WWII Veteran finally accepts medals from Battle of Okinawa

67 years later, veteran finally accepts medals from Battle of Okinawa
Oct. 13, 2012
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Mari A. Schaefer
Inquirer Staff Writer

Sixty-seven years did not blot out the searing memories of the Battle of Okinawa for World War II infantryman Montraville "Monte" Lybrand.

He held his hand to his quivering chin, bowed his head, and whispered, "You always remember the ones that didn't make it." With blue eyes welling up, he waited for composure. "I was with them for such a short period of time," he finally managed to say. "We were buddies."

Over the decades, Lybrand, of Drexel Hill, rarely spoke of his experience in one of the war's bloodiest episodes, dispensing his fighting past only in "little bits and pieces," said his oldest daughter, Kathleen Murtaugh.

Yet, suddenly at 86, he decided he wanted the medals that were due him from the 82-day assault that took the lives of 12,500 comrades.

On Friday, at a ceremony in the Delaware County office of U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.), Lybrand stood proud as his blue blazer was festooned with hardware: the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Rifle Marksmanship Badge, the Honorable Service Lapel Button - and, in a surprise to Lybrand, the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest honor.
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Disabled Vietnam Veteran beaten by teens caught on surveillance video

UPDATE
Arrests of Philadelphia Teens

64-Year-Old Veteran Beaten by 6 Teens, Reward Offered
Vietnam War Veteran recovering in hospital after six teens attacked him. The beating was caught on surveillance video.
By Teresa Masterson
Thursday, Jan 19, 2012

Ed Schaefer lost his eye in a grenade attack while serving in the Vietnam War. On Tuesday the 64-year-old was injured in a different kind of battle, as six teens ambushed him from behind in the Olney section of Philadelphia and fractured his skull in a senseless beating.

The beating was caught on surveillance video but the Schaefer has no memory of what happened.

“I’m lucky my husband’s not dead,” said Kate Schaefer.

The grandfather of four was on his way to meet his wife at about 6 p.m. Tuesday and while walking on the 5000 block of N 5th Street, six men approached him from behind, police say.

The teens beat Schaefer so badly that he was left with serious injuries to his face, head and hand including a broken skull and orbital bone around the eye he lost at war, according to authorities.
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Philadelphia Marine Receives hero's welcome home

Local Marine receives hero's welcome home
Thursday, October 27, 2011
PHILADELPHIA - October 27, 2011 (WPVI) -- It was a welcome home with panache for a Morrisville, Pa. Marine Thursday afternoon.

Marine Sergeant Brett Flavin will be home for less than a week, but he told me he'll savor the celebration in his honor at the airport, the precious time he will have with his family.

Sergeant Flavin arrived early on US Airways, flight 150 Thursday afternoon. His mom was the first to wrap her arms around him.
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Vets Rip Candidate on Green Beret Claim

"It isn't about politics" said a veteran and that is the way all of them should feel. Considering they served this one nation, not a politician or political side, what is good for the country should take top spot. The issue is most vote according to their own political affiliation instead. Case in point is Senator John McCain. Most veterans said they voted for him simply because he's one of them but instead of looking up his record of voting against veterans, they assumed he cared because he was one of them. That is a huge problem because in the end they end up voting against their own best interests.

It should never be about one political party over another but it should always be about honor.

Vets Rip Candidate on Green Beret Claim

October 18, 2011
Philadelphia Daily News|by Chris Brennan

A group of veterans yesterday called on voters to reject David Oh, a Republican running for City Council at-large, due to his misleading claims about being an Army Green Beret.

Joe Eastman, a Navy veteran who organized the Philadelphia Independent Veterans Association, said Oh had embellished his military record for political gain.

The group, which met outside the Municipal Services Building, across from City Hall, to denounce Oh, was not impressed with the two full-page ads he bought after the Daily News first reported in August about his military record.

"We want to cut through the nuance, the lawyer-speak and everything else," said Eastman.

John Murphy, a retired colonel in the Army Special Forces and a Vietnam veteran, said Oh "quibbled" in his apologies and should never hold elected office.

"This isn't about politics," said Murphy, of Cherry Hill. "I'm a Republican and I would have liked to seen him make it. But when he made his false claims about being a Green Beret, that just blew it for me."
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Marine/firefighter John Slivinski left behind a lot of questions

Fireman suspended for posing topless on charity calendar commits suicide
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 10:51 PM on 27th June 2011

A fire-fighter who was disciplined for posing shirtless on a charity calendar has committed suicide, it was announced today.

Tragic: Philadelphia firefighter John Slivinski, at right, is photographed by Katherine Kostreva at Logan Circle. Colleagues are baffled after his suicide on Saturday

John Slivinski was found dead at his Lawndale, Philadelphia home on Saturday, with Police and colleagues saying the cause was suicide.

It is not known why he took his own life.

In April the 31-year-old former Marine was suspended from the city's prestigious 'Rescue One' unit after posing topless for a national fund-raising calendar.


Read more: Fireman suspended for posing topless on charity calendar commits suicide

Vietnam Memorial Desecrated Repeatedly In Philadelphia

Love, respect, gratefulness and compassion built the this memorial to the fallen in Vietnam. Hate, stupidity and evil hearts refuse to understand any of it. They must think it is fun to destroy. What does it gain them to walk around this world with absolutely no regard for the selfless few mourned at this memorial? Empty wretches passing themselves off as a mourner only to destroy what was left by real ones. God sees them and will remember what they have done on this earth.

Philadelphia’s Vietnam Memorial Desecrated Repeatedly In New Year
January 13, 2011 6:00 PM

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Vietnam War is a memory for Jim Moran, and every time someone disrespects that memory, the pain, for him, is real.
“They started to bust the wreaths up here and steal all the flowers out of there,” said Moran, pointing to the most recent desecration at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
“I wish it would stop, because it is heartbreaking.”
In his regular visits to the memorial that bears his brother’s name, Moran has noticed the desecration happening more often.
In the last three weeks, he said, he has found wreaths torn up and flags on the ground.
“It hurts all the families of the 646 men’s names that are on this wall.”
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Vietnam Memorial Desecrated Repeatedly In New Year/

Army Vet's body didn't make it to funeral on time

Local/StateFuneral Fiasco: Wrong body sent to family
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 8:16 AM
Story Media Top Stories

by Cathy Gandolfo & Dann Cuellar
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - August 18, 2009 (WPVI) -- It was to have been a time to say farewell to 80-year-old Kenneth Roberts.
As if funerals aren't sad and emotional enough, what happened in South Philadelphia was a nightmare for the family and friends of Mr. Roberts.
The funeral was to be held at Tindley Temple United Methodist Church on South Broad Street Tuesday morning, but the body that was brought there was not that of Kenneth Monroe Roberts, a South Philadelphia resident and army veteran.
"They kept trying to tell us that it was him and I knew it wasn't him," the wife of Kenneth Roberts, Janin Holsey, said.

However, mourners were still horrified as the body was face down and partially hanging out of the ajar casket.
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http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6971470
linked from CNN

UPDATE to this story you won't believe,,,,,
Funeral director speaks on mix-up
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 11:51 PM
By Chad Pradelli
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - August 19, 2009 (WPVI) -- After dozens of calls and personal visits, the funeral director at the center of the mix-up, Frankie Francis, has finally talked.
Horrified relatives of Kenneth Roberts couldn't contain their emotions Tuesday when they learned their beloved family member was lying in a casket at another funeral service across town.
"They kept trying to tell us it was him, but I knew it wasn't him and I told them that it wasn't him," the wife of Roberts, Janin Holsey, said Tuesday.
Francis Funeral Home Director Frankie Francis tells Action News it was simply a terrible error.

However, even more troubling for the Roberts family, once the mix-up was acknowledged, Roberts' body arrived at the church naked, upside down, and partially hanging out of the casket.
read more of this here
Funeral director speaks
linked from CNN

Iraq veteran accused as movie theater shooter

Iraq vet held in movie shooting

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jan 2, 2009 6:32:02 EST

PHILADELPHIA — The alleged gunman involved in a Christmas night shooting over noisy moviegoers is an Iraq war veteran, a churchgoer and a newlywed who fired in self-defense, his lawyer said.

James Joseph Cialella, 29, of Philadelphia, is charged with firing a shot that broke the arm of Woffard Lomax Jr. inside a movie theater during a screening of the film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

Lomax, 31, described the shooting for the first time in public Wednesday at a preliminary hearing, when a judge ordered Cialella held for trial on aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and related charges. The judge tossed out an attempted murder charge over a prosecutor’s objections.

According to Lomax, he was at the movie with his girlfriend and her three teenagers, enjoying the film and laughing, when a man in front of him — not Cialella — told him to quiet down.

“We can’t laugh?” Lomax recalled asking.

A second man threw popcorn at the family, and a brawl ensued. Lomax said he was fighting with the first man when the second man pulled out a gun and fired, striking him in the left arm.

A defense lawyer argued that Cialella was being choked and punched as he tried to break up the fight and fired in self-defense.

“He’s a marksman,” lawyer Greg Pagano said. “If he wanted to shoot to kill, he would have.”
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Feds inspecting VA center in Pa. after under-doses

Feds inspecting VA center in Pa. after under-doses
By JOANN LOVIGLIO Associated Press Writer


PHILADELPHIA—Nuclear regulators have begun an investigation to determine why 55 prostate cancer patients received radiation treatments at lower than prescribed doses at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that a special inspection is under way at the facility in part because of the number of patients given incorrect radiation doses.

"We are concerned with the number of medical events that occurred," said James Caldwell, the agency's regional administrator. "The special inspection is tasked with helping us understand their causes."

The men underwent brachytherapy, which involves implanting radioactive iodine pellets (often called "seeds") in the prostate to kill cancer cells. Men who undergo only that type of treatment typically have low-risk prostate cancer.

The VA reported in May that one patient's CT scans revealed that he got a dosage that was less than 80 percent of what was prescribed, according to NRC reports.

VA officials then reviewed medical records and conducted tests on 112 veterans implanted with the seeds since the program started in Feb. 2002 and found 55 received too-low doses.
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http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_10419553

Philadelphia Police Officer Shot, Killed After Bank Robbery

Officer Shot, Killed After Bank Robbery

POSTED: 2:38 pm EDT May 3, 2008
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia police said a veteran police officer was shot and killed in the Port Richmond section of the city on Saturday.

Steven Liczbinski, 40, a 12-year veteran who had just been promoted to sergeant, was shot by at least two men shortly before 11:30 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.

He was responding to a robbery at a Bank of America branch inside the ShopRite at Castor and Aramingo.


The men fled, and Liczbinski confronted them at Almond and Schiller streets about 15 minutes later. was shot multiple times with a high-powered rifle, police said.

"It is my understanding that he was either in the car or had just gotten out of the car at the time he was struck," Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said.

Liczbinski was taken to Temple University Hospital in critical condition, where he died on Saturday afternoon.

The men fled the area and were later spotted by a canine officer responding to the robbery and the report of an officer down. That officer shot and killed one of the men at D and Loudon, police said. The suspect died at the hospital, police said.
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http://www.nbc10.com/news/16149888/detail.html?dl=mainclick

Back On My Feet, Woman gets homeless to run

Runner gets homeless on right track

Story Highlights
Philadelphia marathoner found herself running past homeless shelter every day
After contacting shelter, Anne Mahlum started running club "Back On My Feet"
Club now has teams in three city shelters with 54 homeless members
Job training partnership has helped members take classes, find employment

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- At 5 a.m. on any given day, Anne Mahlum could be found running the dark streets of Philadelphia -- with homeless men cheering her on as she passed their shelter. But one morning last spring, she stopped in her tracks.

"Running really is a metaphor for life," Anne Mahlum says. "You just have to take it one step at a time."

"Why am I running past these guys?" recalls Mahlum, 27. "I'm moving my life forward every day -- and these guys are standing in the same spot."

Instead of continuing to pass them by, the veteran marathoner sprang into action so they could join her.

She contacted the shelter, got donations of running gear, and in July 2007 the "Back On My Feet" running club hit the streets.

The first day, Mahlum led nine shelter residents in a mile-long run. Today, Back on My Feet has teams in three Philadelphia shelters, including 54 homeless members and more than 250 volunteers. The group has logged more than 5,000 miles.

Requirements for shelter residents to join are simple -- they must live in an affiliated facility and be clean and sober for 30 days. Members receive new shoes and running clothes, and teams run together three times a week between 5:30 and 6 a.m.

The runners are diverse -- doctors, janitors, students and shelter residents -- but such distinctions aren't apparent.

"All you can tell is who's the fastest," says Mahlum. "You can't tell who's homeless and who's not."

For Mahlum and others, Back On My Feet is more than a running club.

"We're a community of support, love, respect," she says.

Watch how the group hits the predawn streets of Philadelphia. »

Last year I post how I was in Philly for a conference of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators. It was a great conference and we were in the Marriott Convention Center. As a smoker, (yes I still do have the habit) I would go outside and take in the crisp winter air. I missed the winters in Massachusetts since moving down to Florida. The people would pass me by and most would look at me as if I lost my mind. Aside from the fact I would move from under the protection of the overhang so that the snow would hit me, I was also handing money out to panhandlers. Can't help it. I managed to make sure I had a few bucks in my pocket each time I wanted a cigarette. I wondered why so many people would just walk by these people without even offering a kind word. It was almost as if they thought they'd catch something from the homeless people on the streets. After reading this story, I know how small an act I did myself. Anne Mahlum not only gave them a kind word, she gave them a kind deed and let them know people do care about them. She also gave them a sense of hope. Great job she did!