Veteran Died After Setting Himself on Fire at VA Clinic

Distraught veteran sets himself on fire with gasoline outside VA facility after losing wife and job
RAW Story
Sarah K. Burris SARAH K. BURRIS
14 APR 2016

Dashcam footage has just been released from the suicide of Navy veteran Charles Ingram III who, on March 19, doused himself with gallons of gasoline and set himself on fire outside of the Veterans Affairs clinic in Northfield, New Jersey.

The footage shows police in a frantic rush to put the fire out but it was to no avail. Ingram was burned on 100 percent of his body and rushed to Temple University Hospital burn unit. He died nine hours later, according to My9NJ.com.
read more here

I am not posting the picture because I do not see the point of doing it when the story itself is so heartbreaking.


UPDATE
Services announced for man who set himself on fire in Northfield
Press of Atlantic City
March 26, 2016

Funeral services have been announced for the Egg Harbor Township man who set himself on fire last weekend outside a Northfield VA clinic.

Charles R. Ingram III, 51, died last Saturday after he poured gasoline on himself and set himself ablaze at the Department of Veterans Affairs facility on New Road. He was taken by helicopter from the scene to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he passed.

Ingram served in the Navy from 1985 to 1992, according to his obituary. His public death renewed attention to problems in the VA health care system, local veterans advocates said.
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Man who set himself on fire at Northfield veterans' clinic has died 
Press of Atlantic City 
MICHELLE BRUNETTI POST, Staff Writer March 23, 2016

Ingram used gasoline as an accelerant and set himself on fire at the clinic at 1901 New Road. He was evacuated by helicopter from the Northfield Community School to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia just before 2 p.m., police said.

Michael Ein / Staff Photographer A woman who identified herself as the mother-in-law of Egg Harbor Township Veteran Charles R. Ingram III, 51, lays flowers at the memorial adjacent to the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Northfield, Wednesday March 23, 2016. Ingram died Saturday after setting himself on fire outside the clinic.

An Egg Harbor Township veteran who died after setting himself on fire Saturday outside a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Northfield has drawn attention to problems in the VA system. Charles R. Ingram III, 51, was airlifted to the Temple Burn Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, where he died later that night, Northfield police said. No note of explanation was left at the scene or at Ingram’s home, said Northfield acting Police Chief Paul Newman.

In July 2014, Navy veteran Kevin Keller, 52, shot himself in front of a closed VA clinic in Wytheville, Virgnia. He left a note blaming the VA for leaving him in terrible pain after weaning him off prescription painkillers, according to a Sept. 7, 2014, story in the Roanoke Times. read more here

West Point Major Found Dead in New Jersey

West Point instructor found dead off-post
Army Times
By Kevin Lilley
March 1, 2016

Maj. Benjamin Recla, 34, had deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Maj. Benjamin Recla

(Photo: Army)

An officer serving as an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy was found dead Sunday while off-post, the school announced in a Monday news release.

Maj. Benjamin Recla’s death is being investigated by the Atlantic City (New Jersey) Police Department, the release states, but foul play is not suspected. No further details on the incident were available; the police department did not return a message seeking comment.
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Marine Adam Sharp Still Missing

Sad Update
Remains pulled from river ID’d as missing Marine veteran, police say

Mother of missing Marine longs for son's safe return
My Central New Jersey
Suzanne Russell
February 19, 2016

Adam apparently got out of the friend's car in the Fords section of Woodbridge without his wallet, backpack, veterans identification and bank card.

Adam Sharp saw active combat in Afghanistan.

(Photo:Courtesy of Highland Park Police Department)

HIGHLAND PARK - Trudy Sharp longs to hear some good news about the location of her 23-year-old son, Adam, a. U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

For more than a month, there has been no word.

"Nothing at all," said Sharp. "It's bizarre. He's one of those kids that kept in touch all the time. I'm not sure what to do. I don't know where he is."

Adam Sharp is a graduate of Edison High School who entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 2010 and rose up the ranks to become a sergeant, his mother said.

"He did so well," said Sharp, of Red Bank. "He's just a great individual and very friendly."

Adam Sharp lives in North Carolina. During the recent holiday season, he came to New Jersey to visit family. He was staying with his brother's family in Highland Park. She said her son also is close to his sister, a medical school student slated to graduate next year.

"He was fine Christmas Day," Sharp said.
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Afghanistan Veteran Marine Missing in New Jersey

Former Edison man, Marine vet reported missing
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
By Brian Amaral
December 31, 2015

Adam Sharp is seen in a photograph supplied by his family in an effort to locate him.

Brian Amaral | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

EDISON — A former Edison man who retired from the Marines about a year ago has gone missing, and may be walking to his home in North Carolina, his family said.

Adam Sharp was last seen four days ago, when he walked off while with a friend, said his sister-in-law Samantha Johnson. Sharp did not bring his wallet, clothes or supplies, and his cellphone has been turned off, his family said.

Police said Sharp was last seen near Route 9 in Woodbridge.

Sharp served in the Marines in Afghanistan, and grew up in Edison, Johnson said. He later settled in North Carolina, where he lives on a farm. He was in New Jersey visiting family for the holidays.
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Body of Missing Marine Sgt. Tristan Clinger Found

UPDATE DECEMBER 28, 2015

Death of Marine from joint base under investigation
NJ.com
By Kevin Shea
December 28, 2015

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST — The death of a Marine assigned to a unit at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst remained under investigation Monday by federal authorities, officials said.

Sgt. Tristan Clinger was found dead Saturday on the base. His wife reported him missing on Dec. 20, said base spokesman Air Force Maj. Omar Villarreal.

Clinger is originally from Jefferson County, Ky. outside Louisville. He was 28 years old.

Villarreal said the Marine's death was under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and they are being assisted by military authorities on the joint base.

Clinger was a helicopter mechanic with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772, part of the Marine Aircraft Group 49 on base.

The unit is in the Marine reserves, but Clinger was on active duty, base officials said.
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Search for Missing Marine, Father Ends in Tragedy
NBC 10 News
By David Chang and Morgan Zalot

The week-long search for a missing local Marine ended in tragedy this weekend when his body was found during a search on Saturday, according to his family and a search team leader. Officials and relatives have not yet said where Sgt. Tristan Clinger was found or how he died.

Clinger, 28, a father of two, went missing on Dec. 20 around 4 p.m. when he left Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on foot, according to his wife.
read more here

Marine Sgt. Tristan Clinger, 28, who has served in the military for five years, was last seen around 4 p.m. on Dec. 20 at the joint base, NBC10 reported.

UPDATE from FOX

“When you're in the military, like he felt that he couldn't get help because he felt that if he tried to get help, they would kick him out, and he would lose his job," his wife told FOX29. "And he just saw his life crumbling from that point, so he was afraid to get help.”

Any more questions, see "resilience" training feeding the stigma of getting help to heal along with the bad paper discharges.

Thief Stole Fallen Soldier's Memorial Quilt

THIEF CAUGHT ON CAMERA STEALING PACKAGE FULL OF DECEASED SON'S T-SHIRTS IN EDISON
ABC 7 News
By Anthony Johnson
Friday, November 20, 2015

EDISON, N.J. (WABC) -- A family in New Jersey is heartbroken after someone stole an irreplaceable package from their front porch in Edison.

A heartless thief was seen on surveillance video calmly walking up to the door carrying a pillow and then stealing the memories of a beloved son.

This insensitive act has angered many because the culprit took memory quilts made by a mother to remember her son who died a year ago.

"I just want them back, that's all we have really are his memories and some of his things," said Karen Delmonaco, Robert Delmonaco's mother.

The quilts made of her son's t-shirts were supposed to be Christmas presents and were sent to a company to be stitched together.

Karen was happy and ready to receive the package, but is now upset that her son's lasting possessions have been taken.
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Fortune Cookie Not Wise To Kick Out PTSD Veteran With Service Dog

N.J. vet, service dog kicked out of restaurant
NJ.com
Michelle Caffrey
November 20, 2015

"It's not just about me, it's about everybody." Mike Alcorn

MEDFORD TOWNSHIP — Mike Alcorn didn't want to make a scene.

The Shamong Township resident and his wife, Meg, had stopped by Fortune Cookie restaurant in Medford to grab a bite to eat on Thursday afternoon, but were shocked when they were denied service for having Mike's service dog in tow.

Mike and Meg Alcorn said an employee of Fortune Cookie restaurant

in Medford Township denied to seat them because Mike's service dog

Atlas, was with them on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015.

(Photo provided)

"I was embarrassed," said Mike, a combat veteran who relies on 1 1/2 year-old German shepherd Atlas to help ease his post-traumatic stress disorder and other physical issues sustained during his service in the Army.

The couple said that despite Atlas' red service vest, federal ID cards, and the fact Mike cited laws prohibiting businesses from turning away customers with service dogs, an employee insisted dogs were not allowed in their establishment and would not seat them.

"He said 'If you want food, you can wait outside,'" Meg recalled in an interview Thursday evening, adding the man soon asked them to step aside so he could help a customer who just walked in.

Brian Berg is the training director of Marlton-based Semper Fido, the nonprofit organization that matched Mike with Atlas in June, and said situations like the one Mike faced happen far too often because businesses aren't aware the Americans with Disabilities Act bans denying service to an individual because they require a service dog.

"It's an absolute disgrace that these guys have to be treated like this, and have to worry about being turned away because no one understands the law," said Berg.
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New Jersey Man Bought Uniform But Not Honor

The article says that the fraud bought his uniform and badges at Fort Dix but you can't buy anything at a PX (military store) without an ID. How did he do it?

POLICE: NJ MAN IMPERSONATED SOLDIER ON VETERANS DAY 
A New Jersey man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a soldier on Veterans Day.
ABC 11 News
November 13, 2015

GALLOWAY TWP., N.J. -- A New Jersey man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a soldier on Veterans Day.

Michael Porter, 25, of Galloway Township, is charged with Impersonating Military Personnel / Stolen Valor.

He was found dressed in a military uniform in the area of a base near Pomona Road and Atlantic Avenue on Wednesday.

Patrolman Gary Brenner from Galloway Township Police says he recognized Porter as a man who had prior contact with police.

"It was the same exact uniform that active military reserve would be wearing.

He stated that he bought the uniform from Fort Dix along with all of his badges," said Ptl. Gary Brennan.

Department of Corrections records show Porter has served time for eluding police, theft and illegal possession of a weapon among other crimes.
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Iraq Veteran Takes Long Walk to Honor Service and Acknowledge Price Being Paid

Westampton police officer, Marines to walk 100 miles with service dogs
Burlington County Times
By Kristina Scala Staff writer
September 1, 2015

He was deployed to Iraq in 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2011, and was awarded the Purple Heart, Navy Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and Select Marine Corps Reserve Medal. Einstein, who joined the Westampton Police Department in 2013 and serves as a volunteer firefighter in Riverton and Mount Laurel, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his second tour of duty.

William Johnson
Westampton officer walking 100 miles to honor fallen comrades
Andrew Einstein (left) and Steven Walls acknowledge supporters who honk for them Tuesday. Their "Long Walk," as they have dubbed it, will raise funds in honor of fallen friends and create awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans.

The 100-mile trek that Andrew Einstein and his two fellow Marines are on from Philadelphia to New York City for the anniversary of Sept. 11 won't be easy, but the journey that led them to this path has been devastatingly more difficult.

With their mission clear, and a trio of tail-wagging heroes by their sides, they walk to honor the fallen and create awareness of the high price paid by the men and women serving on the front lines.

"They fought for the Liberty Bell, for freedom, and we fight for the twin towers," said Einstein, a Westampton police officer and Iraq War veteran, Tuesday as he prepared to begin the trek.

Einstein is one of the 11 to 20 percent of U.S. veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since serving in the Middle East.

His ode to American freedom was muffled by a tolling bell that echoed across the Independence Hall courtyard Tuesday as the Burlington County native and Marines Devon Richio and Steven Walls prepared to set out on the 100 miles from Philadelphia to New York.

Richio and Walls are members of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

For them, the long journey is a way to fight a different type of war now that they have returned from the battlefield and wage a fight against PTSD.
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PTSD Veteran's Life Ended on 3rd Suicide Attempt

Rutherford family hopes story of loss will help to break mental illness stigma
North Jersey News
BY JAIMIE JULIA WINTERS
AUGUST 13, 2015

When Fred didn't show up for work at the prison in Jamesburg where he was the inmates' dentist, a state search began almost immediately for him. Fifty hours later Fred was found dead from an overdose of prescription meds in his car outside a home undergoing construction in Monroe Township.

PHOTO COURTESY/FIUME FAMILY

The Fiumes: Anthony, Fred, Joanne, Alyssa, Andrew and Alex. His wife hopes that Fred's story will help others who battle with a mental illness and the family members who support them. Fred took his own life on July 29.

Rutherford resident Dr. Fred Fiume made people smile and laugh whether it was through his gregarious nature or his work as a dentist. He served his country in the Army just 18 months shy of 20 years, was a Rutherford Board of Education trustee for two terms, an Exalted Ruler at the Rutherford Elks Lodge, a well-loved dentist at Gentle Dental in Lyndhurst and the New Jersey Prison System and a loving husband and father of four. But Fred didn't always smile. Many didn't know that Fred would go to a dark place in his mind when his bouts of anxiety and depression would hit him.

So hard, he was hospitalized 10 times and attempted suicide two times before succeeding on July 29.

His wife Joanne Fiume said for 30 years he fought hard to not let his illness define him and successfully did so, but in the end it did because of what she describes of the "hurt going on in his head."

Fred was first misdiagnosed with bi-polar in 1989 at the age of 27 while he was serving at Fort Bragg, NC. It wasn't until 2010 after his second suicide attempt, that doctors said bi-polar was the wrong diagnosis and began treating him for acute depression and anxiety. After that suicide attempt, which was also an overdose after going off his meds, Joanne took control of his medication.
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Wounded National Guard Col. War Veteran Told to "Quit Playing Soldier"

Air Force officer: State bosses told me to ‘quit playing soldier’ 
New York Post
By Isabel Vincent
July 5, 2015

Col. Jack O'Connell Photo: J.C.Rice

A hero US pilot claims his bosses at the New Jersey Turnpike Authority have harassed him for years because they want him to “quit playing soldier” in the Reserves.

Col. Jack O’Connell, 50, who was wounded in Baghdad and flew 30 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm, says the agency denied him leave to attend military training in Nebraska last month, and he fears he’ll be fired.

He is already suing the Authority, alleging it blocked his promotions and raises for years because of his five active-duty tours in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay.

“When you’re in the military you have an obligation,” O’Connell told The Post. “I get an order, and I go.”

O’Connell, of South Amboy, NJ, began his military career flying Navy F-14 fighter jets off aircraft carriers during the First Gulf War in 1991. He was decorated for valor after flying dozens of strike missions in and around Baghdad.

O’Connell left active duty in 1993 and earned a law degree at Seton Hall. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the newly minted attorney joined the Air National Guard.

He had to leave his job five times to serve his nation, once to oversee legal operations at Guantanamo Bay in 2004-2005. He also worked as legal adviser to Gens. George Casey and David Petraeus in Iraq. His first tour of duty lasted 14 months. He missed nearly six years at his civilian job in total because of the deployments scattered over 13 years.

In 2007, he was wounded in Iraq while running for cover during a rocket attack.
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Vietnam Veteran Dies Days After VA Sent HIm Home

Veteran dies two days after VA hospital visit, widow blames poor treatment as cause
Times Leader
By Jerry Lynott
Last updated: June 29. 2015

Something told Olga Pryjmak to be with her husband on his final doctor’s visit, and it wasn’t him.

Stephen Pryjmak was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, and a Newark, New Jersey police officer who retired after 25 years on the force.

He had been diagnosed with a blood clot in his heart. His wife was at his side during a visit with a cardiologist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 27, 2013.

“Normally my husband didn’t want me to go in with him to see the doctor, but this time I insisted,” she said of accompanying him that day.

He had been complaining of shortness of breath and chest pain, signs of a serious problem to his wife, who started her nursing career in the U.S. Army and continued it for nearly 40 years in intensive care units in New Jersey hospitals.

The doctor prescribed medication to strengthen his heart and scheduled a follow-up visit for a month later instead of sending him immediately to a hospital for the cardiac catheterization his wife said he needed.

Two days later, her 65-year-old husband suffered a massive heart attack at home and died in a Hazleton hospital.
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New Jersey Army National Guardsman Stands Trial for Sexual Assault

Witness describes events before sexual assault at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
The Trentonian
By Isaac Avilucea
POSTED: 06/12/15

Ioannis V. Karazoupis, right, leaves Federal Court in Trenton

with his attorney Jerome Ballarotto Wednesday Oct. 1. 2014.

(Trentonian photo/Jackie Schear)

TRENTON
The difference between defense attorney Jerome Ballarotto inside a federal courtroom and outside of one is the difference between a wordsmith and a word sniper.

Outside the courtroom, the former Secret Service agent penned a novel about a Secret Service agent.

While Ballarotto’s flair for fiction solidified him as a wordsmith, it’s probably not what made him worthy of the trust and confidence of New Jersey Army National guardsman Ioannis “John” Karazoupis, 28.

Ballarotto’s actions as a word sniper during the second day of his client’s sexual assault trial is most likely what did.

Karazoupis is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old guardswoman May 4, 2014 while the two were at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for training. He maintains the encounter was consensual while federal prosecutors contend the woman was blackout drunk and unable to consent.
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Military-Civilian Police Officer Not Allowed in 7-11 on Memorial Day?

This story is in need of editing. Deitch is the veteran/owner and Sox is the dog. Hope they fix it.

Owner of 7-Eleven apologizes for kicking out veteran's service dog
New Jersey.com
By Dave Hutchinson
May 27, 2015

Deitch is both a military police and civilian police service dog, according to News 12.

PARSIPPANY — The owner of a Parsippany 7-Eleven has apologized to a veteran who was not allowed into the store on Memorial Day because of his service dog, according to News 12 New Jersey.

Veteran Michael Deitch said he was not allowed into the 7-Eleven on North Beverwyck Road because he had his service dog, Sox, with him, the report said. Sox, a 7-month-old lab-hound-mix, is federally protected under the American with Disabilities Act, the report said. read more here

Near Fatal Motorcycle Crash Marine Veteran Proves Miracles Still Happen

Fundraiser launched for Boonton 'Miracle Marine' 
Daily Record
Michael Izzo
May 16, 2015

"His first words were 'hi' and 'I love you,'" Bucher said. "And 'orange juice … I'm thirsty.'"

Kyle Chappell in Afghanistan with the Marine Corps 2nd Light Armored Recon Battalion.

(Photo: Photo courtesy of Jennifer Bucher)

MORRISTOWN – A 26-year-old Marine veteran from Boonton has been in intensive care for more than six weeks after a grisly motorcycle accident in Denville left him with life-threatening injuries, including an "internal decapitation."

Kyle Chappell has a long road ahead on his recovery, and his friends and family have started a crowdfunding campaign to help with the cost.

Chappell was driving his motorcycle to work on Diamond Spring Road, four miles from his Boonton home, on the morning of April 2 when he was hit by a car.

Chappell later would find out he suffered an "internal decapitation," meaning his skull separated from his spinal cord, a typically fatal occurrence. There are only about two dozen documented cases of people surviving the injury.

"It's such a miracle. All the credit and gratitude to the first responders for safely moving him," Kyle's mother, Jennifer Bucher, said. "They didn't know about the injury and moving him safely was pivotal to his survival."

Bucher said her son also dissected his aorta artery in two places.

"That aorta was a ticking time bomb. Dissecting it once would typically cause someone to bleed out in 10 minutes," she said. "But somehow it clotted on the way to the hospital."

Chappell's extensive list of injuries also included two collapsed lungs, a lacerated liver, kidney, spleen, a fractured femur, a broken tibia and fibula on his left leg and a broken ankle on his right leg.
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Soldier Died in New Jersey Crash

Soldier in military Humvee that crashed in NJ dies 
Associated Press
May 7, 2015

HAMILTON – One of four soldiers from upstate New York injured in a military Humvee crash on the New Jersey Turnpike last week has died. 

New Jersey state police Capt. Stephen Jones says 25-year-old John Levulis died Thursday at a hospital in Trenton. Levulis was from a town named Eden.

He and the other soldiers were in the last Humvee of a 12-vehicle convoy in Hamilton traveling to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on May 1. Police say a vehicle trying to pass hit the Humvee. read more here

New Jersey and Massachusetts Craft Tough Stolen Valor Laws

Above and beyond: 2 states craft 'stolen valor' laws that exceed federal version 
FOX News
Perry Chiaramonte
March 21, 2015

“People take that uniform and the American Flag very seriously. You don’t get to say you fought for it when you clearly haven’t.”- Massachusetts State Representative John Velis

Lawmakers in two northeastern states are declaring war on phony veterans who claim combat experience in order to commit fraud. So-called "stolen valor" laws are not new, and the current federal version was revised after a tougher one was struck down in 2012 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Laws proposed in New Jersey and Massachusetts would go further than Washington's regulation, heaping prison time on those convicted of faking service to the country to gain money or service benefits. “There are certain areas you don’t go,”

Massachusetts State Representative John Velis, a Democrat from Westfield who served tours in Afghanistan. "Any person who has served will tell you that it’s reprehensible when someone fraudulently represents themselves as a veteran for some type of financial gain.” 

Velis says his bill would make it a criminal offense to commit an act of stolen valor, carrying at least a year in prison and a $1,000 fine, making it the toughest law in the nation.
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Head of Charity For Military Families Under Investigation Committed Suicide

Just to give you some perspective here, what I do costs me a lot of time and little bit of money. While I do this and more stuff 7 days a week with at least 40 hours a week, I lose money every year. I had to go back to work for a paycheck at the same time I work from home because this is my passion and my vocation.

I used to be jealous of folks who were able to do the the work and still figured out how to find financial support to do it. How can they spend time that kind of time doing the work they promised to do and then raise such huge funds at the same time? Simple because most of the time they hire firms to do it and they get a huge chunk of the money people donate so even less goes to the purpose of the money donated.

The part that makes me want to toss my cookies on a regular basis is when they feel as if they deserve hundreds of thousands of dollars because they are worth it! Bullshit! Either they are in it to take care of the troops and veterans or they are in it for themselves. I've known too many great people that work harder than even I do and they are happy just breaking even. The cause is what matters to them not getting rich.

Can someone please tell me why anyone would actually deserve a six or seven figure income to get veterans to help each other when that is what they do on their own for free all the time?

Are folks really that nuts they just don't see it or are their hearts tugged to do something so that anything sounds good to them?

Rant over,,,,sorry, but when I read this article, it just made me sick to my stomach!

Maine charity founder who committed suicide faced FBI fraud investigation
Portland Press
BY SCOTT DOLAN STAFF WRITER
March 18, 2015

Marcel Badeau of Gorham-based Operation Tribute is suspected of siphoning off large sums donated to buy holiday gifts for children in military families.

Margo and Marc Badeau, seen working at their Gorham business in 2007, are now identified in court records as the targets of an investigation by multiple federal agencies.
Press Herald file photo/Jack Milton

The founder of a Maine charity that provided holiday gifts to the children of military families was under investigation for fraud when he committed suicide last month.

The investigation focused on whether Marcel “Marc” Badeau, chairman of the Gorham-based nonprofit Operation Tribute, siphoned off hundreds of thousands of dollars that he told donors would be spent on gifts for children.

Badeau and his wife, Margherita Badeau, are identified in court records unsealed Wednesday as the targets of an investigation by multiple federal agencies that started in July.

The accusations depicting Marcel Badeau as an ex-con scam artist stand in stark contrast to his public image as a selfless man, tirelessly devoting his time to support the children of military service men and women in New England, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Wednesday’s revelation surprised many people who supported Badeau, including Gov. Paul LePage and first lady Ann LePage, who both issued statements after his death Feb. 27.

In honor of the charitable group’s recognition of the sacrifices made by military families, LePage declared December 2012 Operation Tribute Month. The organization was also named Maine’s Outstanding Non-profit in 2011.

The court filings indicate the Badeaus used donated money for personal needs, including more than $230,000 in cash, $138,000 in mortgage payments, more than $25,000 for personal cars, nearly $24,000 for one of their children’s college tuition, and more than $7,000 at New Hampshire state liquor stores.
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Marines Release Names Black Hawk Crash

Marines confirm victims in Florida crash 
WITN News
Mar 13, 2015

The Marine Corps has released the names of seven members of MARSOC who died in Tuesday night's Black Hawk crash in Florida.

Major General Joseph Osterman identified the Marines as

Captain Stanford Shaw of Basking Ridge, NJ,

Master Sgt. Thomas Saunders of Williamsburg, Virginia,

Staff Sgt. Marcus Bawol of Warren, Michigan,

Staff Sgt. Trevor Blaylock of Lake Orion, Michigan,

Staff Sgt. Liam Flynn of Queens, New York,

Staff Sgt. Kerry Kemp of Port Washington, Wisconsin,

Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif of Holland, Michigan.

All were from the 2nd Special Operations Battalion of MARSOC.
read more here

Marines facing charges after shooting up a New Jersey Church

Marine, ex-Marine arrested for shooting up historic Ridgewood church, police say
NJ.com
By James Kleimann
NJ Advance Media
January 13, 2015

SWAT teams executed a search warrant on the Ridgewood home of Alex Norrell, who is accused of shooting up a historic church with another man on December, 26, 2014.
(Myles Ma | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

RIDGEWOOD — Ridgewood police say they've captured the two men responsible for shooting up Old Paramus Reformed Church in late December.

Active duty Marine Joseph Galli, 21, of Somerville, and former Marine Alexander Norrell, 22, of Ridgewood, are facing weapons and criminal mischief charges for allegedly carrying out the shooting, which left more than 30 bullets throughout the 200-year-old church. The damage toll was estimated at more than $50,000.

The church was unoccupied when the shots rang out on the day after Christmas, but the event disturbed congregants, neighbors and parents of children at a nearby daycare facility.

"While this matter is still under investigation, we wanted to provide information of these arrests to hopefully provide some level of comfort for our community which has been understandably shaken by this event," Ridgewood Police Chief John Ward said. "To help further alleviate any further concerns it should be said that there are no other suspects believed to be involved in this incident."
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