Army Ranger-Iraq Veteran "Cancer Patient" Used Medical Journal Picture For Donations

Iraq war veteran 'faked terminal bone cancer and set up online fundraiser where he used X-ray photo taken from medical journal'
Retired Army Ranger Kevin Fish, from California, started GoFundMe page asking for $4,000 in donations towards one final trip home
Posted 'MRI' image allegedly showing his body ravaged by bone cancer
Local news station uncovered that the image came from 2007 medical journal
Fish had no medical records to prove he's been fighting cancer for two years
Daily Mail
By SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 25 November 2014

An Iraq War veteran started an online fundraiser earlier this month hoping to raise $4,000 for what was described as his final trip home before he succumbs of cancer.

But a California news station has uncovered that Kevin Fish, of Joshua Tree, had used a picture of an X-ray showing a patient suffering from bone cancer taken from a medical journal and presented it as his own on his GoFundMe account.

When confronted by a reporter from KESQ Monday, the retired Army Ranger insisted that the image used on the online fundraiser was taken with his cell phone during a medical examination, and that he was told by his doctor that it was his MRI showing cancer ravaging his body.

According to Fish, a native of Houma, Louisiana, he was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer in 2012, but during the Monday interview he was unable to produce any medical files proving that he has been battling the deadly disease for the past two years.

When pressed on that issue, Fish said that he does not keep his medical records at home.

On November 16, the veteran launched a GoFundMe account asking for $4,000 in donations so he could travel to his hometown in Louisiana to visit his family one last time.
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Vietnam Era Veteran, Alone and Homeless in Life, Honored After Death

Homeless Army veteran from St. Tammany laid to rest with full military honors
The Times Picayune
Kim Chatelain
November 14,2014

Staff Sgt. Matthew Buenrostro completes the flag folding ceremony during the memorial tribute to Pfc. Patrick Higgins at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell, Louisiana on Friday, November 14, 2014. Higgins served during the Vietnam era and was homeless when he died. His fellow veterans and local officials bestowed upon him the Louisiana Veteran's medal and gave the former serviceman a noble burial.
(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

On a cool, lustrous day at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery near Slidell, military and civilian dignitaries gathered with pomp and patriotism to pay tribute to the somewhat mysterious life of Patrick Joseph Higgins, an Army veteran whose body was never claimed after his death on June 26, 2011, at age 61.

Because he is believed to have been from St. Tammany Parish and because his family could not be located, Higgins' ashes were eventually turned over to the St. Tammany Parish President's Veteran and Military Affairs Advisory Council, which spearheaded the ceremony.

"Today, you are his family," Ted Krumm, a retired Navy commander and director of the veterans cemetery, told the gathering at the service for Higgins. Members of the Patriot Guard Riders, the Northshore Honor Guard and representatives from several veteran and military organizations were involved in the ceremony.

Higgins was a private first class in the Army during the Vietnam era. He was born on Sept. 11, 1949. Other than that, Krumm said little is known about the Army veteran or his death because his family could not be located. His remains were retained by a local funeral home for many months in hopes of someone claiming them. No one did.

When it was discovered that Higgins had served in the military, various veterans groups got involved, determining that he had been honorably discharged in the 1970s.
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Soldier Died, Another Wounded During Fork Polk Training

Fort Polk soldier killed in training incident
NOLA Times Picayune
Paul Purpura
September 12, 2014

An Army medic tries to shield a 'wounded' soldier during a combat training exercise at Fort Polk in 2003. Thousands of troops have undergone combat training at the Army post in west-central Louisiana, before deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. (Ted Jackson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

A soldier who returned home from Afghanistan eight months ago was killed and another one was injured while training at Fort Polk in west-central Louisiana, the Army post said Friday. Spc. Silas S. Jones, 22, of Marionville, Mo., died Wednesday in "a tactical vehicle incident," the post said.

The injured soldier's name was not released. He was flown to a regional hospital, according to the statement. The Army would not release more information "to protect the integrity of the investigation." The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and Fort Polk's Directorate of Emergency Services are investigating.
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Veteran killed by police in Louisiana had PTSD

Man who died after fight with police suffered from PTSD, brother says
KSLA News
By Emily Black
Posted: May 07, 2014

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA)
Jerome Christmas died Saturday after a struggle with Shreveport police, and while witnesses said he was acting wild before it happened, his brother knew a completely different person.

Witnesses say they saw Jerome Christmas go crazy, throwing things, getting undressed, talking to himself, and acting as though he was on fire. Christmas' brother Drake said his brother was a veteran who served his country, and suffered from PTSD.

Now he's left to explain the actions that ultimately led to his brother's death.

Drake said Jerome was being treated at the VA hospital for his PTSD. The events that led to his death started Saturday at the Shreveport Teen Challenge, a rehab center in the 1100 block of Highland Avenue.

Drake said Jerome was the reason he spent 24 years in the military.

"He coached and mentored me through everything," Drake said. "We lifted weights together, we worked out. He made all-state in football three years in a row, I made all-state in football two years in a row. Perfect example, perfect example of a brother you'd want to follow."
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Bones of Iraq veteran found in field

UPDATE
Parents want answers after Iraqi war vet's body found in northshore field
In 2004, Gordon served nine-months in Iraq and was awarded a bronze-star. His parents say he struggled with post-traumatic stress.

Investigators positively identify remains found in field
WABF News 9
Posted by Joshua Auzenne
Posted: Apr 30, 2014

HAMMOND, LA (WAFB)
Authorities said human remains found in a field have been identified as those of a war veteran who disappeared on New Year's Eve.

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office reported the LSU Faces Lab positively identified the remains as Jonathon Gordan, 31, of Loranger. The bones were found by a man plowing the field behind his home on Brickyard Road in Hammond on April 22.

Sheriff Daniel Edwards said Gordan was last seen alive in the Hammond area on December 31, 2013. He added Gordan's vehicle was found abandoned near Strader Road in Ponchatoula in February.
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Louisiana Soldier, Father of Three, Murdered in Driveway

Soldier, father of three murdered in Marrero
WWLTV.com
January 1, 2014

Joseph Anderson: Marrero murder victim, soldier, father of 3

MARRERO, La. -- Jefferson Parish deputies are investigating a shooting that left a father of three, and an active member of the Army, dead Wednesday night. Deputies were also looking for the victim’s vehicle which was taken from the scene of the murder, but that vehicle has since been recovered by JPSO.

The murder happened at about 9:43 p.m., January 1, in the 6100 block of Ray Street in Marrero.

Deputies found the victim, who has been identified as 31-year-old Joseph Anderson, shot to death in the driveway at that location. Anderson was pronounced dead on the scene with a single gunshot wound to the head.
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Therapeutic garden unearths soldier’s will

Therapeutic garden unearths soldier’s will
Beauregard Daily News
By Kathy Ports
Posted Dec. 13, 2013

Working in a therapeutic garden she helped develop has given Staff Sgt. Carolyn Darnell, a demobilized National Guard soldier in the Warrior Transition Unit, the strength to emerge from her room and the motivation to begin working her way out of her depression.

“Working in the garden allows you to let your mind go,” she said. “I gently planted those plants, nurtured them, watched them grow and it gave me the strength to come out of the dark cave I was in."

Darnell deployed to Iraq twice –– 2004 to 2006 and 2007 to 2009. From 2009 to July 2012, she was mobilized at Camp Shelby, Miss. Each deployment took its toll.

“My first deployment was tough," she said. We sustained a lot of mortar attacks. One time, I was on the phone with my mother and the shelling started. I really thought that I was going to die that night and I didn’t want my mother to be on the other end of the telephone if the end came."

The first deployment had more tough lessons in store for Darnell.
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Burial of Baton Rouge MIA evokes memories for Vietnam Veterans

A Final Homecoming: Burial of Baton Rouge MIA evokes memories for local vets
Tri-Parish Times
By JOHN DeSANTIS
Senior Staff Writer

Roger Songe and Roy Youngblood, two of many Vietnam veterans living in the Tri-parish region, never knew James Johnstone.

But they are among local veterans who said burial of the Baton Rouge army captain last week at Arlington National Cemetery, 46 years after his death during a reconnaissance mission over Laos, stirred emotions, offered comfort and also hope.

The hope is that officials will continue having success as they search for service members still missing from that war and others.

“He is from Louisiana and so that means a lot to all of us,” said Songe. “It is one more of our boys coming home.”

Capt. Johnstone was buried last Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery. He was the pilot of an OV-1A Mohawk, a helicopter-plane hybrid used extensively during the Vietnam era, when the aircraft crashed in Attapu Province, Laos, on Nov. 19, 1966.
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Mental Health Crisis Leaves 13 Year Old Dead

Mental health advocates say I-10 traffic death shines light on state crisis
Tania Dall
Eyewitness News

METAIRIE, La. -- Mental health advocates are sounding the alarm after the tragic death of a 13-year-old boy Tuesday afternoon on I-10 in Metairie.

State police say the teen was being transported to a mental health facility 50 miles from home.

The deadly accident slowed traffic to a crawl along I-10 eastbound between Cleary Avenue and Causeway Boulevard. Emergency crews were on-scene responding to a frantic 911 call and attempted to save the young teen's life.

"A juvenile, a 13-year-old, was inside a van. He was being transported to southeast Louisiana for medical purposes. There was an altercation inside the van and they had to pull over to the shoulder," said Louisiana State Police Trooper Melissa Matey.

State police say 13-year-old Jeremiah Williams jumped out a Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals van that had stopped along the shoulder. Investigators say Williams crossed five busy lanes of I-10 and then attempted to cross back when he was hit by on-coming traffic.

"He then decided to come back towards the right shoulder so he again started to cross over those lanes of travel. He was struck by a tow truck in the center right lane. He was transported to the LSU center where he later died from his injuries," Matey said.
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National Guard soldier surprises family at New Orleans Saints game

Soldier makes triumphant return to family before New Orleans Saints game
11/11/12
Terrance Harris
NOLA.com
The Times-Picayune

Brandon Davis has the earned the reputation among his family as not being able to keep a secret. But the Louisiana National Guard specialist kept a big one from his family this week, remaining cooped up in a New Orleans hotel just minutes away since Wednesday while his family thought he was still on active duty in Afghanistan.

The Davis family is completely surprised to their husband and dad return for war to celebrate the birth of their new child and celebrate Veteran's Day at the Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday November 11, 2012.
(Photo by David Grunfeld, Nola.com |The Times-Picayune)

Meanwhile, his family, including his wife, Leslie and four of his five children, were invited to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to receive what they thought was a community service award from the American Red Cross in Davis' honor prior to Sunday's New Orleans Saints-Atlanta Falcons game.

After the family was presented with the plaque and a short video message from Davis to his family, Davis said "I can't wait any longer" and burst through a tunnel and made his way to his stunned family standing at the 50-yard line.
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Thousands told to evacuate after Isaac damages dam

New mandatory evacuations as Isaac claims first fatality
By Josh Levs
CNN
updated 2:23 PM EDT, Thu August 30, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Mississippi is cutting a hole in the dam at Lake Tangipahoa
NEW: Isaac is expected to become a tropical depression by Thursday evening
NEW: More than 915,000 customers are without power in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi
A falling tree killed a man in Mississippi, authorities say

(CNN) -- Isaac slashed its way further inland Thursday, claiming its first fatality and stranding residents in flood-prone areas even as it threatened to wreak more havoc in the days to come.

Although the tropical storm weakened and is forecast to become a tropical depression by Thursday evening, the pounding rains are still drenching a large swath of the Gulf Coast.

Mississippi and Louisiana announced mandatory evacuations for all low-lying areas along the Tangipahoa River.

A dam at 700-acre Lake Tangipahoa has not breached, "but has been badly damaged by heavy rains," the Pike County Emergency Management Agency said.
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2 sheriff's deputies dead, 2 wounded in La. shootout

UPDATE
2 Wounded deputies recovering

2 sheriff's deputies dead, 2 wounded in La. shootout
AP
Posted August 16, 2012

The dead deputies were identified as Brandon Nielsen, 34, and Jeremy Triche, 27.

The wounded officers were Jason Triche, 30, and Michael Boyington, 33.

LAPLACE, La. (AP) — Two sheriff's deputies in Louisiana were shot to death and two others were injured in an early morning shootout west of New Orleans, authorities said Thursday.

The sheriff in St. John the Baptist Parish said five people are in custody.

A tearful Sheriff Michael Tregre said the incident started when a gunman opened fire for unknown reasons on a deputy working an off-duty traffic detail along a highway that connects U.S. Highway 61 with the busy industrial corridor along the Mississippi River. That deputy was wounded.

Tregre said someone called deputies with a description of a car fleeing the scene, and officers tracked it to a nearby trailer park.

When officers found the car, they handcuffed a suspect outside a trailer, then knocked on its door. Tregre said someone with a dog answered.

"Another person exited that trailer with an assault weapon and ambushed my two officers," Tregre said. Two deputies were killed and a third was wounded.

Two suspects were wounded in the shootout before officers subdued them, Tregre said.
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National Guard soldier jumped to his death

Soldier falls to his death from Columbia bridge

Written by
Barbara Leader


Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s deputies say a National Guard soldier jumped to his death Tuesday from the U.S. 165 bridge in Columbia.

Chief Deputy Glenn Gilmore said that Marcus Delon White, 24, of Monroe was travelling to Camp Beauregard in Alexandria with his fiance when he stopped his car on the Ouachita River bridge. Gilmore said White worked at Camp Beauregard 4 days each week.

“He stopped the car and he got out,” Gilmore said. “I don’t think he told her he was going to jump.” Gilmore said that his fiance called for help and passers by stopped to try to keep him from jumping.

“They were holding him, but he broke free just as the officer arrived on the scene,” Gilmore said.
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Marine's mission to help children

Marine's mission to help children

By Tyana Willams

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
Winston Fiore, 26, of Indianapolis is on a money making mission.

"I've raised a little past 25% of my goal of raising $25,000," said Fiore.

Curious why? The young marine says while deployed in Senegal earlier this year, he decided he wanted to see the world. But he wanted to have a reason to travel. He says after seeing all the poverty he decided to make a trek for charity.

"I decided I was going to spend a year, dedicate a year, to traveling part of the world I hadn't been to on foot. So I could connect with locals and decided if I was going to spend a year walking, I should tie in a good cause."

His cause is raising money for the International Children's Surgical Foundation.
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Marine mission to help children

Parents of Marine sued over sign of support from association

MARINE’S PARENTS SUED OVER DISPLAYING A SIGN SUPPORTING THEIR SON (BLAZE INTERVIEW)

Corey Burr is a Marine fighting in Afghanistan. Corey’s parents, Timothy and Jodi Burr, are also involved in a fight back home in Louisiana. Mom and dad are battling the neighborhood association over this sign posted in their front yard.

Shortly after L Cpl Burr was deployed to Afghanistan last winter, his parents posted the above sign in their front yard of their home in The Gardens subdivision of South Bossier, LA. Almost immediately the neighborhood association delivered a letter telling the Burr’s that they were in violation of a local rule stating “no signs of any kind shall be displayed to the public view.” (Real Estate signs are excluded but also carry a 2×2 size restriction.) Instead of removing the banner, Timothy and Jodi requested an exception be made to the rule. They wanted to keep the sign on display until their son comes home. (Corey is slated to return in March of 2012)

In February, the Burr’s started sending formal requests to the head of the association, but those letters went unanswered until the media got involved. Jodi and her husband even sent requests for a meeting with the homeowners association via certified mail, but those letters went “unclaimed.”
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Marine parents sued over sign

Louisiana National Guard member dies in Iraq

Louisiana National Guard member dies in Iraq
Published: Wednesday, July 07, 2010

The Department of Defense Tuesday night identified a member of the Louisiana National Guard killed in Iraq on Friday.

Sgt. Jordan E. Tuttle , 22, of West Monroe, La., died July 2 at Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident.

Finish reading here
Louisiana National Guard member dies in Iraq

Tell Gov. Jindal veterans are not there to glorify him

If Gov. Jindal really wanted to honor the men and women veterans, he would do what is right and fitting for them and not subject them to having to wait for when he can get to them. After all, he doesn't have to be the one delivering the medals in person, so this is all about him and his ego. What else can it be? He wants to have his picture taken doing something for the veterans but when you think of them having to wait until he can fit them into his "busy" schedule, it speaks loudly of the importance he places on veterans. They come after him. This is disgraceful! This is not honoring them. It is insulting them.

Veterans are waiting for their medals
March 18, 2010


Louisiana lawmakers are asking the Veterans Administration Director Lane Carson why is it taking so long for the Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal to be delivered. Members of a joint House and Senate committee urged the state Department of Veterans Affairs to step up its delivery of the medals and stop waiting for Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has traveled across the state in a series of events to hand out the medals.


"We literally have World War II veterans who are dying before they get to this jubilee with the governor. They want the medals," said state Senator Robert Adley, a Marine, who sponsored the bill that created the Veterans Honor Medal Program in 2008. Lawmakers said they have received calls from veterans who have waited months for their medals and and have had offers from veterans organizations who offered to make distribution of the medals but were told they had to wait for the governor to be there.
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Veterans are waiting for their medals

Man shoots 4 family members, then himself

Police: Man shoots 4 family members, then himself
Story Highlights
Dennis Carter Sr. killed his estranged wife, their son and grandson, police say

Police say he also shot his pregnant daughter-in-law, who is in critical condition

Carter drove away, then shot himself to death as police pursued, authorities say

Sheriff's office says Carter had record of domestic violence

(CNN) -- A man shot his estranged wife to death, along with their son and grandson, before turning the gun on himself as police closed in, authorities in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, said Sunday.


Police say Dennis Carter Sr. shot four family members, three fatally, before turning the gun on himself.

Dennis Carter Sr., 50, also shot and critically injured his pregnant daughter-in-law, the parish sheriff's office said in a statement. The shootings occurred Saturday night in the town of Holden, Louisiana.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/06/louisiana.shootings/index.html

Volunteers rush to save animals at shelter during flood

Several animals drown as shelter floods, 600 others moved to fairgrounds

05:07 PM EDT on Wednesday, August 5, 2009

WHAS11 coverage


(WHAS11) - Witnesses say it took only minutes for floodwaters to rise nearly waist deep inside Louisville’s animal shelter.


But with only a dozen people, and nearly 600 animals, shelter workers couldn't get them all to safety in time.


Watch this story
Authorities say one dog and nearly a dozen cats drowned Tuesday afternoon as the record breaking rains flooded many parts Louisville and Southern Indiana.


Grabbing as many as they could hold at once, workers and volunteers plucked animal after animal from dark, damp rooms and kennels, trying to rescue as many as they could of the nearly 600 animals that were at the shelter when floodwaters started pouring in.


Volunteers were trying to stack crates on top of each other to get animals out of the water, since the water level rose more than halfway up on the bottom row of cages.


"At this point, the problem is just trying to move everything, dry everything, then bring them back," said Dr. Gilles Meloche, Director of Metro Animal Services.

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Several animals drown as shelter floods

Louisiana National Guard Families of Fallen not being paid

Sen. wants to expand military survivors law

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jul 31, 2009 9:03:35 EDT

BATON ROUGE, La. — The chairman of a state Senate veterans committee says he wants to expand a state law that pays $250,000 to the survivors of Louisiana National Guard soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The law has been in place since July 2007, but Sen. Robert Adley says it should be made retroactive to include all troops killed since the conflicts began. The Louisiana National Guard’s call-up for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq began in 2004.

Adley is the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Veterans Affairs.

The law provides a $100,000 payment to guard members who are permanently disabled and $250,000 to the families of troops killed.

Adley says it appears no families have received the benefits so far, so he also wants the program publicized more to families who might be eligible.
Sen. wants to expand military survivors law