#MissingVeteranAlert: PTSD Veteran

Hardin County veteran reported missing
Jackson Sun
Cassandra Stephenson
Sept. 24, 2018

A 30-year-old veteran suffering from PTSD has been missing for several days, according to the Hardin County Sheriff's Department.

Terry Michael Woodall was last seen in Hardin County. He recently received treatment at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Memphis, according to the Hardin County Sheriff's Department.

Officials have no vehicle description and do not know Woodall's intended direction of travel.

Woodall is described as a 6-foot-tall white male weighing approximately 195 pounds.
read more here

In other news...the failure of raising awareness

We just posted how a veteran had a mental health crisis situation at Tampa Airport. He served six tours in the Air Force...but is seems as if there are a lot of stories that should make national news. 

Apparently, people who put their lives on the line to save others, still have not been made aware they are killing themselves. 

Oh, wait, my bad! They have been aware of that for a very long time.  Seems they missed the message on how to change the outcome and heal!

Like these!

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) - An hours-long standoff in a northeast Memphis neighborhood ended peacefully Wednesday afternoon, after a man fired shots from his home and barricaded himself inside. 36-year-old Alfred LaBarre, a war veteran according to Memphis police sources, now faces several charges.

MINDEN TOWNSHIP — Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said the Sauk Rapids man who apparently took his own life on Sunday was a military veteran in crisis.

The incident brought authorities to a standoff with the man, forced neighbors to evacuate the area around the 7300 block of Minnesota Highway 95 and shut down that road.

The news release from Heck's office said the victim was Rodolfo Alberto Gomez Jr., 44, of Sauk Rapids, a military veteran.

This marks the third Chicago officer to die by suicide in the last two months The Chicago police are mourning the loss of one of their own again.

The Chicago Police Department says a veteran officer took her own life Wednesday morning—marking the third suicide within the department in just two months.

Search ends for missing veteran Donovan Jared Crittendon

Body of Army veteran missing for nearly a week found in Cumberland River
The Tennessean
Amy Nixon
June 9, 2018

The body of a Hartsville man missing nearly a week was found in the Cumberland River this morning in Trousdale County.

The body of Donovan Jared Crittendon, 26, was recovered from the Cumberland River just west of the 141 bridge in Trousdale County around 8:30 Saturday morning, according to authorities.

Members of Crittendon's family shared a Facebook post which said that the Army veteran was last seen Sunday, June 3.
read more here

PTSD Veteran sexual abuse made worse under Caregiver program

Sexually abused veteran raises new questions about VA caregiver program
WJHL News
By: Nate Morabito
Updated: May 25, 2018

JOHNSON CITY, TN (WJHL) - A Johnson City woman's experience with Mountain Home VA raises more questions about a Veterans Affairs program already under scrutiny.

The VA's caregiver program pays family members to care for post-9/11 veterans with catastrophic injuries. Kim Coble is one of those veterans. She is a victim of military sexual trauma, according to medical records.

As a result, her husband is paid by the VA to take care of the Army veteran, but both say her mental illness only worsened once they entered the program at Mountain Home last year.

"I was really devastated emotionally," Coble said when we interviewed her on March 9. "I just wanted to end my life."

Those words would haunt her in the coming months.

Lawmakers created the VA caregiver program years ago without clear guidelines in Congressman Phil Roe's view. The House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman (R), TN-District 1, said Congress gave each VA facility too much leeway initially.

"It's being looked at," Rep. Roe said of the increased oversight the program is now receiving. "We need to paint the white lines on the road for it, so this is how you do this."

"It makes us feel like we can't make a difference," Martin said. "Nobody's going to listen. Nobody cares." 

"That makes me feel very hopeless and helpless," Coble said. 

In the days after that meeting, the veteran said she attempted suicide. 

"I just went very numb and I tried to kill myself," she said. "I took almost a whole bottle of pills." 

Doctors have since treated and released Coble following her suicide attempt.

read more here

Hero stopped gunman at Waffle House

CAPTURED

Shortly after 1 p.m., police announced Reinking had been arrested in a wooded area near Mountain Springs Drive — less than one mile from the scene of the shooting and close to Cane Ridge Elementary.

A tip from a construction worker led police to Reinking, officials said. Detectives from the department's narcotics unit swarmed the area.

Nude gunman kills four at Waffle House restaurant near Nashville
AOL
Thomson Reuters
Apr 22nd 2018

"The shots had stopped so he decided to rush the gunman, actually wrestled that assault rifle away, tossed it over the counter and, at that point, the gunman fled," said police spokesman Don Aaron.
Shaw's fast actions were credited with saving lives, but in an interview with the Tennessean newspaper he dismissed the idea that he was hero.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 22 (Reuters) - A nearly nude gunman killed at least four people at a Waffle House restaurant near Nashville, Tennessee early on Sunday and then fled after a patron saved lives by wrestling the assault-style rifle from his hands.

The suspected shooter, identified by authorities as Travis Reinking, 29, was still at large and murder warrants were being issued for him, the Metropolitan Nashville Police said.

Reinking, of Morton, Illinois was believed to live near the restaurant. The gunman's vehicle was registered to him and a shirtless man wearing pants believed to be Reinking was spotted in woods nearby, police said.

The gunman, who was naked but for a green jacket, first shot and killed two people in the parking lot of the restaurant in Antioch, a section of southeast Nashville, shortly before 3:30 a.m. (0830 GMT).
read more here

Three Homeless veterans buried with dignity in Tennessee

3 homeless veterans buried in East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery
WBIR 10 News
Author: Anslee Daniel
April 11, 2018

Military veterans and community members gathered at the cemetery to honor Sp4 Kenneth Ray Sharp, Pvt. John Louis Sherer and Pvt. Robert Andrew Wilson.

Three Army veterans were laid to rest at the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on Wednesday with the help of the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veteran Burial Program.

The program partners with local funeral homes and medical examiners, as well as veterans organizations to provide a burial service for homeless and indigent veterans.
read more here

Busload of Vietnam veterans honored Army National Guard veteran James Wood

About 300 attend funeral for slain Winchester, Tenn., veteran
Times Free Press
Philip J Loenz III
February 19, 2018

WINCHESTER, Tenn. — No one would dispute that paying tribute to a deceased 50-year-old Winchester military veteran is a particularly sad event.

The body of U.S. Army National Guard veteran James Wood lies under the American flag Friday at his funeral service, where more than 300 people showed up after Wood's mother sent out a plea for people to attend because she was unable to do so.

(Photo courtesy Philip Lorenz/Winchester Herald Chronicle)

About 300 people attended the funeral for James Leon Wood on Friday at Winchester's Watson-North Funeral Home.

Most of those attending the service were military veterans from Franklin County and other counties in Middle and Southeast Tennessee, even a busload of Vietnam veterans from Chattanooga. Some of Wood's friends also attended his service.

Many of those who attended Friday's services were answering a call last week from Wood's mother, Bertha Allen, who lives in New Mexico and was unable to attend her son's funeral. Wood was the victim of a homicide committed some time over the last several months, and six people, including his wife and her two adult children, have now been charged in his death.

His body was found in January buried under a concrete slab in the backyard of his own home.

David Michael, who lives in Tullahoma, described Wood as "a good friend and fishing buddy," just before the funeral service got underway.

Michael said he feels sad at the loss of his friend, but "we are celebrating his life, he was a gentle soul."
read more here

Iraq Veteran beaten and stabbed searching for PTSD Service Dog

Man says he was stabbed and beaten while trying to retrieve lost dog
WREG 3 News
BY WREG STAFF AND ANDREW ELLISON
FEBRUARY 16, 2018

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A veteran says he was stabbed, beaten and robbed all while trying to get his service dog back, but now fears for the worst.

Michael Chaney just wants his pitbull “Scrappy” back.

"He's part of the family," Chaney said.

Chaney an Iraq war veteran says the service dog helps him deal with his PTSD and alerts people if he’s having a seizure.

"It get me out in places I normally won't go such as the mall," Chaney said.

Three weeks ago Scrappy got out and disappeared.

Chaney says he spotted him with a man two days ago under the overpass at Germantown Parkway and Walnut Grove.
read more here

Veterans "48 Hours" for Homeless Veterans

Veterans Hold 48-Hour Fundraiser For Veterans

News Channel 5

Brandon Marshall

November 24, 2017

LEBANON, Tenn. - Members of the U.S. Military Motorcycle Club in Lebanon and Murfreesboro have been holding a 48-hour-long fundraiser to raise awareness about homeless veterans.

The group has been collecting non-perishable food items, clothes, and monetary donations to help local veterans and people in need this holiday.

The annual fundraiser called "Black Friday Deployment" started four years ago in Murfreesboro to shed light on the challenges that may arise when a military member returns home.

"Veterans still need help, in and out of the service," chapter Vice President Richard Griffin said.

The groups started collecting items at noon on Thanksgiving and will end at noon on Saturday in the two cities. They have slept in tents at night.

Griffin who separated from the military in 1999 after serving five years said no donation is too small.

In Lebanon, money will go towards Fallen Soldiers March which collects funds to provide service dogs for veterans with PTSD. Clothes collected in Murfreesboro go towards Operation Stand Down.
read more here

Amy Grant and Vince Gill Share Healing PTSD With Music

How these veterans are using music to win the fight against PTSD
The Tennessean
USA Today
Jake Lowary
November 16, 2017

Music therapy isn't really a secret, but it's one of a litany of new treatment programs like meditation breathing, medical marijuana and cannabinoid oil, that are attracting attention and support that just a few years ago would have been cast aside.

Deep in the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, on land owned by two of country and gospel music’s most-acclaimed stars, is one of the most recent examples of how American veterans are taking control of their battle against their own demons.

Michael Smith, Danny Williams and Howard Spier are among the dozen gathered here on an unusually hot, early October day. Each are veterans who have fought for their country, but are now using music to overcome the stress they brought home from war.

With them on Amy Grant and Vince Gill’s secluded farm in Williamson County are songwriters associated with some of the biggest country hits, like Bob Regan, who are helping the veterans write the latest versions of country songs to help them cope and move beyond their struggles.

They stayed here for a few days, fully immersing themselves in the experience organized by Challenge America, which supports extending arts programs to under-served communities.

Veterans, still conflicted, see a bright future
read more here

Heroic Devin Wilson Murder Update: Man Captured

Suspect accused of murdering Memphis father outside IHOP captured

FOX 13 News

by: Zach Crenshaw 

Updated: Nov 8, 2017 - 4:18 PM

(L-R) Derrick Harris, Devin Wilson

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An arrest has been made in a murder that happened at a local IHOP in May.

U.S. Marshals Service told FOX13 Derrick Harris was arrested Wednesday in Chicago, Illinois.

An arrest arrant was issued for Harris on May 28, 2017. Harris is accused of shooting and killing Devin Wilson at the IHOP located at 1277 East Shelby Drive.

Wilson was a young father and an Air Force veteran. Police told FOX13 he was trying to break up a domestic dispute outside the restaurant when he was shot and killed.
read more here

Fort Hood Solider Found Dead Identified

Fort Hood: Soldier found dead in off-post residence identified

KWTC News

Staff

October 24, 2017

FORT HOOD, Texas (KWTX) Fort Hood Tuesday identified a soldier who was found dead in his off-post residence on Oct. 18 in Copperas Cove as Spc. Luke Hampton Toomey, 21, of Lakeland, Tenn.

Copperas Cove police and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command are investigating the circumstances of the death, Fort Hood said.

read more here

Two Pilots Killed in Cherokee National Forest Navy Jet Crash

2 pilots killed in Navy training jet crash in Tennessee
USA TODAY NETWORK
Travis Dorman and Hayes Hickman
Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel
Published Oct. 2, 2017

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. — Both pilots aboard a Navy training jet that went down in Cherokee National Forest have been confirmed dead, military personnel said Monday.

The T-45C Goshawk, attached to Training Squadron Seven (VT-7), was the same aircraft reported missing Sunday from the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss., according to Lt. Liz Feaster, public affairs officer for the chief of Naval Air Training. Military personnel arrived in the Cherokee National Forest early Monday to begin investigating the crash.

The names of the pilots, an instructor and a student, are being withheld for 24 hours after the notification of next of kin.

The crash site is believe to be about 15 miles southeast of Tellico Plains and 2 miles from the Tennessee-North Carolina border near the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Tellico Trout Hatchery, about 500 miles from Meridian.
read more here

Three of Five Soldiers Missing After Black Hawk Crash Identified

3 soldiers confirmed dead in Hawaii crash; Alabama soldier still missing

By The Associated Press

August 28, 2017

Military officials have declared three soldiers dead after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed off Hawaii during a nighttime training mission earlier this month.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner says 1st Lt. Kathryn Bailey of North Carolina, Staff Sgt. Abigail Milam of Kentucky and Sgt. Michael Nelson of Tennessee are dead after confirming their DNA among debris recovered from the Aug. 15 crash. The three were riding in the helicopter with two others when it crashed off of Oahu.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Cantrell of Texas and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Woeber of Alabama have not been found.

read more here

Fort Campbell Solider Saved Drowning Autistic Teenager

Fort Campbell Soldier Saves Autistic Teen From Drowning

News Channel 5

Jonquil Newland 

August 18, 2017

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Recalling the events that happened still bring Martie Weeks to tears. Her family was tubing down the Red River in Clarksville on Sunday when she and her autistic son, Ronnie Harris, became separated.

"The current had taken me about 20 feet from him," Weeks said. 

It had rained the day before and the water was a bit higher than normal. The current wedged Ronnie under a tree.

"I was just holding on to the tree branch," said Ronnie. 

"He was struggling for a little bit and then he stopped struggling, there was no more struggle, and I'm screaming for him stand up," recalled Martie. 

Martie's screams could be heard up the river where U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Timothy Hansen and his family were enjoying the day.

"My mother, she's the one that heard it, and I turned over and I could see her face shriek. I was like, 'What's going on?' She said, 'Go save that baby,'" Hansen said. 

With that, Hansen was in a sprint down the river. He grabbed Ronnie and spent several minutes getting him to shore; however, for a moment, Ronnie wasn't breathing.

read more here

Amputee Afghanistan Veteran is Now a "Road Warrior"

Disabled veteran surprised with special wheelchair
WCYB 5 News
Ellie Romano
Posted: Jun 24, 2017

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. - Jeremy Young was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 where he fell victim to a blue on green attack.

One of his Afghani counterparts opened fire on him and his comrades.

Young was shot 13 times and suffered severe nerve damage and had to amputate his leg.

Now, he has a new form of transportation.

The Road Warrior Foundation gifted Young with a massive wheelchair that can work in tough terrain.

"I couldn't believe that was for me. I wanted one of these chairs since I got hurt, and the first time I saw it I was like 'do you know how cool it would be to own one of those.'" Young explained.

The organizers of this surprise where very particular in choosing the right recipient.

Road Warrior's Mid-Atlantic Regional Director said they denied about 15 candidates before finding Young.
read more here

Fort Campbell Attorney Spouses Can Get to Work!

SUPREME COURT AND FORT CAMPBELL CELEBRATE MILITARY SPOUSE RULE
Tennessee State Court
June 6, 2017

The Tennessee Supreme Court and 53 members of the 101st Airborne Division and 5th Special Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, recently celebrated the Supreme Court’s Revised Military spouse Rule (Rule 7), which permits attorney spouses of those in the military to obtain temporary law licenses to practice in Tennessee while their active-duty spouse is stationed in Tennessee at a military installation.

Members of the 101st Airborne Division and 5th Special Forces Group on the stairs of the TN Supreme Court Building.

Brigadier General Todd Royar, Deputy Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division and members of the 5th Special Forces Group were welcomed by Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Hargett is the son of Major General Gus Hargett. The group toured the State Capitol and experienced the Bicentennial Mall along with the architect and visionary for the Mall, Kem Hinton. Major General Andrew Poppas, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, was attending D Day commemoration in Normandy, France.

Following the Court’s official arguments, all five justices participated in the ceremony to recognize four recently admitted attorneys to the Tennessee Bar through the revised Military Spouse Rule. Chief Justice Jeff Bivins opened the ceremony by discussing the meaningful sacrifices made by military and their military spouses.

“Our country has approximately 650,000 active duty military spouses and the unemployment rate within this group currently stands at approximately 20 percent,” he said. “By comparison, the national unemployment rate provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has remained between 4.4 and 4.8 percent in 2017.”
read more here

Elderly Veteran With PTSD Shot and Killed

Neighbor: South Knox County man killed by deputies suffered from PTSD
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Hayes Hickman
May 24, 2017

A South Knox County man shot and killed in an armed confrontation with sheriff's deputies Tuesday night has been identified by his neighbor as an elderly veteran who was known to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.

Albert Gagnier, 74, fired several shots from his house and while standing in the street, then fired at deputies as they responded to the scene in the Woodhaven subdivision, according to his neighbor Amanda Moore.

It was common knowledge among the neighborhood that Gagnier suffered from mental illness, she said. She did not know the details of his military service.

"Everybody just knows Mr. Al loses his mind sometimes, but he's never done anything like this," Moore told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee on Wednesday. "He usually just yells at kids in the neighborhood."
read more here

Edmund Sumner, Homeless Veteran Laid to Rest by Church Family

Large crowd attends homeless Knoxville veteran’s funeral
WKEN News
Lori Tucker
Published: April 6, 2017

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A crowd turned out Wednesday at East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery to say goodbye to a man most of them had never met.

He was an Air Force veteran who died homeless with no remaining family members to plan his services, but the community stepped up.

Edmund W. Sumner was a veteran of the Air Force during the Vietnam era. He had become homeless in recent years, but on this day, he had a large family who turned out to honor his years of service.

The 61-year-old’s funeral Wednesday had full military honors. A United States flag draped his casket to honor the memory of his service to America. Sumner’s pastor was presented with the tri-folded flag as a keepsake.

While most of Sumner’s biological family is gone, he found a new spiritual family through his church.
read more here

Veteran Committed Suicide in Tennessee Storage Unit

Veteran kills himself in storage shed in Murfreesboro
USA TODAY NETWORK
Chris Smith
Tennessee
Published Feb. 10, 2017

"Suicide is a tragic outcome and hurts not only the victim’s family, but also the caregivers and the larger veteran community. VA is committed to ensuring the safety of our veterans, especially when they are in crisis."

A Murfreesboro veteran killed himself in a storage unit Thursday afternoon, according to Murfreesboro Police.

At about 5:25 p.m., police were called to Ideal Storage on South Church Street, according to an incident report.

Dinah Walker, a Veterans Affairs case worker, directed police to the storage unit where she found the man, who had hung himself.

The officer checked for a pulse but found none, the report said. Responding Murfreesboro Fire Department workers performed CPR, but the man was not responsive. He was pronounced dead at St. Thomas Hospital.

Walker said the 62-year-old veteran was a client of hers, the report said. She had last spoken to him at about 3 p.m. that day.

The VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System confirmed the suicide in a news release Friday afternoon.
read more here