WWII veteran's claim of Hiroshima radiation finally honored by VA

WWII vet exposed to radiation at Hiroshima wins VA benefits fight
San Francisco Chronicle
By Kevin Fagan
Published: January 25, 2014

John Brenan rolled his Jeep into freshly bombed Hiroshima in 1945 on a reconnaissance mission to see whether there was any enemy left to fight. The only enemy the Army sergeant found in the miles of rubble pulverized by America's atomic attack was the one he couldn't see: radiation.

The fallout surrounded his body, and that is almost surely why he got colon cancer four decades later, his doctors told him. Brenan managed to beat the disease, but then came the follow-up battle -- filing a disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

It took until last week for him to win that battle. And victory only came with the help of a member of Congress.

On Friday, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, Calif., stood in her office with the 90-year-old Brenan and said his case is an example of the vexation that can come with filing for veteran disability benefits. But it's also evidence, she said, that the VA is making progress on clearing its infamous backlog of claims.

"This kind of thing should never happen, and we are working hard to make sure it doesn't," Speier said, as Brenan sat next to her in a walker-chair, a World War II veteran's cap on his head. "John's claim was denied over and over again, mistakes were made over and over, and he only finally got his benefits because we wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."
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Report: VA lobotomized 2,000 disturbed veterans

UPDATE
House Lawmakers Press VA on Lobotomies
Agency Is Asked to Reassess Living Veterans Who Received Procedure Around World War II

Now I know how lucky my husband's uncle was after he ended up with shell shock during WWII. He was given a choice to be institutionalized or go live on a farm for the rest of his life. He picked the farm.

Report: VA lobotomized 2,000 disturbed veterans
Army Times
December 11, 2013

The U.S. government lobotomized roughly 2,000 mentally ill veterans — and likely hundreds more — during and after World War II, according to a cache of forgotten memos, letters and government reports unearthed by The Wall Street Journal.

“They got the notion they were going to come to give me a lobotomy,” Roman Tritz, a World War II bomber pilot, told the newspaper in a report published Wednesday. “To hell with them.”

Tritz said the orderlies at the veterans hospital pinned him to the floor, and he initially fought them off. A few weeks later, just before his 30th birthday, he was lobotomized.

Besieged by psychologically damaged troops returning from the battlefields of North Africa, Europe and the Pacific, the Veterans Administration performed the brain-altering operation on former servicemen it diagnosed as depressives, psychotics and schizophrenics, and occasionally on people identified as homosexuals, according to the report.

The VA’s use of lobotomy, in which doctors severed connections between parts of the brain then thought to control emotions, was known in medical circles in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and is occasionally cited in medical texts. But the VA’s practice, never widely publicized, long ago slipped from public view. Even the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it possesses no records detailing the creation and breadth of its lobotomy program.

The Wall Street Journal’s reporting series began with Wednesday’s Forgotten Soldiers and included a documentary, archived photos, maps and medical records.
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Redskins honor members of the Navajo Code Talkers Association

Redskins honor members of the Navajo Code Talkers Association
Washington Post
BY MIKE JONES
November 25, 2013
As a joint celebration of the NFL’s Salute to Service month and Native American Heritage month, the Washington Redskins recognized four members of the Navajo Code Talkers Association.

The code talkers were a group of Native American service members who transmitted secret communications beginning in World War II.

Four representatives — Navajo Code Talkers Association President Peter MacDonald Sr., Vice President Roy Hawthorne and members George James Sr. and George Boyd Willie Sr. — were recognized during a commercial break during the first quarter of the Redskins’ game vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
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Great Video tribute to Code Talkers on Washington Redskin site and Twitter is fired up over this.

Golden Needles donates quilts to Lone Star Veterans Group

Golden Needles donates quilts to Lone Star Veterans Group
Your Houston News
By Kimberly Sutton
Posted: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Members of the Golden Needles Quilt Guild in Conroe recently made a visit to the Lone Star Veterans Group to donate some hand-made quilts for their Quilts of Valor program.

The recipients of the quilts were World War II veterans who meet weekly at the Poplar Business Park on Old Highway 105 in Montgomery.

Each week, the veterans meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning and consume about 12 dozen donuts and 15 gallons of coffee.

Two of the veterans travel close to 175 miles round trip just to attend the weekly meetings.
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Ocala veteran recalls World War II

Local veteran recalls World War II
Ocala Star Banner
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Saturday, November 2, 2013

While Ray Baker moved from England across France in the days following D-Day on June 6, 1944, his family back home thought he was lost in action.

"Our barracks were bombed and we had a good number of casualties. My family heard of the attack and thought I was put down. I couldn't contact them," said Baker, who lives with his wife, Jean, in western Marion County.

Although injured and hospitalized with a perforated ear drum, for which he received his first Purple Heart, Baker survived the bombing and rejoined the Allied drive across Europe two days after D-Day.

Baker was injured again while driving a weapons carrier near the front lines in France. The vehicle hit a land mine and threw him over the open top. He lost many of his front upper teeth. He received a second Purple Heart for those injuries.

Baker's son, Steve Dixon, 64, said the account of that explosion was the only episode "dad ever told me about the war."

Dixon himself received the Purple Heart Award during the Vietnam War.
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Combat PTSD, the war we have forever

Combat PTSD, the war we have forever
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 20, 2013

There is no question among experts. Combat and PTSD has been in this country since the start. It was called different names but the results have always been the same. Based on simplicity it was understood as a price of war going back generations but few knew what to do.

Young men came home from the Revolutionary war visibly changed. Families waited for them to be able to leave the war behind but the screams came in the middle of the night. Echos of the wounded, dying on the ground, crying out for help reverberated in their ears. The smell of gunpowder and death penetrated their sense of smell to the point where nothing was the same.

Generations came home from war but it was not until the late 70's true research began on what war does to the war fighters.

Investigators who studied psychiatric casualties in WWII combat veterans variously labeled the constellation of symptoms they saw as "operational fatigue (1946) "traumatic war neurosis" (1947) "combat exhaustion (1949)

Medal of Honor PTSD
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy, born June 20, 1925*, son of poor Texas sharecroppers, rose to national fame as the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II. Among his 33 awards and decorations was the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery that can be given to any individual in the United States of America, for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." He also received every decoration for valor that his country had to offer, some of them more than once, including 5 decorations by France and Belgium. Credited with either killing over 240 of the enemy while wounding and capturing many others, he became a legend within the 3rd Infantry Division. Beginning his service as an Army Private, Audie quickly rose to the enlisted rank of Staff Sergeant, was given a "battle field" commission as 2nd Lieutenant, was wounded three times, fought in 9 major campaigns across the European Theater, and survived the war.

Audie sufferred from what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)and was plagued by insomnia and depression. During the mid-60's he became dependent for a time on doctor prescribed sleeping pills called Placidyl. When he recognized that he had become addicted to this prescription drug, he locked himself in a motel room, stopped taking the sleeping pills and went through withdrawal symptoms for a week.

Always an advocate for the needs of veterans, he broke the taboo about discussing war related mental problems after this experience. In a effort to draw attention to the problems of returning Korean and Vietnam War veterans, Audie Murphy spoke-out candidly about his personal problems with PTSD, then known as "Battle Fatigue". He publicly called for United States government to give more consideration and study to the emotional impact war has on veterans and to extend health care benefits to address PTSD and other mental health problems of returning war vets.

Vietnam War

Former Governor and United States Senator from Nebraska and Medal of Honor recipient Bob Kerrey recently spoke about post-traumatic stress disorder. In the Omaha World-Herald article, Soldier reintegration efforts lauded, author Matthew Hansen mentions: "It's nearly impossible to return home from war normal," Bob Kerrey said Monday during an impassioned speech for an Omaha charity helping veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Too many Americans expect veterans to deploy, come home and then take off their uniforms and resume their old lives, the ex-U.S. senator, Vietnam War veteran and Medal of Honor recipient told an Omaha crowd. But many veterans are haunted by a memory “that does not leave them when they sleep,” Kerrey said.

Those memories can “take the joy out of life … make pleasure impossible,” he said.

OEF and OIF
Staff Sgt. Ty Carter

The struggles faced by many veterans and servicemembers in coping with post-traumatic stress took center stage at the White House on Monday as President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Ty M. Carter.

Capt. William Swenson on Tuesday became the first Army officer since the Vietnam War to be awarded the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony attended by his fellow troops and the families of the soldiers who were killed as they fought alongside him.

It was one of the toughest battles of the war in Afghanistan, seven hours of continuous fighting, as Swenson and his fellow troops were surrounded on three sides with bullets, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades raining down on them.

Swenson continuously placed his life in danger as he moved to rescue his fellow American soldiers and endeavored to bring the injured to safety.

He called the kiss on the head that Swenson gave to Westbrook “a simple act of compassion and loyalty to a brother-in-arms.”

He continues to call Westbrook’s widow regularly to check in on her and her three boys.

Prior to that battle, Swenson had served one tour in Iraq and was on his second tour in Afghanistan.

He grew up in Seattle, the son of college professors and surrounded not by GI Joe action figures, but by educational games, Mr. Obama noted.

Since he retired from the Army, Swenson has made no secret of the fact that he has struggled with combat stress. He is currently unemployed, though he has applied to go back to the military on active-duty status, and says he often likes to escape to the mountains where he can find solitude.

There are so many more it would take a month just to find a fraction of their stories but as you can see, since we have wars following more wars, this is a war we will have forever. The question is, are we wining? The answer is, we are not even close.

WWII Veteran Celebrates 70 Years of Marriage

WWII Veteran Celebrates 70 Years of Marriage
KOLO News
By: Catherine Van
October 5, 2013

RENO, Nev. -- It's a special day for one local WWII veteran. William Parsons is celebrating a milestone with his wife, Marcedes of 70 years.

William Parson's life was changed after facing bombs at Pearl Harbor.

"The Japanese got irritated as us for sinking their ships," he said. "We were trying to get away from them and they were throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us."

It paled it comparison when he met Mercedes. Just three days after their first conversation, they tied the knot in 1943.

"Submarine people don't wait around," he added.

His eldest daughter, Kathy Shafter, says they are still madly in love with each other.

"He calls her his bride all the time til this day," she said.

It's a marriage that has withstood WWII. Three days after the wedding, Parsons was shipped back to war.
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Battle of the Bulge Medal of Honor Hero Nicholas Oresko passed away at 96

WWII veteran, oldest living Medal of Honor recipient, dies at 96 in NJ
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 05, 2013


CRESSKILL, New Jersey — A World War II veteran and the nation's oldest living Medal of Honor recipient has died in New Jersey.

Nicholas Oresko, an Army master sergeant who was badly wounded as he single-handedly took out two enemy bunkers during the Battle of the Bulge in 1945, died Friday night at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, hospital officials announced Saturday. He was 96.

Oresko had been hospitalized after injuring himself in a fall at an assisted living center in Cresskill. He died of complications from surgery for a broken right femur.

A November 2011 article on the Department of Defense website described Oresko as the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient. The medal is the nation's highest military honor, awarded by Congress for risk of life in combat beyond the call of duty.
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Orlando Honor Flight WWII Veterans say lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves

World War II veterans’ trip to Washington dampened by shutdown
Veterans return to Orlando, say they are disappointed in lawmakers
WESH2 News
Oct 05, 2013

ORLANDO, Fla. —Local World War II veterans were greeted with American flags, public fan fair and the sound of bagpipes in Orlando when they returned from Washington, D.C.

However, during their trip the nation’s capital, the 25 veterans were greeted with concrete barricades at many of the national monuments because of the federal government shutdown.

They said lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves for shutting the government down. One man said he took down a sign posted about the shutdown.

“I am annoyed at our senators not allowing our troops to see their monuments that they fought for,” another veteran said. “They were given these monuments in honor of them.”
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Backmann hocus pocus stunt in Washington

Yesterday Michele Backmann tried to pull a stunt in Washington when WWII veterans were not able to visit their memorial. While it may sound like a good thing to do, this was nothing more than a stunt.

She wants everyone to forget what she did in 2011 against veterans she pretends to care about now.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans' disability benefits. (Charlie Neibergall / The Associated Press)


Bachmann plan would cut veterans benefits
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
January 28, 2011

Tea party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans' disability benefits.

Her proposed VA budget cuts would account for $4.5 billion of the savings included in the plan, posted on her official House of Representatives website.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, said cutting veterans' health care spending is an ill-advised move at a time when the number of veterans continues to grow as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Sullivan said he finds it difficult to see how VA could freeze health care costs without hurting veterans.

"It is really astonishing to see this," he said.

In a statement, Bachmann said her plan is intended for discussion purposes as an example of ways to cut federal spending to make it unnecessary to increase the current $14.3 trillion limit on the amount the U.S. government can borrow.
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Veterans break past World War II Memorial barricade

Veterans break past World War II Memorial barricade
CNN
Posted by
Laura Koran and Ashley Killough
2 hours ago

Update 1:45 p.m. ET: House GOP leadership sources tell CNN they plan to vote on a series of bills to fund the government, beginning Tuesday with three measures–spending for veterans, the District of Columbia and the Park Service.

Washington (CNN) – Busloads of World War II veterans, many in wheelchairs, broke past a barricade Tuesday morning to cross into the World War II Memorial, as onlookers applauded and a man playing the bagpipes led the way.

Moments earlier, a few Republican members of Congress had removed a section of the black gates that surrounded the site, allowing a line of veterans to roll past security officers, who willingly stood aside.
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The Monkees understand combat and PTSD

I grew up watching the Monkees!

The Monkees prove their staying power with latest tour
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
By MIKE WEATHERFORD
August 8, 2013

Peter Tork thinks the phrase “prefab four” is a “fabulous joke. It’s one of the great jokes of all time.”

But the joke has been on anyone who thinks The Monkees don’t have staying power, 47 years after a TV show created them in 1966.

It could have been over yet again when Davy Jones, one of the three original members who played most of the live dates with Tork and Micky Dolenz, died in 2012 at age 66.

But The Monkees surprised everyone again when Michael Nesmith, who had essentially retired from performing, came back to keep the group on the road for another two summers.

“The reception we get is kind of a pent-up thing,” the 71-year-old Tork said from a recent tour stop. And those who were fans enough to stick with the band through its original run of records will find an extra layer of reward in Saturday’s concert at Green Valley Ranch.

Nesmith’s return includes songs that haven’t been played in ages, and shifts what Tork calls “a British music hall” tone with Jones to the more psychedelic work that emerged after the group assumed control of its musical output from producer Don Kirshner.

“Everything we’re doing on the show this year is Monkee stuff, even if it’s so obscure you never heard it before,” Tork says. That includes songs from the trippy 1968 movie and soundtrack album “Head,” the group’s post-TV plunge into “Sgt. Pepper” waters.

Before that, “there was always this relationship between old senior adults and young adults,” he adds. “The kids who were starting to watch television at that point in the ’60s, they could smell that the formulas of the day were not aimed at them. They were aimed at the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) victims of World War II.

“All of them came home with PTSD before they had a name for it, and none of them would talk about their experiences in the war,” he says. “They wanted their houses to look good, and they wanted their children to look good. Kids with pot were a betrayal, because they fought for the American way, which was law and order, and they went through horrific stuff to do it.”
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World War II vet finally getting PTSD benefits

World War II vet finally getting PTSD benefits
The Post and Courier of Charleston via the AP
By Schuyler Kropf
July 14, 2013

WALTERBORO, S.C. — In late March 1945, Glenn Chaney witnessed the most famous bathroom break of World War II.

After spending the previous 22 hours building a pontoon bridge across the flooded Rhine River, Chaney and his unit of combat engineers got word Gen. George Patton was on his way.

Eager to catch a glimpse of the colorful top brass leader, Chaney climbed to the top of a nearby dirt pile and saluted the Third Army chief as he drove by.

Moments later and near the bridge’s mid-point, Chaney suddenly saw Patton’s jeep slow to a crawl, then stop. The general got out, stepped to the side of the newly finished span and casually unfastened his trousers.

“There, you Nazi sons of b-----s,” Chaney said, trying to get inside Patton’s thoughts that day. The moment was captured by photographers but not widely disseminated.

Nearly 70 years later, Chaney is among the dwindling number of South Carolinians who fought in World War II. And at 87, he may be among the oldest to receive post-traumatic stress disorder benefits for it.
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6 brothers fought in World War II

6 brothers fought in World War II
By John D. Russell
The (Florence) Morning News via AP
Jun. 29, 2013

FLORENCE, S.C. — Most parents would agree keeping up with children while away at school can be a challenge.

Imagine what it would be like keeping up with six sons, all serving in the military at the same time in World War II.

It happened to Florence's Emutral Garrison.

She did the best she could do.

For two years, from 1944-46, Emutral kept up a steady correspondence with her six boys, William, James, Rogers, Daniel, Fred and Charles, sending news from home and, most importantly, transmitting news gleaned from one son to all the others.

Daniel Garrison, 92, one of the last two living brothers, served in the U.S. Navy as an Aviation Ordnance chief petty officer from 1941 to 1959. Daniel said the letters from Mom meant everything and were a true blessing.

"My mother had all those letters to write," Daniel said. "She didn't leave any of us out. That's a good mom."
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My husband's Dad and uncles all served in WWII as well. First generations Americans, four brothers, four branches of the military. Dad was Army, Uncle John Marine Corps, killed in Saipan, Uncle in Merchant Marines and another was Navy.

Soldiers on motorcycles might be most effective in Afghanistan

Soldiers on motorcycles might be most effective in Afghanistan
By Seth Robson
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 8, 2013

In the past decade the U.S. has spent $45 billion on armored vehicles designed to protect troops against the roadside bombs which cost the enemy next to nothing to build and emplace.

It seems counter-intuitive, but some experts think a safer and more effective way to take on the bad guys might be to ditch the heavy armor in favor of a lighter, faster mode of transport. Many say that in places like Afghanistan, motorcycles would be a cheaper, safer and more effective vehicle for operations than the slow-moving armored personnel carriers preferred by the U.S. military.

It’s not a new concept.

In 1916, Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing used Harley-Davidson motorcycles with machine guns mounted on sidecars during his hunt for revolutionary Pancho Villa along the border with Mexico.

The War Department fielded 60,000 more Harleys in World Wars I and II, and Kawasaki motorcycles are still used by the Air Force and Marine Corps today for air field surveys, convoy control and reconnaissance.
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Project Preserves Memories of U.S. War Veterans

Project Preserves Memories of U.S. War Veterans
By: CBS News
Jun 07, 2013

(CBS News) Thursday was the 69th anniversary of D-Day, when U.S. forces stormed the shores of Normandy during World War II.

A project aims to save American military history. They are just a few of the thousands of stories of America's war veterans being preserved by the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress has collected 87,000 stories through audio and video recordings. It also preserves photographs, letters and diaries.

"'So don't fret and tell pa not to get hysterical. Love Butch,'" said Bob Patrick as he read aloud from a letter.

It's called The Veterans History Project, and Patrick is the director.

"We're not trying to recreate history or rewrite history or disprove history," said Patrick. "Really, what that experience was like for those who go off to war and most importantly at the end, what did it all mean to them."

The library has collected 87,000 stories through audio and video recordings. It also preserves photographs, letters and diaries.
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Akaka Breaks Silence To Mourn Lautenberg’s Passing

Akaka Breaks Silence To Mourn Lautenberg’s Passing
Civil Beat
Hawaii

Since retiring from the Senate, Daniel Akaka has largely stayed out of the public eye. However, he issued a statement today mourning the passing of former colleague, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, with whom he served for over three decades.

Akaka called him “a man of honor, a thoughtful and hard working American who changed our nation for the better.”

Akaka said he called Lautenberg’s wife to offer condolences. He noted that Lautenberg had also served in World War II and like he, had benefitted from the G.I. BIll.

“As a fellow World War II veteran, I always knew I could count on Frank to fight for our servicemembers and veterans,” Akaka said. “We worked together to ensure our troops had the equipment and training they needed to meet any crisis our country might face, and to improve treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other invisible wounds of war.
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WWII Veterans Honor Flight Erupts Cheering Crowd

WWII Vets with Honor Flight spontaneously cheered by travelers at Reagan National Airport
May 23, 2012

On May 23, 2012, World War II veterans on an Honor Flight from South Carolina arrived in Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial.

As some background, the person holding the newspaper and men by the flags were the small handful of volunteers officially greeting the veterans. The photographer and videographer seen in the video were actually on the flight and came off the plane first. The gate attendant joked when they came out of the jet way that Honor Flights come with their own Paparazzi.

The woman seen escorting the first veteran was the same US Air gate attendant who made the original announcements. What you didn't see was two airport firetrucks did an amazing "water cannon salute" making an arch of water as the jet arrived. The gate attendant told the crowd that such a salute is typically reserved for a pilot returning from their last flight before retiring.

Cypress Grove Park Memorial Day

Cypress Grove Park Memorial Day
Kathie Costos
Wounded Times
May 25, 2013

Today at Cypress Grove Park Dr. Neal Euliano gave a tribute to his friend Sgt. Bill Coleman. (Check back tomorrow for this but here is a video I found on YouTube about Sgt. Coleman.)

WWII Army Airborne tells the amazing story of his D-Day jump over Normandy, and the days that followed. Sgt Coleman fought for his life in the European theater of operations. He was captured by the Nazis and held as a POW until he escaped and made his way home at the end of the war. This is a truly remarkable story. Some background provided on the 101st Airborne and their operations in WWII.

There was a POW Remembrance Service that always causes tears to flow when we think of all the war fighters who never saw their country again.

Cypress Grove Park, Orlando FL May 25 2013
Kathie Costos Wounded Times

Winter Springs High School ROTC
Kathie Costos Wounded Times

Winter Springs High School ROTC
Kathie Costos Wounded Times

Winter Springs High School ROTC
Kathie Costos Wounded Times

WWII POW Veteran killed by bus

Veteran struck by T bus mourned
CBS Boston
Thursday, May 9, 2013
By:Richard Weir

The American flag flew at half-staff yesterday outside Melrose Towers, where residents mourned the death of a longtime neighbor, an 88-year-old World War II veteran and former prisoner of war killed Tuesday when he was struck by an MBTA bus while walking to a meeting at his local VFW Post.

“I am kicking myself that I didn’t give him a ride,” said 
Marilyne Wild, 71, who was 
returning home when she saw her friend, Minor McLain, heading out of the front gates of their condo complex, walking with his cane.

“I said, ‘Gee, maybe I should offer him a ride.’ But I thought to myself, he always turned me down in the past, he’ll probably turn me down again.”
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