‘Like Bricks In My Chest’: Teenager Pens Essay In Honor Of Vietnam Veterans
CBS 4 Denver
By Jeff Todd
June 11, 2018
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – It’s a group known for not having a proper welcome home, but Weld County is working to change that history for Vietnam Veterans.
“It really made me feel like I’ve been welcomed home,” said Steve White.
Weld County started holding pinning ceremonies in 2016. The ceremony on June 2 honored 62 veterans with pins and certificates of appreciation, but it was even more special for White.
“To see them and shake their hands and thank them for their service, it was amazing,” said Caitlyn Olson, White’s granddaughter and the Keynote Speaker at the event. “How grateful they were for being recognized because that wasn’t something that happened at the time. That’s not how it should have been.”
read more here
Veteran's remains stolen from vehicle in Wendover
KSL.com
By Jacob Klopfenstein
Posted Jun 11th, 2018
WENDOVER — Authorities are searching for the ashes and remains of a combat veteran that were stolen from a business vehicle at a Wendover motel on Monday.
The remains were stolen from a black Mercedes Benz ECO van belonging to Legacy Estate Management, Wendover Police Department officials said on Facebook. The vehicle was parked at the Quality Inn Motel at 245 E. Wendover Blvd.
Legacy Estate Management helps U.S. veterans and their families after their deaths, police said. The stolen remains were being escorted to the California coast, according to police. Also stolen from the vehicle were some clothing and electronics.
Wendover police are asking for anyone with information about the stolen items to contact them at 435-665-7771.
go here for more
On 06/11/2018, the Wendover Police Department investigated a vehicle burglary at the Quality Inn Motel in Wendover, Utah. The vehicle burglarized was a black Mercedes Benz ecovan with a business logo representing "Legacy Estate Management."
Items stolen from the vehicle included electronics and clothing. Legacy Estates Management serves veterans and their families after the passing of U.S. War Veterans. A specific item that was stolen from the vehicle was the ashes and remains of a combat veteran who was being escorted to the California coast.
The victim of this case would like to recover the remains of the deceased. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of stolen remains are asked to contact the Wendover Police Department. Please share.
Local veteran with PTSD comes home to find house completely destroyed in fire
First Coast News
Author: Jeanne Blaylock
June 11, 2018
A local combat veteran in Starke lost his entire home in a large fire. He's devastated by the loss and Jeannie Blaylock has information on how you can help.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "I feel like I've suffered enough in my life." Local combat veteran Chris Langston is one tough guy. A weightlifter. A combat veteran who served in the U.S. Marines.
But -- through tears -- he is telling about a phone call he got a few days ago. "I got woke up to a call saying my house was on fire. When I got here, it was gone."
Langston lives in Starke in Bradford County, Florida. He got home from Iraq 14 years ago. He'd seen his "best friend in the world" attacked and killed by a sniper. "It was complete devastation," he said. "Snipers don't play around too much."
It's given him nightmares and survivor's guilt. And PTSD.
But he was getting his life on track. His PTSD was getting much more manageable. He credits K9s for Warriors for a major part of that.
Langston is a graduate of K9s for Warriors, and his service dog, Kup, is right by his side. But even Kup can't smooth over the fact that Langston finds himself homeless now.
"I think this hurts the most," he said as he walks to a charred pile of some sort of fabric. A closer look shows some small red stripes of piping and a metal pin covered in an ashen hue.
read more here
Is Awareness Fueling Suicide Triggers?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 11, 2018
Right now there are more people talking about suicides, and more people trying to prevent their own, at the same time more are doing it? Who does this make sense to? If it make sense to anyone at all, they need to seek professional help...fast!
A report on NBC about the rise in calls to crisis lines mention this part.
Draper said the reason for the uptick is two-fold: a celebrity suicide can trigger suicidal thoughts in people who might already vulnerable to them, and publicizing the phone number to call for support increases odds that people will call.
Is it good that people are calling for help, or is it bad that with so many looking for help, seeing the rise is suicides on the flip side is worse?
How many times have you seen a commercial with happy people as the announcer talks about the medical condition making their lives miserable, followed by warnings of how the medication being advertised could make them suicidal? How many times does it take for reporters and researchers to begin to link any of them to the rise in suicides across American?
How many times do you have to read reports on opioid abuse before researchers share their warnings with reporters working on suicides?
How many times does it take before reporters understand the effects of "Lariam, an anti-malarial drug" connected to suicides as well as murders?
How many times does it take for reports from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to release the suicide numbers before reporters actually understand they are two totally different reports?
How many times does it take for the reporters in this country to correct the false narrative of awareness on anything when they have been oblivious for the last decade?
The awareness folks like to trim everything down to a soundbite, a slogan, a stunt, as long as they do not have to answer any questions. Reporters have been all too willing to oblige them.
Are these "awareness" risers triggering veterans instead of helping them? I mean, what it looks like when you are on the other end of the topic, knowing they don't seem to offer hope while feeding despair, is they really don't care at all.
When someone offers understanding, like on the Crisis lines, then you believe you do matter and that gives you an understanding that you are not only worth helping, but had someone to help you.
So when does the public get the dire warnings of suicides the same way drug companies are required to do when selling their products?
How about selling...no, make that giving, hope back to those who have lost it? Isn't that what gets you up every morning with hope that it will be better than yesterday was?
U.S. Marines Sgt. Jake Wood, Co-Founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, to Receive Pat Tillman Award for Service at The 2018 ESPYS on July 18 on ABC
ESPN
By Tara Chozet
Posted on June 11, 2018
Jake Wood was a freshman offensive lineman with the Wisconsin Badgers when the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001. Inspired by the first responders who risked their lives while trying to help others, and by former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman’s selfless sacrifice, Wood joined the United States Marine Corps. He was eventually promoted to Sergeant and served four years in Iraq and Afghanistan, deployed as a Scout Sniper.
Wood earned the Navy-Marine Commendation Medal during his time of service, and since being honorably discharged from the Marines in 2009, Wood has committed to advocating for veterans in the United States. He has actively lobbied Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama on veteran transition and disaster response and has testified before a Senate committee on improving mental health services for veterans. For his dedication to serving others, Wood, the co-founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service sponsored by Bonobos when The 2018 ESPYS presented by Capital One air live Wednesday, July 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Upon returning to civilian life, Wood saw the difficulties some veterans struggled with upon leaving active duty. But on January 10, 2010, Wood found a way to help veterans and also assist those in greatest need. On that day, disaster struck Haiti in the form of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. When he saw the devastation left in the wake of the tremor, Wood and fellow Marine William McNulty galvanized a group of veterans, first responders and medical workers and headed to the island nation with supplies in tow. This marked the beginning of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transitioning veterans from military service to disaster response and relief. Team Rubicon leverages veterans’ existing skill sets to rapidly deploy emergency response teams while providing veterans with a sense of purpose, community and identity.
read more here
