Combat Wounded Veteran Meets Pilot Who Saved Him

Vietnam vet reunites with helicopter pilot who helped save his life
Daily Progress
David A. Maurer
August 8, 2015

“The sky was blue, clouds, just beautiful,” DeFazio said as he thought back to March 30, 1968, and the Vietnam War. “My thought was that I was never going to live to see the sunset.”

The rising sun was getting a foothold on the horizon when Michael F. DeFazio found himself lying in the dirt of a dry rice paddy with a bullet hole in his chest, and an exit wound in his back.

More than a year of intensive training to become a U.S. Army Special Forces medic informed the young Green Beret that his prognosis wasn’t good. If not for the courageous actions of a helicopter medevac crew, his name might well be etched into the reflective, black granite wall in Washington.

Through the efforts of Charlottesville resident Bill Fields, DeFazio and helicopter pilot Robert W. Barrett, who flew the medevac mission that saved DeFazio’s life, recently were reunited at the Vietnam Ex-perience Museum in Ruckersville.
read more here

Green Beret From Rhode Island Killed in Afghanistan

Rhode Island soldier dies in Afghanistan 
Sgt. Peter McKenna killed in attack on a NATO facility
WCVB ABC Boston
August 9, 2015

BRISTOL, R.I. —An Army Green Beret from Rhode Island has been killed in Afghanistan just a month after he was honored at the Fourth of July parade in his hometown of Bristol.

The 7th Special Forces Group to which he was assigned said Sunday that 35-year-old Master Sgt. Peter Andrew McKenna Jr. died Friday in Kabul during an attack on a NATO facility.

McKenna, a 17-year Army veteran, was serving at the rank of 1st Sergeant during his deployment. The Pentagon said he was struck by enemy small arms fire. read more here

Afghanistan Veteran May Lose Silver Star After Job Interview?

Green Beret tells of shooting Taliban in CIA job interview, loses Silver Star for it 
Washington Times
By Rowan Scarborough
Sunday, July 19, 2015

Maj. Matthew Golsteyn was to receive the Silver Star for aiding fellow soldiers in Afghanistan, but his award is now in jeopardy.

A Green Beret who was awarded the Silver Star, then saw it stripped away because he killed a Taliban bombmaker, is telling why he did it, as conveyed in a CIA job interview he conducted nearly four years ago.

Maj. Matt Golsteyn said the insurgent was a known maker of improvised explosive devices and was in the presence of such components. He considered him an armed combatant, so he shot him.

Army Secretary John McHugh, who revoked the award, told The Washington Times through a spokesman that Maj. Golsteyn “assassinated an unarmed Afghan.”

Maj. Golsteyn’s explanation is contained in a CIA transcript obtained by The Times. His description of the battlefield shows how difficult it has been on the ground for Americans in Afghanistan. They are fighting an enemy who continually shifts between appearing as a harmless villager one day and an assassin the next.
read more here

Green Beret's Suicide Note: God has played Jenga with our lives

We can talk all we want about suicide awareness but never really say much at all. Making folks aware there are suicides within the military and veteran communities is one thing they already know very well. Keep talking about the obvious and the outcome is already known. Finding a way to stop blaming themselves is something they don't know. Telling them they are not stuck suffering is another.

Commentary: My stepfather 'did not deserve to die'
Army Times
By Grayson Ullman, Special to Army Times
July 13, 2015

Michael Bruce Lube, a Green Beret, committed suicide two years ago. (Photo: Courtesy Grayson Ullman)

On July 11, 2013, my stepfather, a Green Beret, donned the uniform he wore proudly for 18 years and scrawled a note on an index card.

"To the regiment, I have ridden my pathetic life about as far down the spiral as anyone should have to. I accept my dishonor and shame. I am a disgrace to the regiment, and willingly execute this, my last humble act. I am so goddamned tired of holding it together. There has been no end to it all. God has played Jenga with our lives. Goodbye and good luck.
- Michael Bruce Lube, Sergeant First Class, US Army Special Forces"

Then he picked up his favorite gun, a Heckler and Koch USP .45mm pistol.

I sent him text after text that morning. I told him that he'd be a grandfather some day. I told him that despite the tribulations we had gone through, we were strong; we were a family; we could struggle through. We could make it. We would find a way to alleviate his demons, to seek out healing.

I'll never know if he read them.

Late that morning, as a SWAT team shut down the highway outside our apartment and prepared to breach the door, he called my mother to assure her that this wasn't her fault. "I won't let the Army take my [Special Forces] tabs," he said. "I'm going to die a Green Beret."

He placed his green beret, carefully folded, far from where his body would fall, along with a picture of he and his mother and the collection of letters to loved ones he had just finished writing.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Michael's actions had horrific consequences that rippled throughout our entire family. The effects of his PTSD spread like an infection, subjecting each of us to his violent tendencies and emotional abuse. We all began to question our own choices — were we supporting him enough? Had we made mistakes? Was this our fault?
read more here

Why Is Department of Defense Withholding Documents on Robert Bales?

Three years after Afghanistan killings, military again refuses to release report on Robert Bales
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
July 1, 2015

The Defense Department is again denying a Freedom of Information Act request from The News Tribune seeking the release of an investigation into commanders who oversaw Staff Sgt. Robert Bales before he snapped and killed 16 Afghan civilians in March 2012.

A FOIA officer from U.S. Central Command on Tuesday told the newspaper that its latest request for the document would be declined under an exemption that allows the government to withhold information that could influence an ongoing law enforcement investigation.

The News Tribune has been seeking the report since August 2013, when Bales was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Army in March also rejected a clemency request Bales submitted to Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s I Corps.

Bales was a JBLM Stryker soldier serving at a small Special Operations outpost in Kandahar Province with a team from the 7th Special Forces Group when he twice sneaked out of the base to murder civilians sleeping in separate nearby villages.

Maj. Alison Aguilar, spokeswoman for Army Special Operations Command, said Wednesday that all disciplinary proceedings for that group of Green Berets have been completed.

As The News Tribune previously reported, one Green Beret was discharged from the military because he provided steroids to Bales. Another soldier from the Special Forces team received a reprimand for drinking alcohol on the deployment. One more was discharged from the Army because of a separate civilian criminal investigation that began before he arrived in Afghanistan.
read more here
linked from Military.com

Sgt. Maj. Michael Jarnevic Still On Duty Since Vietnam

Is this Green Beret the last Vietnam vet on active duty? 
Marine Corps Times
By James K. Sanborn, Staff writer
June 28, 2015

Sgt. Maj. Michael Jarnevic, seen here in 1995, will retire from the Army on July 8. He is believed to be the last Vietnam War veteran serving on active duty.
(Photo: Courtesy Michael Jarnevic)

In the 1970s, he was among the last Marines sent to Vietnam.

In the '80s, as an Army Green Beret, he deployed into Honduras during the Contra Wars.

In 1991, he was gassed in Iraq.

And after 9/11, he fought terrorists in Afghanistan.

He's an environmental conservationist and holds a master's degree in creative writing.

He is not the Most Interesting Man in the World.

But with 42 years in uniform, 59-year-old Michael Jarnevic is likely the saltiest sergeant major serving in the U.S. military. And when he retires July 8, he'll likely be the last person in uniform whose service record includes a tour during the Vietnam War.

"I don't know how you could actually prove it," Jarnevic told Marine Corps Times, "but the onus would be to disprove it."

He knows of a few warrant officers serving until recently who also had Vietnam deployments. And the last Vietnam War draftee, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ralph E. Rigby, retired in November.

Jarnevic is now on terminal leave, having fulfilled a 16-month assignment as the senior enlisted adviser for the U.S. Joint Reserve Intelligence Support Element, part of U.S. Special Operations Command, at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. There, he was involved in one last war effort — coordinating analyst work against the Islamic State group.
read more here

Green Beret Becomes Seahawk

Former Green Beret and Texas long snapper Nate Boyer hopes to hook on in NFL 
USA TODAY
Nate Davis
Sports
May 2, 2015

(UPDATE: Boyer was offered a contract by the Seattle Seahawks after the NFL draft concluded Saturday evening.)

Boyer served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Photo: Courtesy Nate Boyer)

Nate Boyer is a special teams ace, which seems highly appropriate once you're familiar with his background.

A man who willingly tackles challenges, Boyer is currently trying to surmount a huge one — latching on with an NFL team as a long snapper.

At 5-11, 220 pounds and 34 years of age, he is the longest of long shots. But unfavorable odds typically don't deter men who have served with the Green Berets, and Boyer's beaten them before.

After serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, he decided at age 29 that he better attend college, fearing he never would otherwise. In the process of matriculating at the University of Texas, Boyer also walked onto the football team even though he'd never played a competitive down in his life.
read more here

Vietnam Veterans Still Live Battles To Fight

While most reporters seem to overlook pre-9-11 veterans, this is a good article about Vietnam veterans and the battles they still have to fight.

There are no new wounds separating generations no matter how much easier it is for Congress to pretend it is all new to them.

Had it not been for Vietnam veterans fighting for all generations when they came home, there would have been nothing available for PTSD help among servicemembers, veterans and yes, the civilian population. As imperfect as things are today, it would have all been worse had it not been for them.

50 years later, Vietnam veterans still live with the war 
Post Bulletin
Matthew Stolle
April 18, 2015

The Vietnam War may have slipped into the annals of history, but for those who served, it never completely ended.

As a special forces commander during the Vietnam war, Bill Fritts of Byron ran recon and civil affairs missions in and around South Vietnam for 32 months. But it wasn't until two decades later, when the war had long been over, that Fritts realized it wasn't over for him.

He began having horrible dreams.

He would awaken at night drenched in sweat. Fritts had a recurring dream in which his men were "running operations" in some jungle-laden locale. It would dawn on Fritts, as the dreams continued, that the men in them were dead now. "I'm the only guy still alive."

Then one night Fritts woke up in his Byron home, and there, sitting at the end of his bed, was a North Vietnamese Army lieutenant, smoking a cigarette and smiling. As soon as Fritts would sit up, the Vietnamese man vanished.

A doctor later diagnosed Fritts' case as the worst Vietnam-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he had ever seen.

It's been five decades since Fritts, now 79, served in the Vietnam War as a Green Beret special forces commander, running small-group missions, moving stealthily through the jungle, wearing the black pajamas that allowed him to blend into his surroundings.
read more here

Twisted Tale of Green Beret, CIA and Army Officials

Army’s withdrawal of officer’s Silver Star sparks ire of Congress
Green Beret saved soldiers under fire
Washington Times
By Rowan Scarborough
March 15, 2015

A group of House lawmakers is moving to strip the armed services’ civilian leaders of the power to revoke combat valor awards in response to Army Secretary John McHugh unilaterally canceling the Silver Star, one of the military’s highest honors, for a former Green Beret officer.

Mr. McHugh took the action against Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who braved repeated enemy fire in Afghanistan, even though he has not been charged with any offenses. The Army now is seeking to release him with a less-than-honorable discharge. The officer plans to fight the move, his attorney says.

The secretary acted after the CIA informed the Army that Maj. Golsteyn, during a polygraph exam for a job application, told of killing a terrorist who was making improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the weapon that has killed more Americans in Afghanistan than any other. The Army also removed Maj. Golsteyn from the elite ranks of the Green Berets.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, the California Republican who is spearheading the restrictive legislation, says he wants to prevent service secretaries from retaliating against personnel by stripping their awards in cases where there is insufficient evidence to charge them for nonjudicial, or court-martial, punishment.
read more here

Army revokes Silver Star award for Green Beret

Army revokes Silver Star award for Green Beret officer, citing investigation
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
February 4, 2015

"The investigation closed last year without Golsteyn’s being charged with a crime, but Army Secretary John M. McHugh decided not only to deny Golsteyn the Distinguished Service Cross, but also to revoke his Silver Star."

Capt. Mathew L. Golsteyn was leading a Special Forces team in Afghanistan in 2010 when an 80-man mission he assembled to hunt insurgent snipers went awry. One of the unit’s five vehicles sank in mud, a gunshot incapacitated an Afghan soldier fighting alongside the Americans, and insurgents maneuvered on them to rake the soggy fields with machine-gun fire.

Golsteyn, already a decorated Green Beret officer, responded with calm resolve and braved enemy fire repeatedly that day, according to an Army summary of his actions. He received the Silver Star for valor for his actions during a 2011 ceremony at Fort Bragg, N.C. Top Army officials later approved him for an upgrade to the prestigious Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor in recognizing combat heroism by U.S. soldiers.

In a rare reversal, however, Golsteyn, now a major, no longer has either award. The Special Forces officer and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., was later investigated for an undisclosed violation of the military’s rules of engagement in combat for killing a known enemy fighter and bomb maker, according to officials familiar with the case. The investigation closed last year without Golsteyn’s being charged with a crime, but Army Secretary John M. McHugh decided not only to deny Golsteyn the Distinguished Service Cross, but also to revoke his Silver Star.
read more here

Veterans Events for Central Florida

Veterans To Do List from Cathy Haynes

Mid-January notice of veteran, military or patriotic events in Central Florida

Send me your events – people cannot attend an event if they don’t know about it!

Please share this information and events with your friends and interested others and attend.   Post where appropriate.

If you wish to be removed from the email list, just let me know.

Amputee Vet needs help this weekend – Sat. Jan 17 – Vet has the supplies, just needs the hand and muscle power.   Home is in Merritt Island.   Interior painting needed for 2k sq ft home, wood floors to be done, hot water heater needs to be installed by legitimate plumber.   8:30am until done.   Contact Kim of AVET Project atkim@avetproject.org   321-373-7046

Local Wounded Marine Gets His Home!  - Sat. Jan 17 – Public Welcomed!   Flag Raising and Dedication Ceremonies for Marine Sgt. Stephen Tovet and his wife, Krystina, to receive their specially adapted new home.   9am Flag Raising at 303 Cross St., Oakland, 34760 (western Orange County) and the Home Dedication Ceremony is at 11am at Oakland Presbyterian Church Christian Life Center, 218 East Oakland Ave.   Sgt. Tovet was born in Orlando and grew up in Apopka. He and his wife, Krystina were high school sweethearts and are graduates of Apopka High School.   Stephen enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. He was subsequently deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. He was seriously wounded from a IED blast while on patrol in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.   The explosion severely injured his left leg, hand, and right lower leg.   He subsequently required amputation of his left leg above the knee and surgical reconstruction of his hand and right lower leg.

Special Guest Speaker at the Home Dedication will be Marine Maj. General Mike Regner, Staff Director at the Marine Corps Headquarters at the Pentagon.

This is the sixth local home built by Home At Last, Inc. which provides personally adapted homes for wounded warriors.   Donations still welcomed at Home at Last Project, Inc., PO Box 38, Oakland, FL, 34760.    Bill Criswell Home At Last, Chairman (a WW2 vet) 407-876-2472   wccriswell@earthlink.net

TOMORROW,,,,,,,TOMORROW,,,,,I'LL BE THERE WITH CAMERA READY. (look below for videos from the last two years)
Orlando Rocks Benefit for Marine Cpl. Adam Devine – Sat. Jan 17 - VFW Post 4287 at 3500 S Goldenrod Rd, Orlando, 32822.   (southeastern Orlando)   Doors open at 1pm. Escort is scheduled to arrive approximately at 2pm with the limousine carrying Cpl. Adam Devine to the event.   National Anthem is at 3pm.   On December 28, 2011 Adam Devine was WIA (Wounded in Action) and as a result lost both of his lower limbs and is still in Walter Reed Medical Center undergoing numerous surgeries and physical therapy.  Event open to the public.

"One Nation Under God" – Sat. Jan 17 –  7pm at First United Methodist Church in Oviedo presents this FREE celebration of Christian Patriotism.   It is a live musical Program with video and live testimonials honoring our 1st Responders and all branches of the military and veterans.   This event is also feature guest speaker Army Ranger LTC Danny McKnight whose story inspired the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”   Program is compiled by By Your Side Ministries in partnership with Operation Safety 91.    Refreshments after the program.   FUMCO, 263 King Street, Oviedo, 32765.   407-365-3255   www.fumco.net   www. byyoursideministries.com/boxoffice    Operation Safety 91:   www. OS91.com    407-484-4506

The Scottish Highland Games – Sat & Sun Jan 17, 18 – Lots of fun for the whole family whether you have Scot/Irish ancestry or not.   Bagpipes are heard from all over the southern US, but especially nice are the First Responders who play.   Central Winds Park, 1000 E. SR 434, Winter Springs, 32708.   Quidditch, dancing, Scottish games, sheep dog herding display, bands, etc.  Saturday: 8am – 9pm $25 adult entry; Sunday: 9am – 5pm $20 adult entry.   Check online for schedules and more info.

Call to action:  Veteran Businesses = Jobs for veterans - Wed. Jan 21 - Public meeting notice about a study being done on small businesses in our community.   Please show up and be represented.   There is no mention of counting Veteran-owned businesses within this study.   Very disappointing.   Other Disparity Study contracted businesses across the country include veteran-owned businesses and it is the trend. Please attend and let your voices be heard.   4pm – 6pm at Orange County Orlando Magic Recreation Center, 4863 N. Goldenrod Rd., Winter Park, 32792.   FREE parking.   See:   orangecountydisparity.com

“Orange County, City of Orlando, Orange County Public Schools, and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (Agencies) are conducting a study that will examine the procurement of services and products, the subcontracting participation of prime contractors/service providers who do business with the Agencies and in the private sector, and the anecdotal evidence collected from a broad cross section of all firms doing business with or interested in doing business with the Agencies.   The results of the study will provide an update to the Agencies’ current M/W/DBE, LDB, and ACDBE programs. Individuals and businesses are invited to learn about this disparity study (forum) and provide testimony of doing business or attempting to do business with the Agencies (hearing).”

Study conducted by MGT of America, Inc., contact Vernetta Mitchell at vmitchel@mgtamer.com ororangecountydisparity@mgtmer.com   (704) 531-4098.   Future meetings: Wed. March 11 (Apopka) and

Wed. April 8 (Winter Garden/Ocoee).

Local Developing Business (LDB) and Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise – Fri. Jan 30 – Learn about these programs and other opportunities.   Presented by GOAA (Greater Orlando Aviation Authority) from 9am – 11:30am at Orlando Executive Airport, 365 Rickenbacker Dr, Orlando, 32803.   Info:   407-825-7133.

2015 Veterans Business Initiative (VBI) – Apply before Jan. 30 - The VBI will run for eight weeks through February and March with two sessions per day starting Thurs. Feb 5.   This is a no cost program for 100 qualified veterans who are seeking entrepreneurship opportunities, employment and continuing education. The VBI will be held at the Central Florida Disability Chamber of Commerce (CFDC) located at the National Entrepreneur Center, 3201 E. Colonial Dr., Suite A-120, Orlando, 32803. The VBI is sponsored by Florida Hospital, Manpower US (Central Florida), Regions Bank and the Orlando Business Journal.   Partners include Disney, Rosen and Score.  Info: Rogue Gallart at   rogue@nationalec.org 407-420-4875 or Lisa Hancock at lisah@mnpwr.com

Valentine’s Day Dinner and Day – Sat. Feb 14 – sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 11488 and a portion of proceeds will benefit Home At Last that assists wounded warriors with local specially adapted homes. Tickets/information available by contacting Jim McQuillan at 407-877-2149.   Also available after the Masses at Holy Family Catholic Church, 5125 S. Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, 32819.   (Southwest Orlando.) Obtain your tickets early, this event has sold out in previous years. Event will be in their St. Patrick Social Hall.   $25 Prime Rib dinner and dance from 6pm – 11pm.   Flyer available. dad@mcquillanfamily.com  

Charity Golf Tournament PVA of Central Florida – Mon. March 23 – Fund raiser for both Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Central Florida and The Disability Wellness Center in Sanford.   PVA assistance includes spinal injury and neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and ALS also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.   There are 27 known veterans with ALS in Central FL.   Tournament will be held at the Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes in Longwood, 32779.   Flyer available.   Sponsorships welcomed.   To register or for more information contact: John DeMauro, 407-328-7041   cfpvaed@cfl.rr.com

Spread the word - Seeking members of the World War II 384th Bomb Group to sign a Commemorative wall panel.  ASAP.   During WWII, the 384th Bombardment Group was part of the Eighth Air Force and was assigned to the Grafton Underwood Airfield in England.   Today, the 384th Bomb Group Commemorative Wing Panel Project provides those veterans a chance to sign their names on a genuine wing skin panel from a WWII B-17G.  The panel travels all over the United States for interested 384th veterans to sign.   A volunteer for the group, Keith Ellefson, will be touring Florida later this month with the wing panel.   Email him at B-17WingPanel@384thBombGroup.com, or call Keith Ellefson at (334) 733-4353.

A roster of members of the 384th Bomb Group and a record of their service in the 384th can be found atwww.384thbombgroup.com  

Volunteer Help needed - 27 trailer homes with disabled and elderly veterans residing in them need various repairs or help with painting, outdoor weed control, etc.   Also needed – someone with experience in leveling trailers.   Lists are being compiled to match the needs, the supplies and the volunteers.   Contact Cate Montuoro at cmontuoro@HBI.org   407-259-5069

Mentors needed - Orange County Veterans Court IS succeeding!   Longer term success is possible with community mentors.   Be a “battle buddy” or “foxhole buddy” by assisting someone with life challenges.   No proselytizing – just non-judgmental caring.   Most of the offenders are DUI or possession.   If you have experienced substance abuse – although not required - and came thru it, you may be very helpful to someone else.  If you are interested in participating as a mentor, know someone who is interested, or are a part of an organization where Mentors can be recruited, contact Beatrice Brown, the Coordinator.   She or Judge Brewer have graciously offered to visit various groups and organizations to keep the mentor program in use.   It does make a difference and you can too…..   Contact Beatrice Brown at 407-496-1307   wellsbrownlawgroup@gmail.com  

JOBS – especially for veterans or military connected

If you are looking for a job or have connections with providing jobs, I need to know who you are.   I receive notices about jobs, job fairs, employment assistance, etc. but I don’t always know who is interested - on either side.   Contact me so that people can be linked together for the benefit of all!   chaynes11629@yahoo.com

The above items that are shared provide information or assistance to living veterans, military and first responders. 

There are also events that honor the deceased veterans, military, and first responders:

Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) are made up of persons who provide flag lines at funeral homes and cemeteries only upon invitation of the family of the deceased.   They also may escort the deceased from the funeral homes to the final resting place. PGR also participates in patriotic events like welcoming home warriors, Honor Flights, parades, wounded warrior home dedications, etc. While some PGR ride motorcycles, motorcycles are not required.  Anyone who is interested is invited to join in the tributes.

While the ultimate final tribute to a former warrior is a flag line in his/her honor, it’s always best to show the appreciation while he/she is still alive….

Dave (Buzzard) Clarke - Florida Asst. State Captain Patriot Guard Riders  (Central FL, Leesburg, Bushnell Cemetery area)  dave_clarke1@msn.com  352-406-0343   or   David Shelton (Flyboy) (c)  321-689-4699dshelton01@aol.com (Central FL, Orlando area)

INFO to keep and share:

Veterans in crisis – For you or someone you know - Confidential Hotline:   1-800-273-8255, #1.  

Website at www. veteranscrisisline provides 24/7 confidential chat online assistance;

Or text 838255   for  24/7 confidential assistance.   They are there because they care….

Camaraderie Foundation in Central Florida provides resources for private and confidential Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) counseling for warriors and their families.     It works.   It has saved lives, marriages and families.  Contact Steven 407-841-0071

Operation Homefront assists military families during difficult financial times by providing food assistance, auto and home repair, vision care, travel and transportation, moving assistance, essential home items, and financial assistance. www.operationhomefront.org

Vet Centers are available for combat zone veterans to help with personal and family readjustment counseling and outreach services.    The nearest centers are located in Orlando, Melbourne, Clermont, and Daytona Beach.      www.vetcenter.va.gov/

EXTRAS:

·         Museum of Military History, 5210 West Irlo Bronson Hwy., Kissimmee, 34746.   407-507-3894 for further information.   www.museumofmilitaryhistory.com

·         Check out:   hiredbyfriday.com and iamveteran.com.   Both sites are for veterans and hiredbyfriday.com is a site for Veterans to upload their resumes and employers can look for skilled veterans there.

·         American Warrior Radio Show   from 11am-noon EDT on Saturdays, radio station WMEL - AM 1300    Nationwide broadcast:   www.1300wmel.com

·         Wounded Times - Veterans News Service covering news that matters to veterans and their families. Local, state and national news, events, and stories – especially with videos involving Central Florida military and veterans. Dedicated to defeating Combat PTS.

·         Shades of Green Resort – Armed Forces Recreation Center on Disney property provides various packages for active duty, reservists, guardsmen, 100% service connected disabled, and retired military personnel and their families.   Go to www.shadesofgreen.org   for information.   Special discounts for rooms may be available based on occupancy levels, and special ticket rates.   (407) 824-3400

·         The Navy Exchange (NEX) –NEX in Orlando is for all branches of active duty military, reservists, guardsmen, retirees, 100% service-connected disabled veterans and their dependents.   It is located west of Orlando Int’l Airport, about 1 mile south of the Beachline Expy/528 on Tradeport Dr.   Competitive pricing and programs. The big white building on the west side of Tradeport -   7151 Earhart Dr., Orlando, 32827.     www.mynavyexchange.com   407-857-3550

·         MWR / ITT Ticket Office – Offers discounted attraction tickets to active duty military, reservists, guardsmen, retirees, 100% service-connected disabled veterans and their dependents.   It is locate adjacent to the Navy Exchange (NEX) listed above.   Phone: 407-855-0116 or 407-851-4396 for details,    email:mwrorl@gmail.com   or Text MWROrlando to 30364 for MWR Specials.

·         Military OneSource is a free service provided by the Department of Defense (DoD) to active duty, Guard and Reserve service members, and their families with comprehensive information on every aspect of military life including deployment, relationships, economics, grief, education, parenting and child care, and much more.   www.militaryonesource.mil

Caring and sharing,

Cathy Haynes

Member/supporter of numerous veteran and military organizations in Central FL

407-239-8468

chaynes11629@yahoo.com

From 2013 Green Beret
From 2014 Navy SEAL

Wounded Green Beret Meets Miracle Maker Who Saved His Life

US Veteran Reunites With the Soldier Who Saved His Life
ABC News
By SARAH KUNIN
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Nov 11, 2014

"There was a higher power definitely that day that was looking out for us,” said Wanner, also a father of three.

Sean Clifton, left, and Mark Wanner served together in combat in Afghanistan.

Courtesy Sean Clifton and Mark Wanner

The friendship between U.S. Army Master Sgt. Sean Clifton and Sgt. First Class Mark Wanner is one born on the battlefield.

The pair, both members of the Green Berets, the elite division of the U.S. Army Special Forces, were with their troops in Afghanistan on May 31, 2009, when their lives would change forever.

"We targeted a Taliban commander,” Wanner recalled to ABC News’ Michael Strahan, who brought the two soldiers together this month in New York City to share their story.

“We knew that he was there that day and we rolled out and we ran into a hornet's nest, really,” Wanner, of South Dakota, said. “I round the corner. That's when Sean kicked the door and a guy point blank just took his AK and shot right up Sean.”

“And he's like, ‘Help. Help me.’ I'm like seeing his eyes are, like, just big…and then he collapsed down,” Wanner said.

Clifton was gravely wounded in the attack. He recalls thinking of his wife and three kids as he waited for help.

As Clifton lay bleeding and close to his last breath, Wanner, a medic, took charge. He dove through bullets to treat his friend’s wounds and convinced a medevac pilot to defy orders and land the helicopter inside the firefight.

It was then that Wanner and the medics discovered a miracle. A hidden bullet was lodged beneath Clifton’s armor, just millimeters away from what would have been a fatal shot.
read more here

Lashawn Williams Lost Leg Gained Support From Green Beret

Veterans aim to help teen amputee
Tampa Bay Online
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
Published: November 2, 2014

Billy Costello has some advice for Lashawn Williams, the Northeast High School defensive lineman who needed his right leg amputated after a freak injury during a game last week

“The biggest thing for him is to surround himself with people who have been successful after an amputation,” says Costello, who has an intimate knowledge of the subject.

On Sept. 20, 2011, Army Staff Sgt. Billy Costello stepped on an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Like Williams, Costello had his right leg amputated above the knee.

But unlike Williams, Costello has had a chance to adjust to his new reality.

And not only adjust, but thrive.

Since the IED exploded and his leg came off, Costello has climbed mountains, returned to scuba diving and is in the process of designing his own prosthetic leg that will allow him to do what he did as an Army Green Beret combat diver — operate on land and in the water.

Costello, who medically retired in March as a sergeant first class, has never met Williams. Taking a few minutes before his astronomy class at the University of North Carolina, where he is studying film and psychology, Costello says he wants to pass along the wisdom of someone who knows better than most about where the road ahead may lead.

“That’s a tough situation,” says Costello when I tell him about what happened to Williams, who just turned 18 last week. “It’s a whole new set of circumstances. Right now he is thinking about the permanence of his situation, how young he is, all the doors that have just shut for him. He is going to worry about the relationships that he is never going to form. The accomplishments not made.”
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Watchfire Back From Far Part Two

Watchfire to show you the way back from far
Part 2
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 1, 2014

Josh told the Watcher the stories he wanted to share
of Afghanistan and Iraq and the nine times he was sent there.
A Green Beret, fearless and tough
he never thought being home would be so rough
but the talk slowed down enough to know.
Josh's loss of hope was beginning to show.
The Watcher said I know where you are
been there myself with a fresh scar.
See, I had three sons from three different wives
sooner or later they stopped wanting me in their lives.
I traveled all across this country looking for a place to stay
but ended up with too many memories getting in the way.
So I'd pack my stuff and head down the road as far as I could get
never really trusting anyone I met.
But there is something more you need to know about the life I had
about the times when I hurt my family just because I was mad.
My kid brother named his son after me.
Your buddy Bob was actually a nephew to me
but I left soon after he was born
because they just didn't understand how I was torn.
I looked fine to them but inside I was beaten up bad
regretting living so much nothing made me glad.
After Bob was killed, I knew it was time to come back home
knowing you'd be here feeling lost and alone.
Josh started to cry with shaking hands to light his cigarette
he knew Bob understood his life of regret after regret
but wondered how he got so far into his head
to know he was thinking everyone would be better off with him dead.
So Bob pulled out a tiny book from his vest
thinking it was time for Josh to learn how to rest.
The book said "Point Man In Your Pocket"
40 days to healing what is inside your jacket
But Josh said he no longer believed in God after what he'd seen
he couldn't understand if God loved how He allowed it all
Then Bob started to question him
When you were in that hell of a mess
did you see any tenderness?
Josh thought about it for a while
then he had a broad smile
There was a time after a firefight.
All hell came down that night.
We were getting the wounded to the medivac flight
when we heard the sound of a mortar before it was in our sight
we just dropped to our knees and covered them with our bodies
not knowing if any of us would lose more buddies
but it turned out to be a dud landing nearby
had it exploded, all of us knew it wasn't our time to die.
Well one young one was shaken up and fell apart
LT grabbed his shoulders, looked him in the eye and saw his heart
First time I ever saw LT cry, he put his arms around the kid
and told him it was because he loved it hurt as much as it did.
So ya, there are lots of times like that but what is your point?
Bob put his arm around Josh's shoulder with a soft voice
telling him if love lived through all of that it was a choice
between what was bad inside of all of us and what is right within us.
That right came from God walking with them letting love live
even in the hellish place war soldiers can still givev share, pray care about someone else in pain
and be willing to die for each other all over again.
Josh started thinking of all the other times when he did see acts of kindness
The arm reached out, the head laid on a shoulder of a brother, words spoken with softness
all happened but he didn't really notice before when they were done
he hadn't stopped long enough to think of a single one.
Bob and Josh spent every night talking about God's love strong enough to live through war
and what they really did it all for.
When all was said and done they did it all for the buddy on their left and buddy on their right
fighting to save lives with all their might.
There was nothing really wrong with them after all they'd been asked to do
but something in them that was right and true.
A couple of years later, Bob passed away
but Josh took over his watch that very same day
knowing there would come someone like him needing to be shown
the way back from far from God they used to believe in feeling alone.
Just needing someone to care
knowing what it was like because he was there.

If you need to know where God was, be shown the way back from far, contact Point Man International Ministries and find an OutPost in your area.

Watchfire to show you the way back from far

Green Berets Mistreated at Fort Carson

Fort Carson Gets a Black Eye for Its Treatment of These Green Berets
US Navy SEAL Today
By Joel Warner
Sep. 24 2014

Sergeant First Class Emil Wojcik wasn't the same after a rollover car crash at Fort Carson in March 2013 broke one of his cervical vertebrae. That, combined with the various times he'd been knocked unconscious during rough parachute landings, seemed to knock something permanently askew in his mind. He lost hearing in his right ear and begun stuttering when he spoke. Sleep became a problem. He'd sit upright in bed in the middle of the night and yell, "Stand up straight, the general is here!" -- as if he were back on one of his secret missions. Or he'd sleepwalk, sometimes tumbling down the stairs of his Colorado Springs home. He started taking Ambien to help him sleep, but that plus the Oxycodone he was on for ongoing neck pain left him in a medicated stupor.

It didn't help that Wojcik, who was born in Warsaw but had immigrated to Michigan when he was seven, had a lot on his mind. In 2012, his first marriage had ended in an ugly divorce and custody battle that resulted in his two children living 4,500 miles away, with their mother in her native Ireland. His second wife, Amber, had stage IV bone cancer that had spread to her lungs and lymph nodes, and the two were caught in exhausting cycles of chemotherapy treatments and remission. On top of that, a good friend of Wojcik's, a Special Forces team sergeant at Fort Carson, had taken his pistol and killed himself while parked on the side of Interstate 25 in December 2011. "Nobody asked too many questions about it," says Wojcik of the incident -- but it stuck with him.

For Wojcik, everything came to a head one evening in July 2013.

But Wojcik didn't feel supported by his superiors, even as his medical condition deteriorated. By December 2013, his neck pain and sleeping problems had become serious enough that his battalion's physician referred him to the Army's Medical Evaluation Board, the first step toward being medically retired from the Army. But then in January, when he was called into his battalion commander's office -- "It was the first time I'd ever met the man," he says -- Wojcik learned that he could be leaving Special Forces for other reasons. Wojcik's medical-evaluation process had been halted, his commander told him; he was now looking at an other-than-honorable discharge from the Army because of his behavior, which would leave him with few benefits.
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Green Beret's widow on mission for truth

Widow fights Army ruling of Green Beret's death as overdose
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
By Tina Susman
Published: September 11, 2014

A U.S. Army carry team transfers the remains of Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz Jr. of Prince William, Va., at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Jan. 30, 2011.
JASON MINTO/U.S. AIR FORCE

Debbie Venetz heard the doorbell ring and saw those familiar Army boots as she peeked through the window onto her front steps.

Her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz, was back from Afghanistan, in time for their daughter's seventh birthday party the next day.

That's what Venetz thought, until she opened the door and saw the chaplain.

It was Jan. 28, 2011, and Anthony Venetz, a 30-year-old Green Beret, had become the latest U.S. soldier to die in Afghanistan. Two weeks later, the recipient of two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Years later, Debbie Venetz is still fighting to learn the circumstances of her husband's death and to claim benefits the Army has refused to pay after it ruled he died of an accidental drug overdose and, therefore, not in the line of duty.

"It's a daily thing. For over 3 1/2 years now, this is all I've been dealing with," she said, sitting at a table in her parents' home in this suburb of New York City. "But nobody has ever said to me, 'Just move on,' because they know something is not right."

Interviews conducted in 2011 as part of the first military investigation into his death paint Venetz as a steadfast serviceman whose only crutches were cigarettes and long Skype calls with his wife and their two young children.

"Exuded confidence." "Natural leader." "Straight up. … I'd follow him anywhere." "Everybody liked him." "He would always follow the rules."

When word filtered back to fellow soldiers that his death was the result of drugs, the reaction was disbelief.

"There was nothing but shock," one soldier who had been in Afghanistan with Venetz said in the investigative report, which had most names redacted. "It just dumbfounded me," another said. "It just seemed out of character … not the Tony I knew."

Nonetheless, the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which investigates noncombat deaths, ruled that Venetz died as a result of his misconduct, based on autopsy findings. That meant his widow, now 33, would not receive benefits that included compensation of more than $1,200 a month and coverage of some school costs for her children, who were 6 and 3 when their father died.

At her urging, the 7th Special Forces Group, to which her husband belonged, conducted its own investigation the following year, and that convinced her she didn't have the whole story.
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Death of Fort Bragg Green Beret in Afghanistan under investigation

Green Beret from Fort Bragg dies in Afghanistan
Fay Observer
By Drew Brooks Military editor
Posted: Monday, August 4, 2014

A Fort Bragg soldier who died following a noncombat related incident in Afghanistan on Sunday is remembered as an exceptional Green Beret who loved his family, team, country and job with everything he had.

Staff Sgt. Girard David Gass Jr., 33, of Lumber Bridge, was pronounced dead at the Jalalabad Air Field Hospital, according to the Department of Defense.

The cause of death is under investigation, but officials said it was related to a "non-battle" incident while on patrol in Nangarhar province.

Gass, known as Jerry, was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg.
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Humor Helps Wounded Green Beret

Humor helps wounded Green Beret cope 
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
By Elaine Williams
Published: July 27, 2014

Staff Sgt. Cody Ensley is awarded the Purple Heart, for wounds he received while performing his duties in Afghanistan, by Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. John F. Campbell at San Antonio Military Medical Center on Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Jan. 3, 2014.
PETER J. BERARDIU.S. ARMY

Laughter comes easily to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Cody Ensley, less than a year after he nearly lost his life in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated.

Words are still a struggle, something that can be frustrating for the Green Beret who was fluent in Spanish and had mastered a smattering of an Arabic dialect used in the region where he was deployed.

Sitting close to his wife at the home of friends, Ensley, 26, a 2006 Lewiston High School graduate, answered questions, often with single words, during his first visit to Idaho since the attack.

"He knows what he wants to say, but that speech center is so damaged, he just can't get it out," said his wife, Ashley Ensley. "We play charades a lot."

The Ensleys planned to see his family, catch up with friends and attend a fundraiser at Canter's Inn in Lewiston. The trip is a celebration of how far Ensley has come.
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West Virginia National Guards Pushes for Medal of Honor for Ex-Green Beret

West Virginia National Guard pressing for Medal of Honor for Vietnam veteran
West Virginia Gazette
by Rusty Marks, Staff writer
July 6, 2014

Courtesy photo
Edward Ziobron was a sergeant with U.S. Special Forces in 1970 when he took part in a secret mission behind the lines in Laos. Fellow soldiers credit him, though badly wounded, with leading his platoon to safety. The West Virginia National Guard is trying to get Ziobron the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Those who survived a November 1970 top secret mission behind the lines in Laos credit Master Sgt. Edward Ziobron with saving the lives of his platoon during an off-and-on, four-day running battle with the North Vietnamese Army.

Ziobron, a 64-year-old member of the West Virginia National Guard living near Martinsburg, received no official recognition of his actions until 2005, when he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. But National Guard officials are now pushing to have the award upgraded to the Medal Of Honor — the nation’s highest award for valor — for Ziobron’s actions from Nov. 25-29, 1970.

“This guy is high speed,” said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, the state’s adjutant general. “At 64 years old, this guy is still jumping out of airplanes and teaching younger guys how to get ready for Special Forces school.”

Until recently forced to retire from military duty because of his age, Ziobron was serving as a trainer with the National Guard’s Special Forces Group. Hoyer said he remains a special forces consultant with the National Guard as a civilian employee.

Ziobron, a former Green Beret, was serving with the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam — Studies and Observations Group at the time of the November 1970 top secret mission into the Laotian jungle.
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"They treated me like a crazed criminal" says defiant Major

Major Gant can't understand that bringing his girlfriend to Afghanistan and living with her among the "natives" plus drinking and popping pills, were the wrong things to do.

Green Beret brings girlfriend to Afghanistan, ‘goes native’
New York Post
By Gary Buiso
June 29, 2014

In a remote village in the dangerous northeastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, Army Green Beret Maj. Jim Gant was doing something few others had — he was making progress against the enemy.

To do so, he and his men went native — trading their body armor for traditional Afghan garb, growing long beards, speaking the local Pashto tongue, and forging close alliances with tribesmen, who would come to revere Gant as “Commander Jim.”

But when he went to bed at night, Gant had one thing his men did not — company.

Ann Scott Tyson, a Washington Post war correspondent, quit her job to live secretly with him on the front lines — where he taught her how to shoot an assault rifle for protection. They drank alcohol and made their own rules.

When his commanders got wind of the domestic bliss he carved out for himself in the heart of a war zone, Gant was quietly relieved of his command and pushed to retire in disgrace.

Once nicknamed “Lawrence of Afghanistan” by Gen. David Petraeus, Gant was now more like Col. Walter Kurtz, the Green Beret who goes native — then loony — in the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now.” Gant indulged in a “self-created fantasy world,” his commanders charged.

To this day, Gant remains as defiant as Kurtz.

“They treated me like a crazed criminal instead of who I was,” Gant, 46, tells The Post. “My expectation was only ever that I would be treated honorably, and that just did not happen.”
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