WWII Veteran lived long enough to see memorials in Washington, but not home again

95-year-old WWII vet dies returning from Honor Flight to Washington

FOX 5 News
BY BOB PONTING AND JEFF MCADAM
MAY 6, 2019

SAN DIEGO – A local World War II veteran who flew to Washington as part of an Honor Flight collapsed and died during the return trip to San Diego, the organization that organized the flight said.

"The fella who caught my dad came up to me and said, 'listen, your dad, within 5 seconds of having him in my arms was gone,'” said Bruce Manchel, the veteran's son.

Frank Manchel, 95, was accompanied by his son, Bruce, on the trip organized by Honor Flight San Diego. On Sunday, he boarded the flight home from Baltimore Washington International Airport to San Diego after spending the weekend in Washington, D.C. During the flight, Manchel collapsed. Others on the flight tried to resuscitate Manchel, but he was pronounced dead.

Before the plane landed, Bruce tells FOX5 that his father was placed next to him on the flight. Before the other veterans on board deplaned, each one of them stopped in front of his dad.
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Florida veteran moved back to California...and into "Faith Defines Us"

Affordable housing helps veteran start clothing company

The Signal
Emily Alvarenga
April 18, 2019

Now, Martin owns his own business. “Faith Defines Us” is an online Christian apparel brand that, according to Martin, is “more than just selling clothes, it’s like a ministry.”

Tommy Martin served in the U.S. Army for six years before moving to California from Florida.

“I just wanted something different from where I grew up,” Martin said.

He then “played catch up by going back to school” and went on to get three bachelor’s degrees in marketing, business law and design.

Martin and his wife were living in San Francisco and looking for Veteran Affairs housing benefits a couple of years ago, when they stumbled upon the Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood.

A total of 78 single-family homes were being built by Homes 4 Families, a nonprofit dedicated to helping create affordable housing for veterans.

“(My wife) grew up in Santa Clarita, and didn’t want to move back, but God works in mysterious ways,” Martin said.
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Vietnam Veteran Col. Philip Conran may get MOH

Should this airman receive the Medal of Honor for Laos battle? A congressman thinks so

Air Force Times
By: Stephen Losey
April 19, 2019

A California congressman is pushing to upgrade a retired Air Force colonel’s Air Force Cross to a Medal of Honor for “extraordinary heroism” during a fierce 1969 battle in Laos.

Col. Philip J. Conran receives an Air Force Cross for his heroic actions in Laos on Oct. 6, 1969. (Courtesy of the Robert F. Dorr Collection)

Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-California, on Monday introduced a bill, HR 2330, that would authorize the president to upgrade Col. Philip Conran’s Air Force Cross to the nation’s highest award for valor.

On Oct. 6, 1969, as the United States’ war in Vietnam spilled over into Laos, then-Maj. Philip Conran was part of a mission that went south when a helicopter was shot down, according to a narrative provided by Carbajal’s staff. Conran took charge during the rescue attempt, and repeatedly put himself at risk to save 44 of his fellow troops, according to the legislation.
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Hundreds attended funeral for "Lone Soldier" Alex Sasaki in Israel

Laguna Beach ‘lone soldier’ dies in Israel; hundreds attend his funeral in show of support

Los Angeles Times
Faith E Pinho
April 5, 2019

“With a lone soldier, you never know how many people will be there. And there were just so many people from so many walks of life,” Rodnitzki said. “It was unclear how many of the other soldiers who served with him could join. But so many did and so many had such beautiful remarks to share.”

Alex Sasaki of Laguna Beach served as a lone soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces. He was found dead in his home last week at age 27. Hundreds attended his funeral in Jerusalem after a call on social media from fellow soldiers to support his family. (Alex Sasaki's Facebook page)

A Laguna Beach man who followed his love of Israel overseas died last week, triggering an outpouring on social media that resulted in hundreds attending his funeral in Jerusalem.

Alex Sasaki, 27, served in the Israeli Defense Forces’ Golani infantry brigade as a “lone soldier,” without family in the country. He was found dead in his home while off duty, and military police are investigating the cause of death, the IDF said in an email.
read more here

This part should be read by anyone who believed the BS book Tribe by Sebastian Junger, who claimed that PTSD is a "disorder of transition" and that troops in Israel do not have the same problems.

"Sasaki’s death followed those of two lone soldiers who died by suicide in the past three months, according to Tzivka Graiver, chairman of Keep Olim, an immigrant advocacy nonprofit in Israel."

Considering the reports are all over Wounded Times, it shows that Junger did not do basic research and nations do not do basic outreach for their troops or veterans.

U.S. Army's 75th Ranger will receive Bronze and Silver Star in same deployment

Air Force Operator to Receive Silver, Bronze Star for Same Deployment

Military.com
By Oriana Pawlyk
3 Apr 2019

The U.S. Air Force will award a special tactics airman two medals for valor for separate missions in Afghanistan in which he risked his life to save others.

Tech. Sgt. Cam Kelsch, a tactical air control party operator assigned to the 17th Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing. (U.S. Air Force)

Tech. Sgt. Cam Kelsch, a tactical air control party operator assigned to the 17th Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing, will receive the Silver Star and Bronze Star with "V" device in a ceremony at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, Georgia, on April 9, Air Force Special Operations Command announced Tuesday.

Kelsch, 29, from Ventura, California, exposed himself to direct enemy fire while accompanying members of the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment during a night raid on April 25, 2018, in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel/Resolute Support in Afghanistan. The team was reportedly sent out to neutralize a high-value target, but the service did not disclose where the raid took place, or how long the battle lasted
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Heroic Travis Air Base Airman saved lives in California

Reserve Citizen Airman’s quick action saves lives

Air Force Reserve Command
By Staff Sgt. Daniel Phelps
349th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
Published March 05, 2019

Staff Sgt. Emily Johnson, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron admin assistant, poses for a photo at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on March 4, 2019. In January, Johnson helped save lives in a multiple car crash on Interstate 80 near Fairfield, Calif. during rush hour. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Phelps)

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.
It was just another day for Staff Sgt. Emily Johnson, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron administrative assistant. She had finished up work at Travis Air Force Base, California, assisting members of the 349th Air Mobility Wing with travel voucher issues. After a change of clothes, she was on her way to class in Vallejo, where she was taking classes to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor.

As she drove down I-80 during its treacherous rush hour, the truck in front of her changed lanes revealing a 65-mile-per-hour collision course with a stopped car.

“The vehicle just casually merged over,” she said. “So, I didn’t think anything of it. Then all of a sudden, there was a stalled car in front of me. I slammed on my breaks, going 65. I had maybe 30 feet to stop.”

Johnson sat there for a moment in the carpool lane to process as cars zoomed around her.

“I sat there in my car and looked behind me,” she said. “I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to get hit, I’m going to get hit.’ I couldn’t stay there. I needed to get over.”

She quickly cut around the car, parked about 20 feet in front of it, and turned on her hazard lights. Once settled, she called 911 and told dispatch there was going to be an accident on the highway. Johnson then rushed to the driver in the stalled car, an elderly woman.

“I told her, ‘Get out of your car, get out of your car. You’re going to get hit. You’re not going to live,” Johnson described.

The Reserve Citizen Airman escorted the driver to her car and placed her in the passenger seat. As Johnson was about to leave the highway to get to a safe location, a crash was heard as two cars plowed into the back of the stalled car.

“As soon as I heard the hit, I told the woman to stay in my car,” Johnson described. “I jumped out of my car and ran back to check on the other drivers.”

And then a truck came. The two drivers who had hit the stalled car had gotten out of their cars to inspect the damage. When the truck came, it didn’t merge into the other lane where traffic was, it went towards the divide.

“I don’t think he had time to stop,” Johnson said.

The truck hit the two cars and struck the drivers who were out inspecting the damage.

“Literally, this all happened in less than a minute,” Johnson said. “I heard the initial crash, and by the time I got out to check, the truck had hit. Immediately, I started looking for people.”

She rushed to the first car, the air bag had gone off, the door was open, and there was no one to be seen. She went to the next one and the door was bent back the opposite way, and still no one.

“I thought, ‘Where are these people?’” she said.

She looked on the other side of the concrete divider, where oncoming traffic was, and there was a man standing in the middle of the highway. His pants were tattered and he was bleeding from his legs and face. He said he flew over the barrier when the truck hit him.

“My first thought was, ‘How are you alive? How are you conscious? How have you not been hit by another car?” Johnson said.
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Celebs4Vets helping veterans hear welcome home

Celebrities Help Build Homes for Veterans in SCV with Homes 4 Families

PRESS RELEASE
MAR 18, 2019

Homes 4 Families hosted its third Celebs4Vets Build at the Veteran Enriched Neighborhood off Soledad Canyon Road in Santa Clarita on Saturday.

The Los Angeles-based nonprofit empowers low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class by providing them with affordable housing and holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth.

More than 30 celebrities and other entertainment industry professionals picked up hammers and paint brushes and poured concrete to build homes, including stars from YouTube Red’s “Cobra Kai” and CBS’ “SEAL Team,” among many others.

Celebs4Vets is a membership-based group comprised of representatives of the entertainment industry who subscribe to the Homes 4 Families mission and lend their support by participating in H4F activities, events, and programs.

The Celebs4Vets Build provided members with the opportunity to help build some of the remaining 9 of 78 homes for low-income veterans and their families in Santa Clarita before H4F moves on to build another 56 veteran homes in Palmdale.

Celebrities each rolled up their sleeves to spend the day painting homes, doing finish carpentry, and pouring concrete driveways while also calling upon their fans to sponsor their efforts, raising money for their building supplies and materials.

“The Celebs4Vets members are truly making a difference in the lives of these low-income military families,” said Donna Deutchman, Homes 4 Families president and CEO. “Their passion for helping those that served our country is evident in every dollar they raise, every nail they hammer, and every wheelbarrow of concrete they mix.”

The participants included: John Ross Bowie (Speechless); “SEAL Team” cast members Toni Trucks and Judd Lormand; “Cobra Kai” cast members Tanner Buchanan, William Zabka, Mary Mouser, Xolo Mariduena and Jacob Bertrand; Johnathan Fernandez (“Lethal Weapon”); Phillip P. Keene (“Major Crimes); Noah Emmerich (“The Americans”); Drew Powell (“Gotham”); Tate Ellington (“The Brave”); Natacha Karam (“The Brave”); Edwin Hodge (“Mayans M.C.”); Reed Diamond (“The Purge”); Amy Paffrath (“Entertainment Tonight”); Drew Seeley (“Max and Wrigley”); Anna Konkle (“PEN15”); Sean Maguire (“Once Upon a Time”); Grace Kaufman (“Man with a Plan”); Bella Shepard (“A Girl Named Jo”); Reid Miller (“Play by Play”); Rod Man (“Last Comic Standing”); Al Coronel (“Bosch”); Matt Micucci (“Life is Boring”); and ‘Cobra Kai “writers Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald.
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Vietnam veteran Neil Schaffer, lived on skid row, honored at City Hall

Vietnam Veteran Who Died in Skid Row Honored Outside City Hall

NBC 4 News
By City News Service
Published Mar 14, 2019

Neil Schaffer died of cancer last year in room at the Madison Hotel.

Friends of a homeless Vietnam veteran who died last year after living for decades in the Skid Row neighborhood organized a brief military memorial for him Thursday on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall.

Vietnam Veteran Neil Schaffer was remembered at Los Angeles City Hall.

Neil Schaffer, whose friends said he fell through the cracks of society but lived a quiet, peaceful life, died of cancer last Aug. 19 in a room at the Madison Hotel.

Some Skid Row residents raised the funds for Schaffer's cremation, and the ceremony included the release of a dove.

Retired U.S. Air Force Chaplain Doc Cohen, who oversaw the ceremony, said Schaffer served in the military as a carpenter from 1971 to 1973 before being honorably discharged.

"And then it all went downhill. And he struggled. He tried, he got a job, he lost a job, whatever he could do, it wasn't enough, and he died on the streets right here in L.A.," Cohen said.

Another ceremony will be held at Los Angeles National Cemetery on March 31, Cohen said.

The Los Angeles National Cemetery has been closed to new interments of servicemen for decades, but Schaffer's ashes will among the first interred in a columbarium that is opening up there this summer, Cohen said.

Eriq Moreno was one of the friends of Schaffer who helped organize the City Hall service. Although he has a home and career now, Moreno said he met Schaffer about 17 years ago in Skid Row when he was homeless.

"He offered me shelter, and he became a really close friend and a father figure mostly, because I never had one," Moreno said. "When his situation with his health got worse, I knew I had to be there all the way, and I was, and he kind of left me in charge of his arrangements. He made a good change in the world and I just wanted someone to acknowledge that."
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84 year old veteran's widow had nerve to lead Bible study....at nursing home?

California veterans home threatens to expel 84-year-old widow for leading Bible study group

Fox News
By Caleb Parke

An 84-year-old widow claims California officials are threatening to kick her out of a residence for veterans if she doesn't stop hosting a longtime Bible study.

Artis Breau, an 84-year-old widow of a WWII veteran, has been threatened with expulsion from a veterans home in California if she doesn't stop leading Bible study. (Google/iStock)

Artis Breau and her husband moved to the Veterans' Home of California in Yountville nine years ago. Breau's husband, who died a few years ago, served as a Merchant Marine, Army, in World War II and then, during the Korean War he served in the Air Force. The two met in the 1950s while she worked at the Pentagon as a civilian employee in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army.

She has been volunteering with the chaplaincy program and led Bible studies much of the last decade at an area of the residence known as the Holderman Building, which is a shared space for residents of the home. Recently, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) notified Breau that she would face "involuntary discharge," or expulsion, from the home if she doesn't give up her status as a volunteer Bible study leader.
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Veteran with PTSD found dead after standoff with police

Suspect Dead From Apparent Self-Inflicted Wound After Intense Standoff At San Anselmo Home

CBS News San Francisco
March 2, 2019

“The man who committed this act was a veteran with severe PTSD and I don’t think he was being properly cared for or taken care of,” said Spring. He said he did worry though that something like this would happen in his neighborhood.

SAN ANSELMO (CBS SF) — A man is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being in a tense standoff with crisis negotiators and police at a San Anselmo home that forced an entire neighborhood to evacuate.

The standoff lasted almost 7 hours and ended Saturday night as officers raided the home and found the suspect dead. Police believe the man shot himself.

Police responded to a report of shots possibly fired at the home, located at 46 Grove Hill Avenue. A shelter-in-place for the area was issued about 12:20 p.m. and 18 homes were evacuated.

Authorities have not confirmed how it started but according to next door neighbor Joe Spring, it may have been a marital dispute with an ex-husband. He said he knew the man well.

“Our neighbor came over saying she was shot at and they were hiding in the bathroom and had to evacuate,” said Spring.

For nearly 7 hours, negotiators with the Crisis Response Team tried to get the suspect to come out. Then shortly after 5 p.m.,, heavily armed officers decided to go in after police evacuated everyone on both sides of the street.

“Once we were able to get the evacuees out of the area then we can make a safe entry to the house,” said Margo Rohrbacher, a spokeswoman with Central Marin Police.
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WWII veteran celebrated 92nd birthday sharing Chick-Fil-A with total strangers

WWII veteran buys $1,500 worth of Chick-Fil-A for military families to celebrate 92nd birthday

WTOL 11 News
Author: Samantha Kubota
February 18, 2019

A California man turning 92 wanted to celebrate his birthday by giving back to military families.

Edmund Rusinek, who himself is a World War II veteran, dropped by his neighborhood Chick-Fil-A last Friday and handed the manager a wad of cash, the Orange County Register reported, and some fliers to explain his contribution. The manager told the newspaper she burned through the cash by Saturday morning, and he gave her permission to use his credit card. They estimated he had spent about $1,500 on the idea.

"I guess I’ll know for sure when I get my credit card bill in the mail," he told the paper. "I’m not a rich man – but this, I can afford.”

“Edmund is a regular customer,” Giola Arkis, the restaurant manager, told the newspaper. “He always comes in for a salad, cookies and coffee. We call him our local sweet thing.”
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Stunning UPS Driver kept calm after carjacking and police chase

San Jose police shooting: Abducted UPS driver hailed for thwarting carjackers during chase

The Mercury News
By ROBERT SALONGA
PUBLISHED: February 15, 2019

Matthew O’Connor, a spokesman for UPS, declined to identify the driver or comment on his actions, but said the company was providing support for him and for other employees who work with him. “We’re giving our driver some privacy after yesterday’s incident, and we’re offering grief counseling to the driver and our other employees in the area,” he said.

SAN JOSE — A UPS driver abducted during a carjacking on Thursday is being lauded for having nerves of steel.

The armed carjackers seized his delivery truck and forced him to drive it, with law enforcement officers in pursuit. But he drove slowly so that the police could keep up and then, in an attempt to derail his captors’ escape, purposely hit the metal spikes officers had placed on the road.

“When you are accosted, taken at gunpoint, and made to drive, like something that comes out in the movies, you can’t train for the calmness that man had,” San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.
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Widow says "It’s OK to not be OK"

Widow of fallen CHP officer launches suicide prevention project

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (KCRA)
It’s been nearly four months since California Highway Patrol Officer Sean Poore died while on duty. The 9-year veteran committed suicide inside his patrol car on Oct. 23.

Poore leaves behind his wife, Samantha Poore, and their three young children.

“I just feel guilty because I wish I would have paid attention to those little things that I just didn’t -- I just didn’t see,” Poore said. “I thought he was getting the help that he needed and he wasn’t sharing that he wasn’t.”

Now, Poore is partnering with a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy to launch The Not OK Project, a suicide prevention organization focused on helping first responders. They want police officers, firefighters, paramedics and dispatchers to know that "it’s OK to not be OK."

“We had an amazing life together, and I never thought that this would be my life," Poore said. "So I’m just going to do this for him."

Poore didn’t realize her husband’s depression ran so deep. She said they lived “a Cinderella story,” falling in love at first sight on the first day of college and having three beautiful children.
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Veteran Marine left for dead in street after hit-and-run

Veteran Left For Dead In Hit-And-Run Leaves Family Searching For Answers

CBS Los Angeles

Angela Boots is used to seeing her dad as a tough guy. He served 20 years in the Marine Corps. That's why she couldn’t believe when she was called to his hospital room at Inland Valley Medical Center last Sunday. Her father had been found lying on the side of the road outside the Wild West Saloon in Winchester.
See video here

Still think that sending veterans into private care is good for them?

Kaiser patients speak out about lengthy waits for mental health therapy

The Press Democrat
ALEXANDRIA BORDAS
December 15, 2018

“You either become dead or more depressed in this system. I lost everything going through this experience and now I have nothing else to lose. Now, I am unafraid to speak out.” Jessica Held

Time and again, Jessica Held called Kaiser’s mental health department in Santa Rosa pleading for help.

Feelings of severe anxiety and depression would weigh on her, but weren’t yet at alarming heights. In those moments, she didn’t want to harm herself or others, although she strongly believed she needed extra support from someone — anyone — available to see her at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa.

But she never received the immediate help she desired.

Held said she was consistently told there wasn’t anyone available for individual therapy for at least a month because she wasn’t in a crisis situation, despite being a Kaiser patient since 2001. Instead, Kaiser offered to place her in group therapy.

Held’s story and others like it received new attention this week as Kaiser mental health workers staged a five-day statewide strike against the nonprofit health care system. The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents psychologists, therapists and clinical social workers, ended their strike on Friday.

Union members say patients must wait four to six weeks, on average, for individual therapy appointments because Kaiser has not hired enough mental health workers to properly treat its members. Many who need individual care are funneled into group therapy, union members say.
read more here

UPDATE
Just a reminder: 

VA hospitals outperform private hospitals in most markets, according to Dartmouth study

Stop contributing to downfall of our veterans

If you are still on the "suicide awareness" kick and having fun with the stunts, tell the families left behind how much you enjoyed it!

San Diego Veterans Suicide Rate Highest in State

Read the rest of the story here, but this part is important;

Kathy Shott works with Survivors of Suicide Loss, counseling families who have dealt with suicide.

She is a retired Air Force officer. Her son, Tony, was deployed to Iraq in 2010. He killed himself on Christmas Day in 2013. 

Shott said she knew her son was having trouble. He was living halfway across the country. He had had a messy divorce. He was in the middle of a custody battle over his young son and it wasn’t going well.

“I know I talked to Tony all the time, but I didn’t hear the pain at that time,” she said. She said he had just gone into the VA two days before Christmas.

She is a retired military officer and she still has to grieve for her son. Want to explain it to her?

This part is also important because it shows that they do not really know how many veterans are committing suicide in California...yet.

As part of the regulations, California will require listing the deceased veteran status on death certificates.

“The bill requires that the status be completed by whoever fills out the death certificate, which will mostly be the funeral home and the family. And the second part of that bill is the state will then give that info to the VA,” Campman said.

So, for all the people out there "raising" awareness, maybe now you will finally open your eyes, swallow your pride and admit your awareness was based on crap! You shared something that was not true, but worse, you shared what failed. Did you really think any of what you did would end the stigma that was killing more of them?

Veterans among victims killed in California bar attack

Navy, Marine Corps veterans among victims killed in California bar attack

By THE WASHINGTON POST AND ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 8, 2018

Dan Manrique, 33, volunteered for the Marine Corps and deployed to Afghanistan as a radio operator in 2007. He served for six years, then returned to Southern California. He was one of the 12 victims of Wednesday's shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif. VIA TWITTER

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — One was a veteran police officer who didn't hesitate to run toward danger. Another was an art student who worked with children at her church. Others were a Navy veteran, an a cappella singer who worked as a caregiver, and a security guard with a "big personality" who was known for making sure everyone got home safely.

They were among a dozen people killed in a shooting at a country music bar in Southern California. Authorities believe the gunman , Ian David Long, ultimately killed himself.

The victims' stories began to emerge Thursday. It was going to be a "very difficult day for many people," said Andrew Fox, mayor of Thousand Oaks, California, where the attack happened Wednesday night.

DAN MANRIQUE: A 'REALLY STRONG, SELFLESS LEADER' It wasn't easy for Dan Manrique, 33, after he left the Marine Corps. As he resumed life in California, Manrique was drawn to Team Red, White and Blue, a group that helps veterans adjust. First, he was a volunteer, and then, just weeks ago, he became a full-time program manager.

TELEMACHUS ORFANOS: NAVY VETERAN NICKNAMED 'TEL'
Telemachus Orfanos, 27, was a U.S. Navy veteran with a thick beard, an easy smile and a gladiator helmet tattoo. His friends called him "Tel."

Orfanos had survived last year's massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, only to die inside Borderline, less than 10 minutes from his home in suburban Los Angeles.

CODY COFFMAN: 'THE BIG BROTHER THAT MY KIDS NEED' Cody Coffman, who had just turned 22, was talking with Army recruiters and preparing to fulfill his dream of serving his country, said his father, Jason Coffman, who wept as he told a group of reporters that his first-born son was among the victims.

read more here

Heroes of Borderline

What happened and the rest of the story at Borderline Bar and Grill

Already the headlines are leading with "veteran" "Marine" but is is also a story of heroes.

The following came from live updates on CNN

People lined the streets as a procession of officers escorted the body of a hero Sgt. Ron Helus, who died trying to save people.

Hundreds line up to donate blood in Thousand Oaks

There are currently over 200 people in line at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, waiting to donate blood to victims of last night’s mass shooting, according to school officials.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox had pleaded earlier Thursday for blood donors to step forward.

The school had previously scheduled a blood drive on campus - but pivoted to gathering donations specific to this incident.

Donors are encouraged to make appointments at 877-25-VITAL.

Recent college grad killed in shooting "heroically saved lives"
From CNN's Amanda Watts and Hollie Silverman
Justin Meek, 23, was among the people killed in the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, according to California Lutheran University President Chris Kimball.
In a statement, Kimball said Meek was a recent graduate and "heroically saved lives in the incident."

Strangers were trying to save others and officers rushed with other first responders. All of them putting the lives of others ahead of their own.

The thing is, headlines make everyone focus on the shooter being a veteran, without ever once considering the rest of his story, or the simple fact that a veteran committing mass murder is very rare.

The thing is, he was a hero too, because he was willing to die to save others. The fact that he pulled out a gun and shot so many strangers should not be a reflection on other veterans. 

This kind of thing is very rare because they are more likely to harm themselves than anyone else.

This kind of a thing, this should be a reflection on all of us. If this is the outcome after putting his life on the line, and the outcome of so many others who perish after service, then all of us should be wondering what we did not do about any of it.

California Air National Guardsman Killed in Ukraine

Update

The Air Force on Wednesday identified the American pilot killed in a crash of a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft as Lt. Col. Seth “Jethro” Nehring, of the California Air National Guard.

Air Force confirms California guardsman killed in fighter crash in Ukraine

Stars and Stripes

Jennifer H. Svan

October 17, 2018

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – An Air National Guard member from California was killed along with a Ukrainian servicemember in a Ukrainian Su-27UB fighter crash Tuesday evening in Ukraine during a large-scale military aviation exercise, officials with U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa confirmed Wednesday.

A Sukhoi Su-27 takes off from Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, Oct. 9, 2018 as part of the Clear Sky 2018 exercise. CHARLES VAUGHN/AIR NATIONAL GUARD

The U.S. airman was a member of the 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard, based in Fresno, Calif. The airman’s name is being withheld for 24 hours pending next of kin notification, USAFE-AFAFRICA officials said in a statement late Wednesday morning. read more here

Marine saved baby, while upgrading his phone?

Marine saves choking baby at Liberty Station

10 News

Cassie Carlisle

October 15, 2018

"I did what I was trained to do I don't think I'm a hero more than anyone else would be," Lewellen said. He was thinking of his own two children while saving the baby. He has a 3-year old and a 3-week-old.

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A Marine was honored Monday at Camp Pendleton for his bravery mid-September when he saved a choking baby.

Private First Class Jonathan Lewellen was on leave after graduating boot camp before starting combat training. He was upgrading his phone at the Liberty Station Verizon store when he heard a mother screaming her son's name.

"She wasn’t hysterical but she was panicked," Verizon Store Manager Cecil Silva said. "He [Lewellen] looked and his instincts just kicked in, like he literally jumped over a desk we had, jumped over the railing, ran through the bushes and just attended to the baby."

Lewellen asked the mother if he could help, then performed CPR, and scooped mucus out of the baby's throat.
read more here