Afghanistan Marine Veteran Saved Dozens at Pulse

War veteran saves dozens during Orlando nightclub shooting
CBS NEWS
By Mark Strassmann
June 13, 2016

ORLANDO -- When Omar Mateen opened fire with his military style AR-15 assault rifle on a gay nightclub in Orlando, there was one man who recognized the sound, a war veteran.

Imran Yousuf, a bouncer at the Pulse nightclub, never saw the gunman in the early Sunday morning hours. Right after last call, he was making his rounds, and barely missed coming face-to-face with Mateen.

Yousuf, a 24-year-old Hindu, served as a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan. On Saturday night, the combat zone followed him to Orlando.

He ended up saving dozens of lives.

"The initial one was three or four (shots). That was a shock. Three of four shots go off and you could tell it was a high caliber," he said. "Everyone froze. I'm here in the back and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine pack everyone."
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Names of Lives Lost in Orlando Released

Remember these names and not the name of the one who caused their deaths.

Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there; I did not die.

Victims’ Names

City of Orlando

Posted date: June 12, 2016

Updated June 13, 2016 2:40 p.m.

During this difficult time, we offer heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families. Our City is working tirelessly to get as much information out to the families so they can begin the grieving process. Please keep the following individuals in your thoughts and prayers. #PrayforOrlando

The below list of individuals includes victims who have lost their lives during the early morning incident, and next of kin have been contacted. As we continue to reach out to the families of victims, we will continue to update this post.

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz 24 years old

Orlando Police Officer's Helmet Saved His Life

Orlando Police Credit Kevlar Helmet with Saving Officer's Life
Military.com
by Brendan McGarry
Jun 12, 2016

Orlando police credited this kevlar helmet with saving the life of an officer who responded to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

(Photo courtesy Orlando Police Department.)

The Orlando Police Department is crediting a Kevlar helmet with saving the life of an officer who responded to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The department on Sunday posted a picture of the officer's helmet showing damage from being struck by a bullet during the incident. The green paint is chipped, parts of the fabric is torn and there appears to be a small hole.

"Pulse shooting: In hail of gunfire in which suspect was killed, OPD officer was hit. Kevlar helmet saved his life," the department tweeted on its Twitter account.

The make and model of the helmet weren't immediately known.

The officer, who wasn't identified but was presumably a member of the department's SWAT team, suffered an eye injury, Danny Banks, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Orlando bureau, told CNN.
read more here

Orlando, Strong Love Showed Up in the City Beautifully

If you want to know what hate does, it did it this morning in Orlando. If you want to know what love does, it began in the seconds after the first shot was fired and continued as more and more people showed up out of love.

We are heart broken but with that pain the healing already began and I just witnessed it at the AMC Theater in Altamonte Springs FL. The Red Cross was there and so were hundreds of people. I only lasted about an hour and a half when I had to give up. It was 95 degrees and my row was in the sun. 

There were not just the people standing there waiting to do what they could to help, but an Army of volunteers handing out water bottles, drinks, snacks, ice drenched paper towels and even fans from a radio station.

We talked about how love showed up by the hundreds after one person decided to kill out of hate. That was beautiful.

It was beautiful in face of that mass murderer still taking lives while strangers stopped to help the wounded. It was love that had one after another do whatever they could to help get a terrified person to safety. It was yet again love as the first responders showed up not knowing what they were heading into but ready to take on anyone trying to kill as many as possible.

While a few haters may rejoice and claim they had something to do with it, fear lost this morning. Love won this day and will continue to show up in response to others who will never know what true love feels like.  

Orlando massacre: Deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history
Police confirm 50 dead, 53 others taken to hospitals
WESH 2 News
Jun 12, 2016

ORLANDO, Fla. —Fifty people are dead and at least 50 others were taken to area hospitals after a mass shooting at a downtown Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning, officials have confirmed.

The massacre is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Police said Omar Mateen, 29, was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun when he stormed into the Pulse nightclub off Orange Avenue and Kaley Street about 2 a.m. In a video provided to WESH 2 News, more than 20 shots can be heard.

Officials said more than 300 people were inside the club at the time. "Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running," the club posted on its official Facebook page at 2:09 a.m.
read more here

Disgraceful Neglect of Fort Hood Survivors

Neglecting Fort Hood Survivors Is a National Disgrace
TIME
Kathy Platoni
April 19, 2016

Too many survivors don't have access to the benefits they need

Nearly seven years after the national tragedy of the Fort Hood massacre, little has changed. Despite the unveiling of the magnificent memorial in Killeen, Texas, on March 11 to pay tribute to the wounded and the fallen, this catastrophic event and its victims have been largely forgotten. Thirteen innocents lost their lives and more than 30 were wounded that day, gunned down by a self-proclaimed radical jihadist who advocated for the burnings and beheadings of his fellow soldiers.

Some of the wounded have been obtaining medical treatment on their own dime, desperately trying to restore themselves to health and to find their way back to any degree of normalcy. And then there are the psychological wounds, which often remain unspoken and are often unlikely to ever heal. Joshua Berry, a survivor of the massacre, suffered from post-traumatic stress and committed suicide in 2013. The Army should have done more to help him and others like him.

Kathy Platoni is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army and a survivor of the Fort Hood massacre.

read more here 

Army's largest base reeling from four apparent suicides in one weekend 2010

Fort Hood Memorial "Sobering Reminder" Of What Was Lost in 2009

Remembering ‘what we lost’ ... Nov. 5, 2009, Fort Hood Memorial dedicated in Killeen
Killeen Daily Herald
Jacob Brooks
Herald staff writer
March 16, 2016

Gabe Wolf | Herald Ft Hood Memorial-4 Ashlee Nemelka and Kevin Harmer visit PFC. Aaron Nemelka's bronze Friday at the Fort Hood Memorial dedication.

KILLEEN — Three small boys, all children or grandchildren of those killed on Nov. 5, 2009, approached the stage as about 800 people quietly watched.

They placed their hands over their hearts and began to speak in unison: “I pledge allegiance to the flag...” The audience quickly joined in, creating a resounding, unifying “Pledge of Allegiance” inside the Killeen Civic and Conference Center on Friday.

It was one many emotional, yet also patriotic, moments that marked the long-awaited dedication ceremony of the November 5, 2009, Memorial, which honors the 12 soldiers and 1 civilian who were killed and dozens wounded in the mass shooting that day.

“The memorial itself will always be a sobering reminder of what we lost,” said Maj. Gen. John Uberti, deputy commander for III Corps and Fort Hood.

He was one of several speakers at the nearly three-hour event, which ended with the families of the fallen, the wounded and others visiting the memorial adjacent to the conference center.

The $400,000 memorial — which was paid for through donations and in-kind services — includes a gazebo, 13 statues symbolizing those killed and a flag pole in the center.
read more here

Living in pain: For some wounded on Nov. 5, 2009, fight for benefits continues

Shawn Manning and Alonzo Lunsford Jr. — both former staff sergeants who were shot multiple times by Nidal Hasan — said despite earning the federal Purple Heart medals last April, their struggles with the government’s lack of labeling their wounds as “combat related” remain.

They said the pain they live with is an everyday reminder of what happened.

“I just had surgery last summer to remove a bullet out of my thigh and a bullet out of my back,” said Manning, who in addition to physical pain, also deals with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the shooting. “I still have a bullet in my back,” Lunsford said. “It cant be removed because it’s so close to my spine.” He, too, has complications from lingering pain and PTSD, as well as a traumatic brain injury from a bullet that hit close to one of his eyes.

November 5, 2009 Fort Hood Memorial Opened

Hundreds honor those lost, wounded in Nov. 5 shooting as memorial is dedicated
Killeen Daily Herald
Jacob Brooks
March 11, 2016

"Those killed on Nov. 5, 2009, honored self service above all else. Together we all honor their sacrifice.” Governor Greg Abbott

Sheryll Pearson, mother of fallen soldier PFC. Michael Pearson,

shows his bronze to Maj. Theresa Long during Friday's Fort Hood

Memorial dedication Gabe Wolf Herald Ft Hood Memorial

Soldiers who were shot in one of the bloodiest mass shootings in American history, as well as family members of the fallen, were reunited today, more than six years after the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that left 13 people dead and 31 wounded.

Dozens of families who lost sons, daughters, spouses and other loved ones were in Killeen today for the official dedication of the “November 5, 2009 Fort Hood Memorial,” an outdoor memorial that honors those who were killed and wounded in the shooting.

The $400,000 memorial — which was paid for through donations and in-kind services — includes a gazebo, 13 statues symbolizing those killed and a flag pole in the center.

Former Army Capt. Dorothy Carskadon, who was shot four times by Nidal Hasan in the shooting, said she got into town Thursday night, and had already visited the memorial twice.
read more here

Fort Hood Murderer Got Paid, Wounded Still Waiting

Just a reminder on how much this all really stinks is this NBC reported Hasan was still getting paid in 2013

A military panel also ordered that Hasan be stripped of his military pay. However that order will not take effect until place 14 days following his sentencing. Hasan will continue to receive his full military salary until Sept. 10.

Earlier this year, NBC 5 Investigates was the first to report that the Department of Defense showed Hasan had been paid about $300,000 after his arrest for the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting.

Disgraceful when you consider the wounded are still waiting.

Fort Hood victim still waiting for injuries to be called ‘combat-related,’ despite Army pledge
FOX
By Catherine Herridge, Pamela Browne
Published November 06, 2015

Manning has received combat-related special compensation under the Purple Heart medal which amounts to $700 a month and a lump sum for back pay.

Six years after the Fort Hood massacre killed 13 and injured more than 30 others, at least one of the survivors says he is still fighting to have his gunshot wounds officially classified as "combat-related injuries," despite a pledge from the Army secretary to provide all possible benefits to the families.

"I hope that this can be fixed. I mean it isn't even necessarily about the benefits anymore, it's just, getting this fixed so I can put this behind me," Shawn Manning told Fox News.

Manning was a staff sergeant when he was shot six times by then Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan on Nov. 5, 2009. Two bullets remain lodged in his back and leg. Yet he's still seeking the "combat-related" classification for his injuries from a military physical evaluation board.
read more here

Staff Sgt. Josh Berry Survived Fort Hood Massacre, Then He Didn't

Then there was Staff Sgt. Josh Berry, wounded when the shooter opened fire inside a crowded medical building at the sprawling Army post in Texas. While he was not one of the 13 soldiers who lost their lives or the 32 others who were struck by bullets, Josh Berry struggled through years of pain and suffering caused by the attack before he couldn't handle it anymore, family members said. The Mason native committed suicide on Feb. 13, 2013.

Father says PTSD killed his son, and VA did nothing to help
WCPO 9 News
Marais Jacon-Duffy, Scott Wegener

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Howard Berry lost his son two years ago.

“He said, ‘your son is in good hands. He’s being monitored. We’re keeping close tabs on him,’” Berry said. “I buried him three months before.”

Staff Sergeant Josh Berry was at Fort Hood Army Base when an armed shooter killed 13 people in 2009. Berry was not killed. He survived the shooting, just like he survived deployment to Afghanistan. But Berry’s toughest battle, his father said, was post-traumatic stress disorder.

Josh Berry committed suicide in February 2013. His family said that PTSD, combined with sub-par care by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, was what killed him.

Howard Berry has rallied on behalf of Fort Hood shooting victims, survivors and their families, and voiced general discontent with the VA.

“I’ve been lied to from the White House to the outhouse,” he said. “I’ve had the same questions I had the day my son died. They’ve never been answered.”
read more here

Did Sgt. Robert Bales Receive Fair Trial?

Just a reminder of what else was reported before Bales was convicted,

Antimalarial Drug Linked to Sgt. Robert Bales Massacre
ABC News
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Digital Reporter
via GOOD MORNING AMERICA
July 22, 2013

Mefloquine was developed by the U.S. military and has been used for more than three decades by the government to prevent and to treat malaria among soldiers and Peace Corps workers.

But the drug can cause varying neurological side effects 5 to 10 percent of the time, according to Dr. David Sullivan, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in Baltimore.

The manufacturer also warns against prescribing it to anyone who has suffered a seizure or brain injury, according to the drug label.

Bales told a military court he had "no good reason" to kill.

As you can see in the latest report, that was exactly what he sought treatment for,

Robert Bales makes bid for mercy: ‘There isn’t a why; there is only pain’
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
June 6, 2015

He sought treatment for head injuries and PTSD at Madigan Army Medical Center in 2011 but was convinced doctors were not helping him. “He just kept telling me my anger was a mask for another emotion. What emotion! The only thing I felt was weak was talking about emotions.”

The soldier who committed the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan War acknowledged while asking for a reduced sentence last year that he had lost compassion for Iraqis and Afghans over the course of his four combat deployments with a Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade.

“My mind was consumed by war,” the former Staff Sgt. Robert Bales wrote in a letter late last year to the senior Army officer at JBLM.

“I planted war and hate for the better part of 10 years and harvested violence,” he wrote. “After being in prison two years, I understand that what I thought was normal was the farthest thing from being normal.”

Bales, who was sentenced in August 2013 to life in prison for the killings of 16 Afghan civilians, including seven children, failed to persuade Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza to overturn his conviction or modify his sentence. Lanza in March rejected Bales’ clemency bid after considering the weight of evidence in Bales’ court-martial, I Corps spokesman Col. Dave Johnson said Friday.

The News Tribune on Friday obtained 27 pages of letters Bales and his loved ones wrote to Lanza last fall while the general was considering whether to uphold Bales’ conviction. The set included letters from Bales’ wife, his in-laws and several soldiers who knew him on his earlier Iraq deployments when he was regarded as a sound infantryman.

His veteran friends described the qualities that led them to trust Bales in Iraq and expressed their remorse that they were not in Afghanistan with him at the time of his crimes.

“My only regret in life is that I wasn’t there in Afghanistan when Robert really needed a friend to see that he was struggling and pull him from the edge,” a JBLM staff sergeant wrote on Bales’ behalf.
read more here

Hasan's Victims Will Finally Get Benefits

Fort Hood attack Purple Heart recipients to get added benefits 
Reuters
April 16, 2015 (Reuters) -

The U.S. Army said on Thursday it will provide additional benefits to the dozens of soldiers awarded Purple Heart medals stemming from a 2009 shooting rampage by an Army psychiatrist at the Fort Hood Army base in central Texas.

The Army also said it would award the Purple Heart medal to a soldier who was killed and another who was wounded in a 2009 attack on a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Three-dozen Purple Heart medals were awarded last week at Fort Hood to wounded survivors and relatives of those killed in the shooting rampage by then-Army Major Nidal Hasan following years of lobbying by politicians and lawyers. read more here

Congress Offers Symbol to Fort Hood Soldiers, Not in a Good Way

Unless you have no clue how the government works you know that this is all tied to Congress and what they decided to leave out of this! Basically they ended up giving them something much different than a medal and more in line with a middle finger.

Fort Hood shooting victim denied benefits, despite Purple Heart decision
FOX News
By Catherine Herridge
Published April 10, 2015

EXCLUSIVE: The Obama administration has finally acknowledged that those hurt and killed in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings were victims of terrorism -- and not “workplace violence,” as it was previously described. But while formal recognition of that is set for Friday, when victims will receive the Purple Heart, it may only be symbolic.

Fox News has learned as part of its ongoing investigation of the 2009 terrorist attack that the military, at least in one case, is still denying benefits for injuries sustained in the attack.

"I think it's almost unheard of for someone to receive the Purple Heart but not have their injuries deemed combat-related," Shawn Manning, who was seriously injured in the 2009 attack, told Fox News. "I know that was not what Congress intended to have happen, but it is what currently the Army has determined is going to happen."

On Nov. 5, 2009, then-Staff Sgt. Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan. Two bullets are still in his body -- one in his leg, the other in his back -- and he suffers from PTSD.

The 2015 defense budget -- known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA -- included language that meant Fort Hood victims were eligible for the Purple Heart honor because the attack was inspired by a foreign terrorist group, and not workplace violence, as the Defense Department initially labeled it.
read more here

Fort Hood Leaves Soldiers Still Asking Who Is Accountable to Them

Justice not served at Fort Hood with Hasan conviction and still has not been. Too many questions unanswered and too few held accountable for what they allowed to happen. Ft. Hood victims and survivors deserve answers but unless the media is pushing that point, lawmakers supposedly in charge of what the DOD does and does not do, will never happen.

Wounded Times has been screaming about this since it happened.

Like everyone else I was stunned but I was also remembering what I saw at Fort Hood when I was there a few months before. Soldiers and families hanging around the food court much like civilian families do at the mall. Shopping carriages filled with supplies for families and usually young children hitching a ride from Mom and Dad. Unlike the mall, this is a close community where you have to show a military ID before getting in. It was a place where they were supposed to feel safe.

The shooting was at Fort Hood but every member of the military felt it.

Purple Hearts for those killed and wounded at Fort Hood are an acknowledgment of what was done to some of them, but not to all of them. The aftermath of the Fort Hood massacre was, as we discovered far worse than originally imagined.

Well finally the Wall Street Journal has taken a look at what was not done after this deadly day from hell. As you'll read, it was written from someone who didn't just read about it. She was there when it happened!

The Army’s Fort Hood Disgrace
No one who supervised the shooter has been held to account, but the victims are denied pay and benefits.
Wall Street Journal
By KATHY PLATONI
March 19, 2015

It was more than five years ago that the gunshots rang out, but those of us who survived can still hear their echoes. On Nov. 5, 2009, an Army psychiatrist named Nidal Hasan—an American radicalized by extremist Islamic beliefs—opened fire on his fellow soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas, killing 14 people, including an unborn child, and wounding 32.

I was there. A beloved friend, Capt. John Gaffaney, died at my knees. I was slated to become the shooter’s direct supervisor and later learned I was at the top of his hit list.

That day has faded from the minds of most Americans. But the survivors and the families of the deceased continually relive its horror. They also continue to face betrayal by the government they served.

It is a gross miscarriage of justice that no one who supervised the shooter—overlooked his behavior and promoted him—has been held accountable. That the massacre is still labeled an incident of workplace violence committed by a disgruntled employee is delusional and contemptible. Because the massacre was not recognized as a terrorist attack, victims were deemed ineligible for combat-injury benefits, the Purple Heart, and its civilian counterpart, the Defense of Freedom medal. Three successive defense secretaries refused to change this designation, and five years passed.

Survivors of the massacre and the families of the dead are now finding some measure of justice. Congress has rewritten the language governing fallen warriors, and Army Secretary John McHugh has announced that Fort Hood victims will receive long-overdue medals. They will be offered burial plots at Arlington National Cemetery and compensation pay upon retirement. But further details remain unclear. For instance, Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning, whom Hasan shot six times, told reporters last year that because his injuries were not classified as combat-related, he lost roughly $70,000 in benefits and $2,500 a month in pay. Will he be made whole?
read more here

Purple Hearts For Fort Hood Soldiers But What About Longer Lasting Wounds?

Finally Fort Hood Soldiers shot by one of their own will received Purple Hearts.

It has been a long time coming. CNN reported on this effort from Congress back on November 17, 2009.

The bill was introduced by Texas GOP Rep. John Carter, who represents Fort Hood in the House of Representatives.

"As far as I'm concerned, this was an attack by an enemy upon American troops on American soil," Carter said Tuesday at a Capitol Hill news conference.

The Daily Star out of New York reported this yesterday and was shared by Military Times.

The bill "is about giving soldiers the benefits that other soldiers get when they are unfortunate enough to be killed or wounded in a combat zone."

But it was back on domestic soil on Nov. 5, 2009 where he would experience the most dangerous, violent and horrific experience of his military career. It was then that the Texas base from where he was preparing to deploy once again, this time to Afghanistan, became the backdrop for a massacre.

"I can remember it like it was yesterday," Cooke, the divorced father of two young sons, said Wednesday when contacted by The Daily Star at his mother's home near Charlotte, N.C. On that day, Cooke had gone to the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, to deal with matters for his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

He never made it to Afghanistan, and he almost didn't make it through that day.

"Matt doesn't trust people anymore because he was shot by one of his own," said Frappier, whose children include two daughters, Christina and Kimberly, the latter a resident of Oneonta. "When he lay on the floor in that building, so many people ran right past him. In his mind, he is going to be shot again."

He was shot by someone he was supposed to trust with his life and as a psychiatrist, in a position where many were supposed to trust him with their mental health. The damage done goes far beyond the bullets and the graves he filled or the number of days the wounded had to face recovering. The aftermath of the Fort Hood massacre is a never ending story of massive failures.

No one has reported on how many soldiers were treated by this terrorist. No one has tried to figure out how many of them committed suicide or died because of medications tied to this man who was responsible for their care. No one investigated how many got divorced, how many families broke apart or how many veterans lost their ability to trust anyone at anytime.


UPDATE
I was thinking about this most of the day and remembered the spike in suicides after this horrible day at Fort Hood.

By September of 2010 Fort Hood reported a record number of suicides with 4 in one weekend. By 2011 suicides at Fort Hood were higher.

Authorities found Giger, 42, of Houston dead in his apartment near Fort Hood, hanging by necktie. He was one of at least 22 GIs from the post to commit suicide in 2010.

The Fort Hood mark is a new record for the post and contributed to the Army’s worst year for suicides. There was, however, a sign of hope in the grim tally. Slightly fewer active-duty soldiers died by their own hand compared with 2009. But there was bad news, too: The number of suicides in the National Guard and Army Reserve rose sharply.

But it got worse and in 2013 there was this report, mostly forgotten to the rest of the news coverage.

While he was not one of the 13 soldiers who lost their lives or the 32 others who were struck by bullets, Josh Berry struggled through years of pain and suffering caused by the attack before he couldn't handle it anymore, family members said.

The Mason native committed suicide on Feb. 13, 2013, a result of years of post-traumatic stress caused by the Fort Hood shooting, according to his father.

Howard Berry knew soon after the attack that his son was a changed man. While it would be several years before he had to endure the pain of burying his son, he believes a part of his son died during the attack.

Will his family get a Purple Heart in his honor as well? Will any of the others?

Fort Hood: Congress Expanded Eligibility For Purple Heart

Army Approves Purple Hearts for Fort Hood Shooting Victims

From a U.S. Army News Release

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2015 – Army Secretary John M. McHugh announced today that he has approved awarding the Purple Heart and its civilian counterpart, the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom, to victims of a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, following a change in the medals' eligibility criteria mandated by Congress.

Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 were wounded in the attack by Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who was convicted in August 2013, of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

"The Purple Heart's strict eligibility criteria had prevented us from awarding it to victims of the horrific attack at Fort Hood," McHugh explained. "Now that Congress has changed the criteria, we believe there is sufficient reason to allow these men and women to be awarded and recognized with either the Purple Heart or, in the case of civilians, the Defense of Freedom Medal. It's an appropriate recognition of their service and sacrifice."

Law Expanded Eligibility

Under a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, Congress expanded the eligibility for the Purple Heart by redefining what should be considered an attack by a "foreign terrorist organization" for purposes of determining eligibility for the Purple Heart. The legislation states that an event should now be considered an attack by a foreign terrorist organization if the perpetrator of the attack "was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack" and "the attack was inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization."

In a review of the Fort Hood incident and the new provisions of law, the Army determined that there was sufficient evidence to conclude Hasan "was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack," and that his radicalization and subsequent acts could reasonably be considered to have been "inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization."

Previous criteria required a finding that Hasan had been acting at the direction of a foreign terrorist organization.

Identifying and Notifying Those Now Eligible

McHugh directed Army officials to identify soldiers and civilians now eligible for the awards as soon as possible, and to contact them about presentation of the awards. Soldiers receiving the Purple Heart automatically qualify for combat-related special compensation upon retirement. Recipients also are eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Following his 2013 conviction, Hasan was sentenced to death by a general court-martial. He is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, while post-trial and appellate processes continue.

Rick Scott Honored Fort Hood Soldiers from Florida

News Release: Governor's Press Office
December 8, 2014

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott honored Private First Class Justin Johnson from Punta Gorda, Florida and Staff Sergeant Patrick Zeigler from Orange County, Florida, who are expected to be awarded Purple Heart Medals for their bravery during the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.

President Obama is expected to sign legislation authorizing Purple Heart Medals for acts of heroism during the 2009 Fort Hood Shooting after passage of the bill in the US House and US Senate.

Governor Scott said, “Florida stands proudly as two Floridians – Private First Class Justin Johnson and Staff Sergeant Patrick Zeigler – are expected to be awarded the Purple Heart for their bravery during the 2009 Fort Hood Shooting. Both men sustained injuries in the massacre. As a veteran myself, I join all Floridians to express sincere gratitude to Justin and Patrick and their families today for their sacrifice.

“We also remember Sergeant Danny Ferguson, from Mulberry, Florida, who lost his life during the 2014 Fort Hood Shooting. The horrific acts that happened at Ft. Hood will forever be remembered by all Americans and we will continue to honor those who were injured, or killed, and their families.”

After Fort Hood Massacre Soldiers May Finally Get Justice

House Passes Fort Hood Purple Heart Legislation
Senate expected to pass bill, pass to President Obama
NBC 5 News
December 4, 2014

Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX25) and Congressman John Carter (R-TX31) released a statement Thursday saying the House was sending legislation to the Senate that will make victims of the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood eligible for the Purple Heart.

According to the statement, the Senate is supportive of the House legislation and is expected to pass the bill next week and send it on to President Barack Obama.

The language providing those injured in the massacre Purple Heart status was included in the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference agreement.

The NDAA adjusts the Purple Heart criteria so that service members and civilians who experience an attack inspired by terrorism, receive the appropriate awards and recognition, the statement said. The language awards the Purple Heart to service members who are victims of an attack that was inspired or motivated by a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization.
read more here



We face it all with a blend of bitterness and hope for justice. Hope that the American public will care enough when they know what has been going on to actually do something instead of settling for anything as if it is better than nothing. 

Denton native Zackary Filip, who was named 2010 Soldier of the Year by Army Times, said he was harassed and belittled when he sought help with his post-traumatic stress disorder at the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Unit.
(Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

Fort Hood Soldiers Finally Getting Justice From Lame Ducks

Purple Hearts might be awarded in domestic terrorism cases
Military Times
By Andrew Tilghman and Leo Shane III
Staff writers
December 3, 2014

Victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shootings will be eligible to receive Purple Hearts and combat injury benefits under a provision included in the latest defense authorization deal.

The measure is expected to be approved by Congress next week, and would end a five-year quest by Texas lawmakers to get battlefield recognition for the soldiers killed in the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in U.S. history.

It could also be a financial windfall for the families of the 13 people killed and 32 wounded in the attack.

The latest authorization draft stipulates that Purple Heart medals will be awarded to "members of the armed forces killed or wounded in domestic attacks inspired by foreign terrorist organizations."

The Fort Hood, Texas, shooter — Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan — was allegedly inspired by al-Qaida but faced murder charges rather than international terrorism charges. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Pentagon officials for years have said the shooting victims are not eligible for the Purple Heart and certain combat-injury compensation. Families of the victims have said they've faced thousands of dollars in uncovered medical expenses that would have been covered if the same injuries occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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Fort Hood Survivor: No. 14 little chance medics attached to his survival

Survived the unthinkable, held on to recover and now, healing! Fabulous story of next chapter.

For Fort Hood victim, dinner with shooter's cousin was uplifting
Post-Bulletin
By MATTHEW STOLLE
Published: May 7, 2014

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Patrick and Jessica Zeigler have traveled a long and harrowing road together these last four years.

On the day he was shot in a mass shooting at Fort Hood near five years ago, Zeigler's wounds — including a bullet wound to the skull — were instantly considered by medics as placing him beyond any possibility of recovery. He was assigned a number — No. 14 —indicating what little chance medics attached to his survival.

But in one of those expectation-defying moments that have characterized his recovery so far, Zeigler struck up a conversation with the medic.

"She started laughing and crying, and said, 'I have to save him,'" Jessica said in an earlier story.

Twenty percent of his brain was removed and a metal plate the size of a baseball is now part of his skull. The first year of his recovery was simply fighting for his life. After that, it was relearning the basics and starting over from scratch, like walking and dressing himself. Initially paralyzed on the left side, Zeigler had to learn how to do everything with his right hand.

Then there was the process of coming to terms with such a senseless and indiscriminate act of violence. Jessica said that when she went to the military trial for shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and saw him for the first time in person, her reaction to him was not what she had expected.

Unlike the menacing portraits of him on television, Hasan didn't look evil. She was later to told by Hasan's cousin, Nader Hasan, that growing up, Hasan was called Homer Simpson because he was this "dopey, nerdy guy."
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Fort Hood Colonel Facebook post: Time to move on from shooting?

Move on? Why because brass did?

Sure, move on so that no one has to be held accountable for allowing this "man" to be promoted instead of booted out before it happened. So that no one has to compensate the soldiers and families for what this "man" did to them.

So that no one will start asking questions about how many others this "man" betrayed when he was supposed to be taking care of their mental health issues.

Move on? Maybe if the families got justice that would be possible but since they are stuck where they are, Americans should never just allow the Army to move on!

Army Commander Suggests Americans ‘Move On’ From 2009 Fort Hood Shooting
Commander apologizes for “private comments in a public place”
NBC
By Scott Friedman
Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014

That decision has prevented some of the victims from receiving thousands of dollars in medical and retirement benefits.

Munley and others want the Pentagon to reclassify the attack.

“It’s about getting the benefits that they deserve so that they can live the rest of their lives and be OK,” said Munley.

A top United States Army Colonel has angered some of the victims of the 2009 Fort Hood attack after he turned to social media criticizing an NBC 5 Investigates’ Freedom of Information Act request asking for documents related to the shooting.

In February, Col. Nathan Banks wrote on his personal Facebook page: “Let’s move on America, I did.”

Kim Munley is the former Fort Hood police officer who helped end the attack by firing at the gunman, Nidal Hasan.

In a recent interview with NBC 5 Investigates Munley said, “I think it’s insulting for anyone who represents or wears that uniform to ask anyone to forget about Nov. 5, 2009.”

Munly expressed that she and other victims have had a hard time moving on and she is disheartened by Banks’ comments.

The 2009 gunbattle with Hasan also left Munley wounded outside the building where 13 soldiers died and nearly three dozen others were injured.

Among the survivors was Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning, who was shot six times in the 2009 massacre and is still recovering.

“If the Army was interested in allowing us to "move on" they should think about finally declaring the shooting a terrorist attack and recognizing the ultimate sacrifice that so many made for their country that day," Manning said.
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