Murdered Manhattan 2 Tour Iraq Veteran had Silver Star and 2 Purple Hearts

Vigil Planned for Murdered Manhattan Veteran
Friends of former Army medic Kevin Cockrum are gathering to pray that his killers are caught.
Posted: 12:22 PM Aug 14, 2011
Reporter: Lindsey Rogers

"Cockrum's family members tell 13 News he was a medic in the Army and completed two tours in Iraq. During each of his tours, he survived IED explosions and received two Purple Heart medals, a Silver Star and an Army Commendation Medal. He was last stationed at Fort Riley and decided to stay in the Manhattan area."

Manhattan, KAN. (WIBW) -- Friends of former Army medic Kevin Cockrum are gathering near the spot where the 31-year-old was brutally beaten to pray that his killers are caught.

A candle light vigil is planned for Sunday night in Manhattan's Aggieville district.

Around 2 a.m. Thursday, officers got a call about a person on the ground in an alley between Bluemont Avenue and Moro Street. That's about a block away from the main strip of bars and shops in Aggieville.

Police found Cockrum unconscious. He was transported to Mercy Health Center with life-threatening head injuries and was then airlifted to Via Christi Hospital in Wichita. Family members say Kevin's father flew in from out of state to be by his side.

Officials believe Cockrum was beaten by several people but do not know the circumstances surrounding the violent attack. 

read more here

Two women are charged, accused of bilking soldiers

Housing schemes prey on Campbell soldiers
Two women are charged, accused of bilking soldiers out of money for unavailable rental properties
By Tavia D. Green - The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle
Posted : Sunday Aug 14, 2011 3:18:30 EDT
Lauren Klein thought she had found the perfect home for her young family. She, her husband and their 2½-year-old daughter were preparing to move from Fort Riley, Kan., to Fort Campbell, Ky., when the home at 1021 McClardy Road in nearby Clarksville, Tenn., listed on the Automated Housing Referral Network, a website designed for military use, caught her eye.

“The house looked gorgeous,” she said, talking about the pictures posted with the ad.

Looking to rent the home before someone else scooped it up, Klein said she called Stephanie Hairston, and “within 24 hours she had my deposit,” sent via MoneyGram.

“We were set to be in on July 6, and we also MoneyGrammed the first month’s rent,” Klein added.
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Fort Riley soldier robbed and shot while jogging

UPDATE August 26, 2010

Not robbed, shot himself

Soldier Shot, Robbed While Jogging

No Arrests Made

August 8, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jackson County deputies are investigating the shooting of a soldier who was robbed while jogging on Monday afternoon.

Investigators said the 25-year-old Fort Riley-based soldier was on a four-day pass and had gone for a run on a trail in the area near Blue Mills Road and Little Blue Trace at about 2:30 p.m. when a man with a gun approached him.

After taking the soldier's water-bladder backpack, the robber got distracted and the soldier tried to jump into a weed-covered area.

"The victim thought he could get away so he ran away from the suspect, at which time the suspect fired a shot striking the victim in the back of the leg," said Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp.

Read more: Soldier Shot Robbed While Jogging

Ft. Riley charged with stalking soldier she was supposed to be helping

Ft. Riley therapist charged with stalking, sexually harassing soldier who was her patient

By Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A therapist who was treating a Fort Riley soldier for traumatic stress has been accused of sexually harassing the patient.

Rachelle Santiago was charged Monday in a federal criminal complaint with stalking the sergeant she was counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder and marital issues. An affidavit also alleges she sent him sexually explicit messages and pictures, and that she stalked the soldier and his wife.
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Ft. Riley therapist charged with stalking

Ex-MP says he killed lover, ditched body

Ex-MP says he killed lover, ditched body
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 21, 2010 13:32:23 EST
Former military policeman Christopher Anthony Wilaby told a chilling story of how he strangled his married, stripper girlfriend five years ago, loaded her body into her car and drove onto Fort Riley, Kan., where he sank the car to the bottom of Moon Lake.

In a confession to agents of the FBI and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Wilaby, 26, told how he choked Echo May Wiles to death in Junction City, Kan., during an argument over her breaking up with him.

Wilaby now stands charged in the death of Echo Wiles, the 20-year-old wife of Joshua D. Wiles, then a deployed soldier and now a civilian employee of the Army.

“She meant the world to me,” Joshua Wiles said in a Dec. 9 phone conversation with Army Times. “I loved her, and she told me she had messed up a lot but she wanted to make things right, work it out, go to marriage counseling.”

Wilaby, assigned to the 977th Military Police Company, 97th MP Battalion at Fort Riley, entered the Army in 2003 and was administratively discharged in August 2005 at the rank of private first class, said a post spokesman. According to investigators, Wilaby was disciplined for going absent without leave and for assaulting Echo Wiles.
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Ex-MP says he killed lover, ditched body

Family Remembers Minn. Soldier Who Died At Fort Riley

Family Remembers Minn. Soldier Who Died At Fort Riley

ST. CLOUD, Minn.

Family members are remembering a Minnesota soldier who died at a Kansas military base earlier this month as someone who loved serving his country.

Twenty-three-year-old Spc. Seth Zencius was found dead June 14 in his bunk at Fort Riley. He grew up in St. Cloud and graduated from Technical High School in 2004.

Zencius joined the U.S. Army in 2005 and served two tours of duty in Iraq.
read more here
http://wcco.com/local/family.remembers.soldier.2.1779459.html

Soldier found dead at Fort Riley identified

Soldier found dead at Riley identified

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 15, 2010 21:23:04 EDT

FORT RILEY, Kan. — A soldier found dead at Fort Riley last week has been identified as 33-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Miller.

The Army said Monday the cause of death remains under investigation.

Miller was found unresponsive March 10 in a vehicle parked on a trail behind the Fort Riley commissary.
read more here
Soldier found dead at Riley identified

By all accounts he was a good soldier, then committed suicide

Families are franticly searching for ways to help but find little hope as they watch someone they love get to the point they can find no hope things will get better tomorrow. How can they? When the men and women serving in the military come back home, families go from euphoria when they believe all is well now they're home to believing they have just entered into hell with a stranger causing all kinds of problems in the house and they have no clue how to cope or what to do to help. As a matter of fact, too many families don't understand they need help in the first place. They end up blaming the veteran simply because they don't know what they are dealing with.

Their lives fall apart and the veteran, well, he or she is left to hang onto whatever hope they can that tomorrow will bring a better day, some miracle will arrive in time to save them, or, the day they will "get over it" finally arrive. It won't come unless they get help to heal. The other problem is, too often either help does not come because the family does not know where to find it or no matter what they do, they cannot get the help that is supposed to be there waiting.

More often than not even when the veterans do receive help, it is in the form of pills and not therapy. So we here the military and the VA get it, came up with suicide prevention programs along with a list of "new programs" that will take care of the problem, but as evidence has shown, their programs have not worked enough to stop the rate of suicides and attempted suicides from rising. Too often an official will say that "we're saving lives" and then we believe they finally got it only to find out months later, what they've done has left a gaping wound left over few are able to recover from.

Pvt. Greg Tilton ran out of reasons to stay alive and we have ourselves to blame for this. Not his family and not Tilton himself, but the rest of us because they never received what they needed to recover from what was asked of him. When we talk about casualties as a price of war, Tilton and his family should also be found among them, but they won't be.

Family Seeks Answers From Army After Son Commits Suicide
Thursday, December 17, 2009 5:43 PM

WORTHINGTON, Ohio — After losing their son to suicide, one family was urging the U.S. military and other families to take action before more lives are lost, 10TV's Cara Connelly reported.

On the day before Thanksgiving, Army Private Greg Tilton, a Worthington native, shot and killed himself in his apartment near Fort Riley, Kan.

Tilton, 20, had recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.



"By all accounts he was a good soldier - he was an excellent soldier," Tilton's father Tim Tilton said.

The family has a box full of medals to prove it.

Tilton's father said his son was a sensitive young man, who told his parents he shot and killed an 11-year-old suicide bomber while on duty in Iraq.

Tim Tilton said that violence took a tool on his son and his mental health.

"There is a huge disconnect; he had a counseling session in Iraq but when he returned, up until the day he died, he never had another one," Tim Tilton said.

Tilton's wife Molly was calling 911 for help after she said he began having a flashback to Iraq, but authorities did not arrive in time.

"We don't need any more of our soldiers doing what my son did. He was in such a dark place and not in his right mind when this happened," Tim Tilton said.

Suicides among members of the military are expected to set a record this year, Connelly reported.

The Army said one in five soldiers returns home from war suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The Tilton's said the military needs more counselors and are urging military families to speak out and demand help.
read more here
Family Seeks Answers From Army After Son Commits Suicide

Solider found dead at Fort Riley

Soldier found dead at Fort Riley

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Oct 12, 2009 12:11:12 EDT

CHICKASHA, Okla. — The family of a from Chickasha soldier says he was found dead at his home near Fort Riley, Kan., where he was stationed.

The sister of 28-year-old Pfc. Dale Tyler says he was found unresponsive just after 5 a.m. last Wednesday and was pronounced dead at 5:33 a.m.

The sister — Traci Casler — told The Express-Star in Chickasha that Tyler had no known illness other than sleep apnea. Casler says her brother went to sleep and never awoke.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.

His family says Tyler was married and had three stepsons.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_riley_death_101209/

Army takes steps but deployments still strain families

Army takes steps but deployments still strain families
Story Highlights
As rotation of troops returns to Fort Riley, another gets ready to ship out

Military spouses say they meet deployments "as a challenge"

Suicides, divorce and domestic violence are all on the rise in military community

Families face another challenge when soldier returns and changes the rhythm


By John King
CNN Chief National Correspondent

Editor's note: On CNN's "State of the Union," host and Chief National Correspondent John King goes outside the Beltway to report on the issues affecting communities across the country.

FORT RILEY, Kansas (CNN) -- They are lined up neatly, but casually, waiting to be outfitted for another trip to the place they call "The Sand Box."


Snug new undershirts to wear under a newer, updated combat protective vest. New desert fatigues, even new battlefield identification cards. Several stops along the way, and then at the end of the line a briefing on how the new vest works -- and how it is different from the one many of these soldiers wore on their last deployment.

Yes, the United States is in the early stages of its plan to withdraw its combat troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010. But rotations still mean more troops are needed, and as Fort Riley prepares to welcome one unit home from Iraq in the days ahead, another is preparing to head out.

"I hate to say we get used to it, but we know it is part and parcel, and so we just accept it," Tricia Verschage said in an interview on base this week. "And we meet it as a challenge."

Her husband, Master Sgt. John Verschage is preparing for his second Iraq deployment. His 1st Infantry Division unit is scheduled to ship out in the next week.

"I'll have my one day of pity party and then I'll be OK," Tricia said. "And then it's a countdown. Once he is on the plane, then it's 364 [days] and so on."
read more here
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/20/sotu.fort.riley/

Fort Riley soldier found dead in barracks

Fort Riley soldier found dead in barracks

The Associated Press - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jul 23, 2009 16:00:15 EDT

FORT RILEY, Kan. — A soldier has been found dead inside his barracks room at Fort Riley.

The 1st Infantry Division public affairs office says that the body was found Thursday in the building located on the post’s Custer Hill. The death is under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division.

No other information was released.

Fort Riley is home of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division. About 15,000 soldiers are assigned to the northeast Kansas post.

check back for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/ap_riley_soldier_072309/

Army identifies remains of Riley soldier

Army identifies remains of Riley soldier

By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 6, 2009 11:33:49 EDT

The remains of a Pennsylvania soldier previously listed by the Army as “duty status whereabouts unknown” have been positively identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the Defense Department announced Tuesday in a press release.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia, who was assigned to a military transition team in Afghanistan, died of wounds suffered in an attack May 1 when insurgents attacked his unit using direct fire and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said.

The attack took place in the village of Nishagam, Konar province.

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/army_riley_soldier_identified_050609w/

2 Soldiers from Fort Hood Killed in Afghanistan, one from Fort Riley DUSTWUN

DoD Identifies Army Casualties


The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers, and one soldier as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN). The action occurred May 1 near the village of Nishagam, in Konar Province, Afghanistan, where all three were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Killed were:

Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; and

Spec. Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

These soldiers died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit using direct fire.

For more information on Pirtle and King, the media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours (254) 291-2591.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia, Pa. is now listed as DUSTWUN from this same incident. He is assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

http://icasualties.org/oef/

Lawsuit on religion in military expanded

They all serve equally. They all wear the same uniform, serve under the same commander, the same flag but we forget that while they act as a unit, a family, they are also very different. Different backgrounds, different lives and different thoughts. Along with their individuality, there is also different beliefs. They need to be treated as their faith is a private matter just as if they marry or not is a private matter. It has nothing to do with their duty or their skills. No one should ever decide the faith of someone else or force it upon them. When they do, especially when it comes to the men and women serving this nation, it deludes the reason they serve. Religious freedom should be held highly but too many find no problem with this line being crossed.

Lawsuit on religion in military expanded
By John Hanna - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 29, 2008 18:29:13 EST

TOPEKA, Kan. — A newly expanded federal lawsuit alleged Monday that the military doesn’t take complaints of religious discrimination seriously enough and allows personnel to try to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan to Christianity.

The Military Religions Freedom Foundation and a Fort Riley, Kan., soldier suing Defense Secretary Robert Gates now allege that a bias toward evangelical Christianity pervades even the Army’s suicide prevention manual and the Air Force’s sponsorship of an evangelical motocross ministry.

The Defense Department said complaints about religious discrimination are relatively few and pointed to military policies against endorsing any religious view.

Spc. Dustin Chalker and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed their amended lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. They filed the original lawsuit in September.

Chalker, a combat medic, is an atheist whose original complaints included being forced to attend military formations where Christian prayers were given. The foundation, based in Albuquerque, N.M., says it represents about 11,000 military personnel, almost all of them Christians upset about what they view as discrimination by more conservative and evangelical personnel. click link above for more

A camp for kids coping with war wounds of a parent

A camp for kids coping with war wounds of a parent
Camp COPE has helped more than 1,000 children in places ranging from Texas to Florida.
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the December 16, 2008 edition


Fort Riley, Kan. - Kevin, a 6-year-old with a buzz cut and long eyelashes, says he wants to lose an eye ... to be like his dad.

His father, 1st Sgt. Kevin Walker, survived a bomb blast in Iraq four years ago.

Now, he's brought his son to the Army base's middle school here for a day of fun, therapeutic activities designed to help children cope with the feelings stirred by such injuries.

In the past three years, the program has helped more than 1,000 children and teens in locations ranging from Texas to Florida. It is one of several nonprofit efforts that have cropped up to aid families of wounded veterans.

"Kids are experiencing these grown-up problems and they don't have the ability to understand it or process it," says Sarah Balint Bravo, a play therapist who cofounded Camp COPE. The acronym stands for courage, optimism, patience, and encouragement – the qualities that the program aims to foster with its unique curriculum for the children of injured or deployed service members.

The small nonprofit in Dallas is a labor of love that Ms. Bravo and cofounder Elizabeth Reep pursue outside their regular jobs. The idea came to Ms. Reep, a clinical social worker, after she saw the toll her husband's war injuries took on her two young stepsons. "I realized there weren't enough services for kids," she says, "and thought that would be one thing I could do to give back as I got through the struggle myself."
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Crashed med-flight included Vietnam veteran, fire department Lieutenant, nurse and Guardsman's infant

Families mourn chopper crash victims

Relatives of 1-year-old Kirstin Blockinger held hands, wiped away tears and placed a teddy bear and a bouquet of pink roses at the crash site today before examining debris, which still contained large pieces of the helicopter.



The family of Kirstin Blockinger, the year-old child who was being airlifted to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago when the medical chopper went down, went to the crash site this afternoon.

Around 4:30 p.m., 11 relatives of 1-year-old Kirstin held hands and wiped away tears.

Kirstin's mother, Brooke Blockinger, carried a teddy bear and a bouquet of pink roses, which she left at the site.

The family did not take questions, but Kirstin's grandfather, Steve Ogletree, read from a prepared statement.

"We love Kirstin and we celebrate her life, however short," he said, adding that the family was asking for privacy "to mourn our loss."

Brooke was comforted by her husband, Robert, as the family disappeared through a field to examine the crash site, which still contained large pieces of the helicopter.

Earlier today, Bill and Arlette Mann stood outside their Norridge home talking to reporters and neighbors about their son, William J. Mann, Jr., 31, a registered nurse who perished on the Air Angels flight in Aurora.

While his parents spoke, a car pulled up carrying their daughters, Wendy and Tracy, who had just flown in from opposite ends of the country to mourn the loss of their brother.

"Oh, girls, we lost something special," Bill Mann said, overcome with emotion as the family embraced in tears. Wendy, who lives in Maine, told her father that "Billy" was her best friend.

The crushing loss was tinged with irony, they said, because Mann had a scheduled a second interview today for a job at Evanston Hospital, a career move prompted in part by other recent accidents involving emergency medical flights. At age 31, he had decided it was time to look for a safer job, the family said.

Maj. Brad Leighton, spokesman for the Illinois National Guard, confirmed that Kirstin's father was on active duty in the National Guard, and had been training for deployment to Afghanistan at Ft. Riley in Kansas.

Also on the flight were pilot Delbert Waugh, a 69-year-old Army veteran who had been shot down multiple times flying helicopters in Vietnam, according to his boss at Air Angels.

The fourth victim was paramedic Ronald Battiato, a former Peotone Fire Department lieutenant. Battiato was the father of six, including a newborn.

click link for more

Adding to deployment stress for soldiers is the economy

Soldiers going to Iraq worried about economy

By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Sep 30, 2008 18:07:26 EDT

FORT RILEY, Kan. — Soldiers and families who deal with enough stress during 12-month deployment to Iraq now acknowledge they are keeping a little closer eye on their finances.

Turmoil in the credit and financial markets has members of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry watching their money closely and planning for emergencies. They know their paychecks are secure, but it’s their investments, however small, that makes them worry.

Command Sgt. Maj. Julia Kelly is not amused with the talk of bailing out Wall Street with $700 billion when taxpayers are expected to pay for their own tough times. Kelly is trying to sell a house in Billings, Mont., knowing that some properties in that area have been on the market for as long as three years.

“I’m feeling that pressure right now with that,” said Kelly, adding that she didn’t want to find a renter because the last one cost her money in repairs.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_soldiers_economy_093008/

Lawsuit filed over pregnant guards on post

Lawsuit filed over pregnant guards on post

By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 12, 2008 13:07:12 EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. — A federal agency sued a New Mexico company Thursday in federal court, alleging the firm discriminated against pregnant employees it had hired as security guards on Army bases.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the victims included two female employees each at Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Fort Hood, Texas. The EEOC also sued on behalf of all women in a similar situation.

By law, the commission automatically can file a class-action lawsuit, which is expected to be heard by a jury in Wichita.

A spokesman for the company, Akal Security Inc., did not return a telephone message.

The EEOC alleges that the company forced the women to take leaves of absence when they became pregnant, then fired them. The commission said that violates federal law. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., seeks an undisclosed amount of damages from Akal.

The suit was filed on behalf of Melissa Bell, Sahra Carter, Makeesha Delaney, Angela Garcia, Vernica Hutto, Rebecca Martinez, Elizabeth Parker, Tamara Ransom, Shannon Smith and unnamed others.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_pregnantsuit_091108/

Fort Riley soldier in stable condition after being shot

Fort Riley soldier in stable condition
The Capital-Journal
Published Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 9:01 p.m. CDT
JUNCTION CITY — A Fort Riley soldier was being held without bond late Saturday after the shooting of another soldier earlier in the day, police said.

Pfc. Asher E. Barnes, 20, was in stable condition at Geary Community Hospital after being shot in the back around 1 a.m. Saturday in the 900 block of N. Washington, said Junction City police Lt. Kirt Nichols.

Police said the shooting happened while Barnes and a friend, Spc. Dominique C. Day, 22, were sitting in a vehicle in a parking lot bordering Junction City’s bar district. Day was handling a firearm, according to a news release from police Capt. Tim Brown.

Day was arrested in connection with aggravated battery. She was being held without bond in the Geary County Jail.
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http://cjonline.com/stories/062108/bre_jcshoot.shtml

Sgt. 1st Class William K. Beaver earns Silver Star

E-7 to receive Silver Star for actions in Iraq

By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 18, 2008 19:55:29 EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Army will honor a former Fort Riley sergeant this weekend for his valor in combat during action in Iraq that claimed the lives of two of his fellow soldiers.

Sgt. 1st Class William K. Beaver, 31, will be presented with the Silver Star, the Army’s third-highest honor for combat valor, during a ceremony at Fort Riley. He also will be reunited with other members of his military adviser team.

In January, the advisers were attacked by insurgents in Diyala Province. Capt. Thomas Casey, of Albuquerque, N.M., and Maj. Andrew Olmsted, of Colorado Springs, Colo., were killed.

Olmsted, who had been writing a blog from Iraq for the Rocky Mountain News, had asked a friend to post something Olmsted had written in the event he was killed.

Maj. Ed Callahan, a former adviser now training teams at Fort Riley, said Saturday’s event will be the first time Beaver has seen the members of the team that trained in Kansas since he left Iraq six months ago.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_silverstar_061808/