Veterans' Groups honor homeless veteran with military funeral

Homeless veteran given full military funeral
Ocala Star Banner
Andy Fillmore
October 24, 2013

Homeless veteran John Miles Anderson has a family now.

Doug Engle/Star-Banner

Members of the Patriot Guard carry the casket out of the hearse after it arrived at the Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Memorial Garden Thursday. A funeral was held Thursday for homeless Vietnam vet John Miles Anderson.

“We're all his family,” Kaye Barker said about the roughly 75 members of honorary military groups and the Marion County Sheriff's Office as a funeral service for Anderson, described as homeless, concluded Thursday.

Anderson, 67, died Sept. 20. The service was held in the Garden of Veterans at Forest Lawn Cemetery, south of Ocala. The burial will be today at the National Cemetery in Bushnell.

Barker said Anderson's last few years were “private,” and called him a near “loner.” He had been living in substandard housing that was often burglarized in an area of the Ocala National Forest characterized as “drug infested” by R.C. Barker, Kaye's husband.
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Decorated veteran of three wars talks about PTSD

Decorated veteran served in three wars
OCALA.com
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Sunday, June 9, 2013

Donald Lesch, a veteran of three wars, said his wife knew to wake him carefully, and only by shaking his left foot.

“It was the method we had in World War II to wake each other safely when changing sentry guard duty,” Lesch said.

Lesch, 91, was awarded the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star, a number of battle stars, and decorations from the Vietnamese and Korean governments for his service in WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

“I have post-traumatic stress disorder mainly from WWII, but actually from all the wars, and I was exposed to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. I have a 100 percent service-connected disability,” Lesch said.

He said he may have survived three wars, but he still keeps the curtains drawn at his northeast Ocala home because of a deep-seated fear of sniper fire.
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WWI veteran's tombstone rededicated in Ocala Florida

WWI veteran's tombstone rededicated
Ocala Star Banner
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Friday, June 7, 2013

A displaced grave marker found last month near Belleview has been identified by family members and reset on its original burial site.

After learning about two intact grave markers, one of which bore the name of his great-grandfather Calvin Thomas, Al McDavid of Orange Lake traveled to the place they were found and checked the information on the marker against a family Bible.

“We are very grateful. Mr. (Calvin) Thomas was my great-grandfather. Tears were nearly shed on the phone when I called my family about the marker,” McDavid, 61, said.

Attempts to solve the mystery of the other marker, for Henry Windley, remain elusive and thus far have involved Veterans Affairs, a search of Army records and a local funeral home and cemetery, without any firm answers at this time.

The intact markers for Thomas, who died in 1918, and Windley, who died in 1964, were found May 20 in a wooded area near some railroad tracks by Avery Daniels, 19, as he walked to his sister’s home, along with at least two other markers that were broken in pieces. Daniels said he and his family reported the find in hopes the markers would be returned to their rightful sites.
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Soldier from Ocala Florida killed in Afghanistan

Update
Miami Herald
Relatives tell the Ocala Star-Banner that Sims got married in October, and his wife is pregnant.

North Florida private killed in Afghanistan
December 31, 2012
HERALD STAFF REPORT

A Florida soldier who was on his first deployment to Afghanistan was killed this weekend in an explosion, the Pentagon said Monday.

Army Pfc. Markie T. Sims, 20, of Citra, north of Ocala, died Saturday in Panjwal, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to a Defense Department statement.
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A new program, Horse in Miracles for combat veterans

Horses comfort veterans suffering from combat-related stress
Ocala.com
By Gary Green
Correspondent
Published: Sunday, October 28, 2012

While Marion County takes pride in being known as the Horse Capital of the World, locals also are very proud of the many military veterans who call the area home.

A new program, Horse in Miracles, now offers a way to unite equines and veterans in a relationship that can help the humans cope with or overcome the ill effects of combat-related stress.

Horse in Miracles operates out of the Sugar Plum Ranch in Ocklawaha.

“This program is absolutely wonderful when it works. And when we get out of the way, it always works,” said Jennifer Elliott, a registered nurse and owner of the ranch.

Elliott was referring to the basic principle of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, Inc., therapy program, through which healing takes place by the therapist stepping aside and allowing the client/horse experience to take its natural course.
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Ocala's Dick Hauck is a pedigreed Devil Dog when it comes to helping veterans

Local veteran has mission to help other vets

By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Dick Hauck is a pedigreed Devil Dog when it comes to helping veterans.

“Devil Dogs” is the nickname given the “club within a club” of the Marine Corps League, or 10 percent of the “extra active members of the organization” Hauck said.

Hauck joined the Marine Corps League in 2004 and served as Marion County Detachment 061 Commandant in 2011. He has been a member of the Military Order of Devil Dogs since 2007. Hauck also was president of the Marion County Veterans Council for 2010 and 2011 and recently was given a plaque in recognition of his service.

Hauck plans to continue his service to veterans with programs at the Ocala Ritz Veterans Village and in his new position as the Marine Corps League Department of Florida Communications & Legislative Officer.
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Congress seeks national recognition for Vietnam vets

Congress seeks national recognition for Vietnam vets

By Bill Thompson
Staff writer
Published: Thursday, December 1, 2011
Ben Crosby recalls how gracious people were when he came home from his first combat tour in Vietnam. It was 1967, and as the young Army major, clad in uniform, passed through the civilian world, women hugged him, his drinks in airport bars came free and people were appreciative.

"It was really kind of nice," said Crosby, and not unlike the warm welcome contemporary veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan receive.

The second time, not so much. In 1971, Crosby, still a major, came home from a second year of fighting the Viet Cong. He was ordered not to wear his uniform outside the confines of his post. The risk from anti-war protesters, he was told, was too great.

"Nobody ever did anything to me," said Crosby, an Ocala resident. "But when I look back on it, it was pretty damn bad: a soldier told to put on civilian clothes because his countrymen were mistreating him."
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Mom takes down robber at ATM

Mother Takes Down Robbery Suspect

John Meekin Wrestled To Ground While Fleeing

POSTED: 5:06 pm EDT October 5, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- An Ocala mother wrestled and held a robbery suspect who was trying to flee from police.

It started Monday evening with Warren Kinsella, 55, who was withdrawing money from an automated teller machine near Ocala.

Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said John Meekin, 35, approached Kinsella on his bike, drew a gun and demanded money.

"I said no," Kinsella said. "I've got to pay bills with my money."

Kinsella retired from the Army and was a former military policeman. He said he shoved the bike out of the way and fled before following Meekin in his truck Kinsella said the gunman even shot at him but missed.

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Vets Helping Vets provides help for those who have served

Veterans outreach Vets Helping Vets services include, but are not limited to, employment referrals, information regarding benefits and transportation for VA medical care. A food pantry and limited financial assistance is available on a case-by-case basis.
To receive aid, learn more or volunteer, call 401-9788.
To make a monetary contribution, send a check to Vets Helping Vets, 1515 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, FL 34470. Contributions are tax deductible.
Donations of nonperishable food are welcome.

Vets Helping Vets provides help for those who have served
By Ann Sperring
Correspondent
It is tough enough to don a uniform, leave family behind and risk your life for your country.

Now, roadside bombs transform steel into bloodied shreds and leave horrific head injuries, sending many veterans home in comas or with serious cognitive defects. Some soldiers return in caskets, others in wheelchairs or with prosthetic limbs.

And the stress of living on a razor's edge can send the mind and spirit into a lingering dark abyss.

And as tough as it is to deal with the rigors of military service, for many veterans the going gets harder in civilian life.

Hank Whittier, executive director of Vets Helping Vets, a nonprofit outreach program headquartered on East Silver Springs Boulevard, is seeing new problems among the veterans he and his volunteers serve.

"Currently, we are experiencing a significant uptick in the number of young vets needing our help. The economy is making it tougher for them to transition. Sometimes they will start with just a request for job referrals and over time end up asking for food and rent help," Whittier said.

"We are also seeing more mental health issues, with 30 percent of our veterans being affected. Family members will come seeking help for loved ones they are seeing fall apart."
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Vets Helping Vets provides help for those who have served

Marine from Ocala dies in Iraq

Marine from Ocala dies in Iraq
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando,FL,USA
Willoughby Mariano | Sentinel Staff Writer
5:49 PM EDT, March 11, 2009
An Ocala man serving as a Marine in Iraq died in what was described as a "non-hostile incident," U. S. Department of Defense officials said today.

Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone, 21, died Tuesday in Anbar province. Details were not immediately available, spokesman Lt. Philip W. Klay said. An investigation is ongoing.

Malone was assigned to the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. and served as an anti-tank missileman.

This was his first deployment. He joined the Marine Corps Sept. 7, 2007 and was sent to Iraq in October.

Police look for link after torso found near Ocala FL

Police look for Ormond link after torso found near Ocala

A human torso was found near the Ocala National Forest, and Ormond Beach detectives are comparing notes with another law enforcement agency to determine whether the case of a man found dismembered locally in December could be related to this latest mystery.

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Vietnam vets find fresh treatment for old wounds

Gerard Abbett, 59, of Brandon was initially prescribed aspirin for his headaches and nightmares. After years of “self-medicating,” he is now getting help.[Melissa Lyttle Times]

Vietnam vets find fresh treatment for old wounds
By Michael Sanserino, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, August 25, 2008
TAMPA — It took nearly 30 years before Gerard Abbett could bring himself to enter the VA hospital's mental health clinic, to walk past the discreet little sign that says PTSD (for post-traumatic stress disorder) and sit patiently in a chair beneath the sign that reads: "It takes the courage and strength of a soldier to ask for help."

The men in the clinic are not damaged young warriors just back from Afghanistan and Iraq. They are graying. They are balding and bespectacled. And like Abbett, 59, they have only recently begun to deal with the psychological wounds that they sustained in Vietnam.

Since 1999, the number of American veterans receiving PTSD treatment has more than doubled. About 60 percent of the 400,000 veterans seeking PTSD treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs are Vietnam veterans, according to figures from the VA. Locally, experts estimate that Vietnam veterans account for 70 percent of cases.

There are several reasons for this surge, experts say.
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/article783515.ece

2 year old boy critical condition after shooting himself

Lake County toddler critical after shooting self
Martin E. Comas Sentinel Staff Writer
August 9, 2008
A 2-year-old Lake County boy remained in critical condition Friday, two days after shooting himself in the mouth with a gun that a man had kept in a nightstand to protect himself from a bear.
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Daisy Diaz promoted within Marion County Veterans Services

Navy veteran promoted within Marion County Veterans Services

BY GWENN WELCH
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BANNER


Published: Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 12:38 a.m.

OCALA- Daisy Diaz, a retired Navy petty officer, has been a service officer with Marion County Veterans Services since 2006. She recently was promoted to Veterans Service Supervisor. She also is vice president for the 11-county Veterans Service Officers Association.

"My newest goal is to see that information regarding new benefits and changes in benefits for veterans gets out as quickly as possible," Diaz said.

Jeffrey Askew, director of the county's veterans services department, said Wednesday, "She's an outstanding asset to the veterans services office, what with her multiple languages and military experience. A lot of people can relate to that."
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Navy bombs Ocala Florida

Navy Bomb Misses By Mile, Starts Woods Fire
Laser-Guided Bomb Detonates In Ocala Forest
POSTED: 11:17 am EDT May 15, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- During what was supposed to be a routine training exercise, a bomb landed off-target, landing and igniting a fire in the Ocala National Forest this week.

The 500-pound, laser-guided bomb was released from an F/A-18 Super Hornet on Tuesday, and detonated about 1 mile east of the Pinecastle target range, WJXT-TV in Jacksonville reported.

About 250 acres of forest and swampland were burned, according to Mike Drayton, a fire management officer with the U.S. Forest Service.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/16273603/detail.html