Camp Lejeune Marine Missing Since Saturday

HAPPY UPDATE
UPDATE: Alec Seager's wife Kayleigh shared on Facebook last night that her husband has been found safe, albeit hypothermic and severely dehydrated.

She also took the time to thank those who helped her story go viral, and everyone else who aided in the effort to bring her husband home to their family.

Wife of missing Marine pleads for help finding husband
PIX 11 News
BY KRISTINA BEHR
FEBRUARY 8, 2016

The wife of a Marine took to Facebook to plead with her followers to help find her husband.

According to the missing veteran's website, 26-year-old Alec Seager is a U.S. Marine who went missing from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 6.

His wife posted his photo saying he "suffers from ptsd,depression, and ;anxiety. He also has mentioned suicidal idealizations."
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Navy SEAL Receiving Medal of Honor Was a Corpsman

SEAL Who Rescued Doctor in Afghanistan to Receive Medal Of Honor
Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
Feb 02, 2016

Byers, a native of Toledo, Ohio, began his 17-year Navy career as a hospital corpsman, serving with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

A Navy SEAL who was part of a courageous hostage rescue in Afghanistan in 2012 will receive the military's top award for heroism later this month, the White House announced today.

Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Feb. 29. He will be the 11th living service member to receive the award for actions in Afghanistan.

Byers, 36, was a member of the team that conducted a heroic raid Dec. 8 and 9, 2012 to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph, an American who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Taliban days before. Joseph was in the country as the medical director for Morning Star Development, a nonprofit organization training Afghan healthcare workers.

While Dilip was recovered safely from his captors, the operation proved costly. Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, 28, a member of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6, was shot and killed during the raid.
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Quantico Marine Corps Sued After Triple Killing on Base

Marine Base Blamed for Triple Killing
Courthouse News
By KATHERINE PROCTOR
February 1, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - The Quantico Marine Corps base's failure to monitor a mentally ill sergeant allowed him to kill his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and himself in the barracks, the late woman's father claims in Federal Court.

Isaac Castro sued the United States on behalf of his late daughter Sara Castromata's estate, claiming the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. mishandled the medical records and weapons of Sgt. Eusebio Lopez.

Lopez, who had documented head trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, was transferred to Quantico, Va. from Camp Lejeune, N.C. in May 2012. Castro claims the Quantico base never obtained or reviewed Lopez's medical records, and that the sergeant stopped receiving treatment for his mental disability as a result.

Lopez moved into Quantico barracks in September 2012, but base command did not ensure that his weapons were registered and stored at the armory, Castro says. His weapons included a semi-automatic pistol, a shotgun and several large knives.
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Joplin High School Won't Hold Empty Chair for Tornado Victim?

Anguished mom wants seat saved for son at graduation
WZZM 13 ABC News
January 30, 2016

"They should at least do something," he said. Williams is now 21 and a member of the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. His unit is expected to deploy soon.

JOPLIN, Mo. — A woman whose son was killed almost five years ago in a monster tornado that struck southwest Missouri wants an empty chair saved for him at what would have been his high school graduation.

Officials at Joplin High School and the school district rejected the request, saying it doesn't comply with their policy. Now Tammy Niederhelman hopes to put pressure on Joplin School District officials through an online petition.

"I'll never see my son graduate. I know that. I'll never see him get married. I'll never hold my grandchildren," Niederhelman said. "This is very important to me — to have a seat for him."

Zachary Zachary Allen Williams was 12 and hadn't finished middle school when he died May 22, 2011, as he huddled in a bathroom of the Niederhelmans' house; 160 other people died that same day.

"No parent should ever have to beg, plead, and fight for their deceased student to be honored with their own seat at graduation and for their name to be called," Niederhelman wrote in her Change.org petition, which more than 4,500 people had signed as of Friday. "Zach will not sit in the seat as he should have but he was, is, and always will be a Joplin Eagle Class of 2016."
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Marine Veteran Starts "The War Horse" News Site

Veteran Launches 'The War Horse' to Tell Stories of Iraq, Afghanistan
Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
Jan 03, 2016

"I think the one common thread that I bring to the table is I know the fear that exists [among troops] when it comes to approaching journalists. Having people who are personally involved in these different worlds is going to open up the possibilities."

Thomas Brennan, a Marine veteran-turned-journalist, is preparing for the launch of

The War Horse, an independent journalism site dedicated to chronicling the effects

of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy Cindy Schepers)

One Marine veteran is on a mission to make sure the war stories of his generation are told -- and told right.

Thomas Brennan, a medically retired staff sergeant-turned-journalist, is preparing for the launch of The War Horse, an independent journalism site dedicated to chronicling the effects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The website brands itself "the authority on the post-9/11 conflict and the ONLY digital magazine profiling all men, women, interpreters, and dogs killed since 9/11."The idea for the site came to Brennan while he was working as a staff writer for The Daily News out of Jacksonville, North Carolina, a town adjacent to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

"It all started with me getting aggravated that stories weren't being gathered about World War II vets and World War I vets and we've waited so long to tell the stories of years prior," Brennan, 30, told Military.com. "War has been a constant in human existence since the very beginning, and I just think it's about time that we really report on it and understand and conceptualize everything that war is."

Brennan is in a unique position to tell those stories, as someone who has experienced the realities of war as a Marine and who has reported on the military as a civilian. Brennan served nearly nine years in the Marine Corps as an infantry assaultman before retiring in 2012.

On Nov. 1, 2010, Brennan was wounded on a deployment to Afghanistan when a rocket-propelled grenade detonated next to him. He was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury, and has since also documented his struggles with post-traumatic stress.
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Wife of Marine Gives Part of Herself to Save Life

A stranger donates part of her liver, giving the gift of life to infant
News and Observer
Anne Blythe
December 24, 2015

Baby’s transplant helps bring two strong mothers together

Baby Elijah is now doing well, doctors say

Mothers say this Christmas is one they’ll cherish

Elijah Tsawo, at Duke University Hospital, with liver donor Sarah Ames.

Ames was a stranger who donated part of her liver to save Elijah's life.

She and Elijah's family have become close since the surgery earlier this year.

Photo courtesy of Nicole Fisher

DURHAM Sarah Ames lives by the philosophy that if you have the ability to help someone, you have the responsibility to try.

So this spring, when she was moved by a story about a mother’s plea for a liver donor for an infant son, Ames had no qualms about quickly taking a survey to see if she might be a match.

She received a callback the next day.

Two days later she was at Duke University Medical Center for more testing.

And two weeks later she was on an operating table at Duke Children’s Hospital, undergoing her first major surgery so she could give 25 percent of her liver to a stranger.

It was a gift of life for Elijah Tsawo, a 17-month-old boy who brought together two mothers who say the child’s misfortune led to their good fortune of meeting each other for a friendship they hope will last a lifetime.

“I tell her, she tells me, there are no words any more for what this means,” a grateful Gwendolyn Tsawo said earlier this month at a monthly checkup for Elijah.

‘Truly a hero’
Sarah Ames had worked as an acute care speech pathologist. She was familiar with the risks and rewards that modern medicine offers. She also describes herself as a Christian, driven by a strong faith. Her husband Jordan, a Marine, has similar beliefs and values.

The two have adopted six children – three boys and three girls who range in age from 15 to 6 – after finding out Sarah could not give birth to children.
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Camp Lejeune Wounded Getting Help to Be Home For Christmas

Marines, sailors wounded in combat getting help to get home for Christmas
WITN News
By: Rachael Cardin, Gina DiPietro
Dec 16, 2015

Combat wounded service members are getting an extra special holiday present from the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

For 11 years, the Purple Heart has been helping combat men and women with travel expenses so they can go home for the holidays.

57 Camp Lejeune service members received money this year. More than 26,000 checks have been awarded since it started 11 years ago.

Chapter members say it all started when their commander asked wounded warriors how the order could help them. A young Marine reportedly said he just wanted to go home for the holidays. More than a decade later, the Purple Heart is still making it happen.
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Marine-Firefighter “Worcester’s Smokin’ Hot Hero”

Local firefighter fundraises as calendar cover man
Community Advocate
By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
December 15, 2015

Seamus Shanley pictured on the cover of “Worcester’s Smokin’ Hot Heroes”

2016 calendar to benefit the Box 4 Special Services. Photo/submitted

Shrewsbury – Seamus Shanley of Shrewsbury is a Marine Corps veteran, Worcester firefighter and marathoner. Now, he’s also the cover man of “Worcester’s Smokin’ Hot Heroes” 2016 calendar to benefit the Box 4 Special Services. Between the calendar covers are other shirtless Worcester firefighters representing each month for a charitable cause. According to its Facebook page, “Box 4 Special Services provides extended incident rehab for the first responders of Worcester County.” Citing a recent fire he worked, Shanley described the service this nonprofit organization provides.

“As soon as it becomes a multiple-alarm fire, the Box 4 truck comes, manned by volunteers,” he explained. “We had a three-alarm fire at 4 a.m. They jumped out of their beds, got on the truck and drove to the fire scene to provide food and beverages to all the citizens that were displaced and all of us fighting the fire. It’s always a good morale booster to see Box 4.”

He became inspired to help others while in elementary school when a neighbor joined the Marine Corps. Shanley served in the Marine Corps from 1996 to 2000, based at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. He was deployed with a marine expeditionary unit to Mediterranean countries and travelled to Panama for jungle training.
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Veterans Still Waiting For Justice from VA After Camp Lejeune

No one gave Camp Lejeune Marines justice in the 80's, or the 90's or in the last decade. They knew serving this country as a Marine could be hazardous to their health if they deployed but they never thought it would be more dangerous just to live there.

Veterans express frustration to VA over Camp Lejeune benefits
Tampa Bay Times
William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Saturday, December 5, 2015

"You're not helping us, you're hurting us. The more you delay, the more of us who are going to die. And we thank you very much for that." said Camp Lejeune veteran Paul Maslow, 64, of Daytona Beach, who said he has inoperable tumors on his spine and elsewhere in his body.

ZACK WITTMAN Times
Camp Lejeune veterans and community members listen to epidemiologists discuss tainted water at the base during a panel hosted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

TAMPA — Robert Shuster of Hudson stood up Saturday at a public meeting with the Department of Veterans Affairs and federal scientists studying the health effects of polluted drinking at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He held up two pieces of paper. One was the surgical pathology report Shuster sent to the VA that diagnosed him with sarcoma. The other document was a letter from the VA denying his claim for benefits, saying in stilted language the disease did not exist in him — he didn't have a malignancy.

"How can it not exist?" Shuster, 54, asked plaintively.

About 150 Marine Corps veterans and family members crowded a room at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for a town hall meeting to hear VA officials and federal scientists provide an update on work studying contamination at the North Carolina base.

The VA representatives heard great frustration from veterans about their difficulties in getting the agency to provide benefits for those who were sickened by the water.

Up to a million veterans were exposed to what scientists consider one of the nation's worst episodes of water contamination. Drinking water at the base was tainted with a stew of industrial solvents and components of gasoline for at least 30 years ending in the 1980s.

Tens of thousands of those veterans and their family members now live in Florida, the state with the second-highest number of potential victims behind North Carolina, federal figures show.
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Camp Lejeune Marines and Soldiers Saved Couple from Burning Car

Marine from Virginia rescues couple from burning car on I-95
ABC 8 News
By Emily Satchell
Published: December 3, 2015

Sgt. Rivera stopped outside the driver door when he realized smoke was billowing from what remained of the car’s engine. He quickly mobilized other bystanders to help the woman in the passenger seat. Several of them were active duty Marines and soldiers.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (WRIC) — A couple had something extra special to be thankful for last week after they were rescued from a burning vehicle on Interstate 95 by a Marine just one day before Thanksgiving.

Sgt. Ian Rivera left Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune around 1 p.m. that day. He was driving north on I-95 to spend Thanksgiving with family in Caroline County.

About three hours into Sgt. Rivera’s drive, a four-vehicle accident happened four miles south of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. A couple in a Mazda 3 took the brunt of the crash, according to a press release from the Marines.

“I was about two cars behind,” said Rivera, a native of Virginia Beach. “I jumped out onto the shoulder of the left side of the road and ran to them. I wanted to make sure they were okay.”
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Homeless Veteran Camp Lejeune Marine Final Honors

Group organizes funeral with military honors for homeless Marine who died in January 
Jacksonville Daily News
By James LaPorta
Posted Nov. 3, 2015

Lance Cpl. Andrew Mauney, a former infantry assaultman with Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, died in January at 53. After his death and six months in the morgue with all resources exhausted in search of Mauney’s next of kin, he was eventually deemed an “unclaimed individual.” However, for strangers who had never met Mauney the term “unclaimed” was unacceptable.

Emmett Salas, a retired Marine sergeant major, is helping the Missing in America project claim and bury Lance Cpl. Andrew Mauney, a former infantry assaultman with Camp Lejeune's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, who died in January at 53. Photo by James LaPorta / The Daily News

It all comes down to a simple motto: No man left behind. A group of veterans are coming together to give final honors to a man they’ve never met, but one with whom they share a distinct bond.

“There is no former Marine,” Emmett Salas, a retired Marine sergeant major, said. “It’s just Marine … and that’s why we are doing this … We’re going to claim this Marine.”

“This Marine” is Lance Cpl. Andrew Mauney, a former infantry assaultman with Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, who died in January at 53.

Born June 1962, Mauney entered the Marines by way of Richmond, Virginia, and served three years and two months with two overseas deployments. Mauney received an honorable discharge in 1983, according to a copy of his DD-214, which lists Mauney’s record of service on active duty.
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Canine Kennel to be Named For Fallen Marine and Dog

MARSOC MARINE TO BE HONORED IN DEDICATION CEREMONY
WWAY TV 3 News
By: Elizabeth Bynum
09/04/2015

Cpl. David M. Sonka alongside his canine partner, Flex (Source: MARSOC)

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC (WWAY) — A MARSOC Marine will be honored in a ceremony Monday in memory of both him and his canine partner overseas.

A MARSOC spokesperson said a Multi-Purpose Canine kennel will be named in honor of Cpl. David M. Sonka. They said Cpl. Sonka, along with his Multi-Purpose Canine Flex and SSgt. Eric D. Christian, were killed in May of 2013 in Afghanistan. 

The spokesperson said Cpl. Sonka, an Aurora, Colo., native, was on his second combat deployment. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart medal.
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Camp Lejeune Helicopter "Hard Landing" Leaves Marine Dead and 11 Others Injured

Marine dead, 11 hurt after hard landing at Camp Lejeune 
WXII 12 News
UPDATED 2:57 PM EDT Sep 03, 2015

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. —One Marine has been killed and 11 others were hurt when a helicopter made a hard landing at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Camp Lejeune officials said in a statement that he CH-53E helicopter came down hard during a training exercise around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

"Of the 11 injured Marines, six were treated at the naval hospital and released, while one was admitted in stable condition. Four were taken to a civilian hospital in nearby Jacksonville, where they are scheduled to be released. One Marine is being taken to a Greenville hospital and is reported to be in stable condition."
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UPDATE
September 4, 2015

Camp Lejeune identifies Marine killed in helicopter hard landing
Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lewis, 31, of Warrenton, Virginia.

Lightning Strike Sends 16 Fort Bragg Soldiers to Hospital

Lightning strike hospitalizes 16 soldiers at Fort Bragg
WITN News
Updated: Thu 3:46 PM, Aug 20, 2015

A lightning strike has hospitalized 16 soldiers on an Army training exercise in North Carolina.

Master Sgt. Patrick Malone, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, says 60 soldiers were gathered to discuss the day's training when lightning struck nearby around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Malone said 15 soldiers were hospitalized overnight for observation at an Army hospital, and another was taken to a different hospital for heart monitoring. Two others were examined and returned to duty without staying overnight.
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Also from WITN News

CAMP LEJEUNE: Marine grabs police officer's gun; fires it in hospital waiting room
WITN News
Aug 19, 2015

Camp Lejeune says a Marine in police custody managed to grab an officer's gun, firing it once in the waiting room at the Naval Hospital.

It happened approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but the Marine Corps didn't release information about the shooting until late Wednesday afternoon.
read more here

NCIS Investigating Death of Marine from New York

Officials identify Marine found unresponsive aboard Camp Lejeune 
WCTI News
By Jessica Albert
Aug 15 2015

CAMP LEJEUNE, Onslow County - Camp Lejeune officials identify a Marine pronounced dead at Camp Lejeune Friday as Lance Corporal Ricardo A. Rodriguez, Jr.

A Camp Lejeune spokesperson said Rodriguez was found in the vicinity of his barracks around 5:45 a.m. Friday morning by a unit representative.

He was taken to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune where he was later pronounced dead. read more here

Camp Lejeune Marines to Get Presumptive Status

New disability guidelines for Camp Lejeune Marines affected by toxic tap water
ABC 12 News
By Valentina Wilson
POSTED:Aug 04 2015

The Department of Veterans affairs will begin reviewing the disability status of Marines affected by toxic tap water at Camp Lejeune. Marines were exposed to tainted drinking water on base for more than 30 years -- from 1953 to 1987 -- and developed cancers and other conditions.

The VA already provides medical care for affected Marines with 15 different illnesses. Now the agency will establish presumptive status for veterans who lived on base during the time the water was contaminated. That means if veterans have a disease that falls under any of the approved categories, they'll get the benefit of the doubt instead of having to prove the water on base caused the problem.

The commander of the Disabled American Veterans chapter in Jacksonville, Jim Davis, said the bottom line is -- more veterans could qualify for benefits.

"What it will do is allow the veterans who were denied before -- due to it not being service connected or not enough proof -- to, if it falls under one of the presumptive diseases, they'll be allowed to apply and get approved for benefits," Davis said.
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Death of Marine At Gun Range Ruled Suicide

Marine fatally shot at gun range ID'd
JD News
Daily News Staff
July 20, 2015

The weekend death of a Camp Lejeune Marine at an Onslow County gun range has been ruled a suicide, investigators said.

Onslow County Sheriff Hans Miller said Monday that the investigation found that the Marine died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Camp Lejeune officials identified the victim as Lance Cpl. Joshua D. Gilliam, 20, of Everett, Washington.

Gilliam was flown by helicopter Saturday at approximately 4 p.m. from Flatwoods Outfitters gun range in Hubert to New Hanover Regional Medical Center to be treated for a gunshot wound. He died later at the hospital from the injury, according to information from Capt. Ryan Elizabeth Alvis of the II Marine Expeditionary Force Public Affairs Office.
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Female Marines Pulled Their Weight Plus 220 Pound Dummy

They Survived Training, Now Female Marines Await Word On Ground Combat
NPR
Tom Bowman
JULY 07, 2015

Marine Lance Cpls. Julia Carroll (left) and Paula Pineda lift "Carl" — a 220-pound test dummy — during training in March in California. Female Marines have completed months of training and are now waiting to hear whether they will be allowed to serve in combat roles.
David Gilkey/NPR

Lance Cpl. Paula Pineda relaxes at a picnic table not far from her barracks in Camp LeJeune, N.C. She's in a crisp uniform and has a ready smile. It's one of the few breaks she's had in months — and she can finally laugh about Carl.

"Carl — our special, heavy, unique dummy," she says.

It was back in March, in the heat of the Mojave Desert in California, that Pineda — sweaty and grimy and just 5-foot-2 — struggled to help pull Carl the dummy out of her armored vehicle, along with another Marine, Julia Carroll. It was part of an exercise to rescue an injured crewman.

Carl weighed 220 pounds.
They also changed tires weighing 170 pounds on the armored vehicles, and hitched up heavy chains and hooks to simulate a towing operation.

The women proved something in their months of tough training, says Pineda, who wore a helmet with the words "Mad Max" taped on the back.

They're ready to serve in ground combat.

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Camp Lejeune Marine Killed In North Carolina Accident

Police: Camp Lejeune Marine killed in wreck, two charged
WCTI News
Jun 27 2015

RALEIGH, Wake County - A US Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune was killed Friday night in a car accident according to Raleigh Police.

Police said 20-year-old Nathan Scott Bizzell of Camp Lejeune was driving on Glenwood Avenue Friday around 10 p.m. when he rear ended another car. 

Investigators say Bizzell got out of his car to check on the damage and the other driver.

He was then hit by another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Show of Support for Wounded Warrior Regiment Marines

Motorcade of Marines to head for Keowee Key 
Public encouraged to line up along route, show appreciation
WYFF News
Myra Ruiz
June 22, 2015

The public is invited to line the route of a motorcade to show appreciation for visiting combat Marines.

EASLEY, S.C. —An annual event aimed at showing appreciation for combat Marines will kick off today, and the public is invited to participate.

Honoring Their Service is an event which provides much-needed rest and relaxation for visiting Marines in the Keowee Key community.

This year, about 40 Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the South Carolina Wounded Warrior Regiment are expected to attend. 

The event begins with a motorcade that starts in Easley, goes through downtown Seneca before ending at Lake Keowee. Businesses along the route have been encouraged to place a "Welcome" or "Thank You" message on any electronic sign they may have.
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This is about Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment and not the "project"

Army
Wounded Warrior Program
Navy
Wounded Warrior Safe Harbor
Air Force
Air Force Wounded Warrior Program