Vietnam Veteran Carries Memorial of Lost Lives

Vietnam vet’s tattoo honors lost comrades
Ocala Star Banner
By Andy Fillmore / Correspondent
Posted Apr 20, 2018

Collie said he has post traumatic stress disorder and continues to have flashbacks about horrific sights in the war, from Vietnamese children wired with hand grenades approaching American troops to “eight hour snakes” that hung from trees in the jungle and caused death within eight hours if you were bitten. He said sometimes even smells have been known to trigger PTSD, like a match bringing back memories of the scent of gunpowder.

“The tattoo is a memorial to my brothers and sisters who never came home,” said John Collie.

Vietnam War veteran John Collie carries an ever-present reminder of his lost comrades.

Collie, 66, has a tattoo that covers his back and depicts four Vietnam-era Huey helicopters, a POW camp tower, a silhouette of a prisoner of war and sharpened cane poles piercing a suspended skull. Flowing tattooed script across his shoulder blades reads “Land of the Free, Because of the Brave.”

“The tattoo is a memorial to my brothers and sisters who never came home,” said Collie, adding that the “masterpiece” was done by artist Brian Adams and took four hours to complete in one sitting

Collie served with the 173rd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War for 18 months after boot camp in 1971. He said he left most of his military connected papers and decorations for his service at the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall when the memorial was on display in St. Petersburg.
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Disabled Veteran needed new shower...contractor took money after gutting bathroom

Action Report: Handyman takes money, leaves disabled vet without a working shower
WLOX News
By AJ Giardina, Sports Anchor/Action Reporter
April 19th 2018

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX)
Sixty-year-old Army Veteran James Taylor is confined to a wheelchair and was hoping to have a roll-in accessible shower built in his home.

He says a real estate agent recommended a handyman. "They came right over, about a day later. Went in, look at it. We got it," said Taylor.

He recalled giving the man a thousand dollars down to begin the work. "They took the old tub out, the old shower out and that's it, " Taylor described.

Taylor says the workers left the job three weeks ago and returned on Monday to pick up a power saw. He told a neighbor about the job left undone.

"She came over the same day, went up in there...like, to cry and said Mr. Taylor they just messed you up, "Taylor said. "They just did a chop chop job. This wasn't going to work, no way."
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What this guy "knows" is wrong but press didn't care

I totally lost it earlier today when I read another news report with someone claiming that bombastic number of "22 a day" referring to veterans taking their lives. How many more times will it take for them to stop using veterans like that? How many more times do reporters have to get embarrassed for not knowing anything about any of this?
This is what I wrote earlier on Google+

"How the hell do people keep getting attention for getting it wrong? Is anyone paying attention to what is real anymore? What this guys "knows" is wrong and as for the "a lot" part, we're looking at over 70 a day and I actually bothered to put it all together because I read the damn reports!!! Good Lord! Nothing will change as long as people keep doing what is easy."

And this is the reason I wrote it.

“I know, it’s a lot,” said Joseph Palesano, after telling a group in attendance at Wednesday’s Kiwanis Club meeting in the basement of Calvary Presbyterian Church in South Pasadena that 22 veterans lose their lives on average to suicide everyday.

So, not to cut through all the crap that is out there, here are the facts.

The "22 a day" rant came from the first VA suicide report, which stated clearly that it was limited data from just 21 states. Not 50, not including all veterans in those numbers and no, not just veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Also notice this on page 18

The other fact is both reports also stated that majority of veterans they knew about committing suicide were over the age of 50!

This is from the second study, where they had more data, but as you will see, they still didn't have all of it.

In 2001, Veterans accounted for 12.1 percent of the U.S. adult population and 23 percent of all suicides among U.S. adults. Between 2001 and 2014, there were decreases in both the proportion of U.S. adults who were Veterans (8.5 percent in 2014) and the proportion of adult suicide decedents who were Veterans (17.8 percent in 2014). However, changes in the proportion of U.S. adults who were Veterans or the proportion of adults who died by suicide and were Veterans leave gaps in our understanding of changes in rates of suicide among Veterans over time. 

Here is a list from every state on the data you need to know. Why? Because Death Certificate rules on "military service" vary from state to state. Just an example, California and Illinois just passed legislation last year to add it to their Death Certificates. In other words, no one knows how many in states like that.

Speaking of that, if a veteran ended up kicked out instead of being helped to heal, they were not counted at all.

Veterans Voice Suicide Concerns

Representatives of the organization Wellness Works spoke at this week’s South Pasadena Kiwanis Meeting 

It’s an alarming number that members of the Wellness Works organization hope will dwindle over time.“I know, it’s a lot,” said Joseph Palesano, after telling a group in attendance at Wednesday’s Kiwanis Club meeting in the basement of Calvary Presbyterian Church in South Pasadena that 22 veterans lose their lives on average to suicide everyday.That’s everyday he reminded those taking in his somber message. “It’s too many,” he said, following his presentation. “That’s why we’re trying to do something about it.”

Now, how about they start with actually reading the reports before they go to the press? How about they actually study what has been done, what worked and what failed, you know, like when groups decided that older veterans did not need any help, so they left the off the to do list?

How about reporters actually learn some facts or even ask these people what the hell they are doing with the money, when all they seem to be doing is raising money and getting attention for doing that?

I guess I stopped going after them for far too long! It all piled up and exploded. Plus add in none of them are talking about the number of suicides within the military.

Make sure members of Congress give their benefits up first!

It is no secret how I feel about politicians. One huge reason why I do not post on any of them, is none of them have lived up to what this country deserves. It makes it worse, when they do not live up to what veterans deserve!!!

I am limited on what I want to say at this moment, so, unlike most of my rants, it will be very short and simple.

The next time you hear any politician talk about doing harm to our veterans, by cutting their benefits, raising co-pays, taking about sending them into the private healthcare system the rest of us have to deal with, basically disrespecting the fact these veterans were made promises for their service, remember this.

When members of Congress, with the authority over the VA, fail to do their duty, they still get to retire with full benefits they were promised. They get their healthcare taken of. It would take an act of Congress to take away anything from them. 

Why should they reward themselves after betraying our veterans? Privatizing the VA? Cutting benefits from older veterans? Increasing fees? Decreasing coverage for Medicare and Medicaid? Cutting Social Security?

If they try to cut anything from our veterans, make sure members of Congress, including those who retired, give their benefits up first!

Repeat Reports Ignored on Repeat Deployments

It is almost as if we have been living in the Twilight Zone! News comes out explaining something, then nothing changes, but people end up wanting an explanation all over again!

CBS Twilight Zone

Repeat Iraq Tours Raise Risk of PTSD, Army Finds
Washington Post
By Ann Scott Tyson
Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 20, 2006; Page A19

U.S. soldiers serving repeated Iraq deployments are 50 percent more likely than those with one tour to suffer from acute combat stress, raising their risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Army's first survey exploring how today's multiple war-zone rotations affect soldiers' mental health........and read the rest here because the link is still live.

By 2007, a soldier was faced with his 5th deployment, along with many more. 

Soldier who fought fifth deployment to war deemed medically unfit

Lawyer says soldier wants honorable discharge and release from IRRBy Lisa BurgessStars and Stripes Mideast editionAugust 16, 2007
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Florida reservist who asked federal courts to block the Army from sending him to Iraq on a fifth deployment was excused from active service after being found medically unfit. He is still seeking an honorable discharge to prevent another call-up, according to his lawyer.
“Now we’re working to put the icing on the cake and get him out of the IRR,” or Individual Ready Reserve, Fayetteville, N.C.-based attorney Mark Waple said.
Sgt. Erik Botta, 26, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., won’t be finished with his eight-year obligation until October 2008, so he is asking for the discharge to ensure he will not get another call-up to Iraq, Waple said. 

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A Fort Riley soldier was sent back after two months of being home, even though he had been diagnosed with PTSD. An Army Ranger was killed in Afghanistan on his 7th tour.

But while ignoring the risk of redeployments, they extended those deployments.

General Carter Ham, who would later talk about his own battle with PTSD, wanted 2 years in between deployments.

Oh well, I could keep going with this, but at least now you know, that what you are about to read is not new. Since they kept doing it, not matter what evidence came out stating it was a dangerous thing to do, they still did it!

Suicide risk rises with quick repeat deployments, study shows
The new way of war might be over-stressing soldiers
NBC News
by Maggie Fox
Apr.19.2018

Those re-deployed within six months or less were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide.

Soldiers are more at risk of suicide when they’re repeatedly deployed with six months or less between rotations, and when they’re sent to war too soon after they join the service, new research shows.

Such quick turnarounds have become common as the U.S. sends combat troops to Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Of the 1.3 million or so active duty military personnel, about 160,000 are permanently stationed overseas, according to the federal government’s Defense Manpower Data Center.

At the same time, suicide rates have soared among veterans. On average, 20 veterans a day died by suicide in 2014, and many more attempted suicide, the Veterans Affairs Department says.

“Rates of suicidal behaviors, including suicide deaths, attempts, and ideation, among U.S. Army soldiers increased considerably during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Dr. Robert Ursano of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences wrote in a report published Wednesday.

Ursano and colleagues studied a group of such soldiers: 593 men and women in the U.S. Army who had been deployed twice and who attempted suicide between 2004 and 2009. They were looking for specific factors affecting suicide risk.
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