Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts

Monday, July 16, 2018

Moody Air Force Base Master Sergeant Found Dead

Airman from Moody Air Force Base found dead in Missouri
ABC 27 News WTXL.com
Jul 15, 2018

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (WTXL) - An airman part of a unit connected to Moody Air Force Base was found dead in Missouri on Saturday.

Master Sergeant Brett Davidson, 37, was found in the water and pronounced dead at about 11:30 a.m. in Rocky Mount, Missouri on Saturday.
He was assigned to the 19th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
read more here

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Deployed Fort Stewart Soldier told wife was murdered on base

UPDATE 7/31/2018
FORT STEWART, Ga. — Authorities are offering up to $20,000 in reward money for tips that help solve the slaying of a woman at a military base in Georgia.
Read more here

Wife of deployed soldier found dead on Army post, suspect at large
WSAV
Darius Johnson
Updated: Jul 12, 2018

FORT STEWART, Ga. (WSAV) -- A statewide manhunt underway after the wife of a deployed soldier was found dead inside her home on Fort Stewart in Georgia.

Fort Stewart Public Affairs officials say the woman, whose identity has not yet been released, was found dead inside her home on base Tuesday night.

This comes after military police were called that morning by one of her relatives to check on her. Her husband is currently deployed.

"It's hard to believe. And it makes you worry if there is going to be more incidents,” says long-time Hinesville resident Jodee Adams. “Is this an isolated situation. Were their children in the home. It's very concerning the fact that they don't know who it was and its at-large now. "


Many on the base of Fort Stewart were surprised to hear Special Agents with the U.S. Criminal Investigation Command were investigating a homicide on base.read more here

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

58 year old veteran set himself on fire at Georgia Capitol

UPDATE July 3, 2018 from Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — State investigators say a man who identified himself as an Air Force veteran has died after he lit himself on fire in front of the Georgia Capitol last week to protest the Veterans Affairs system.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation tweeted Tuesday that 58-year-old John Michael Watts died Monday. Authorities say Watts strapped fireworks to his chest, doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself on fire June 26. A state trooper who saw what was happening quickly put out the flames. 

UPDATE from Atlanta Journal
About 10:45 a.m., the 58-year-old Air Force veteran from Mableton parked a Nissan Sentra on Washington Street, stepped out of the car and walked toward the Capitol, GSP Capt. Mark Perry told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Veteran sets himself on fire in protest outside Georgia Capitol
Military Times
By: J.D. Simkins
3 hours ago

A veteran who was fed up with treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs set himself on fire in protest outside of the Georgia state Capitol building in downtown Atlanta on Tuesday.
A veteran protesting treatment from the Department of Veterans affairs set himself on fire outside of the Georgia Capitol building on Tuesday. (Stephen Morton/Getty Images)
The 58-year-old from Mableton, Georgia, who has not yet been identified, parked his car alongside the Capitol before walking toward the building, where he commenced self-immolation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“He was strapped with some homemade incendiary devices (and) firecrackers, and doused himself with some kind of flammable liquid,” Georgia State Patrol Capt. Mark Perry told the AJC.
read more here

Saturday, June 16, 2018

PTSD Experts need history lesson



I have been a news hawk for veterans for 36 years now, almost 11 years on this site alone. It does not matter which party control what to my readers and that is why this site was started.

Back in 2007 I received an email from a Marine serving in Iraq. He said he liked to read what I had on PTSD, but hated to have to get through my political BS. Long story short, I made a fool out of myself. He replied with one question. "Are you doing this for yourself or us?" Well, he got his answer because after he opened my eyes, I started Wounded Times. I promised from that moment on, he would only read about politicians when they did something for them or to them.


I kept my word. When President Bush was President, I went after him, and all other politicians. Same thing with President Obama and now, President Trump, as well as every member of Congress.

I love to praise people for being inspirational, heroic, noble, or anyone else doing something for the right reasons. I cannot stand those who take advantage of the troops or veterans, but Stolen Valor and veterans charity rip offs make my blood boil. Experts getting stuff wrong...well, that would be, 


Finding support for Veterans with PTSD in Southwest Georgia seemed like it may be a good article to read. It was not.
June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month, and psychologists say many war veterans struggle with this disorder. One Albany psychologist said PTSD with veterans has been pushed to the back, but he said in recent years, it's getting more recognition.
At least he got the June is PTSD Awareness month right...or was that the reporter?

As for the "recent years" just because he did not know what the rest of us knew...yes, decades ago. Where the hell did he think all the programs and research came from?

Monday, May 21, 2018

Iraq veteran's therapy dog mauled to death in Georgia

Decatur Iraq Vet Mourning Mauled Therapy Dog
Patch.com
By Doug Gross, Patch Staff
May 21, 2018

A group that provides service dogs for veterans wants to offer a new dog for a woman who fought stray dogs that killed her Ms. Pooh.

DECATUR, GA — A veteran of the war in Iraq now living in DeKalb County is hoping authorities will find the stray dogs she says mauled to death her therapy support dog.

WSB-TV reports that Cherice Jackson was walking with Ms. Pooh — her therapy dog which was being reviewed in order to become her official support animal — in Decatur on Friday morning when they were attacked by two stray dogs she thinks were pit bulls.

She fought back, but the tiny dog couldn't be saved.

"I spent probably 20, 30 minutes trying to wrestle her from him," Jackson told WSB's Justin Wilfon. "It's probably the worst thing I've ever seen. I felt like I couldn't do anything. I feel like I failed her."
read more here

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

At least 5 dead after Air National Guard plane crashed in Gerogia

Deadly military plane crash on Savannah, Georgia, road - live updates
CBS News
May 2, 2018

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- An Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane on a training mission crashed Wednesday along a road near a Georgia airport, killing at least five National Guard members from Puerto Rico, authorities said. Black smoke rose into the sky from a section of the plane that appeared to have crashed into a median on the road.

Firefighters later put out the blaze.

Capt. Jeff Bezore, a spokesman for the Georgia Air National Guard's 165th Air Wing, said the crash killed at least five people. He said he couldn't say how many people in total were on the plane when it crashed around 11:30 a.m.

Bezore said in a statement that the identities of those on the plane would be released upon notification of their next of kin.

The Air Force said the plane belonged to the 156th Air Wing out of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico National Guard Spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen told The Associated Press that all those aboard were Puerto Ricans who had recently left the U.S. territory for a mission on the U.S. mainland.
read more here

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Airman Reddit and saved suicidal "brother"

Airman intervenes after Reddit post, saves life of suicidal Air Force member
STARS AND STRIPES
By CHAD GARLAND
Published: May 1, 2018
In Georgia, the airman’s spouse and command thanked Woomer and Collins for intervening. Had they not stepped in, officials said, the airman could have left behind a spouse and two children under the age of 10.
Telephone number of the Veteran's Crisis Line is shown on this tag. The intervention of a rookie Office of Special Investigations officer on Reddit last week may have saved an airman's life.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ZACHARY HADA/U.S. AIR FORCE

Online commenters worried about privacy might not like the idea of special agents among readers in online forums, but last week an Office of Special Investigations rookie on Reddit may have saved a fellow airman’s life after noticing signs of distress in a message board frequented by airmen.

On the social media site’s section for the Air Force, Senior Airman Charles Woomer noticed a subtle cry for help among posts complaining about LeaveWeb and inquiring about making the transition to the Guard and Reserve. Others did, too, according to an OSI statement issued Friday, but Woomer took action.

A poster asked how his group life insurance policy would pay out if “something” happened before he separated from the military. The person — he would turn out to be a suicidal husband and father — wanted to make sure his family would be comfortable.

Woomer, a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 322 at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., was one of several “Redditors” who noticed a worrisome tone in the post. He notified his leadership, and with guidance from Senior Airman Justin Collins, he contacted officials with Reddit and Google to identify the original poster.

“These people literally saved my life this week,” wrote the user, who goes by the handle psychopete. “Today I scheduled myself for therapy and I’m active in an online support group at least until my first session. I won the battle and I’m prepped for war. I’m gonna make it.
read more here

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Female Soldiers Attacked Over Parking?

PREGNANT SOLDIER, HER SON YELLS HOMOPHOBIC SLURS 
KMIR News 
Sara Sanchez 
APRIL 16, 2018 

Cell phone video of a woman appearing to lunge and swing at two female soldiers in a Georgia restaurant has gone viral. The video surfaced on Instagram.
According to the local Sheriff’s Office, it all started over a parking space. Bibb County Sheriff’s investigators say it happened on Saturday at a Cheddar’s Restaurant in Macon, Georgia. The video shows a blonde woman who has been identified as 72-year-old Judy Tucker.
According to NBC affiliate WMGT, the soldiers, Treasure Sharpe and Stephanie Mitchell, told deputies Tucker’s son originally confronted them outside the restaurant and told them they need to learn how to park. A police report claims the son used homophobic slurs towards the woman. WMGT says Mitchell then tried to calm the son down. read more here

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Vietnam War Love Affair

A Vietnam War Love Affair, a Baby, and 48 Years Later, a Reunion

Voice of America
Ha Nguyen
December 2, 2017

Huỳnh Thị Chút (right) takes care of Gary Wittig who was bedridden after a fall triggered a heart attack. They reunited in Atlanta, Georgia, 48 years after they first met in Đà Nẵng during the height of Vietnam War.

The first time Huỳnh Thị Chút set foot in the United States, she came to see Gary Wittig, the man she met in Danang during the height of the Vietnam War.
The daughter that Chút had with Wittig, Nguyễn Thị Kim Nga, flew from her Nebraska home of 17 years to meet her father’s family in a suburb of Atlanta, in the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia. With a newfound cousin, Nga met her mother at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson international airport.
After a drive to the suburbs, Chút reunited with Wittig, now frail and on oxygen, 48 years after they parted.
The reunion was “completely amazing,” said Christine Kimmey, Wittig’s niece who joined Nga at the airport.
“She (Chut) placed her hands on him and started massaging his lung, massaging his arms. They just sat there and smiled,” said Kimmey, who added she couldn’t describe the excitement and joy of the Oct. 3 event.
“It’s the best thing that could ever happen to my uncle,” she said.
Wittig and Chút still could not speak each other’s languages. The other unchanged element of their relationship: Chút’s smile remained the same, according to Wittig, who died Nov. 24, hours after his extended, blended family gathered for Thanksgiving.
read more here

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Caught On Camera: Nursing Home Staff Laughed While Veteran Died

Hidden camera tells true story of how veteran died after calling for help, gasping for air

The video shows the decorated World War II veteran calling for help six times before he goes unconscious while gasping for air.

10 News
Andy Pierrotti
November 14, 2017
An 11Alive investigation uncovered hidden camera video catching nursing home staff laughing while an elderly patient dies in front of them. The incident happened at the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation in 2014, but the video was recently released as part of a lawsuit filed by the family.

Attorneys representing the Atlanta nursing home tried to prevent 11Alive from obtaining the video. 

They asked a DeKalb County judge to keep the video sealed and then attempted to appeal to the Georgia State Supreme Court. The judge ruled in favor of 11Alive and the nursing home eventually dropped its appeal to the state’s highest court.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Kings Bay Sailors Died Days Apart From Overdose

2 US sailors die of apparent drug overdoses in same week at Submarine Base Kings Bay

Monday, September 4, 2017

Disabled Veteran Marine Killed While Protecting Wife From Armed Robbers

Disabled Marine veteran ambushed, killed by masked men in his Georgia garage


FOX News
September 3, 2017
A disabled Marine veteran was shot and killed in his garage by would-be home invaders, police said. (Fox 5)

A disabled Marine veteran was shot and killed during a confrontation in his garage with would-be home invaders on Friday, police said.

Authorities said that Phillip Lamar Davis, 47, was getting ready to take his wife to work early Friday morning when he opened the garage door and three masked men ambushed them.

Police believe the men intended to rob the victims after entering their home.

When they confronted the couple, Davis tried to protect his wife and push them away, sparking a struggle, during which Davis was shot, police said. His wife took off and ran to a neighbor’s house to call for help.

read more here

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Community and Home Depot Foundation Rebuild Old House for Veterans

Shabby McDonough building to become place ‘where veterans can feel safe’

Henry Herald
Asia Ashley
August 15, 2017

McDONOUGH— A formerly vacant 115-year-old building will soon be transformed into a safe resource hub for local veterans.

Veterans Support Group, a McDonough nonprofit that provides free assistance to military veterans, took on the 32 Jonesboro St. building through a $10-per-year lease agreement with the McDonough City Council approved in October 2015. Before the agreement, city officials were considering tearing down the building to make way for a parking lot for downtown patrons.


“This is a dream come true,” said Veterans Support Group CEO Bob Van Dunk during Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “If you look at what we’ve been doing for the last six years, we’ve been meeting people in pizza parlors and everything else, and the city has been gracious to give us this house for the veterans of Henry County.”
Through generous donations from local businesses — including Mercer University, which donated furniture and computers, and the Home Depot Foundation, which donated approximately $93,000 toward the project — the building will not be torn down and will be used for a much more meaningful purpose. 
“If it wasn’t for Home Depot, this place would probably be 17 parking spots,” said Van Dunk during Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “It’s amazing how people come together to get this house up and running. It’s fantastic.”
read more here 

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Veteran Killed At Bank Standoff Lost VA Benefits

Police Identify Georgia Bank Standoff Suspect
KTVN News
Posted: Jul 07, 2017

Earlier on Friday, WSB-TV reports Easley called the station saying he had a bomb and two people with him inside the bank. He also told the station that he was nearing homelessness after the Department of Veterans Affairs stopped his monthly disability payment.

The man who was fatally shot by an officer after claiming to have a bomb inside a suburban Atlanta bank has been identified.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the suspect as 33-year-old Brian Easley releasing the name after notifying the man's family. Officials did not indicate a hometown and GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles described Easley as a "transient."
read more here

Funeral For Heroic Vietnam Veteran Otha Orr

Funeral for murdered Vietnam veteran held Saturday
WXIA
Tim Darnell
July 8, 2017

ACWORTH, Ga – The funeral for a Vietnam veteran who was shot and killed last week was held Saturday.
Otha Orr, 73, was murdered on Thursday while helping his niece move away from a man that her family called an abusive ex-boyfriend.

On Thursday, Orr and his younger brother arrived at an apartment on Peeples Street in Atlanta to help their niece move out of an apartment she shared with her ex-boyfriend, 57-year-old Donald Ray Woods.

The family said the three were confronted by Woods when they tried to enter the apartment. According to an arrest warrant, the niece told police he "quickly ran inside and emerged with a weapon."

That's when witnesses said Woods pistol-whipped her uncle. That uncle told police he saw Woods take the safety off of the gun and fire one shot. He said Orr came over to help get the gun away from Woods.
read more here

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Hill 861 Vietnam Veteran Talks About Surviving Worst Day

Vietnam Veteran Larry Hester tells the story of fighting on Hill 861
ABC News Channel 9
Josh Roe
July 5, 2017
WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — The walls in Larry Hester's office will tell you a lot about the man. A plaque hangs behind his desk that reads Walker County Veteran of the year 2007. It's right next to his 2014 Charles Coolidge veteran of the year.
There's a shadow box with a Purple Heart, and many other decorations from eleven months, and twenty days in country in Vietnam. These things that hang on these walls tell a story, but it's not the whole story.

"Easter Sunday is the worst day of my life," Vietnam Veteran Larry Hester said.

It was Easter 1967. The fighting there has been called the First Battle of Khe Sanh or the Hill Fights. Larry Hester was with the 9th Marines.
read more here

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Vietnam Veteran Donated Braille Flag So Others Could Feel It

Braille flag at Jacksonville VA clinic sends message of hope to blind community
Florida Times Union
Joe Daraskevich
May 31, 2017
Peters is a legally blind Army veteran who was born in Jacksonville but lives in St. Marys, Ga. He served as a special operations aviator in the Vietnam War and was the driving force behind bringing the braille flag to the Jacksonville clinic.
Anyone who visits the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Jacksonville will notice a new bronze American flag fastened to the wall near the main elevator.

The flag is barely larger than a square foot, but even people without sight can appreciate the gesture and understand the power of its message.

It’s meant to bring attention to the often-forgotten group of blinded veterans in the area. The Pledge of Allegiance is written in braille for anyone to feel.
read more here

Saturday, April 8, 2017

PTSD Veteran Donating German Shepherds to PTSD Veterans

Marine veteran helps other vets with PTSD through his charities
NBC 26 News
Marisa DeCandido
Apr 6, 2017
WHITE LAKE, Wis. - A Marine veteran in Wisconsin is helping vets across the country overcome their PTSD through his multiple charities.

Karl Klimes owns Moo-Lon Labe Home for Veterans and Semper Fi farms.

Part of his work involves breeding German Shepherds, donating them to military veterans with PTSD. Right now, he has four puppies he's looking to donate to veterans in need of a service dog. One of those dogs is already heading to a veteran in Georgia.
Klimes said his service dog has helped him through his own struggles after deployment.

read more here

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Family Not Giving Up on Finding Missing Veteran Chase Massner

Family prays for safe return of missing Iraq War vet
WSB 12 News Atlanta
by: Matt Johnson
Mar 25, 2017
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Friends and loved ones of a missing Iraq War vet gathered Saturday night to pray for his safe return, some three years after he disappeared.

Chase Massner is a husband, a father and a veteran.

His mother Stephanie has worried about him every day for three years.

“That's her only son and you know, it’s really affected her,” stepsister Karen Cunningham told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson.

She was one of about 30 people turned out at Noonday Park Saturday night to pray for Massner's safe return.

His wife Amanda told Johnson doctors had treated Massner for post-traumatic stress disorder in 2014.

His family said he was last seen at a friend's house in Kennesaw three years ago this coming Monday.
read more here

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Army Captain Chaplain Received Soldier's Medal

‘Warrior’ chaplain honored for taking down machete-wielding suicidal soldier 
Ledger Enquirer 
Chuck Williams 
March 14, 2017
“Here is where the truth comes in,” Christensen said. “Nothing but fear, and I believe the work of of the Holy Spirit, moved me into a position where I could physically control the soldier.”
The black cross patch on the right side of Capt. Matthew C. Christensen’s U.S. Army uniform tells a story.

It’s where Army meets religion.

Two years ago, during his previous assignment in Alaska, the chaplain was forced into a situation where he had to act quickly with the fight-or-die instincts of a soldier. It was another place where Army meets religion.

Christensen, a 43-year-old Montana native, defused a potential deadly situation by unarming a machete-wielding soldier during a suicide attempt that was on the verge of turning into multiple homicides. Tuesday morning at Fort Benning, Christensen, who served as a Lutheran pastor before becoming an active duty chaplain seven years ago, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the Army’s highest honor for valor in a non-combat situation.
read more here