In patients like JJ, there's no way to definitively say PTSD is the cause, but researchers are starting to look for that link between mental health and the decline of brain function. In 2010, a National Center for Biotechnology Information study found veterans with PTSD were at a nearly two-fold higher risk of developing dementia. In 2018, another NCBI study went even further: "While causality cannot be determined, it is likely that PTSD and depressive disorders are related to an increased risk of dementia in military veterans."
In all, Robert Howard fought in Vietnam for 54 months, where he was wounded 14 times. For eight of those wounds, he received a Purple Heart. He also earned the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, and four Bronze Stars. When he retired, he was the most decorated soldier in the Army and was the most decorated of the entire Vietnam War. He remains the only soldier to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three separate actions, all in a 13-month span.
“I don’t know what to do. You just feel lost. You’re alone,” said Ortman.
For Ortman, it’s been one disappointment after another since he got home from Vietnam. First he had to deal with the pain of seeing friends who didn’t make it home, then a homecoming he did not expect.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it will make a new pair of prosthetic legs for a Mississippi veteran after his were repossessed two days before Christmas.
Jerry Holliman, a 69-year-old, two-time Bronze Star recipient, had his legs amputated over the past two years after his diabetes worsened.
Without legs, the once-independent Hattiesburg resident was resigned to a nursing home. Anxiety and depression dimmed his hope, Holliman said, and he felt trapped.
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Holliman served active duty in the U.S. Army twice — as an 18-year-old specialist who volunteered to fight in Vietnam and as a 53-year-old master sergeant in Iraq. He earned Bronze Stars in both wars, according to his discharge papers. Between active duty and the U.S Army National Guard, Holliman said he served 40 years in the military.
On Dec. 23, an employee from Hanger came to the Veterans Home to see Holliman. Holliman said the man was adjusting his prosthetic legs, then asked himto sign some paperwork for Medicare.
Holliman said he declined because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should pay for the legs in full.
"This is their responsibility," Holliman said.
The man responded by taking the legs and leaving.
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The mission back to Vietnam was designed to help veterans who are still struggling with some level of post-traumatic stress disorder. The hope is that they’ll reach closure by seeing the place of their greatest trauma in a different light.
Photo: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“The PTSD is overwhelming,” Thumm told CBS2’s Charlie Cooper. “There are times where I am so depressed and there are times when I have flashbacks. There are times when I just don’t know where I am. The night terrors, the nightmares.”
Former Army Capt. Aaron Lax served in the U.S. Army for nine years. During that time, he served with the 1st of the 26th Infantry regiment “Blue Spaders,” part of the 1st Infantry Division, from 2010-2012 and deployed with them to eastern Afghanistan. Lax next served with 1st battalion of the 320th Field Artillery Regiment “Top Guns,” part of the 101st Airborne Division, from 2012-2017.
Bob Smoker was drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1969. After basic and then infantry training, he arrived in Vietnam in early October 1969 and turned 20-years- old later that month. Smoker was assigned to Charlie Company 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Former Air Force Staff Sergeant Ed Hardesty was the non-commissioned officer in charge of weapons and munitions for the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, an air rescue helicopter squadron out of Danang Air Force Base, Vietnam, from 1968 through 1969.
Former U.S. Army soldier Charles Lee deployed to Vietnam in 1970 at the age of 19, right after marrying his first wife. In Vietnam, Lee was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery, on a track vehicle known as a Duster.
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“I am deeply worried about when the last Vietnam veteran dies — the last man to see a fellow soldier alive, a man like me who gave him an order to go up that trail — who will be left to carry on the mission?”
Spc. Clifford Van Artsdalen, left, plays cards with his fellow platoon members on May 5, 1968, as they await a helicopter shuttle to Hill 352 on Nui Hoac Ridge, South Vietnam. GARY SANNER
Participants are from different branches of the service and different wars and conflicts including Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. What they find on those Sundays is the camaraderie they had while serving and a place to work through their feelings physically by working on projects or their own bike.
U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Indiana), right, visits the headquarters of Operation Combat Bikesaver in Center Township near Crown Point on Friday, December 6, 2019. At left is organization CEO, president and founder, Jason Zaideman. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune) (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)
Vietnam War Veteran Patrick Lonergan's wish to ride in a convertible with "three pretty nurses" comes true Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (WJAR)
He's battling end-stage COPD, uses an oxygen machine and has been a resident at Coventry Health Care since March. Patrick Lonergan said he joined the military during the height of the Vietnam War in 1968.
During his last "monthly" meeting, Lonergan said he made a comment to his caretakers that prompted action from them.
"You know they were asking me questions what else can they do for me this month; 'How can we help you?' What can we do for you?'" said Lonergan. "The third time they asked, 'What can we do for you?' I kind of threw my hands up and said, 'How about a ride in a convertible with three pretty nurses?' And they took me seriously."read it here
The 2020 events will be held to "to make the nation, especially our voters, aware of what is happening, what isn't happening and what needs to happen to address our POWs, our MIAs, and our veterans and active-duty service members who are dying by suicide," Chenelly said in a statement.
Ray Weaver, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, supports Rolling Thunder 2017. (Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)AMVETS made it official Friday: A "Rolling Thunder"-style motorcycle rally will take place next Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., to honor the nation's veterans, POWs and missing-in-action.
She didn't fight. She wasn't a nurse. But she was in the thick of it.
Preston McGinnis was arrested and taken to Gregg County Jail. (Source: Gregg County Jail)read it here
