Caught On Camera: Nursing Home Staff Laughed While Veteran Died

Hidden camera tells true story of how veteran died after calling for help, gasping for air

The video shows the decorated World War II veteran calling for help six times before he goes unconscious while gasping for air.

10 News

Andy Pierrotti

November 14, 2017

An 11Alive investigation uncovered hidden camera video catching nursing home staff laughing while an elderly patient dies in front of them. The incident happened at the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation in 2014, but the video was recently released as part of a lawsuit filed by the family.

Attorneys representing the Atlanta nursing home tried to prevent 11Alive from obtaining the video. 

They asked a DeKalb County judge to keep the video sealed and then attempted to appeal to the Georgia State Supreme Court. The judge ruled in favor of 11Alive and the nursing home eventually dropped its appeal to the state’s highest court.

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Three Wars, Ex-Double POW Marine Undaunted Life

Marine survives being a POW in two different wars, returns home to live the American dream

Department of Veterans Affairs

October 31, 2017

Undaunted and undefeated, despite years of imprisonment and brutality, Harrison continued to serve our country in Vietnam until he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps as a lieutenant colonel on June 30, 1969.

Charles L. Harrison was born outside Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921. Barely out of High School, Harrison enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1939.By August 1941 he was on his way to Wake Island, a vital staging area for the coming war in the Pacific.

Of the 449 Marines who manned Wake’s defenses when Wake Island was bombarded by Japanese forces a few hours after the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, 49 were killed, 32 were wounded, and the remainder, including 20 year old Charlie Harrison, became prisoners of war.

For 45 long months, during which he contracted malaria and other assorted maladies, Harrison suffered under the hands of the Japanese until he was rescued at the end of WWII with less than 110 pounds on his 5-foot 9½-inch frame.

With his courage and love of country intact, Harrison returned home to marry his childhood sweetheart and start a family. He and his growing family enjoyed a peaceful existence until the morning of June 25, 1950, when ninety thousand North Korean troops pushed across the 38th parallel, thus commencing the Korean War.

On Sept. 15, 1950, U.S. Marines under the direction of General Douglas MacArthur made a surprise amphibious landing at Inchon, on the west coast of Korea. Harrison was one of those Marines. 

On Nov. 29, at the Chosin Reservoir Campaign, after a battle in which Harrison was wounded and for which he later received a Purple Heart, he was captured by the Chinese communist forces and again found himself held as a prisoner of war – one of only two Marines in U.S. history to hold the dubious distinction of being held as a POW in two different wars.

Harrison remained in captivity until he, along with seventeen fellow POWs, managed to escape six months later.

This great American hero passed away with little fanfare on Jan. 17, 2015.

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Wisconsin Old Glory Honor Flight Greeted by 1,500

Thousands give veterans a warm welcome home after Old Glory Honor Flight

WBAY ABC 2 News
By Cearron Bagenda
Oct 18, 2017

GREENVILLE, Wis. Thousands gathered at the Appleton International Airport Wednesday night to welcome local veterans back home after a trip to the nation's capital.

People at the welcome ceremony shake a veteran's hand

This year is the 43rd mission for "The Northeast Wisconsin Old Glory Honor Flight,” the organization providing the trips for the local veterans. Airport officials say about 1,500 people attended the ceremony, welcoming 89 veterans back from their trip to Washington D.C.

The mission of the Old Glory Honor Flight is to give World War II, Vietnam and Korean War veterans the trip of a lifetime at no cost.

Veterans head to Washington D.C. touring a number of monuments all in one day. When the veterans came back they are shocked to see the welcome ceremony. American flags, welcome signs and cheering lined the airport concourse as the veterans walked through.
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Amputee 94-year-old World War II Veteran Stands for National Anthem!

Missing leg won't keep 94-year-old veteran from standing for national anthem

The Buffalo News 
By LOU MICHEL 
October 5, 2017

Marian Morreale, a Coast Guard veteran, was honored during the national anthem at the Buffalo Sabres home opener on Friday, October 6 2017.SCREENSHOT VIA NHL

Marian Morreale has been practicing how to stand for the last three months. She is a 94-year-old World War II veteran and her left leg was amputated last year.

But she practiced standing so that she could when the national anthem  opening game of the Sabres tonight.

She is trying to make a point.

"I think for these young athletes and the salaries they make, they should stand for the national anthem," she said. "But I don't think our president should use that word, SOB." 
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The desperate fight at Monte Cassino and the veteran who remembers

Soldier who was there wants people to remember WWII battle of Monte Cassino

Pittsburg Post Gazette
Torsten Ove
August 27, 2017

Pearl Harbor. Midway. D-Day. The Battle of the Bulge. Iwo Jima.

The epic battles of World War II still resonate 70 years later.

Yet one of the costliest U.S. campaigns is barely remembered: The war in Italy and its linchpin, the desperate fight at Monte Cassino.

"You never hear anything about it," says Albert DeFazio. "It just boggles my mind. That's why I'm [ticked] off."

Mr. DeFazio is 92 and lives in Penn Hills.

He has two scars on his back, shrapnel wounds he suffered from a German shell burst at Monte Cassino in 1944. He earned the Bronze Star for actions under fire with the 36th Infantry Division and later came home suffering from shell shock — post-traumatic stress disorder in today's lingo — after more fighting on the way to Rome. He says he has symptoms of PTSD, all these decades later.

For years after the war, he rarely talked about his experiences in Italy. It’s a typical pattern among World War II veterans. His late brother Pat was shot in the neck at the Battle of the Bulge. The two brothers went home to live in the same house in Penn Hills, yet they never once talked to each other about what happened to them in the war.

"Never spoke a word," Mr. DeFazio says.

But Mr. DeFazio is talking now.
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Camp Pendleton National Navajo Code Talkers Day

On National Navajo Code Talkers Day, a look back at what started at Camp Pendleton
San Diego Union Tribune
Jeanette Steele
August 14, 2017

Navajo Code Talkers took part in every U.S. Marine Corps assault in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They transmitted messages by telephone and radio in their native language — a code the Japanese never broke. 

The idea came from Los Angeles resident Philip Johnston, a World War I veteran raised on a Navajo reservation as a missionary’s son. He took his concept to the Marines at Camp Elliot in San Diego, now Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. 

In May 1942, the first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp. Afterward, at Camp Pendleton, this group created the Navajo code for military terms. 
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Texas Veteran of WWII and Korea Receive Awards At Age 90!

90-year-old WWII, Korean War veteran awarded 8 medals during ceremony in San Antonio

News 4 San Antonio 
by SBG San Antonio 
August 2nd 2017

WWII, Korean War veteran Petty Officer Raul de la Garza awarded eight medals during ceremony in San Antonio (SBG San Antonio)

SAN ANTONIO — A 90-year-old man who served in World War II and the Korean War was honored during a ceremony in San Antonio Wednesday. 

Petty Officer De La Garza was awarded eight awards during the ceremony: the Navy Combat Action Ribbon, the China Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Three Bronze Service Stars, the Navy Occupation Service Medal with an Asia clasp, the World War II Victory Medal, the Honorable Service Lapel Button for World War II, and the Navy Honorable Discharge Button. 
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WWII Veteran Back in the Navy

96-year-old vet gets his wish of visiting US Navy station
The Associated Press
By: Jennifer Mcdermott
July 27, 2017

WWII veteran Edmund DelBarone, second from right, makes the U.S. Navy crossed anchors symbol with his arms while posing for a photograph at Naval Station Newport, in Newport, R.I., Thursday July 27, 2017. DelBarone, a 96-year-old World War II veteran, once dreamed of returning to a Navy installation to reminisce about his naval career, and help of a nonprofit it has become a reality.
(Jennifer McDermott/AP)

NEWPORT, R.I. — A 96-year-old World War II veteran who dreamed of returning to a Navy installation to reminisce about his more than 20-year naval career got his wish on Thursday.

Edmund DelBarone toured Naval Station Newport in a visit arranged by Denver-based nonprofit Wish of a Lifetime. After seeing some of the ships assigned to the base, he said he’d have no trouble taking them out to sea.

“It’s exciting,” he said after. “I didn’t expect to see so much.”
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WWII Started Veteran Sailor Couple's Love Story

Veteran couple enjoys long deployment together: 70 years and counting
San Diego Union Tribune
Lyndsay Winkley
July 11, 2017

Soon after, his friends and their new girlfriends invited him to take a trip to Big Bear, enticing him with the promise of a date. It was Anita

Anita and Melvin, both World War II veterans who live in a Chula Vista veteran's home, just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. (Courtesy of Mark Holt)

Melvin said the ship was about 100 yards from the starboard bow of the battleship Missouri, where Japan’s formal surrender took place. The sky was black with airplanes, he recalled, adding that they were loaded for bear in case the Japanese had planned an attack.

“I was on the flight deck watching the whole thing through binoculars,” he said.

One of his last assignments was to ferry women and children held captive in Japan to their freedom in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Anita Holt’s considerable typing and shorthand skills helped propel her from a Seaman Apprentice to a Yoeman First Class.

“That was as high as you could go in enlisted rates,” Melvin said. “She was very smart.”
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Texas Police Officers Caught Cooling Off WWII Veteran

Texas police's cool surprise for 95-year-old WW2 veteran
BBC
June 13, 2017

Mr Hatley explained to the officers that he had been trying to keep cool on his outdoor porch.

That's when Officers Margolis and Weir decided to use their own money to buy a replacement window unit. Employees at the hardware store were so impressed when they heard the reason for their shopping trip that they contributed another $150 (£120).

A 95-year-old Texas man received some unexpected help from police officers after calling emergency services during a heat wave.

Julius Hatley called Forth Worth police on Thursday after both his window and central air conditioning units broke and his home became unbearably hot.

"This wasn't a regular 911 call," Fort Worth Officer William Margolis told CBS 11, noting "we're not AC techs".

Together with his partner, Christopher Weir, they chose to buy him a new unit.

"When we got there around 8:30am his house was 85 to 90 (29-35C) degrees already," Fort Worth Officer William Margolis said. "In Texas, it gets hot," the five-year police veteran added.
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Did POTUS Just Tell Senior Veterans They Lived Too Long?

POTUS wants to cut the unemployability part of your compensation because you are too old to work anyway?

You were not able to work when you were younger and did not pay into the Social Security System, so you already lost on that.

If you are no longer 100% Disabled, it means a lot more than just the hundreds of dollars a month you thought would still be honored until the day you die and even beyond for your widows.

Compensation for Disabled Veterans

If you live in Florida, it also means that you may lose this too!

"Any real estate owned and used as a homestead by a veteran who was honorably discharged and has been certified as having a service-connected, permanent and total disability, is exempt from taxation..."

It is bad enough that veterans over the age of 50 are 65% of the suicides and no one is talking about you but now this? Veterans should never have to go through any of this. It is a disgusting disgrace to the majority of veterans in this country!!!!!

"Veterans with a Service-connected DisabilityIn August 2016, about 4.6 million veterans, or 22 percent of the total, had a service-connected disability.

Veterans with a service-connected disability are assigned a disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Department of Defense. Ratings range from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percentage points, depending on the severity of the condition. (See table 7.)

The unemployment rate for veterans with a service-connected disability was 4.8 percent in August 2016, about the same as veterans with no disability (4.7 percent). The labor force participation rate for veterans with a service-connected disability (46.4 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans with no disability (50.7 percent).

Among veterans with a service-connected disability, 30 percent had a disability rating of less than 30 percent, while another 37 percent had a rating of 60 percent or higher. In August 2016, veterans with a service-connected disability rating of less than 30 percent were much more likely to be in the labor force than those with a rating of 60 percent or higher (54.7 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively). The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30 percent was 4.4 percent, not statistically different than for those with a disability rating of 60 percent or higher (3.8 percent).

Among veterans who served during Gulf War era II, 36 percent (1.4 million) had a service-connected disability. Of these, 76.0 percent were in the labor force in August 2016, lower than the 86.6 percent for veterans from this period with no service connected disability. Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate for those with a service-connected disability was 5.4 percent, little different from those with no disability (5.7 percent).

In August 2016, about a quarter (901,000) of veterans who served during Gulf War era I had a service connected disability.

Their labor force participation rate (64.0 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans from the era who did not have a disability (86.7 percent). The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans with a service-connected disability (5.3 percent) was not statistically different than that for Gulf War-era I veterans without a service-connected disability (4.2 percent).

Among the 1.6 million veterans with a service-connected disability from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era, 14.1 percent were in the labor force in August 2016, lower than the 25.3 percent of veterans from these periods who did not have a service-connected disability. The unemployment rate of veterans with a disability from these wartime periods was 3.7 percent, about the same as their counterparts with no disability (3.8 percent)

About 669,000 or 13 percent of veterans who served during other service periods reported a serviceconnected disability in August 2016. The labor force participation rate for these veterans (37.8 percent) was lower than their counterparts without a service-connected disability (50.3 percent), while the unemployment rate was not statistically different for veterans with a service-connected disability (2.0 percent) and those with no disability (4.8 percent).

Regardless of period of service, many veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector. In August 2016, 31 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked in federal, state, or local government, compared with 19 percent of veterans with no disability and 13 percent of nonveterans. In particular, 20 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked for the federal government, compared with 7 percent of veterans with no disability and 2 percent of nonveterans."

WWII Veteran Finally Receives Bronze Star 73 Years Late

WW II vet receives Bronze Star 73 years after it was awarded
The State
BY JEFF WILKINSON
May 20, 2017

AIKEN During World War II, Pfc. James R. “Boots” Beatty of Barney, Ga., served in the 1st Special Service Force, also called The Devil's Brigade, an elite American-Canadian commando unit.

The 1,800 “Force Men,” as they were the called, were the first commando unit, trained in special tactics from mountaineering to skiing to amphibious operations. They were the predecessors of today’s Army Rangers, Green Berets and Navy Seals.

They fought the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands, then the Germans in Italy and southern France, conducting night raids behind enemy lines, killing as many enemy soldiers as possible and capturing the rest. In Italy they would leave cards on the bodies of dead German soldiers with the ominous warning: “Das Dike Ende Kommt Noch!” which translates as “The Worst Is Yet To Come.”
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WWII Veteran Turns 111

Nation’s oldest veteran celebrating his 111th birthday in Texas

KXAN StaffPublished: May 11, 2017

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It would be hard to believe anyone in Austin hasn’t heard of Richard Overton.

The World War II veteran’s journey through this life has been well chronicled. He’s been honored with plaques and memorial gardens. He’s visited the White House to meet President Barack Obama. Thursday, the county’s oldest living veteran will again be honored with a permanent display of recognition that anyone walking or driving through his East Austin neighborhood can see. 

The city is renaming Hamilton Avenue, a street Overton has called home for over seven decades, Richard Overton Avenue. “They’re putting the sign out here, putting the street sign all the way out there,” Overton told KXAN. Richard is celebrating his 111th birthday Thursday. He considers the city’s birthday gift humbling. That’s saying a lot considering Overton has seen many things, as he says, “all over the world – water, land, and air.” read more here

WWII Veteran Hero Carl Clark Passed Away

East Palo Alto: Veteran whose heroic deeds went unrecognized for six decades dead at 100
Mercury News
Jason Green
April 1, 2017

The captain “could not recognize me in the battle report because we had that vicious bigotry,” Clark said in an interview with this newspaper in 2012. He added that he was thrown in the brig, the ship’s holding cell, on two occasions for “acting like a white man.”

Carl Clark, 95, speaks after being awarded The Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with the Combat Distinguishing Device at Moffett Field in Mountain View on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. Clark, a World War II veteran, was honored Tuesday for his heroism on May, 3, 1945, when he helped save his destroyer, the USS Aaron Ward, during a kamikaze attack.

(Kirstina Sangsahachart/ Daily News)

EAST PALO ALTO — Friends, family and military personnel gathered Friday to pay tribute to the late Carl E. Clark, a U.S. Navy veteran from Menlo Park who had to wait more than 65 years for formal recognition of his heroism on the front lines of World War II.

Clark died March 16 at the Menlo Park division of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He was 100 years old.

Clark, an African-American, received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal at a ceremony in January 2012, six decades after he shrugged off a broken collarbone to douse fires and drag his fellow sailors to safety amidst a harrowing kamikaze attack on the USS Aaron Ward.

Although the captain personally thanked Clark, his actions were excluded from the official record.
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Man Plead Guilty Burying Wife Under WWII Veteran's Grave

Colorado woman's remains found under grave of WWII veteran
Associated Press
Thomas Peipert
April 1, 2017

"For 7,826 days, 3 hours and 22 minutes, the location of Tina's remains has been a mystery," Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said in a news release Friday.

DENVER — A Colorado man who pleaded guilty Friday to killing his estranged wife more than two decades ago recently led authorities to her body, which was buried under the grave of a World War II veteran.

John Sandoval, 52, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 1995 death of Kristina Tournai-Sandoval.

As part of a plea deal, he told investigators March 22 the remains were buried at a Greeley cemetery.
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WWII Veteran Hoped Things Would Be Different for Military Women Today

Marine scandal hits home for Ohio women veterans
The Columbus Dispatch
Rita Price
March 10, 2017

"You raised your head a little higher, you clicked your heels a little harder and you walked on," Gilliam told an audience at the Ohio History Center. "Today, I'm hoping, it is different."

At 94, World War II veteran Ruby Gilliam would like to be able to say she outlived the problem. But she knows that the fight against discrimination and harassment are far from over for America's military women.

"I used to think, 'Someday, this will change,''' Gilliam said. "There we were, serving our country. It was all very disturbing. It still is."

A panel of female veterans — some more than a half-century younger than Gilliam — joined her Friday to celebrate Women's History Month and to share their stories of struggle and accomplishment, of hope and honor.

Gilliam was a young widow who had lost her husband to the war when she shocked her family and joined the military herself. She still considers the moment she donned her WAVES uniform the proudest of her life, more so, she said to laughter, than giving birth.

That certainty made the slurs hurt and bewilder all the more. With few avenues for complaint, she and others tried to respond with determination.
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WWII Veteran Thinks of Others for 100th Birthday

WWII Veteran Asks for Donations to Service Dog Group for His 100th Birthday in Lieu of Gifts
PEOPLE
BY AMY JAMIESON
POSTED ON MARCH 3, 2017

Sgt. Nick Nichols wishes he could have a guide dog, but at nearly 100 years of age, it would be quite an undertaking to introduce a new pup into his life.

So, for his milestone March 20 birthday, he would like to help provide the freedom and comfort of a service dog to another veteran in need.

Nichols is hoping that, in lieu of gifts this year, people will donate to Patriot PAWS Service Dogs via a GoFundMe page set up by his daughter Cheryl.

“Doing something to help veterans feels much better than getting any present,” Nichols tells PEOPLE in an email typed by his daughter.

The WWII Army veteran — who served in the Asia-Pacific campaign from 1941 to 1944 — has so far raised $700 of a $34,000 goal, the latter equaling the cost to train one dog for Patriot PAWS (veterans involved with the program receive the service dog at no cost).
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Younger Veterans Swoop in For WWII Veteran

Berlin veterans swoop in to help WWII Navy man 
My Record Journal
January 6, 2017

The VFW Post 10732 is intending to do more of these projects. However, younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are needed. It is tough when we ask an 85-year-old veteran to climb a ladder to paint. But they do it gladly.

Berlin VFW Post 10732 was in search of a veteran needing assistance with their home. It has been difficult to find a needy elderly veteran, Post Commander Gary Barwikowski pointed out.

From left, veteran volunteers Stu Topliff (Desert Storm), Brad Parsons (Iraq), Dan McKeon (Vietnam) and Bob Dornfried (Korea).

Well, the local post did not stop in its quest to find a candidate to support. Recently, Post 10732 found its veteran, a WWII Navy veteran who wanted to paint his home, but knew he was not up to the task. So his fellow veterans came to his aid. The veteran manpower was further augmented by the generous donation of the paint and supplies needed for the job by The John Boyle Company. Jim King, company president, personally came out to evaluate the home and assess the requirements. read more here

Taylor Swift Surprises Oldest "Swifty" WWII Veteran!

Taylor Swift Surprises 96-Year-Old Veteran with Home Visit and Performance
PEOPLE
BY DAVE QUINN
POSTED ON DECEMBER 26, 2016

Taylor Swift is known for surprising fans with one-of-a-kind experiences — showing up at weddings, bridal showers, and even inviting them over for dance parties at her house. And on Monday, she continued the tradition — surprising a 96-year-old World War II veteran with a visit to his Missouri home.

Cyrus Porter had made headlines for being the oldest “Swifty” — telling Ozarks First that he’s been to multiple Swift concerts, using his love for the 27-year-old singer to bring him closer to 20+ grandchildren.

“I’ve been to two concerts,” he said. “Memphis and St Louis. Look what she does… she puts on a show no one else puts on. I just enjoyed going to see ’em and her. I would as soon go see her right now as anybody!”
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WWII Veteran No Longer Feels Forgotten with Thousands of Birthday Cards

WWII veteran gets birthday surprise thanks to viral post
by KATU News
December 24th 2016

"Oh, God there's thousands of cards here," said Hardey. "I would never get them all read."

HILLSBORO, Ore. — A WWII veteran, feeling forgotten all these years, got the birthday surprise of a lifetime thanks to the help of an Instagram post that went viral.

Jack Hardy, 99, receives thousands of letters for his birthday.

Birthdays mean another year, and another couple of cards just from family and friends, but this year, when Jack Hardey turned 99, people around the world celebrated with him.

This soldier became and internet sensation thanks to a family friend who posted a message online encouraging people to send Hardy a card for his birthday this year. More and more posts were shared on social media and soon thousands of people responded.
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