Mayor of South Bend Heading Back from Serving in Afghanistan

South Bend mayor returning home tonight from service in Afghanistan
WSBT-TV Report
Sep 25, 2014

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Afghanistan

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is returning home tonight after 7 months serving with the U.S. Navy in Afghanistan!

He is scheduled to fly into the South Bend International Airport at 8:35 p.m. If you want to welcome him home, you are invited to meet him at Concourse A.

"Mayor Buttigieg will spend the next week settling back into life in South Bend, connecting with family and friends, and visiting Naval Station Great Lakes to complete final administrative procedures to end his deployment," according to the mayor's communications director, Kara Kelly. "He will return to work on Monday, October 6, relieving Deputy Mayor Mark Neal, who has been holding the authorities of the office during Mayor Buttigieg’s absence."
read more here

Indiana sues fake nonprofits for not helping veterans

State sues founders of fake veteran nonprofits
IndyStar
Michael Auslen
September 17, 2014

Indiana’s attorney general is suing four people who he says defrauded citizens by falsely claiming to be collecting money to aid veterans.

Adam Silvani, Olivia Locke, Roger Locke and Donald Shoppe, all of Fort Wayne, solicited donations via three nonprofit groups they registered with the state. According to court documents, the groups — Sandbox Veterans of America, Catholic Veterans of America, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America — never distributed funds to veterans.

The state is seeking thousands of dollars in reparations under the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, alleging that the defendants not only lied about how money would be used but that doing so was illegal. The suit filed in Allen County Circuit Court also asks that all four individuals be barred from operating or seeking donations on behalf of any Indiana nonprofit.

“The allegations are really clear,” said Abby Kuzma, director of consumer protection in the attorney general’s office. “This is a clear violation of public trust.”
read more here

Point Man Gathering in Indiana

Point Man Gathering
City County Observer
September 4, 2014

Point Man Gathering. Who is Point Man, according to the dictionary: The lead soldier of an infantry patrol on combat operations per Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

Through the years, service people have returned with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As years have passed this disorder has been called by different names, such as combat fatigue and shell shock. What does the dictionary say? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress, such as that encountered in war per the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Some veterans coming back from war have tried to talk to their families and friends about their feelings and conditions, while others have kept their feelings bottled up inside. Even though those close to them try to understand, but this is proven hard because they have not been there and done what the veteran has done.

Point Man Gathering offers a place where veterans can talk to other veterans that have experienced some of the same trauma that they have.

Point Man is a Family

read more here

Author tracked Indiana National Guard Women for 12 Years

Sept. 11 Changed Everything: Following 3 Women In The National Guard
by NPR STAFF
August 10, 2014

In spring 2001, three women enlisted in the Indiana National Guard. Each had her own idea of what a stint in the Guard might mean — free education, a sense of purpose, extra money. But just months after they signed up, the Sept. 11 attacks occurred and what they thought would be a couple days of drills each month turned into long overseas deployments.

In her new book, Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War, Helen Thorpe follows the lives of Desma Brooks, Michelle Fischer and Debbie Helton for 12 years. Thorpe talks with NPR's Linda Wertheimer about the soldiers she profiled and what they took away from their experiences in the National Guard.
read more here

CEO of Wounded Warrior Project will be deposed after lawsuit against other charity

You may have heard that Wounded Warrior Project filed suit against Help Indiana Veterans. The story is far from over. Received an email with an update on this court battle.

Steve Nardizzi, the CEO of Wounded Warrior Project will be deposed by Dean Graham the defendant in the lawsuit Mr. Nardizzi filed against Dean for calling them out.
Date/Time:
Saturday May 24, 2014 at 9 am.
(address removed if you want to contact Dean use number)
This is Dean Graham's address and he has authorized me to announce Mr. Nardizzi will be under oath and to solicit questions for Mr. Nardizzi to answer.

Any news media who would like to conduct interviews after the deposition can contact Dean Graham directly at (317) 610-9779.

This will be the first time Steve Nardizzi the CEO of WWP will be answering questions regarding Hundreds of Millions of dollars destined for Wounded Warriors that is sitting in WWP's bank accounts.

I dare to mention, Dean Graham who is a (Disabled Iraq Veteran) is representing himself. No attorney has offered Pro Bono services for this lawsuit. Why? US Citizens believes Dean is the victim here.

Dean is offering this information for free and only wants to get the word out.

If you have a private message for Dean you can email him at helpindianavets911@yahoo.com

Regards,
US Citizens

Reminder on the lawsuit

Charities for Wounded Veterans Wage Bitter War in Court
Courthouse News
By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN
Tuesday, November 26, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS (CN) - The Wounded Warrior Project claims an Indiana veterans charity defamed it and criminally deceived donors by calling it a "fraud" and a "cash cow," and telling people to send their money elsewhere if they want it to reach veterans.

The Wounded Warrior Project sued Help Indiana Vets Inc., and its founder Dean Graham, both of Acton, Ind., in Federal Court.

The Wounded Warrior Project, founded in 2003, describes itself as a nonprofit that offers tens of thousands of injured veterans free services, including counseling, physical rehabilitation, vocational training, and camaraderie through discounted events and an online community.

"WWP does not charge any membership dues for its programs and services because WWP believes the alumni paid their dues on the battlefield. In fiscal year 2013 alone, WWP served more than 30,000 injured service members and their family members through its various programs and services," the complaint states.

The Wounded Warrior Project has received extensive media coverage and corporate support, leading the 8th Circuit to write in an unrelated opinion that Wounded Warrior Project has "become synonymous with veteran service to this generation of wounded veterans and their families," according to the 31-page complaint.

Defendant Dean Graham, founder of Help Indiana Vets, who says he is a disabled veteran of the Iraq War, told Courthouse News the Wounded Warrior Project turned him away when he sought assistance after his discharge.

"I called them in the middle of my discharge from the Army," Graham said in an interview. "During that time that financially destroyed me and our family we ended up filing bankruptcy and lost everything. I contacted the project for help and was told by six different civilian employees, no, we don't give financial assistance."

Graham continued: "Once we started helping vets in Indiana, I got a call from WWP and they wanted to add us to their list of people veterans can call. So what they would do is ask people to contact local charities for help, even though they were taking donations for the WWP, and then put the burden of providing services on the local organizations."

Controversy Surrounds Wounded Warriors, Lavish Salaries, and White House

Controversy Surrounds Wounded Warriors, Lavish Salaries, and White House
IVN
By Ryan Schuette
April 23, 2014

Last week, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki welcomed wounded veterans to Soldier Ride, one in a series of cycling events that the Wounded Warrior Project organizes every year.

The White House rollout was one of 19 the Florida-based nonprofit plans to hold with amputee veterans, whom it equips with adaptive bicycles specially made to fit each veteran’s specific handicap.

The South Lawn kickoff on Thursday was the fifth for the Wounded Warrior Project and represents its ascension to a place in the national spotlight that other charities can only covet.

Left unmentioned at the media-friendly reception with the president was a lawsuit in the works against a disabled Indiana veteran who claims the Wounded Warrior Project didn’t do much for wounded vets with the more than $150 million in revenue it raised in 2012.

"They want to send a message to every other person who wants to speak out against (the Wounded Warrior Project)."
Ret. Staff Sgt. Alex Graham

The defendant, Ret. Staff Sgt. Alex Graham — a veteran of combat operations in Iraq with diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder — first criticized the charity in a blog post he made last year, with claims the Wounded Warrior Project spent little on wounded vets and paid senior execs lavish salaries. The post appeared on the now-defunct website for Help Indiana Vets, his own tax-exempt charity, which he says he had to shut down in the wake of the lawsuit.

That was a post heard around the world.

Graham’s claims quickly ricocheted around the Internet, with numerous blogs — including Veterans Today, a news website and benefits forum — publishing his article and amplifying a Google search that now pulls up 84,000 results for the phrase “Wounded Warrior Project scam.”

The charity subsequently filed charges against Graham in December that accused the vet of defamation and unfair business competition, alleging that his post confused donors and led to a $75,000 drop-off in contributions.
read more here

Help Indiana Vets Responds to Wounded Warrior Project lawsuit against them

Wounded Warrior Project sues veterans charity

Help Indiana Vets Responds to Wounded Warrior Project lawsuit against them

You may remember reading in November Wounded Warrior Project Sues Veterans Charity "Help Indiana Vets." Dean Graham sent out an email to update everyone one what has happened since then. This action was covered all over the internet after Courthouse News reported on the lawsuit. Most of the links are still active including this one on FOX 59 National veterans’ charity sues local Indiana veterans’ charity
Wounded Warrior Project Complaint
Exhibit C has images from comments left on Facebook. Exhibit D is the lawsuit.

To: All,
Below you will find my opposition to Wounded Warrior Projects preliminary injunction.

Here is my declaration also filed today.
As of now there is no gag order issued.

I am willing to discuss this lawsuit until a gag order is issued.
Dean Graham
US Army Retired
(317) 610-9779

Declaration of Dean Graham
​​​​​​​​​Exhibit 1
I, Dean Graham, state under penalty of perjury as follows:

1. I first would like to point out when the website was still operational (HIVI), I always had a disclaimer for people, stating clearly “I Leave it up to all Americans to investigate on your own; do not take my word for it ”The disclaimer can be seen on (WWP’s Exhibit B“Wounded Warrior Project is a Fraud”, Letter, Bullet #8) Webster’s dictionary says a fraud is defined as “: the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person: a person who pretends to be what he or she is not in order to trick people: a copy of something that is meant to look like the real thing in order to trick people”. I further believe it is a provocative word and have apologized for using this word to describe WWP.

2.I am going to reply to some of the accusations leveled by Mr. Steve Nardizzi in his DECLARATION dated (November 26, 2013) using the corresponding numbers and letters to match his statements:

10.a. “(WWP) commercials do not mention anything (WWP does) to help the injured service members….”) the following commercial is the most commonly played on T.V. http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7Iio/wounded-warrior-project alan-featuring-trace-adkins.

I have listened to this commercial over and over and still do not understand what exactly they did if anything to help Alan. WWP does however show the most horrible pictures of our injured veterans, just like the ASPCA commercials for animals. Our heroes deserve much better treatment and are not pieces of meat to parade around our TV screens. WWP has recently adjusted their commercials to try and show a different light on the solicitations. I personally believe this lawsuit is the reason for these positive changes. I will be happy when not one more dime goes to any place, thing or person who does not directly help the injured veterans.

10. b. ”(WWP) has many paid board members; this is not legal according to their own company bylaws.”

This statement makes reference to a lavish trip that took place atthe Broadmore in Colorado. I was in no way implying they are directly paying their board members.

10. c. “(WWP) has multiple board members and employees who are former Veterans Administration employees, including the former head of the Veterans Administration. This allows the WWP to tap into federal grants that may not otherwise be available.”

In my exhibit # 5 it clearly shows Board Member Anthony Principi who is the Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs. This coupled with a paid lobbyist also contained in the 990, this leaves plenty to speculate. I would question why WWP needs a lobbyist in congress when you have so many veterans committing suicide each day over financial distress?

The Veterans Administration is over 2 years behind on compensation and pension claims for our heroes in Indiana. If WWP is lobbying for faster times in the V.A.it is not working. I really should leave it up to the proper agencies that look into these type organizations to investigate. If this lawsuit has taught me anything so far it is surely never follow your heart and soul into what you believe in, even when you are armed with the truth.

10. d. “(WWP) uses the Non-Disclosure agreements with actors and employees to keep them from the truth about where the money actually goes.”

I responded to this charge in the “Opposition to WWP’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction”.

10. e. “(WWP) is a for profit business, working under the umbrella of a non-profit. I believe they should be exposed for what they really are”

I made this statement after looking at WWP’s own 990 tax information, for example when you have total net assets of $36,392,589.00 in 2011 and total net assets of $101,438,851.00 in 2012 this return sounds more like a for profit. I know WWP has tried so hard to debunk these facts, but facts do not lie. Again I pose the question to the Court, why would a Non-Profit helping veterans end up with that much money in the bank at the end of the year?

10. f. (WWP) “Many caring people are duped into donating to WWP, believing their donations will really help injured veterans…Wounded Warrior Project is a fraud… that needs to be investigated immediately.

I continue to believe people need to look into the financial workings of WWP. I am not a tax professional, but I do have two eyes and my two eyes clearly show me either the Non-Profit laws allow non-profits to hoard bunches of money collected to helped injured veterans or the law does not allow it and it will be exposed in due time. I have not had one single person tell me after looking at WWP’s tax return they feel comfortable with what they do with their donations. People are pulling their donations because of this surplus, and I repeat once more too many of my brothers and sisters are committing suicide each day, when just a few dollars could have helped them. I would like to say that WWP and I have the same goal in mind for Veterans but this lawsuit has showed me that money does decide who lives and who does not live to fight another day. I would not change one thing about the exposure WWP received, they deserved for people to know where the money goes.

10.g. (WWP) is pulling the biggest Oke Doke ever pulled on the American Public.

I feel WWP has kept many good non-profits from getting off the ground by using an aggressive campaign of commercials, radio, movies, phone calls, mailings to solicit donations thus stripping funding for other great non-profits, without telling people what they really are donating for. The fact WWP currently holds approximately $100,000,000.00 in the bank as of 2012, is simply pitiful for those veterans waiting on compensation and pension decisions from the Veterans Administration. I believe there is no telling what this year’s tax return will show. I do believe, their own 990 tax form cost them whatever they lost, not my comments. I am a part of the American Public and I think this is not right. So many Americans want to help service members, I tell them to help a veteran directly so they know it made it directly to a hero.

10. h. (WWP) will not go quietly and has an army of lawyers on staff to punish all those who try and expose WWP.

I find this the easiest to prove as true, WWP has listed an army of lawyers on this case against me. During the last phone conference they had no less than six different people listening in. They are going to keep their cash cow on the backs of our nation’s heroes going for as long as they possibly can. I have not spoken one lie and would like to point out some inconsistencies in Mr. Nardizzi’s own declaration that WWP is not using donor funds to pay for legal expenses, when on their 990 they clearly show legal fees paid to the very law firm Kutak Rock who is prosecuting this case.

Smoke and mirrors will only work when the mirror is not broken. I do not trust Wounded Warrior Project and I believe their mirror has been broken. Their time has gone and this court can set the precedent for American and put non-profits like WWP on notice they will be held to a much higher standard. WWP is full of our nation’s heroes; I still cannot put my finger on why they would not come forward and agree with me. Could it be a Non Disclosure stands in the way or maybe the salaries and lavish outings are just too much to give up. I have given up my fight to expose them, and I am sure no matter the ruling in this court they will find some way to spin it to fit their needs and desires.

Dean Graham Dated
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Dean Graham
U.S. Army Retired

Florida is looking at huge charities because of reporting done on some of the worst cases.
Non Profit Quarterly

Current state law requires charities to register, but not much else; the Herald says that the proposed legislation is sweeping, and includes in its proposals:

All charities will have to provide additional information, such as the names of their leaders, contact information and financial reports.

The state’s Division of Consumer Services will create an interactive database on its website to list information about each nonprofit, including any violations of state law.

Charities that fundraise more than $1 million a year will have to provide audited financial reports.

Nonprofits that receive more than $1 million but spend less than 25 percent on programming will have additional disclosure requirements: employee salaries, fundraising expenses, and details of family relationships with any business partners.

Non-profits that raise less than $25,000 a year, or have religious, education, or government exemptions, will have fewer requirements.

The state will have the right to ban nonprofits from operating in Florida if they are found in violation of regulations in other states.

Charities that emerge due to a natural disaster or tragedy and raise more than $100,000 will have to submit quarterly financial statements.

There will be new oversight of professional fundraisers, with the same requirements now required of telemarketers—a licensing fee and fingerprints for background checks, with people convicted of theft or fraud barred from working as professional solicitors.

As you can see, charities do not have to spend all the money on the cause they are raising funds for. It is up to us to take a good long look at their ratings as well as their tax filings. It is not enough for us to just assume they are giving all our money the way we want them to.

When you see ads for the cause, especially on TV, someone is paying for that airtime. When you get contacted to donate to any charity, most of the time they are professional fundraisers. Someone is paying them to do it.

When I am contacted about WWP and the caller says they are a fraud I make it clear that they never say where the money is going or what they are doing. Guide Star gave them a Gold Star rating and reports their mission statement:

Mission Statement With the mission to honor and empower Wounded Warriors, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is the hand extended to encourage warriors as they adjust to their new normal and achieve new triumphs. Offering 20 unique programs and services, WWP is equipped to serve warriors with every type of injury – from the physical to the invisible wounds of war. Each year, WWP serves tens of thousands of wounded veterans and their families through programs that engage, nurture their minds and bodies, and encourage their economic empowerment. WWP serves veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wounded, co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001 and their families. All WWP programs and services are offered free of charge.

Honor and Empower? Seems like that is being done pretty much for free all over the country topped off with the fact most of the time it is being done by Vietnam Veterans and their families. They are not included in on the veterans WWP will honor or empower.

Anyway, as you can see, they do not claim to be doing much at all. Their TV ads do not claim to be doing much either. I do not believe that qualifies this charity to be considered a fraud. If people can't read, research or pay attention, it is not WWP's fault. It is ours for getting a gushy feeling seeing the wounded on TV.

There are a lot of great charities out there. Search to read what they claim to do and who they do it for. Then decide if they meet your devotion. Want to help all veterans? Make sure they do as well. Want to help homeless veterans? Make sure that is what they are doing with the money. Want to help keep fundraisers in business? Check out how many money goes to them instead of the cause they are raising funds for.

Indiana National Guardsman gave away Purple Heart

Soldier surrenders 'Purple Heart' to WWII veteran at his funeral
Greene County Daily World
By Nick Schneider, Co-Editor
Friday, January 31, 2014

Rural Bloomfield resident Leonard Wayne McIntosh was a World War II hero and on Wednesday afternoon he was buried in possession of one of the nation's highest military decorations that can be awarded to any soldier.

First Sgt. Gregory Swanson

The Purple Heart didn't come the usual way from the United States government.

It came more than 50 years late, but the honor and recognition was shining brightly on the cold day at the rural Greene County church.

The long-due award came as a precious gift from a young family friend, who had earned his Purple Heart while a member of the Indiana Army National Guard's 387th Military Police Company unit out of New Albany in Afghanistan for injuries sustained in 2012.

Minutes before McIntosh's funeral service began at Tulip Church of God, First Sgt. Gregory Swanson, of rural Bloomfield, walked to the casket where he was greeted by his close friend, Kenny McIntosh, the youngest child of Wayne and Oaklene McIntosh.

The two embraced and Swanson handed him the Purple Heart he had earned. It was a gift to the McIntosh family in honor of their deceased father and husband.

It was his personal gift of love and respect to a war-injured veteran who deserved to be honored by his country, in his opinion.

It was a selfless gift, thinking only of his elder soldier comrade -- wanting to give him the well earned honor that had eluded him.
read more here

National Guardsman's Dad Going to State of Union after son's suicide

Dad of Army suicide victim going to State of Union
WBNS 10 News
By BY SETH SLABAUGH
Sunday January 26, 2014

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly is entitled to invite one guest to the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The person Donnelly chose to give the ticket to — Farmland resident Jeff Sexton — confirms that Indiana's junior senator is serious about preventing military suicide.

Saxton's son, Army Spc. Jacob Sexton, 21, shot himself to death in October 2009 at a Muncie movie theater, where he was watching a show with his two brothers and a friend. A veteran of combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sexton was home on a 15-day leave when he died.

"His parents are coming out for the State of the Union," Donnelly said during a visit to The Star Press on Thursday, the newspaper reported (http://tspne.ws/1e0E2pS ). "We asked them to come out and be with us for it. I think they're American heroes. His dad will watch it in the (House) chamber. I only get one ticket. His mom (Barbara) will watch it back in our offices."

Last year, Donnelly introduced the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2013.

"His parents contacted us saying they wanted to try to be of help," Donnelly said. "This is an issue I have been working on. It's so searing and important. In 2012, we lost 349 (active) service members to suicide and 295 in combat. So we've lost more to suicide than we did to combat."

The bill would require mental health assessments to enhance detection of behaviors indicating a risk of suicide in members of the Armed Forces.

"Jacob's story was heartbreaking," Donnelly said. "I have spoken time and again on this issue ... and his family wanted to try to solve this problem, too. We met with them at Bruner's (Family Restaurant) here in Muncie, and they also came out to Washington. They don't want anybody's son or daughter to have to end their life."
read more here

This is the original report from 2009

October 14, 2009
Indiana National Guardsman committed suicide at movie theater
Spc. Jacob Sexton died because of war and because the military didn't make sure they were prepared to return home.

Guardsman home from war kills self in Ind. theater
Associated Press
7:12 p.m. CDT, October 13, 2009

MUNCIE, Ind. - The father of an Indiana National Guardsman who fatally shot himself inside a movie theater said Tuesday that the families of service members returning home from war need to closely watch them for signs of stress.

Spc. Jacob Sexton, 21, showed no signs of being suicidal before shooting himself in the head, the guardsman's father, Jeffrey Sexton of Farmland, said.

"We just need to watch these boys and the girls coming back home. Something's just not right. Too much is happening," Jeffrey Sexton told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Muncie police said Jacob Sexton had argued with theater employees on Monday night over having to show identification to see the R-rated horror comedy "Zombieland."

Twenty minutes into the film, a friend handed Sexton a 9 mm handgun, at the guardsman's request, and he then shot himself in the head, police said.

Wounded Warrior Project Sues Veterans Charity

Charities for Wounded Veterans Wage Bitter War in Court
Courthouse News
By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN
Tuesday, November 26, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS (CN) - The Wounded Warrior Project claims an Indiana veterans charity defamed it and criminally deceived donors by calling it a "fraud" and a "cash cow," and telling people to send their money elsewhere if they want it to reach veterans.

The Wounded Warrior Project sued Help Indiana Vets Inc., and its founder Dean Graham, both of Acton, Ind., in Federal Court.

The Wounded Warrior Project, founded in 2003, describes itself as a nonprofit that offers tens of thousands of injured veterans free services, including counseling, physical rehabilitation, vocational training, and camaraderie through discounted events and an online community.

"WWP does not charge any membership dues for its programs and services because WWP believes the alumni paid their dues on the battlefield. In fiscal year 2013 alone, WWP served more than 30,000 injured service members and their family members through its various programs and services," the complaint states.

The Wounded Warrior Project has received extensive media coverage and corporate support, leading the 8th Circuit to write in an unrelated opinion that Wounded Warrior Project has "become synonymous with veteran service to this generation of wounded veterans and their families," according to the 31-page complaint.

Defendant Dean Graham, founder of Help Indiana Vets, who says he is a disabled veteran of the Iraq War, told Courthouse News the Wounded Warrior Project turned him away when he sought assistance after his discharge.

"I called them in the middle of my discharge from the Army," Graham said in an interview. "During that time that financially destroyed me and our family we ended up filing bankruptcy and lost everything. I contacted the project for help and was told by six different civilian employees, no, we don't give financial assistance."

Graham continued: "Once we started helping vets in Indiana, I got a call from WWP and they wanted to add us to their list of people veterans can call. So what they would do is ask people to contact local charities for help, even though they were taking donations for the WWP, and then put the burden of providing services on the local organizations."

Graham posted statements on Help Indiana Vets' website saying that Wounded Warrior Project is a "fraud," and the "best paid nonprofit ever."
read more here

UPDATE

Sorry, I had to pick up the pizza right after I posted this. First, I didn't read anything that was not already out there for a very long time so why would this huge charity pick on a little one like Help Indiana Vets? Seems to me that this lawsuit is doing more to damage their reputation than anything else. I wouldn't have heard of Help Indiana Veterans otherwise and a lot of people wouldn't know that WWP has had a lot of issues going on like the ones in this lawsuit.

This came out a while ago.

Charity Investigator: Wounded Warrior Project posted by Kris Hundley Jul 16, 2013

Wounded Warrior Project, created in 2003, has become one of the fastest-growing veterans’ charities in the country.

When the Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting asked readers in June to suggest charities to investigate, it was one of the most requested.

Unlike the 50 charities the Times and CIR named on its list of America’s worst in June, Wounded Warrior Project does not rely heavily on for-profit solicitation companies to raise money. And it does not pay telemarketers to drum up donations.

Instead, it uses a combination of fundraising events, corporate sponsorships, advertising and direct mail appeals.

Last year, the charity raised nearly $150 million.

About $81 million was raised through professional solicitors. Wounded Warrior paid 11 percent of that money to cover its solicitors’ fees and the expense of the solicitor-run campaigns. In comparison, veterans charities on the Times/CIR list of worst charities paid an average of 82 percent to their solicitors.

Like any charities you plan on giving to, know what exactly it is they do with your money and don't just guess.

I have a feeling Help Indiana Veterans group will be seeing a lot more donations after this. What was WWP thinking with this lawsuit?

Indiana Veteran Nonprofit Being Sued For Defamation
Indiana Public Media
By EMILY WRIGHT
Posted November 26, 2013

Wounded Warrior Project Complaint

read more here

This is from Help Indiana Veterans Post with the comments left.

Wounded Warrior Project is a Fraud

Among the comments left, this one broke my heart

Vietnam Marine Staff Sargent Paul Sr
(Saturday, March 16 13 02:12 am EDT)
I never relized this was a fraud, I should have known better when I called them for help last July. My son was blown up June 2011 and my wife and I were out of work to be with our son in Germany, Bathetia, Tampa, then to Lajuene, I needed financial help to have new stairs put in because my son lost his vision and needed wider steps to get to the front entrance, we ended up bowering 18,000 to do our front steps.

Bottom line, Wounded Warriors did dog shit to help us. I got lip service.

However, I have received a total of 7 letters from wounded worriers stating John Doe(s) has made a generous donation to wounded warriors in honor of my son.

Real nice, wounded warrior collects from donors, I have a son that is blind and deaf with a plate in is head, a scar that goes from ear to ear PTSD -bills up the ass, and thus group has the balls to say they help the wounded, Maybe if he lost his legs or became a vegetable we might have at least got a post card, we git the big O, so thank you wounded warrior for being such fraud organization.
it must be the Vietnam Marine in me, just grin and bare with it, we are survivors.

I don't think this Vietnam veteran knows what help is out there for his son. First, the DAV will help make sure he gets what he should with his claim from the VA. He can also contact the Wounded Warrior Regiment (Marines)

The United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment provides and enables assistance to wounded, ill and injured Marines, sailors attached to or in support of Marine units, and their family members in order to assist them as they return to duty or transition to civilian life. The Regimental headquarters element, located in Quantico, Va., commands the operations of two Wounded Warrior Battalions located at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Camp Lejeune, N.C., and multiple detachments in locations around the globe.

For more information about the Wounded Warrior Regiment contact the Sergeant Merlin German Wounded Warrior Call Center 24/7 at 1-877-487-6299.

Home Depot Foundation offers help as well

Homes For Our Troops is a good place too if they need a home adapted for their son.

Hanging onto Daddy before he goes to Afghanistan

Hanging onto Daddy before he goes to Afghanistan
Al.com
(Today in Pictures)
By Mark Almond
September 18, 2013

Aurora Orozco gets a ride on the boot of her father, Sgt. Jeremy Orozco before he departs for Ft. Hood, Texas, with other members of the 1638th Transportation Company of the Indiana National Guard Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2103, at Tri-County High School near Wolcott, Ind. The outfit is being trained at Ft. Hood for a month before being deployed to Afghanistan for a year tour of duty. (AP Photo/Journal and Courier, Michael Heinz)
For more great pictures go here

Soldier Shaves Head to Support Comrade

Face of Defense: Soldier Shaves Head to Support Comrade
By Army 1st Lt. Tyler Mitchell
38th Combat Aviation Brigade

SHELBYVILLE, Ind., Sept. 17, 2013 – A soldier shaved her head for cancer awareness at the Indiana National Guard armory here Sept. 14 to help a fellow soldier.

Army Sgt 1st Class. Bernie Crafton begins clipping off Army Staff Sgt. Erin Emminger’s hair at the Shelbyville Ind., National Guard Armory, Sept. 14, 2013. Emminger raised more than $1,000 for a fellow Indiana National Guard soldier Spc. Jeremiah Morgan, who is battling cancer. Emminger’s commander authorized an exception to policy to allow the departure from normal standards. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Dana Brewer

Army Staff Sgt. Erin Emminger’s goal was $500 this month for Army Spc. Jeremiah Morgan, an infantryman with the 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment, pledging that once her target amount was reached, she would shave her head.

Emminger, a personnel sergeant with Headquarters Company, 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion, said she cut her hair as a way to raise money because it was considered “extreme” for a female soldier. “I’ve had a couple of family friends that have gone to school dances bald,” she said. “I can go for a year without having hair.”

Soldiers in Emminger’s battalion cut off locks of her hair after donating money, and the rest of her hair were shaved off.
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Indiana National Guardsman dies in Afghanistan

Indiana National Guardsman dies in Afghanistan
WISH News
September 15, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A member of the Indiana National Guard has died of a non-combat related illness while serving in Afghanistan.

Governor Mike Pence and Indiana National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger reported the death of Staff Sgt. Randall R. Lane Sunday afternoon.

Staff Sgt. Lane, of Indianapolis, died on September 13 of a non-combat related illness at Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan, according to a release.

He was 43 years old.
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Marine and wife team up to save lives

Sgt. Richard Skates saves 4 lives after car accident
KDSK News
Brandle Piper
July 30, 2013

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (KSDK) - A soldier form O'Fallon, Mo., stationed in California, saved the lives of four people involved in a car accident earlier this month.

Sgt. Richard Skates, 25, is an amphibious assault vehicle crewman. He and his wife, Jacqueline, and child were driving on an exit ramp from state Route 78 to Interstate Highway 5 July 9 when they noticed an overturned vehicle in a ditch. It was standing son its end.

Skates said he could hear the crash victims yelling for help, so he reached into the back of the vehicle and pulled two children out, and then a teenager from the passenger seat.
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also

Soldier Saves Teens from Burning Vehicle
Army.mil/News
by Maj. Penny Zamora
Jul 25, 2013

NINEVEH, Ind. -- It was a scene from a parent's worst nightmare: a car full of teens had hit a tree head on, and the car was now on fire. Thanks to Staff Sgt. Michael Peters and his wife, Debra, all the teens survived and are on the road to recovery.

Peters and Debra were driving home from work at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, or CAJMTC, Ind., on July 19, 2013, when they came upon a car accident moments after it occurred. A 15-year old passenger had gotten out of the vehicle, but the three other teens, aged 14, 16, and 18, were still inside.
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Soldier and Wife Save Teens from Burning Vehicle

Soldier Saves Teens from Burning Vehicle
Army.mil/News
by Maj. Penny Zamora
Jul 25, 2013

NINEVEH, Ind. -- It was a scene from a parent's worst nightmare: a car full of teens had hit a tree head on, and the car was now on fire. Thanks to Staff Sgt. Michael Peters and his wife, Debra, all the teens survived and are on the road to recovery.

Peters and Debra were driving home from work at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, or CAJMTC, Ind., on July 19, 2013, when they came upon a car accident moments after it occurred. A 15-year old passenger had gotten out of the vehicle, but the three other teens, aged 14, 16, and 18, were still inside.

When Peters, a trainer/mentor assigned to 2nd Battalion, 289 Field Artillery, 157th Infantry Brigade, First Army Division East, and his wife stopped, two of the teens were pinned in the front of the vehicle. A third teen was unconscious in the back seat.

"We didn't think about it; we just pulled over. Our thought was to clear the teens out before the vehicle was entirely engulfed," said Peters.
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Veterans Trauma Court helps veterans

New St. Joseph County court will help veterans
WSBT News
By Kristin Bien
July 12, 2013

WSBT-TV— The St. Joseph County court system will soon have a way to help veterans charged with non violent crimes who are struggling with addiction or mental illness -- often the effects of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Veterans Court will help those veterans get their lives back on track.

The idea is to help vets -- many who are struggling to deal with the lingering effects of war -- become successful members of society.

"Veterans Trauma Court has shown me that there is a light at the end of this tunnel and that I still have purpose." those are the words of a veteran who successfully completed Veterans Court in Colorado Springs. His speech at a National Association of Drug Court Professionals meeting is featured in a video on Youtube. "This court has saved my life, my family and my faith," the vet says. The hope is, his story will soon ring true in St. Joseph County as well.
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KBR found guilty wants tax payers to pay again for Iraq veterans

KBR, Guilty In Iraq Negligence, Wants Taxpayers To Foot The Bill
Ryan J. Reilly
Posted: 01/09/2013

WASHINGTON -- Sodium dichromate is an orange-yellowish substance containing hexavalent chromium, an anti-corrosion chemical. To Lt. Col. James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard, who was stationed at the Qarmat Ali water treatment center in Iraq just after the 2003 U.S. invasion, it was “just different-colored sand.” In their first few months at the base, soldiers were told by KBR contractors running the facility the substance was no worse than a mild irritant.

Gentry was one of approximately 830 service members, including active-duty soldiers and members of the National Guard and reserve units from Indiana, South Carolina, West Virginia and Oregon, assigned to secure the water treatment plant, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sodium dichromate is not a mild irritant. It is an extreme carcinogen. In November 2009, at age 52, Gentry died of cancer. The VA affirmed two months later that his death was service-related.

In November, a jury found KBR, the military's largest contractor, guilty of negligence in the poisoning of a dozen soldiers, and ordered the company to pay $85 million in damages. Jurors found KBR knew both of the presence and toxicity of the chemical. Other lawsuits against KBR are pending.

KBR, however, says taxpayers should be on the hook for the verdict, as well as more than $15 million the company has spent in its failed legal defense, according to court documents and attorneys involved with the case.

KBR's contract with the U.S. to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure after the 2003 invasion includes an indemnity agreement protecting the company from legal liability, KBR claims in court filings. That agreement, KBR insists, means the federal government must pay the company's legal expenses plus the verdict won by 12 members of the Oregon National Guard who were exposed to the toxin at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant.
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Police need help finding missing Indiana PTSD Iraq veteran

Police Searching for Missing Iraq War Veteran
By Stan Lehr
WIBC
10/31/2012

Randy Darling, Jr. (photo courtesy IMPD)

IMPD missing persons detectives are asking for public assistance in the search for 24-year-old Randy Darling, Jr., a veteran of the war in Iraq who hasn't been seen since he quit his job October 28th.

Darling was honorably discharged from the Army and has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. His family and friends fear that he may be suicidal. He has been known to walk the downtown canal area when troubled.

If you can help find him, call IMPD Missing Persons are 317-6160.

Ind. Guardsman injured in blast recovering after surgery

Ind. Guardsman injured in blast recovering after surgery

Maps
Hammond, IN, USA
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Associated Press
12:03 p.m. CST, January 30, 2012

The only survivor of a roadside bombing in Afghanistan that killed four members of an Indiana National Guard unit is recovering from surgery during which six titanium plates were implanted in his shattered face.

Relatives of Pvt. Doug Rachowicz said the 30-year-old Hammond soldier underwent the five-hour facial surgery Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Kathy Rachowicz said her son has undergone multiple surgeries since the Jan. 6 roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan, but she said Friday's surgery was expected to be the final surgical procedure he'll need.

"Now he will start to heal," Rachowicz told The Times of Munster.

She said officials may inform her son sometime Monday of the deaths.

Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville; Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, of Hamlet; Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, of Indianapolis; and Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, 20, of Aurora, Ill., were killed in the explosion.

All four, along with Rachowicz, were members of the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineering Company.
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Former Marine helps save crash victim’s life

Former Marine helps save crash victim’s life

Archie Ingersoll | The Journal Gazette

Authorities are crediting a man with saving the life of a motorcyclist whose leg was completely severed below the knee in a crash in southern Kosciusko County.

“She could have easily bled out if it wasn’t for his quick and responsive actions,” said Sgt. Chad Hill of the sheriff’s department.

Stephen Wilson, 21, of Mexico, Ind., was heading home from work about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when he saw a bunch of cars stopped in the intersection of Indiana 14 and County Farm Road.

Two women from Silver Lake – Terri A. Penrod, 54, and Sue A. Raber, 53 – had been riding a motorcycle when a 1993 Chevrolet Camaro plowed into them as they were making a left turn from Indiana 14, the sheriff’s department said.

Wilson said he arrived about two minutes after collision. He said Raber had a deep gash on her calf, while Penrod’s leg had been cut off below the knee. The former Marine fell back on his First Aid training and put his focus on Penrod.

“She had lost about a quart of blood in about two minutes,” he said. “I knew she was the main priority at the time.”

He had a couple of guys nearby give him their belts. He also asked for something like a rod or a stick. A man grabbed a cornstalk from a nearby field. With those items, Wilson went to work.
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Former Marine helps save crash victim life