultation. Waited for the shots and they stared working. All in all, that took about a year and a half to get semi out of pain. In that time, my husband, who goes to the VA had several appointments for all kinds of things. They are pretty quick on getting him in, or if they can't, they refer him out. That doesn't happen often at all. He is also an established patient at the VA. He doesn't have to worry about his insurance being turned down, or having a doctor leave without someone filling their place. He doesn't have to go from one part of Florida to the other and praying someone helps him. Why the hell would anyone think it was a good idea to send veterans into our hell after they paid for their coverage the day they became a member of the military and were disabled for their service? Why the hell would anyone forget that? Reject the fact that these veterans were promised this care? Who the hell would have such disrespect for that service they even consider treating them like the rest of us? The fact President Trump has been complaining about our healthcare system for decades should be a clue that he knows what he is sending our veterans into. Does he even care? Ok, now, lets talk about the VA and the backlog of claims. As of 2016, the VA "enrollees" were 8.97 million out of 21,681,000. On claims, you can check out the back log here
January 2009 390,000 pending with 86,084 over 180 days. The C and P Claims were 624,755 and over 180 days were 129,872. What is C and P? Compensation and Pension exams. That is to figure out of what the illness or injury is, are tied to military service, at what rate or if it falls under pensions. Without that rating, the veteran is waiting for money and usually, treatment. By July it was 416,085 and 82,122 over 180 days. C and P 737,575 and 147,311 over 180 days.
January of 2014, pending claims were 685,686, over 125 days it was 405,938. As of December 2017 308,621 and 72,440 over 125 days, and I bet by know you have a better idea of what they all have in common. Veterans waiting for Congress to actually do their jobs and fix the VA so veterans won't have to go to a private practice and be treated like they did not deserve the best care this country could give them! We've listened to all the bullshit all the time but it is about to get even worse now that there is yet another election year coming up and all the members of the House of Representatives will talk about how bad it is for our veterans and how much they plan on fixing it. After all, they all say it but none of them have managed to ever explain WHY THE HELL THEY HAVE TREATED YOU LIKE YOU NO LONGER MATTER AT ALL! So, yes, dear reader, what POTUS just did is evil. It is also evil while he talks about sending you into this mess, he is also saying that older veterans and families, like mine, have the "permanent and total" reduced down to when the President thinks we deserve it! Good luck on all the money you'll lose after not paying into Social Security because you were disabled by service and could not work! Hope your kids and grandkids have extra room when you can't pay your rent, or mortgage, or any care that will no longer be available from the VA they took care of when you were 100%. How many times are we going to sit back and let this happen? How many time will we allow any politician talk about and plan for destroying our lives? They used to be ashamed to admit this was their goal all along. Now POTUS is actually proud to say it? WTF! Someone needs to tell him and every member of Congress, veterans are not taking it anymore!
