Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Gunnery Sgt. Gary Campbell Remembers Hill 362 Fallen

Orem veteran promises that Vietnam vets 'will not be forgotten'
Herald Extra
Cathy Allred Daily Herald
September 27, 2015

Gunnery Sgt. Gary Campbell doesn't hesitate to talk about the Vietnam War, because of a promise he made to the dead and dying in the 1960s – they will not be forgotten.
Gary Campbell a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Marines, photographed in Orem on Thursday, September 3, 2015. India Company, the 180-man unit that Campbell was in, sustained 34 dead and 80 wounded when they were ambushed by the enemy during Operation Hastings in 1966. Campbell and many others in his company received the Purple Heart and numerous other awards of valor. JIM MCAULEY, Special to the Daily Herald
His words paint a vivid and stark story against the background of the politics at the time and the humid hot jungles of the country.

“The four stories I tell are the ones that are the most important to me, because they are about my buddies, my men that didn’t come home,” Campbell said.

His voice trembled as he showed an old photo of India Company. The soldiers in the photo are standing on bleachers to get every uniformed Marine in the frame.

“This is my company,” he said. “This picture was taken on Okinawa before we went to Vietnam. Of these people, and there are 180 of them here, troops, Marines; 34 died while I was in Vietnam and over 80 of us was wounded.”

By the time he was 23, the North Vietnamese Army, B Division, was sent to infiltrate the south. Campbell’s battalion was ordered to stop the action. The campaign was called Operation Hastings.

Called India Company, his Marines were sent to take a “rockpile” named Hill 362. The Marines won the battle for Hill 362 on July 24, 1966, but at a price.
read more here


As you'll read in this report going back to 2008, he hasn't forgotten them.
Vietnam veterans traveling back to battlefield to honor comrades
KSL News
Jed Boal reporting
Posted Apr 23rd, 2008
In a few days, a Vietnam War veteran from Utah will head off on a mission of honor four decades delayed. Gary Campbell and nine fellow Marines will travel back to the battlefield where they lost nearly three dozen comrades.

July 24, 1966 was a holiday at home in Utah, but a terrifying battle for Gary Campbell and his fellow Marines on Hill 362 in Vietnam. India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines was on an extended search-and-destroy mission.

The Marines planned to take control of Hill 362 for a radio relay tower, but it turned into a fierce fight with the North Vietnamese. "Absolutely a defining point in your life. For the last 40 years I think about it. It's always there," Campbell said.

Campbell says, "You go through something like this with people, I was with them less than a year, but they're like my brothers."

read more here

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Veterans Day in Court Has Judge Fighting For Accused

Coping with court: Vietnam vets helping younger veterans in trouble 
Daily Herald
Kurt Hanson
September 18, 2015
“All of the members are veterans,” McVey said. “That’s not the case in most other veteran’s courts around the country. In fact it may not be the case in any other veteran’s court around the country, although they do have veterans involved.”
Veterans services coordinator Randy Edwards, second from right, poses for a portrait with veteran mentors Andrew Wilson, Rich Thayer, and Ken Baschke at the Historic County Courthouse in Provo on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. GRANT HINDSLEY, Daily Herald
When an individual commits a crime and goes through the court process, they typically face two outcomes — freedom or imprisonment.

For veterans who commit crimes, another option is available that targets treatment instead of incarceration.

Veteran’s Court

The Veteran’s Court in Fourth District Court in Provo has existed since the beginning of the year and has helped in the treatment of many veterans who wound up on the wrong side of the law. But veteran’s court isn’t like most courtrooms. In veteran’s court, mentors who are past veterans become best friends with these men who many would turn away from once they hear of their criminal activity. They applaud them for their victories, an abnormality in the courtroom.

To become eligible for veterans court, defendants must first be determined qualified to be eligible for court by meeting certain conditions. Once they’re accepted, they must take a plea in abeyance for their crime. The veterans then attend court meetings, receive special treatments but more importantly, bond with their brothers in arms.

“There’s a saying, ‘There’s nothing like talking to another veteran,’” said Judge Samuel McVey, who oversees the veteran’s court. Most of the veterans currently in his court are veterans of the more recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. McVey is a Marine Corps veteran.
read more here

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

WWII Changed Utah

WWII put Utah women to work, changed face of the state
The Salt Lake Tribune
By CHRISTOPHER SMART
First Published Sep 01 2015
"It was simply revolutionary. There were very few facts of life that weren't impacted," Cannon said. "Nothing has altered the landscape here at home as much as the Second World War."
Utah State Historical Society Jo ann Roble works at Hill Air Force Base, post WWII.

During World War II, the United States and its Allies defeated enemies on two sides of the globe, but the impact on Utah cut across many fronts.

In fact, historians say, the war transformed the Beehive State — economically, socially and otherwise — more than any other event since the Mormons' arrival in 1847.

A relatively isolated place before Pearl Harbor, Utah had become part of mainstream America by the time Japan officially surrendered to the U.S. and its Allies aboard the USS Missouri 70 years ago Wednesday, on Sept. 2, 1945 — V-J Day.

The war effort sent men to foreign countries they otherwise would not have seen. By 1945, more than 62,000 Utahns were on active duty. With their victory, they came home with new ideas about the future — including more skiing in Utah.
More than 412,000 Americans perished in the fighting — more than 3,000 of them Utahns. Many who made it back suffered from "shell shock" ­— what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more here

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Utah: 22 Veterans Once Forgotten Remembered

‘They have all of us’ — ‘forgotten’ veterans finally put to rest in Utah cemetery
The Salt Lake Tribune
By KRISTEN MOULTON
First Published Aug 01 2015

Bluffdale • Twenty veterans who died in Utah, forgotten by or estranged from family and friends, are forgotten no more.
(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jeff Childs of the Patriot Guard Riders reacts as he accepts the flag representing the Army veterans whose remains have never been claimed. Those remains were interred at the Utah state veterans cemetery in Bluffdale on Saturday. Flags were also presented for Navy and Air Force veterans. A total of 22 veterans whose remains are unclaimed.

On Saturday, their cremated remains and those of two other vets were interred at the Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park in Bluffdale after a military funeral replete with a wreath-laying, rifle volleys, taps and a separate flag-folding and presentation by honor guards of the three military branches.

Some say it's sad these veterans had no one to claim them, said funeral organizer Roger Graves of Cedar City. "I beg to differ. They have all of us. ... Everyone in this chapel today is their family."

"Veterans are all brothers and sisters," said Ogden resident Dennis Howland, president of the Northern Utah chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. "They belong to us."
Who was interred
The “forgotten” veterans whose remains were buried were:
David Reubin Beveridge » Navy

Adrien Robert Boileau » Army, 1956-58

Paul S. Bronson Jr. » Army, 1942-45 and 1946-58

Danny Rae Brownlee » U.S. Navy, peacetime

Woodrow Isaac Burton » Army, 1968-70

David Earl Conley » Army

John Bredley Davenport » Navy, 1963-65

Louis William Dettling » Navy, 1944-45

Robert Leroy Ele, Army » 1972-74

Joseph William Hedgbeth » Army 1946-49

Gerhart Jansen » Merchant Marine, 1943

John Mills Jeffers » Navy, 1961-64 and 1964-74

John M. Jones » Army, 1968-71 and 1974-77

Keri K. Kuehn » Army, 1972-73

Melvin Moore » Navy, 1960-62

Robert Muir » Army, 1939-60

Larry Eugene Peterson » Air Force, 1957-60

James Saxton » Navy 1958-60

Arent T. Sjursen III » Air Force, 1961-62

James Weiss » Navy, 1959-60

read more about them here

Thursday, July 30, 2015

“Missing in America Project” Will Honor 21 Utah Veterans

Unclaimed Weber County vets to get full military funerals 
Standard.net
Mitch Shaw
July 30, 2015
To date, the MIAP has interred 2,441 veterans across the country. The organization estimates the remains of 200,000 to 300,000 veterans are still unclaimed.
OGDEN — They have no known family and some of them have been dead for nearly 20 years, but this weekend a group of Utah veterans will finally receive the resting place they deserve.

On Aug. 1, an organization known as the “Missing in America Project” will honor 21 Utah veterans whose remains have been in the care of area mortuaries, in some cases for as long as 18 years, but have remained unclaimed.

A full military service will be held for the veterans at 9 a.m. at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 17111 S. Camp Williams Road, Riverton.

Eleven of the veterans are from Weber County and 10 hail from Salt Lake County.

A pair of Salt Lake County veterans who have been in the care of family will also be included in the service.

Roger Graves, a Cedar City resident who oversees the MIAP project in a five-state region that also includes Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana, said the MIAP’s mission is to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans to “provide honor and respect to those who have served this country,” by securing a final resting place for veterans that Graves calls “Forgotten Heroes.”
read more here

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Camp Pendleton Marine Died Doing What He Loved

Utah Marine dies in on-base crash; body returns home Saturday 
Deseret News
By Ben Lockhart
Published: Friday, July 10 2015
"He loved being a Marine. He loved riding his motorcycle. He loved his family, and he loved people," the elder Haggarty said. "He died doing what he loved, being who he was."
SALT LAKE CITY — Sean Haggarty knew there was always a chance his son, by virtue of enlisting as a U.S. Marine, could die at a young age.

But after his 20-year-old boy died unexpectedly in a motorcycle crash at Camp Pendleton in San Diego this week, Haggarty says he is no more equipped than any grieving parent to describe the overpowering heartbreak of losing a child.

"There are no words to explain the loss we've got," Haggarty said. "There are no words to explain the pain."

Sean Thomas Haggarty, who has the same first and last name as his father, was killed on base Monday in the crash, his father said. The elder Haggarty was notified by Marines at his home around midnight that night. The days since have been filled with family members clinging to memories and each other for consolation.

"We sit there, and we cry, we laugh, and remember (Sean)," his father said.
read more here

UPDATE
Utah Marine killed in motorcycle accident gets final honors from military, community
Fox Company 2nd Battalion 23rd Marines carry the casket of Lance Cpl. Sean Thomas Haggarty Saturday, July 11, 2015, out of the Delta Airlines air cargo hangar in Salt Lake City, with family and friends standing by, as he is brought home for the final time. Sean was killed in a motorcycle accident at Camp Pendleton in San Diego on Monday, July 6, 2015.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Friday, July 3, 2015

Utah Judge Awards $134.2M in Afghanistan Grenade Attack

Soldiers' families awarded $134.2M in Afghanistan grenade attack
By The Associated Press
July 2, 2015
Khadr pleaded guilty to throwing a grenade that killed Christopher Speer and wounded Layne Morris in 2002. He spent 10 years at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base in Cuba, and was transferred to Canada in 2012.
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge in Utah has awarded $134.2 million to an American soldier wounded in Afghanistan and the widow of another soldier killed there in a lawsuit filed against a Canadian man who pleaded guilty in a grenade attack involving the two soldiers when he was 15.

The plaintiffs acknowledge there is little chance they will collect any of the money. “It's really more of a statement case, I think, than a desire to collect this,” lawyer Laura Tanner, who represents the plaintiffs, said Thursday She said the judgment sends a message that the United States has a civil system in place to hold terrorists responsible.

Still, lawyers are seeking a Canadian law firm to help collect the money from 28-year-old Omar Khadr, who was released from a Canadian prison last month, Tanner said.
read more here

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Vietnam Veterans Get "Day They Deserve"

Vietnam veterans get ‘Day They Deserve’ at Sounds of Freedom 2015
Davis Clipper
Jun 17, 2015
Sounds of Freedom 2015 was built around the theme, the “Day They Deserve.” The program included some touching moments and even a few surprises.

LAYTON – For some veterans, this day was a long time coming.

“I was touched,” said Jim Kenyon, a veteran of three tours in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. “Some of the guys had tears. They’ve never really experienced anything like this before.”

“This” was Sounds of Freedom 2015, a parade, a fun run, a car show, a military flyby, a concert, a program and a festival to honor all who served. And this year, most especially, those who served in Vietnam were recognized.

An estimated 10,000 people participated, according to L.t. Weese, organizer of the event held June 13 at Layton Community Park.

Flags were abundant, as were hats and vests and jackets with military insignia. T-shirts read “fueledbythefallen.org” and “Believe in heroes.”

“This makes me feel real good,” said Jerry Guffey, who spent five days in a holding camp before the peace treaty that ended the Korean conflict was signed. “I felt we’d done something good.”
read more here

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Double Murder-Suicide In Utah Tied To Iraq War

Story Update

Reeves was a military veteran with a history of violence. The 30-year-old Murray man was arrested in August 2014 for threatening to kill the same family members.

Reeves was facing five counts of aggravated assault and four counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child. In January he was given a plea deal and placed in Veterans Court. If he completed the 36-month course, all charges would have been dropped.
FOX 13 Salt Lake
‘War was not good for John,’ says mother of Utah woman murdered by Army vet
The Salt Lake Tribune
By JENNIFER DOBNER
June 12, 2015
Murder-suicide » Johnathon Andrew Reeves shot and killed his fiancee and young son Sunday before killing himself, police say.

Sheryl Adams didn't hear the sound of the gunshot over the phone.

She only heard her daughter screaming; the exact words, unintelligible.

"She was just screaming at him. Then I heard something muffled in the background and then the phone went quiet," Adams said.

That was at 11: 46 a.m. on Sunday, June 7.

By 11:51, police dispatchers were fielding a 911 call about a shooting in the Murray apartment complex that left 34-year-old Jamie Salazar, her 2-year-old son , Jordan, and the boy's 30-year-old father dead.

Murray police are investigating the incident as a double-murder suicide and believe Johnathon Andrew Reeves, an Army veteran who was struggling to deal with the emotional remnants of a tour in Iraq, shot his fiancée and child before turning the gun on himself.

"The war was not good for John. He had lots of flashbacks" said Adams. "He couldn't have been thinking clearly. He couldn't have had his head on straight. If he had, he wouldn't have done this."
read more here

Sunday, March 29, 2015

After Veteran's Wheelchair Stolen, Police and Overstock.com Stepped Up

Police surprise 84-year-old veteran with replacement wheelchair 
ABC 4 News Utah
Rick Aaron
03/24/2015
"I'll never forget it," Officer Wersland said while choking back a sob. "I've been doing this for 20 years and I've never experienced anything like this."
TAYLORSVILLE (ABC4 News) - A U.S. Navy Veteran who thought he would be homebound after his motorized wheelchair was stolen got a big surprise Tuesday thanks to the Salt Lake Unified Police Department, the City of Taylorsville and Overstock.com.

Roy Feragen can walk but at 84 years old not very far or very steadily. So what did he say when his wheelchair was stolen from the front of a Savers store in Taylorsville last week?

"I ain't gonna use that kind of language," Mr. Feragen said.

Officer Mike Wersland started working on getting Roy a replacement chair and Overstock dot com donated a top of the line Drive Medical model they surprised him with at Taylorsville City Hall. Mayor Larry Johnson presented Feragen with the device.
read more here

Friday, March 27, 2015

Utah Remembers Vietnam Veterans Day

Utah Vietnam Veterans Day: Remembering and honoring those who have served 
Daily Herald
Cathy Alfred
March 27, 2015
When we came home, nobody said nothing, and they made all kinds of foul remarks about it,” Robinette said of his military service. “Even my friends made derogatory remarks."
HIGHLAND -- Dennis Callanta is a Vietnam veteran. He knows how to fight in the hot, humid jungle, has felt the effects of Agent Orange, has seen the horrors of battle, and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. “I like to call it PTSI for post-traumatic stress injury,” Callanta said.

On Monday, the state of Utah will observe its first Vietnam Veterans Day, a tribute to those who fought and served in the Vietnam War.

President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Vietnam Veterans Day on April 23, 1976.

Since then, several states have declared their own Vietnam Veterans Day, usually on March 29 because it is the date the last American combat troops left Vietnam in 1973.
read more here

Friday, February 20, 2015

PTSD Veterans Coming Home Feeling Isolated and Alone

Wounds of war are often hidden, deadly 
KSL News Utah
By Sandra Olney
February 20, 2015
"Everything is kind of flipped upside down on me," Ty Davis, a recent veteran of the Army, said. "I don't know how to adjust right now like get along with people."

SALT LAKE CITY — The popularity of the film, "American Sniper" has prompted a national discussion about the hidden wounds of war like mental illness and suicide.

In Utah, therapies designed to heal those wounds are being researched and practiced. They are wounds inflicted during the life-and-death battle that begins for many veterans when they try to move from military service back to civilian life.

"It was very depressing. I didn't feel like I fit in. I knew I didn't fit in anymore," said Michelle Fisher, an Air Force veteran who left the battlefields of the Middle East only to fight a new enemy back home: depression.

Marine veteran Kris Good agrees: "Nobody was watching your back, you weren't watching anybody else's back like we were over there."

There were similar emotions for Army veteran Tabatha Worth after she returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

"I felt isolated. I felt alone," she said.

Depression led to thoughts of helplessness and suicide.

"It was like I had all that pride, all that honor and integrity, and then I didn't have that anymore, and I was lost; I was adrift; I was hopeless; I just wanted to end it," Worth said.

Dr. Craig Bryan is a retired Air Force psychologist who directs the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.


read more here

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Only 9% of West Virginians Veterans Yet 23% of Suicides

Suicide rate higher among veterans in West Virginia
West Virginia Gazette
by Erin Beck, Staff writer
February 15, 2015
In 2011, the rate of suicide among users of Veterans Health Administration services in West Virginia was 32.0 per 100,000, according to Kerry Meeker, a spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The rate among the general population in the state was 17.4.
Tara Abdalla loved ballet, drawing, writing poems and serving her country.

Richard Abdalla, Tara’s father, said she was friendly and outgoing. She didn’t show any outward signs of suffering in her phone conversations with him, while she was stationed at Hill Air Force Base, in Utah.

But on June 3, 2006, 23-year-old Tara took her own life.

As of the end of September, about 9 percent of West Virginians were military veterans, according to U.S. Census data. But veterans made up about 23 percent of state suicides from 2000-2013, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources’ Health Statistics Center.

Looking back now, Abdalla says he sees that several of Tara’s experiences contributed to her emotional struggle. Tara was not allowed to deploy because of her last name, even though the family is not Muslim. He said there were incidents of American soldiers attacking other American soldiers who had Arabic last names.

“The whole reason she joined was to go over there,” Abdalla said. “She was really upset that she couldn’t go. She understood why, but she didn’t like it.”

She was also dealing with thyroid problems, which ultimately resulted in her being released from the Air Force.

She stayed in Utah, to try to work things out with a boyfriend with whom she was having problems. She became pregnant, then had a miscarriage. She also found out that her grandmother, with whom she was very close, had Alzheimer’s disease.
Figures from the DHHR’s Health Statistics Center show that, from 2000 to 2013, 983 veteran deaths were documented as suicides. Of those, 881 were people 35 or older, and 413 were people over age 65.
read more here

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Utah Deputy Cleared After Killing Veteran Nicholas McGehee

Sheriff’s deputy justified in shooting armed soldier in Tooele County
FOX 13 Salt Lake
BY ASHTON EDWARDS
JANUARY 16, 2015
“Task Force Marne commanding general, Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, shakes hands with, Spc. Nicholas McGehee, a native of Sanford, N.C. and “Golden Dragon” Soldier with 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, after pinning him with the military’s oldest award still given to servicemembers, The Purple Heart, during a ceremony on Contingency Operating Site Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, Oct. 7.”McGehee was shot and killed in an encounter with police in Tooele County on December 28. Image courtesy Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System.

TOOELE, Utah – The Department of Public Safety said the Tooele County deputy who shot and killed a man in Stansbury Park was justified in using deadly force.

Back on Dec. 28, Sgt. Eli Wayman shot 28-year-old Nicholas Ryan McGehee.

The incident started when McGehee’s wife Kathryn called authorities about her husband who was intoxicated, had stepped on some glass and needed help.

Deputies went to the home near Aberdeen Lane and Merion Dr. after Kathryn told the 911 dispatcher her husband was armed with a shotgun.

When Sgt. Wayman saw McGehee with the shotgun, he told him to put down the gun and talk.

At that point McGehee went back into the house and slammed the door.

During the altercation Sgt. Wayman told McGehee at least three times to drop his weapon but he didn’t listen.

Officials said McGehee ended up pointing his gun at Sgt. Wayman which forced him to shoot.
read more here

Utah Iraq Veteran Killed by Police

Saturday, January 3, 2015

"When you get home, you're lost in the civilian world"

Iraq War veteran aims to leave no Utah veteran behind 
KSL.com
Jed Boal
January 2, 2015
"In the military, you had a purpose," he said. "In war you have a purpose. When you get home, you're lost in the civilian world."
PARK CITY — A Utah veteran who served in Iraq continues to fight for his fellow veterans. Retired Marine Sergeant Josh Hansen came home with serious physical and emotional scars of war, but found hope and healing through exercise.

"By forcing myself to do it and getting out, I started feeling better," Hansen said, while enjoying a cross-country skiing workout at the White Pine Nordic Center in Park City.

In battle, Hansen lost six of his men in combat. Back at home, four more took their own lives. Now, he's on a mission to leave no veteran behind.

"After I had a few of my fellow veterans take their own lives, I said, 'OK, I led guys in the war, it's time to lead them here at home,'" he said.

So he and Laura Cantin, an adaptive sports specialist, founded Continue Mission "No Veteran Left Behind" with the objective to integrate the veterans back into civilian life to "get the vets out of the house, and get them into activities," Hansen said.

The co-founders know the healing power of rigorous exercise like cross-country skiing.

"We have a passion for what we do, and we want to share that," said Cantin. "We don't want our veterans to be stuck at home and not enjoy the camaraderie that they did in the service."

In Iraq, Hansen hunted for improvised explosive devices in support of the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Forces in and around Fallujah. During his second tour, his vehicle sustained eight direct hits by IEDs, which caused multiple injuries over a seven-month period before he was flown out of Iraq on March 15, 2007.
read more here

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Utah Iraq Veteran Killed by Police

Utahn killed in police shooting ‘loved life,’ father says
The Salt Lake Tribune
By MICHAEL MCFALL
First Published 4 hours ago

"The shooting ended the life of a man who had been a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and had plans to become a nurse.

"He loved life. He loved his wife," said Russell McGehee. "… He had a lot of plans. It’s so difficult to look at a person who has all these plans [and see that end]."

McGehee had wanted to be a soldier since he was 10 years old, and in 2009, he was deployed on his first of two tours to Iraq.

Though McGehee was in the infantry, his father said that "they actually did some special ops stuff to actually catch the bomb makers [who created improvised explosive devices]."
A Stansbury Park man who aimed a handgun at a Tooele County Sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot by the officer early Sunday.

The deputy had responded to a 4 a.m. call, expecting to help 28-year-old Nicholas McGehee with a lacerated foot at a home near the intersection of Aberdeen Lane and Merion Drive. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper went with the deputy to assist, said Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park.

But through a window of the home, the officers saw a man holding a shotgun, the sheriff said.

"As they approached the house, [they could see] there was evidently more going on than the medical," Park said.

At some point, McGehee’s wife came out of the house. While the trooper helped her to his car for safety, McGehee came out holding a handgun, Park said.

The deputy commanded him two or three times to put the gun down — but when McGehee pointed it at the deputy, the officer fired three times, killing him, Park said.

McGehee’s father, Russell McGehee, said he understands his son had accidentally injured his foot, and his daughter-in-law called 911 because his son would not go to a doctor. What transpired after that is a mystery to the family.

"I had never seen him pull a gun on anyone. I don’t know what the deal was," said Russell McGehee, who lives in Sanford, N.C., where McGehee grew up. "I don’t know why he would have done that."

Russell McGehee had received a call several hours earlier, while still in bed, that his only son had died.
read more here

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Utah Candlelight Vigil Remembers 22 Veterans Gone Everyday

Vets who've taken their own lives honored at candlelight vigil
Herald Extra
Kurt Hanson
Daily Herald
December 20, 2014

“War is a terrible thing and it’s taken probably the best of every generation since this country’s been born,” said Gary Anderson, Utah County Commissioner.
Julie Hill of Park City looks downward during the moment of silence during the Winter Solstice Celebration of Life event at Elks Lodge Memorial Park in Provo on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014. During the event, a bell was rang 22 times to honor the 22 veterans who commit suicide every day. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
PROVO—Christmas, as joyous of a season as it is, can also be a time of depression or even loneliness for those going through post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unfortunately, veterans who may be suffering from PTSD end their lives all too frequently.

In fact, 22 veterans commit suicide every day within the United States, according to data from the Department of Veteran Affairs.

“This is a tragedy,” said Richard Thayer, vice president Utah County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

A special event was held Saturday night to honor those men and women who take their own lives each day.

A candlelight vigil was held and a bell was rung 22 times, symbolic of each life lost by suicide each day, before the audience bowed their heads in a moment of silence.
“They come back maybe with no visible wound, but [the wounds] are deep,” he said. “We don’t treat those.”

Anderson said he wants to help veterans within Utah County as much as possible, whether or not they are experiencing PTSD. He announced, with the help of Judge Lynn Davis of the Fourth District Court, that there will be a Veteran’s Court in Utah County come next year.

“I’m not a politician,” Davis said. “But frankly, on a national level, I’ve been disturbed at the neglect and oversight of our veterans to say the least.”
read more here

Saturday, December 6, 2014

PTSD Veterans Peer Support, Not Expensive But Priceless

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 6, 2014

If you are like most people with a heart for veterans, you want to do something to help them. We've all seen the heartbreaking commercials on TV of the famous group saying send us money and we'll send you a blanket. I won't mention their name simply because they have been banned from Wounded Times. I won't even post a great story if their name shows up anywhere now. The reason is simple. They get enough attention for the wrong reasons.

The commercials have a song about Vietnam and Afghanistan, but what the don't tell you is they do not help Vietnam veterans at all. Hell, when it comes to the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans they do show, they don't mention that the prosthetic limbs are not supplied by them but are in fact from the DOD and the VA, along with the therapy. They never say what they are doing with the money they are asking you to give.

One good part about the commercials is when you hear the words about helping each other. That is yet one more part most people miss. How much does it cost to fund a veteran showing up to spend some time with another veteran? It doesn't cost much at all.

No one is really sure what that group does with the money but you can't call them fakes. The only way they would be a ripoff is if they actually claimed they were doing something they were not really doing. They don't claim to do anything they show in the commercial. If you donated and feel like a fool now, it is your own fault for not paying attention.

Here is what has been working in cities and towns all over the country. Peer support provided to veterans of all generations from veterans of all generations and families to families. We've done it without publicity or huge bank accounts. Unfortunately that also means groups offering peer support are not able to reach as many veterans searching for someone to care about them.

I want to spotlight a story out of Utah. It is about a motorcycle group just starting out to offer their time and love to other veterans.
Southern Utah combat veterans start motorcycle group to offer support
The Spectrum
Tracie Sullivan
December 5, 2014


Chet Botkins and Chuck Triplett talk about each other’s bikes Thursday. 

(Photo: Weston Smith / The Spectrum and Daily News)

CEDAR CITY – The Southern Utah Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association started about six months ago and currently has seven members – statewide that number grows to more than 50.

Organizers say the two things that brought the original founders together were a love for motorcycle riding and that all of them were combat veterans.

Its mission is to help and provide support to veterans, said retired Army Sgt. Chet Botkins, who served for three years, two of which were in Vietnam.

"It's about combat veterans talking to combat veterans. If ya ain't walked the walk, you can't talk the talk," he said.

Botkins said he started the Southern Utah group to reach out to those veterans who are struggling.

"As long as I can see young people, young enough to be my sons, and I can say here's my number or let's get a cup of coffee or let's get a beer, let's go get a Coke, whatever, let's sit down and talk about this and perhaps give them an option they didn't have before, that's all this is about and, oh by the way, having to ride motorcycles," he said.

Recent statistics indicating "every day 22 veterans commit suicide" is concerning for Botkins.

"That's almost one an hour," Botkins said. "They (veterans) don't know where to go. They don't know who to talk to. They're sleeping on the streets in some cases."

Retired Maj. Chuck Triplett said he has known at least five local veterans who have died by choice just since he returned home in 2006 after being deployed with the Triple Deuce for two tours in Iraq. One of those deaths was just six weeks ago.

"The suicide thing is still an issue. Hell, we got back from Iraq in 2006, and we've had five confirms that we know of since then with just one happening six weeks ago that was in the Triple Deuce," he said.
read more here

If you think that something like this is not going to do much good, you need to think again. The best therapy is peer-support. If you talk to an expert and they deny it, then you need to find a real expert.
Nam Knights MC
Our mission is to honor the memory of American Veterans and Police Officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, to assist Veterans and Police Officers in their time of need and to promote community awareness through sponsorship and participation in various fundraising events.

The Nam Knights Motorcycle Club continues to grow and thrive today due to the extraordinary dedication of its members, their families and our benevolent supporters.

When did the Nam Knights start?
In the summer of 1989 a small group of Harley-riding combat vets of the Viet Nam War, who were also police officers, banded together to form the Nam Knights.

The Club was founded in New Jersey by Jack Quigley, now retired Undersheriff of The Bergen County Sheriff's Department. Jack served as a platoon sergeant with the 11th Motor Transport Battalion, First Marine Division.

Today, the Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club has grown to 53 chapters in 12 states and two Canadian provinces, with hundreds of members made up of veteran's of all eras as well as law enforcement personnel plus a few special and dedicated "patriots."

As Jack has said: "The club was formed to recapture the brotherhood its founding members shared while serving in Southeast Asia, and to help other veterans of all wars who are unable to physically financially help themselves."

"The mission of the Nam Knights is to honor the memory of American Veterans and Police Officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, to assist Veterans and Police Officers in their time of need, and to promote community awareness through sponsorship and participation in various community and fund-raising events."

"The Nam Knights Motorcycle Club continues to grow and thrive due to the extraordinary dedication of its members, their families and our benevolent supporters."

It was the same mission of Point Man International Ministries but without motorcycles.

Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area.

These groups have been offering what works best before the Internet age and online support. Why? Because it works. They know they don't have to hold a PHD in psychiatry. They just have to hold one in living with the memories of all they endured when no one was paying attention to them and the reporters didn't care.

PTSD is not new to them. It isn't new to their wives (like me) or kids. None of this is new and it is high time for the good work being done across the country on what works gets more attention. We've been fighting against non-sense for decades. There has been far too much of better than nothing "efforts" being funded simply because someone in the press writes the story. In the above case, I am frankly glad they did.

It isn't about raising money or having power. It is about doing things that really matter in lives being lived across the city and letting these veterans know they matter on a personal level.

That kind of support is not expensive.
It is priceless!

UPDATE What can you expect when you find the help you need to heal? Here's a song that pretty much sums it up.
"I Can See Clearly Now"
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
Oh, yes I can make it now the pain is gone.
All of the bad feelings have disappeared.
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
(ooh...) Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies.
Look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies.
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's going to be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
Yeah, hey, it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
sunshiny day.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Military Suicide: Son and Mom Used Same Gun 4 Years Apart

A mother struggles to move on from veteran's suicide
St. Cloud Times
Kirsti Marohn
November 16, 2014

Gavic was a decorated canine handler in the Air Force.
He killed himself in 2009.
Rory Gavic and Allan. (Photo: Connecticut Police Work Dog Association)
Debbie Larsen walks past the graves of her sister Linda Sawatzke and nephew Rory Gavic at the St. Francis Catholic Cemetery near Buffalo on Nov. 7.
His mother, Linda Sawatzke, killed herself almost exactly four years later with the same handgun.
(Photo: Dave Schwarz St. Cloud Times)
Rory Gavic was a young, decorated military member who served his country overseas twice, who had earned praise and the respect of his peers, who had volunteered as a Big Brother.

His suicide in 2009 devastated his family, especially his mother. His death was the beginning of hers.

Rory had joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve after graduating from Eagan High School in 2002. A few years later, he enlisted as active duty in the Air Force and rose to the rank of staff sergeant.

As a military canine handler, Rory served in Iraq in 2007 and Pakistan in 2009. He earned more than a dozen commendations, including Airman of the Year in 2008.

Rory earned a reputation as a skilled dog handler and a committed soldier who was well liked by his fellow troops. He loved animals, especially his military working dog, Allan. In photos, he's seen crouched down next to the burly tan and black German shepherd. Rory is lean and muscular, dark eyes gazing straight ahead.

But the deployments changed Rory. He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Left behind were two brothers and a stepsister, his stepfather and his heartbroken mother. The program for the memorial service included a quote from Linda.

"Rory, I love you more with every beat of my heart. I miss you so much my son and you have only been gone for a short while. My life and my heart have a missing piece that will not fill until I see you again."
read more here

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Soldier Missing In Utah Declared Dead After Three Years

Missing Soldier’s Family Receives Flag After Three Years
KFSM News
BY AMY SLANCHIK
NOVEMBER 1, 2014

RUSSELLVILLE (KFSM) — A local soldier who went missing outside of Salt Lake City three years ago and was never found was given military honors Saturday (Nov. 1) after being declared dead.

Joe Bushling was an Army Specialist in Dugway, Utah.

“We have concentrated all our money and all our efforts on this for the last three and a half years,” said his father, Kevin, beside his mother, Lisa.

He went missing on Mother’s Day in 2011 after going for a drive early in the morning.

Bushling left a voicemail with a friend, saying he was out of gas and needed help. He also mentioned that he was cold, and had lost his flip flops. His parents said he used the t-shirt he was wearing to protect his feet in the desert.

His parents made several trips to Utah to search for him.
read more here