101st Airborne Cases Colors After Liberia Mission

101st Airborne Division cases colors, heads home after successful mission in Liberia

Photo Credit: Spc. Rashene Mincy Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Harris, platoon sergeant for 2nd Platoon, Division Signal Company, takes charge of the formation from Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, commanding general of the Joint Forces Command - United Assistance and 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), at the end of the 101st's color casing ceremony held at the Barclay Training Center, Monrovia, Liberia, Feb. 26, 2015.

"The Joint Forces Command worked with our Armed Forces of Liberia partners in building and overseeing constructions of ETUs," Volseky said.

The command built and supported 17 ETUs throughout Liberia, facilities which allowed for a more swift isolation and treatment of Ebola patients.

Building the ETUs was Task Force Rugged, a team led by the 36th Engineer Brigade based out of Fort Hood, Texas, along with the 615th Engineer Company (Horizontal), based out of Fort Carson, Colorado. The 902nd Engineer Battalion, out of Grafenwoehr, Germany, and the 161st engineer Support Company of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, also built the facilities.

Along with construction, Task Force Rugged also improved roads critical to the transportation of equipment and personnel to the ETUs, camps and logistical focus points including airports and sea ports.

The Iron Knights cased their colors Feb. 25, and are steadily redeploying their Soldiers back to Fort Bliss.

Fort Carson "Soldier can saunter to the post at 8 am"

New Winter Hours Start for Fort Carson Soldiers 
The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.
by Tom Roeder
Jan 06, 2015

There also are considerations beyond military necessity. Most Fort Carson soldiers have been to war at least once since 2001 and many of them have headed to combat zones overseas several times. The war years took a toll on military families. The new hours are a step toward healing. Borrelli said the schedule will allow soldiers to spend more time with their children, including that compressed time before they head off to school.

An early December Tuesday was like any other winter morning at Fort Carson.

Thousands of soldiers shuffled into the pre-dawn darkness, shivering in their gray-and-black sweatsuits. Light calisthenics came at 6:30 a.m. before a frigid jaunt down McGrath Avenue.

Platoons of troops resembled locomotives rolling down the street, emitting the steam of respiration against the 23-degree air. But the old Army slogan, "We do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day," won't apply after Jan. 5.

For the balance of the winter, Fort Carson is going on banker's hours. "It's a cultural change," said Sgt. Maj. Michael Borrelli, one of the leaders who came up with the new schedule. Soldiers can saunter to the post at 8 a.m. and will practice their craft until 3:30 p.m., when they'll do afternoon physical training. What happens next is nearly unmilitary.
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9 months in Afghanistan
Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), march through the mountains at Fort Carson, Colo., on March 31 during pre-deployment training. The Department of Defense announced Friday that the brigade will be shipping out to Afghanistan for a nine-month deployment this winter.

WWII 101st Airborne Medics Treated Friend and Foe in Normandy Church

Ken Moore, 101st Airborne Medic, D-Day (Unedited)
TimGrayMedia
WorldWarIIFoundation

Published on Jan 1, 2015 Two American 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles) medics caught in a church in Normandy, France during the opening hours of D-Day. Outside a savage battle raged all around them. The church changed hands several times with American and German forces over-running the village of Angoville-au-Plain. Inside the small church the wounded were both Allied and Axis uniforms and civilian clothing. The American medics, Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore of the 2nd battalion, 501st PIR, treated all who were brought into the 12th century Norman church, no matter whether they were friend or foe. Airing on American Public Television in 2014.

Santa Joins Soldiers in Prayer in Liberia

U.S. Troops Fighting Ebola Epidemic Focus on Progress over Holidays 
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Dec 24, 2014

Santa Claus and service members bow their heads in prayer during the Joint Forces Command – United Assistance holiday tree lighting event on Barclay Training Center in Monrovia, Liberia, Dec. 18, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rashene Mincy

The troops have lit a Christmas tree, received a visit from Santa and even held a "Skype Hanukkah" this holiday season, but the focus for U.S. troops in Liberia during the holidays has been on maximizing the gains they've made against the deadly Ebola epidemic. "It's been a whole lot better of late," Army Lt. Col. David Bowlus, a chaplain with the 2,400 U.S. troops in Liberia, said by phone Tuesday from Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

About five new suspected cases of Ebola have been reported daily in recent weeks, Bowlus said, compared to more than 50 at the end of October. "We're at the point where Ebola is no longer hunting us, we're hunting it," said Bowlus, 43, of Pemberville, Ohio.

For Christmas Day, a Catholic chaplain will be going by helicopter to conduct services at outposts in Liberia for troops serving in Operation United Assistance, the mission led by the U.S. Agency for International Development to combat Ebola, Bowlus said.

Since all faiths are represented in the 101st Airborne Division and other units, the chaplains posted to Liberia have worked hard to accommodate all faiths. "We don't have a rabbi with us," Bowlus said. So they arranged a Hanukkah service via Skype for four Jewish soldiers with a rabbi in Missouri. read more here

PTSD Afghanistan Veteran Walked From New Jersey to Vegas

Veteran’s cross-country walk brings him to Las Vegas
FOX 5 Vegas
Written by Craig Huber
Posted: Dec 11, 2014

Veteran Eric Peters is walking from New Jersey to California
to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder. (FOX5)

LAS VEGAS (FOX5)
Veteran Eric Peters has walked from his home in Clark, NJ, to Las Vegas to raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder, and his journey's not over yet.

Peters, 23, won't stop until he's reached Santa Monica, CA.

A veteran of the War in Afghanistan, Peters was injured on the battlefield.

"There are a lot of demons that I'm fighting, but I continue to put a smile on my face and help out other people. It's actually more therapy to me helping other people," Peters said.

In March of 2011, Peters and his unit, the 101st Airborne Division, were hit by enemy mortar fire while patrolling in a Humvee in the Kunar province.

Peters was knocked unconscious by the blast and shrapnel. He was later diagnosed with PTSD.

"It takes a piece of your soul, you know, and it just flushes it away," he said.

Peters said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently sent him a letter stating his request for further treatment had been denied.
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Retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus Praising Hiring Veterans

David Petraeus: Veterans are 'precious resources'
The Tennessean
Adam Tamburin
November 18, 2014

Retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus attends the “Vets@Work” job fair Tuesday in the Music City Center. Petraeus a military pedigree made veterans an enviable hire.
(Photo: Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean )

Retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus was in Nashville on Tuesday to encourage local businesses to hire veterans, who he said were among "our nation's most precious resources."

Speaking before a job fair for veterans and their spouses, Petraeus, who also served as CIA director, said a military pedigree made veterans an enviable hire. In particular, Petraeus praised the 2.5 million veterans who have served in the Middle East since 9/11, whom he called "the new Greatest Generation."

Petraeus oversaw military action in Iraq and Afghanistan for years after 9/11. He also commanded the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell from July 2002 to May 2004.

"If companies are looking for individuals who have leadership experience, who exemplify selfless service, who understand the importance of teamwork and who know what it takes to achieve results under tough conditions, then American veterans are what those companies need," he said. "Their sense of duty, their courage, their loyalty and their professional experience have not departed when they've taken off that uniform for the last time."

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin L. Hill, who served at Fort Campbell and in combat alongside Petraeus, acknowledged that some returning veterans face a litany of challenges, including post-traumatic stress disorder. But he stressed that those challenges shouldn't be seen as career enders.
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DoD May Deploy up to 4,000 Troops to Combat Ebola

DoD May Deploy up to 4,000 Troops to Combat Ebola
DOD News
By Jim Garamone
Defense Media Activity

FORT MEADE, Md., Oct. 3, 2014 – The Defense Department could deploy up to 4,000 service members to Liberia as part of Operation United Assistance against Ebola, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon today.

There are 205 U.S. service members in Liberia today with another 26 in neighboring Senegal. All service members are supporting the lead federal agency for American participation in the crisis -- the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel “has approved the potential deployment of up to 4,000 [service members],” Kirby said. “But I want to make one thing real clear, that that’s a potential deployment. That doesn’t mean it is going to get to that number.”

Troop deployments
The U.S. Army announced the units that will deploy to the region beginning in mid-month and running through November. With the previously announced unit deployments, this will bring the total Army commitment to about 3,200 soldiers.

More than 1,800 Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based soldiers will arrive in Liberia sometime late this month. Other soldiers will deploy from the 101st Sustainment Brigade, the 86th Combat Support Hospital of the 44th Medical Brigade, and a Military Police company from the 16th Military Police Brigade.

These units will provide medical and logistic support, as well as site security, to the Joint Task Force. Soldiers will deploy from other bases as well including,
Fort Hood, Texas
Fort Carson, Colorado
Fort Bliss, Texas
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Stewart, Georgia
Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Eustis, Virginia
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
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Vietnam Veteran With 3 Purple Hearts, Tugs Hearts of Community

He earned three Purple Hearts; now a community is rescuing his home
Pastor, Navy volunteers and Habitat for Humanity restore disabled vet's home in Orange Park
Jacksonville.com
By Clifford Davis
Posted: September 11, 2014

On the 13th anniversary of the day terrorists tried to tear the country apart, members of the military, state agencies, charities, a church and community volunteers came together to do what Americans have always done.

At the home of Vietnam veteran Joseph Gainer, a three-time recipient of the Purple Heart, workers buzzed around the home knocking out walls and tearing off shingles.

“I can’t believe it,” the 68-year-old Gainer said. “All my little money I get, I’ve put into the house already.

“I never could’ve done what they’re doing.”

Gainer volunteered for the Army in 1966 and continued to airborne training. He went to Vietnam as a squad leader with the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.

Wounded on three occasions, he returned home and eventually medically retired from the city of Orange Park.

Now mostly confined to a scooter, Gainer’s home on Miller Street fell into disrepair. The porch had rotted and the roof was sinking in. But a chance encounter with a stranger eventually changed everything.

“Joe Gainer is the reason that my church is here,” said the Rev. William Randall of St. Simon Baptist Church. “He and his buddies were out front barbecuing one Saturday afternoon while I was driving around looking for property to build my church.

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South Carolina Wounded 101st Veteran Stunned by Community

Wounded Army veteran surprised with free home in Port Royal 
Island Packet
BY MATT MCNAB
September 10, 2014

U.S. Army Sgt. Lynn "Allan" Holland and his family got the surprise of a lifetime Wednesday in Port Royal -- a new, free house.

Looking at the future site of his home in the Shadow Moss development, Holland could muster only one word: "Wow."

The veteran, injured in combat in Afghanistan in 2012, and his family found out at a ceremony in the development Wednesday that they will receive a mortgage-free home in the coming months.

"It's awesome," Holland said. "It's changed our lives."
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Packet and Gazette News Video

Published on Sep 10, 2014
U.S. Army Sgt. Lynn "Allan" Holland and his family found out on Wednesday afternoon that he and his family are being given a new Centex home at the Shadow Moss community. The home will be built mortgage free by the PulteGroup, Inc.’s Built to Honor program in partnership with Operation Finally Home.

Cold Case: Fort Campbell CID Joins Search for Army Wife

Search for Fort Campbell woman missing 40 years
The Leaf-Chronicle
Philip Grey
September 3, 2014

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided an age progression photo of Alice Faye (Jones) Jefferson based on photos taken prior to her 1975 disappearance.
(Photo: CONTRIBUTED)

Clarksville, Tenn. Alice Faye (Jones) Jefferson was last seen at Fort Campbell nearly 40 years ago, but an effort led by her now-grown children has the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command (CID) reopening an investigation into her disappearance and asking for help from the public.

When she disappeared in July 1975, Jefferson, believed to be 21 years old at the time, was an Army spouse living on post with her two children and her soldier husband, a sergeant (E-5) assigned to B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Her husband was assigned to Fort Campbell from March 1973 until July 1975. Jefferson's children, six and seven years old at the time, resided with their parents during most of the period and attended the post elementary school.

With the assistance of a private investigator, Jefferson's children contacted CID agents in 2013, reporting their mother's disappearance and requesting an investigation.

According to CID, Jefferson's family described her as being approximately 5-feet,1-inch tall, about 100-115 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She occasionally wore wigs, had pierced ears and possibly an open-faced gold crown on a front tooth and two extracted teeth.
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Fort Campbell Soldier from Florida Killed in Training Accident at Fort Polk

Fort Campbell soldier dies in training accident
The Leaf-Chronicle
July 27, 2014

FORT POLK, La. – A 101st Airborne soldier died during training on Thursday during what was termed "a routine vehicle movement to a training area" at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana..

According to a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Sgt. Tyler A. Zody, 20, died as a result of an accident involving one vehicle that also injured three soldiers.

The incident is under investigation.

Zody was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Rakkasans" at Fort Campbell as a senior sniper.

"Tyler was a dedicated and talented young NCO," said Lt. Col. Marc Cloutier, Commander of the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. "The Leader Battalion family will miss him dearly."

A native of Flemming Island, Florida, Zody was born Aug. 21, 1993. After he enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 2011, Zody completed basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, as an infantryman. After graduating from training, he was assigned as a grenadier in Company A, 1st Bn, 187th Inf. Rgt in December of the same year.
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Sgt Jacob Lee Hanson, Born at Fort Lewis, Died at Fort Carson

Sgt. Jacob Lee Hanson, 27
Montana Standard
July 25, 2014

Sgt. Jacob Lee Hanson, 27, was born May 20, 1987, at Fort Lewis, Wash., and died July 21, 2014, at Fort Carson, Colo.

Jake spent his younger years in Pine River, Wis., where he attended Pleasant View Elementary School. The family moved to Deer Lodge in 2000, where he graduated from Powell County High School in 2005. He attended two years at MSU Bozeman when he then decided to enlist in the Army in 2007, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. He was selected to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2008, where after completing three years, he chose to return to the enlisted ranks. He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colo., HHC Brigade, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry attaining the rank of sergeant.

On July 13, 2013, he married his sweetheart, Jessica Fjermestad. Jake was a kind, loving husband, son and friend. He would do anything for anyone.
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Screaming Eagles need help to build monument at Fort Campbell

Funds needed to build monument to 'Screaming Eagles'
Army Times
By Kathleen Curthoys
Staff report
Jul. 12, 2014

The Screaming Eagle aviation soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) have flown and died and become legend in decades of missions, from Quang Tri province, Vietnam, to Kunar province, Afghanistan.

What’s missing from the astounding history of the 101st Airborne is a memorial to the aviation soldiers on their home terrain of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Four men are on a mission to fix that, and they’re calling out to Screaming Eagles, past and present.

They are working toward a memorial to be dedicated to the Screaming Eagle aviation soldiers of the 101st, and the names of their hundreds of fallen brethren will be inscribed on a wall at the site.

“We’re an all-volunteer force of about four individuals trying to make this happen,” said retired Col. J. Scott Schisser of the nonprofit Screaming Eagle Aviation Association, which works to support the soldiers and families of the 101st and 159th Combat Aviation Brigades. “The memorial is long overdue, and all of the elements are now in place.”

The design for the memorial is nearly complete, and the garrison commander has approved land at Campbell Army Airfield for the memorial site, at the intersection of Glider Road and Wickham Avenue.

Now the SEAA needs about $600,000 to build it, and it will come solely from donations, Schisser said.
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Vietnam Veteran Father OEF-OIF Son Led Same Unit

Father, son lead Army unit 4 decades apart
Associated Press
BY BRETT BARROUQUERE
June 14, 2014

FORT CAMPBELL, KY. — Like many soldiers, Lt. Col. Patrick Harkins has a veteran father who knows firsthand the stress of wartime deployments. One big difference is that Harkins' dad led the very same unit of paratroopers known as the Iron Rakkasans into combat decades earlier.

While the military has long had family legacies — and featured them prominently in Father's Day celebrations — the Harkins' achievements stand out. Capt. Charles Emmons, a spokesman for the brigade, said it appears to be the first time a father and son have commanded the same unit decades apart.

Patrick Harkins, 41, has led the 3rd Battalion of the 187th Infantry Regiment into combat in Iraq and Afghanistan four times since Sept. 11, 2001. His father, retired Col. Bob Harkins, led the same regiment four decades ago in Vietnam during Operation Apache Snow, more commonly known as the Battle of Hamburger Hill.

"It's a really unique situation," Emmons said.

The family legacy reaches back to World War II. Patrick Harkins' grandfather, Sgt. Clyde Patrick Harkins, served with the 279th Combat Engineers and was attached to the 101st Airborne Division, which also contains the Rakkasans. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and later died of his injuries. Patrick Harkins' brother, Army Lt. Col. Gregory Harkins, 43, is stationed in Italy.
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Fort Drum Soldiers in Afghanistan Running Marathon in Remembrance

Fort Drum soldiers to run shadow Boston Marathon in Afghanistan
Watertown Daily Times
By GORDON BLOCK
TIMES STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014

ARMY PHOTO
From left, Capts. Mike Giaquinto, Matt Peterson and Stephanie Stuck of the 101st Airborne Division pose with Boston Marathon shirts in Afghanistan before today’s running of a shadow race comparable to the Boston Marathon.

Days before runners take to the streets for the Boston Marathon on Monday, deployed Fort Drum soldiers and other military personnel will take part in their own version of the iconic race today in Afghanistan.

Rather than the windy roads by sites like the Ashland clock tower and Boston College, or the crushing climb of Heartbreak Hill, 600 entrants from a range of units and countries will run 26.2 miles on the roads of Bagram Airfield.

This year’s race was organized by Capt. Lukasz Willenberg, a chaplain in the 10th Mountain Division’s headquarters who ran in Boston last year.

The Barrington, R.I., native completed the race, for a fourth consecutive year, about two hours before a set of bombs went off near the race’s finish line at Copley Square.

After a beautiful day of running and beating a personal best time, “all the magic of that day was ruined.” Capt. Willenberg said he and other entrants planned to run in honor of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, along with victims of last year’s bombings in Boston.
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Vietnam Veteran finally receives medals after 44 year wait

Vietnam vet receives medals 44 years later
KXLY4
Author: Ian Cull
Multimedia Journalist
Published On: Mar 28 2014

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho
A Coeur d'Alene man who participated in two combat tours in Southeast Asia with the 101st Airborne Division finally received awards for valor Thursday he earned more than 40 years ago in the jungles of Vietnam.

It was due to a paperwork mistake that former Army Sgt. Leon Strigotte had to wait 44 years to receive several medals he earned in Vietnam. The Idaho Army National Guard made sure to thank him for his service, with the state's Guard commander, Brig. Gen. John Goodale, on hand to present Strigotte his awards.

Guardsman and fellow combat veterans manned the hallways of the Idaho Army Guard armory in Post Falls Friday to welcome Strigotte, who served two tours in Vietnam between 1967 and 1969. During his service, he was wounded three times -- once during the Tet Offensive in March 1968 and in the Central Highlands in August and again in December of 1969.

During Tet, Strigotte was injured in a land mine explosion, was rehabilitated and then asked to go back. After his second wound in late 1969 he was sent home. He was later awarded three Purple Hearts for being wounded in combat, but the other medals he had earned were lost due to a clerical error.

He was told that after he was med-evaced from Vietnam his paper trail of what he did didn't quite follow him. One year turned into two years, then two decades. On Friday, 44 years later, that paper trail finally caught up to him. Strigotte finally received the medals he had earned, including the Bronze Star, Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.
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Untold story of US Forces on Russia Aircraft in Afghanistan

Untold story of US Forces on Russia Aircraft in Afghanistan
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 26, 2014

Reading news reports from around the world brings puzzling information. I read about US Forces on Russian and Ukraine aircraft for their missions in Afghanistan. The article said that the Pentagon is searching for alternative transportation because of the rift between the US and Russia. It didn't seem possible, so I did some searches and found that the Antonov AN-124 is in fact being used by the US Military.

Military Photos has more pictures of the Antonov AN-124 being used for US Forces in Afghanistan.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Soldiers from 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Destiny, pose in the mouth of an Antonov AN-124 cargo plane after loading OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Duncan Brennan, 101st CAB public affairs)

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Soldiers from 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Destiny maneuver an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter into the space between two other Kiowas already loaded onto an Antonov AN-124 cargo plane at Bagram Airield, Afghanistan, Feb. 7, 2013. Loading cargo onto an aircraft is a team effort ensuring the safety of the Soldiers loading the cargo. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Duncan Brennan, 101st CAB public affairs)

As you can see, the story is true. The pictures show the 101st Airborne working in these massive planes. What will happen to them if things come to a head with sanctions? The troops are still in harms way in Afghanistan. What will all of this mean to them and their safety?

Army Ranger confronted at College for being a fraud

‘I Am a United States F***in’ Ranger and This Guy Is Not!’:
Things Get Heated When Two Vets Confront Man Wearing Military Clothing
The Blaze
Oliver Darcy
Mar. 17, 2014

A new video posted online shows a pair of veterans confront an individual they say has recently been walking around a California college posing as an Army Ranger.

Published to YouTube Wednesday, the footage appears to capture Army Veteran Kristopher Vieira and an ex-Army Ranger confront an unidentified individual allegedly strutting Ranger, E.O.D. and 101st Airborne tabs — all while wearing an E-8 rank.
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Watch the confrontation (content warning: vulgar language)

Fort Campbell Vietnam Veteran to Receive Medal of Honor

Former Fort Campbell Soldier, Vietnam hero to receive Congressional Medal of Honor
Clarksville Online
Elizabeth M. Collins Soldiers Live
March 4, 2014

Sgt. Santiago J. Erevia will be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions near Tam Ky in May 1969. (DOD)

Washington, DC – The year was 1968. It was a year of war, of protests, of death.

It was the year Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were both assassinated. It was also the year the Vietnam War exploded into new levels of violence. And as troops poured into ‘Nam and more and more young men died — 1968 was the deadliest year of the Vietnam War — Americans watched it all from their living rooms with anger and disgust. The protest movement gained traction.

Protesters spit on returning Soldiers, called them rapists and baby killers. In fact, the U.S. agreed to begin peace talks in Paris that year, due in part to the dwindling support at home.

It was also the year Santiago Erevia became a Soldier.

He had been scraping by, working in restaurants in San Antonio. The future stretched before him, an endless sea of dead-end job after dead-end job. So he volunteered. If you volunteered versus being drafted, it meant fewer years of service, he explained. He knew he would end up in Vietnam, but he figured the Army would give him a lot of opportunities he wouldn’t have if he stayed in Texas. Erevia knew what he was risking — a friend had just come home horribly wounded and disfigured after only a month in combat and many more months in the hospital.

“People take their chances,” Erevia said. It didn’t mean anything would happen to him.
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Standoff with police leaves decorated Vietnam veteran dead

Gunman killed in standoff identified as Vietnam Veteran
CBS News 8
Video Report By Marcella Lee, Anchor/Reporter
Updated: Feb 27, 2014

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An apparently suicidal 62-year-old man who was shot and killed after raising a rifle toward officers has been identified as a Vietnam veteran suffering from PTSD.

A fellow Vietnam veteran who spoke to CBS News 8, and wanted to be identified only as Bob, says John Chesney was the man involved in a standoff at a downtown San Diego retail/residential building on Wednesday.

Bob tells us Chesney was a paratrooper who served in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He says Chesney was highly decorated, earning multiple awards including a Bronze Star, a Vietnam Service Medal, and a Vietnam Campaign Medal with two stars, indicating he served two campaigns.

Bob told CBS News 8 that Chesney was discharged from the military under honorable conditions, despite media reports to the contrary. He adds that Chesney suffered from PTSD and had trouble getting help because of a lack of resources for local veterans.
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