Three of Five Soldiers Missing After Black Hawk Crash Identified

3 soldiers confirmed dead in Hawaii crash; Alabama soldier still missing

By The Associated Press

August 28, 2017

Military officials have declared three soldiers dead after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed off Hawaii during a nighttime training mission earlier this month.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner says 1st Lt. Kathryn Bailey of North Carolina, Staff Sgt. Abigail Milam of Kentucky and Sgt. Michael Nelson of Tennessee are dead after confirming their DNA among debris recovered from the Aug. 15 crash. The three were riding in the helicopter with two others when it crashed off of Oahu.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Cantrell of Texas and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Woeber of Alabama have not been found.

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101st Remember Fallen Soldiers While The Rest of the Country Forgets

Close-knit military community feels pain of deaths in wars the nation has forgotten

STARS AND STRIPES 
By DIANNA CAHN 
Published: July 30, 2017

The procession crossed the base that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border, past training grounds where members of the 101st Airborne Division prepare for war, past buildings where they reunite with loved ones when they return and past the headquarters where a long corridor bears the names of the thousands of “Screaming Eagle” soldiers who didn’t make it home. In wars that most have forgotten about, troops are still dying from hostile fire.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Rain came in a deluge on the Friday of Sgt. William Bays’ funeral.

A 101st Airborne Division soldier prays at the memorial service for Sgt. William Bays, who was killed in action in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan on June 10, 2017. MICHAEL S. DARNELL/STARS AND STRIPES

“He was a friend, a peer, a husband,” Sgt. Lucas Schultze, a fellow soldier of the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, cried as he spoke of the more senior comrade who taught him to lead. “A father, a son and a brother.”
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Community Turning Abandoned House to Homeless Female Veteran's Home

Louisville community comes together to rehab vacant house for homeless veteran

WRB News 
By Fallon Glick
July 15, 2017

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A United Sates Navy veteran served her country, and now her community is serving her.

For every nail and rotting piece of wood that’s removed and thrown in a dumpster, it's one step closer to a new beginning and the start of a new life for Marlena Aldrich.

Aldrich is a single mother of four children who now has five grandchildren. In 2014, she fell on hard times.

“I just couldn't get caught up and found myself homeless,” Aldrich told WDRB News.

But soon, she will no longer be homeless.

Dozens of local organizations and community members have come together to repay Aldrich for her service including, Greater Louisville area unions, The Housing Partnership Inc., Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, Kentucky Habitat for Humanity, Metro United Way, Athena’s Sisters and the Louisville Fire Department.
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WDRB 41 Louisville News

Colonel Stood Saluting in Pouring Rain

Soldier’s salute at funeral procession goes viral
WSMV News
Rudy Kalis
July 14, 2017

Col. Jack Usrey got out of his car and saluted a funeral procession on a rainy day in Kentucky. (Photo by Erin Hester/Instagram)

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)
A simple gesture of respect became a nationwide viral phenomenon.

That’s what happened on the side of the road in a small town in Kentucky.

A Tennessee National Guard soldier, Col. Jack Usrey, got out of his vehicle and stood at attention and saluting in the pouring rain in Vine Grove, KY.

A passerby was so impressed she stopped and took a picture.

Ask Usrey why he did it, and he will tell you it was just the right thing to do.
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Navy SEAL Charged With Kidnapping and Rape of Fellow Sailor

Navy SEAL charged with kidnapping and raping fellow sailor in hotel room
The Virginian-Pilot
By Brock Vergakis
8 hrs ago

Charge sheets accuse Varanko of threatening the woman and placing her in fear that "she would be subjected to grievous bodily injury."

The aggravated assault and battery charges say Varanko placed his hands around the woman's neck, squeezed until she was unable to breathe, pushed the woman against a wall, pinned her against the floor, placed his knee against her back and put her in a submission hold.

Varanko also is accused of sexually harassing the woman in Kentucky, Indiana and Virginia between March and May 2015.

NORFOLK
A Virginia Beach-based Navy SEAL has been charged with kidnapping and raping a fellow sailor in a hotel room near Fort Knox, Ky., according to the Navy.

A general court-martial is set to begin Tuesday for Chief Petty Officer Stephen Varanko III at Naval Station Norfolk.

Varanko's court-martial comes at a time when the military finds itself in the spotlight once again for how it attempts to address and prevent sexual assaults within its ranks, following increases in such reports at the Naval and Military academies this past year. Attention also is focused on a growing scandal involving the online requesting and sharing of nude photos of female personnel among Marines and others.

Varanko's case was one of about 1,500 adult sexual assaults reported to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2015, an increase of about 6 percent from the previous year, according to the agency's most recent annual report.

Varanko is assigned to Special Reconnaissance Team Two at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach. He is charged with four counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault and one count each of aggravated assault and battery. Varanko also is charged with making a false official statement, provoking speech and for violating a general regulation.
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Veterans Combat PTSD Choosing to Dance

Veterans Dance to Combat PTSD 
VOA News 
December 31, 2016

Many veterans struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, after returning home from war fronts. Symptoms may include panic attacks, flashbacks of horrible memories or nightmares. 

A program in Louisville, Kentucky, is designed to help veterans overcome PTSD symptoms through dancing. Faiza Elmasry has the story, narrated by Faith Lapidus.

My wish for all veterans with PTSD is, "I Hope You Dance!" And promise to "give faith a fighting chance."

Air Force Veteran Joined Because of 9-11, Almost Lost Life Saving Woman and Baby on 9-11

Good Samaritan shot in attempt to rescue woman at Shawnee Wal-Mart was Iraq War veteran
FOX 4 KY
BY ROBERT TOWNSEND
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

They said the man joined the Air Force shortly after 9/11. They said he made his mom proud in his six years in the service in which he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

SHAWNEE, Kan. -- New details reveal more information on the deadly shooting outside a Shawnee Wal-Mart Sunday. One suspect was killed in the incident, but another is reportedly still on the run after police released a man they thought was involved.

FOX 4's Robert Townsend has more on the investigation.

When a woman with a baby was attacked in the parking lot by two men, two bystanders came to her rescue. When it was all over, the woman was left with head injuries, one bystander -- an Iraq War veteran -- was shot and critically wounded, and one suspect was shot dead.

Family members of that heroic veteran did not want to appear on camera, but told FOX 4 they're not surprised he stepped in to help.

"My son is just a wonderful guy. He'd help anybody because that's just his nature. I"m not surprised at all," said the man's mom, who lives in Oregon.

FOX 4 has learned the Good Samaritan is 33 years old, now working as a landscaper, and has a 15-year-old step-daughter.
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21-Gun Salute For Iraq Veteran-Belgian Malinois

Bomb-sniffing military dog who served in Iraq gets 21-gun salute
Miami Herald
Karla Ward
September 11, 2016

NICHOLASVILLE, KY
The memorial service had all the somber trappings of the many other military funerals held at Camp Nelson National Cemetery through the years: a lone trumpeter playing taps, the presentation of the flag to the family, a crowd of tearful mourners, a horse-drawn caisson, cannon fire and a 21-gun salute.

But the veteran who was being honored beneath the pavilion Saturday afternoon was unlike any who had been honored at the cemetery before.

The deceased was Iireland, 13, a military working dog who served two tours in Iraq sniffing out explosive devices.

Though Iireland is buried on a farm, the public memorial service for the female Belgian Malinois who died in August was the first of its kind at the cemetery.
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Missing Veteran Alert: Kentucky Iraq Veteran

Reward Offered For Missing Veteran's Whereabouts
LEX 18 News
Monticello Police Department
July 13, 2016

MONTICELLO, Ky. (LEX 18) The search has intensified for an Iraq veteran missing since Memorial Day weekend.

The mother of Dustan Lair is offering a reward to help find her son. Lair has been missing for almost a month and half. His family has a lot of unanswered questions. They have gone unanswered for so long, they have put up a $5000 reward.

Susan Lair last saw her only son right before the Memorial Day weekend while he was in town to visit family and friends.
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Iraq Veteran Marine Helps Others Through Music

Peterson: Ex-Marine helps combat vets through music
Mercury News
By Gary Peterson
POSTED: 06/19/2016

It was a routine mission, at least as routine as any mission could be in Iraq circa 2004. John Preston and his Marine Corps unit were helping open a school when the most amazing thing happened.

"The kids surrounded us," Preston recalled, "and they were clapping and singing, 'Good, good America! Good, good America!' I remember going, 'OK, this is what it's about, win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.' It made no sense up until that moment."

A lot of cosmic puzzle pieces fell into place that day. Preston, who grew up on a Kentucky tobacco farm, was in Iraq because he enlisted in the Marines like his father and two older brothers. And having followed his father's bliss as a songwriter and performer, there was only one way for Preston to end that day.

"I wrote 'Good, Good America' that night," he said.

Fast-forward. Preston, 34, lives in Danville with his wife, Lauren, and son "Little" John, 6. He works for the Palo Alto Fire Department. He still writes and records music like a man on a mission. Which he is, donating money from live appearances and sales of his music to veteran-related causes while raising awareness of veterans' suicide.

The transition has been neither seamless nor painless.
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Good Good America

Bad Weather Didn't Stop Bikers From Raising Funds and Spirit of Double Amputee

Anderson Co. fundraiser for marine, double amputee
WKYT News
By Miranda Combs
Posted: Apr 30, 2016

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (WKYT) - The weather wasn't ideal for a bike ride this morning, but dozens still showed up at a gas station in Lawrenceburg to raise money for a double amputee injured in Afghanistan in 2011.

"It's pretty humbling," said Lance Corporal Cody Evans. Evans was 27 years-old when his time at war stopped suddenly. "I led the foot patrol and I sweep a metal detector to find IEDs and I was clearing a compound out one day and stepped on one." Evans had both legs amputated and spent close to year recovering in his new body at Walter Reed Medical Center.

"I guess just needing help with stuff. That's the biggest thing and one of the hardest thing to get accustom to," Evans confided about his new life. But that's why bikers from the area showed up Saturday to raise money. The event was part of 'Defining Forces', a group that helps with a soldier's journey home by building houses for double amputees like Evans. The money raised will go toward furniture for his new home that will be built in May in Tennessee.
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Suspect in Murder-Suicide Sought Help

Brother: Gunman in murder-suicide near J'town battled PTSD
WAVE3 News
By Joey Brown, Digital Content Manager
Wednesday, March 23rd 2016

Brad Hettinger's obituary shows him in a military uniform and identifies him as Captain Brad Louis Hettinger. It states that he had served as captain of the 8-229th ARB Task Force Apache Flying Tigers overseas.

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The brother of a man who shot and killed his wife and two young children, and then torched their house before taking his own life on Sunday says in a written statement about the tragedy that Brad Hettinger had been battling post-traumatic stress disorder.

The statement, issued just after noon on Wednesday, reads in its entirety as follows:

"We as a family are devastated and deeply shaken by the events that have transpired. Brad Hettinger was an honorable, respectable, family centered man who believed strongly in his religious values, who served his country with valor, and who provided a nurturing and caring environment for his family. Before the events of March 20, Brad was actively seeking help for complications associated with PTSD while simultaneously attending marriage counseling with his wife. We ask the greater Louisville community to direct some of your prayers and thoughts toward the Gayheart and Hettinger families during this most grievous of times."
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Kentucky Wounded Marine's Purple Heart Harley Stolen

Veteran robbed of custom Purple Heart motorcycle in Florence
Man heard engine start, saw person take off on bike
WLWT News
By Emily Wood
Mar 12, 2016

This is the ride he survived in Afghanistan

FLORENCE, Ky. —A local Purple Heart recipient is at a loss without his beloved Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Marine Combat Veteran Brandon Bailey's custom-painted Purple Heart Harley was stolen from his mother's driveway in Florence Sunday evening.

Bailey said he was at his mother's house with his wife for dinner and parked his bike parallel to the garage.

"I've been riding motorcycles since I was just a little guy," Bailey said.

Bailey enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998 and was in Afghanistan in 2009 when his unit was hit by an IED. The Humvee he was in landed on top of him, crushing his pelvis, breaking both hips and his back.

His doctors told him he would never walk again, but Bailey was determined to not only defy their orders but get back on his bike.

Dealing with the pain from his injuries, more than 20 surgeries and PTSD, riding his bike became an escape from it all.

"That's my release. You have guys that go to war and they do things a human shouldn't do and they see things humans shouldn't see, so you need that release or you are going to explode or implode," Bailey said. "I fought cowards all over the world and then I come here and someone comes and takes a possession of mine."
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Vietnam Veteran Congrave Achilles Blanton Family Sought

UPDATE
Relatives of Vietnam-era Army veteran are located

Coroner Seeks Next Of Kin For Vietnam Vet
LEX18 News
January 7, 2016

The Fayette County Coroner is seeking the next-of-kin of a man who died at the University of Kentucky Hospital.

Congrave Achilles Blanton passed away at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He listed his daughter, Lisa Baker, as his next-of-kin. However, the Winchester address that Mr. Blanton listed for Ms. Baker was not correct.

Blanton was 63-years-old and a Vietnam Veteran. His last known residence was on Price Road. Blanton died from complications after heart surgery

If you know Mr. Blanton or Ms. Baker, you are asked to contact the Fayette County Coroner's Office at (859) 252-5691

If the Coroner's Office cannot reach next of kin, burial will be arranged in a National Cemetery.

Fort Campbell Charity Bookkeeper Kept Funds

Bookkeeper pleads guilty to defrauding Fort Campbell charity 
WKRN web staff
Published: November 5, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A woman pleaded guilty to defrauding more than $54,000 from a Fort Campbell charity on Thursday.

Anita Marshall, 43, of Daphne, Alabama and formerly of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to a charge of bank fraud association with her theft and subsequent use of checks from the Fort Campbell Thrift Shop.

Marshall served as the thrift store’s assistant manager and bookkeeper. She admitted that she stole blank checks from the thrift shop, issued these checks to herself, forged the signature of the thrift shop manager and then deposited these checks into her own accounts.

The fraudulent activity occurred from August 2009 until November 2010 and involved 91 checks totaling more than $54,000.
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Ohio 90 Year Old WWII Veteran Robbed At Knifepoint

Robber who threatened 90-year-old WWII veteran has been identified, sheriff's office says 
Deputies on the lookout for Brandon Wilson, 23
WCPO Staff
Nov 4, 2015

CLEVES, Ohio — The suspect in the robbery of a 90-year-old World War II veteran at knifepoint has been identified, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says.

Deputies are looking for Brandon Wilson, 23, last known to be living in Owenton, Kentucky. Wilson is 5-feet, 11-inches and approximately 220-230 pounds. He has short dark hair and brown eyes with multiple tattoos on his right lower arm and a star tattoo on his left elbow. read more here

WWII Garlin Murl Conner Closer to Medal of Honor

World War II soldier from Kentucky is a step closer to posthumous Medal of Honor 
Kentucky.com
BY GREG KOCHER
November 2, 2015

Conner, a first lieutenant, earned four Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars, seven Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during combat in World War II.

Garlin Murl Conner, a WWII Army officer, died in 1998.

Garlin Murl Conner, a World War II Army officer and a Clinton County native, is one step closer to posthumously receiving the Medal of Honor.

The Army Board for Correction of Military Records, a three-member panel, went against the advice of its staff and voted unanimously in late October that the evidence "was sufficient to warrant a recommendation" that Conner receive the Medal of Honor for the actions he took to save the lives of fellow soldiers.

Dennis Shepherd, an attorney for the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, learned Monday about the panel's recommendation. Shepherd said it's rare for the panel to go against the advice of its staff, which had said there was "insufficient evidentiary basis" for granting the medal.
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Homeless Veteran Buried With Dignity After Being Murdered

HOMELESS VETERAN HONORED WITH MILITARY FUNERAL 
ABC 36 News Kentucky
By: Melanie Kendall
10/23/2015

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. (WTVQ) – A homeless veteran, murder in Lexington a week and a half ago was laid to rest Friday with military honors. James Holiness served in the U.S. Air Force.

He was honorably discharged. “I’m here to honor this U.S. veteran,” said David England with the Kentucky Patriot Guard.

“No veteran should be laid to rest without the military honors and without the dignity that he earned while he was a U.S. Veteran.” read more here

Woman Charged After Disabled Veteran Found Buried in House

Man Found Buried in Dayton Home was Veteran Who Suffered from PTSD
River City News
September 16, 2015

The man found buried under a concrete floor in a Dayton basement has been identified as the investigation continues into how he got there.

Steven Reis, 55, was found inside 121 Sixth Avenue two weeks ago. Police were investigating a separate case when a suspect told officers that he knew where a body was, Chief David Halfhill told The River City News on Wednesday.

Christy Mae Russell, 40, rented the building where Reis's body was found. Reis was a veteran of the United States Air Force and suffered medical conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, Halfhill said.

Reis collected benefits for that reason and on Saturday, Russell turned herself in to police and is charged with accessing between $20,000 to $30,000 of Reis's benefits through a credit card, the chief said.
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Kentucky State Trooper Navy Veteran Killed In Line of Duty

Trooper killed in Ky. was Navy veteran, standout athlete
WKRN web staff
Published: September 14, 2015

EDDYVILLE, Ky. (WKRN) – The Kentucky State Trooper fatally shot Sunday night was a Navy veteran and standout athlete in high school.

Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder, 31, was killed after chasing Joseph Johnson-Shanks when he fled a traffic stop.

The suspect was later killed by troopers when he refused to put down his weapon during a brief standoff.

Ponder, who was engaged at the time of his death, was a U.S. Navy veteran and native of Rineyville, Kentucky.
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Ky. trooper shot to death after traffic stop; Suspect killed by police
WKRN Nashville
By Lori Mitchell
Published: September 14, 2015

EDDYVILLE, Ky. – The suspect wanted for shooting and killing a Kentucky State Trooper late Sunday night was shot to death by authorities Monday morning after he refused to put down his weapon.

According to police, 31-year-old Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder conducted a traffic stop just before 10:30 p.m. on Interstate 24 west, near mile marker 58, south of the Cadiz Road exit and just over 100 miles northwest of Nashville.

After speaking with Ponder, the driver, identified as Joseph Johnson-Shanks, led the trooper on an 8-mile pursuit before shots were fired.

Ponder was injured when Johnson-Shanks leaned out the window and reportedly started firing shots at his police cruiser, striking the hood, windshield and the trooper before the 25-year-old fled the scene on foot.

Joseph Johnson-Shanks, 25 (Courtesy: Kentucky State Police)

The trooper was transported to Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton, Kentucky, where he died just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
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