Prayer Vigil Held For Slain Veteran
Posted: 2:23 pm EST December 24, 2010
Updated: 10:02 am EST December 25, 2010
DAYTON, Ohio -- Family and friends of a paralyzed Air Force veterans, brutally killed, visited the site where his body was found on Wednesday.
William Boykin, 66, was found slain inside his own van that was parked in an alley off Ferguson Ave..
Today, family members continued voicing their hope that those responsive will come forward.
At an afternoon prayer vigil, the victim's brother spoke out. He said Boykin was paralyzed from the waist down after back surgery so he was defenseless.
Paul Boykin said, "I kinda wish I could have been with him, then they would have found two in the van instead of one. I would have been back to back with him. i feel like my brother was that way. If it was one of us, he would have stayed with us through thick and thin."
Family members believe Boykin was murdered over money that he had saved to give his 16 grandchildren for Christmas.
"We just hope this thing doesn't happen anymore. We have to start caring for one another instead of destroying one another," said Paul Boykin.
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Prayer Vigil Held For Slain Veteran
Showing posts with label paralyzed veterans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paralyzed veterans. Show all posts
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Golden Gate High students say ‘thank you’ to vet paralyzed in Afghanistan
VIDEO/PHOTOS: Golden Gate High students say ‘thank you’ to vet paralyzed in Afghanistan
By KATHERINE ALBERS
Posted November 2, 2009 at 7:42 p.m. , updated November 2, 2009 at 7:57 p.m.
NAPLES — Romulo “Romy” Camargo never had a nickname until he joined the Special Forces.
“The guys had trouble pronouncing my name, so they started calling me Romy,” he said. “Eventually, I started introducing myself as Romy and ordering business cards with Romy on them.”
Those at Golden Gate High School Monday morning left with another name for Camargo: Hero.
Veterans Day came early to Golden Gate High School this year so that the school could accommodate a special visit by Camargo, a Special Forces chief warrant officer. It was Camargo’s first public speaking engagement since he was shot through the neck and paralyzed from the neck down while on a mission in Afghanistan a little more than one year ago.
read more here
Golden Gate High students say thank you
linked from
http://www.icasualties.org/OEF/index.aspx
By KATHERINE ALBERS
Posted November 2, 2009 at 7:42 p.m. , updated November 2, 2009 at 7:57 p.m.
NAPLES — Romulo “Romy” Camargo never had a nickname until he joined the Special Forces.
“The guys had trouble pronouncing my name, so they started calling me Romy,” he said. “Eventually, I started introducing myself as Romy and ordering business cards with Romy on them.”
Those at Golden Gate High School Monday morning left with another name for Camargo: Hero.
Veterans Day came early to Golden Gate High School this year so that the school could accommodate a special visit by Camargo, a Special Forces chief warrant officer. It was Camargo’s first public speaking engagement since he was shot through the neck and paralyzed from the neck down while on a mission in Afghanistan a little more than one year ago.
read more here
Golden Gate High students say thank you
linked from
http://www.icasualties.org/OEF/index.aspx
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Paralyzed Army Ranger gets hero's welcome
Paralyzed Army Ranger gets hero's welcome in Crystal River
By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, September 13, 2009
CRYSTAL RIVER — One year ago this week, the job that Romulo "Romy" Camargo loves nearly cost him his life.
On a mission to destroy a damaged piece of equipment near Kandahar, Afghanistan, the Army Ranger and his unit were ambushed. Fighting their way out of the attack, Camargo was shot in the neck.
Since then, the 33-year-old soldier has fought a different fight, one that at first was a fight just to live. Now Camargo, who is paralyzed from the neck down, fights to be independent, to walk again and to return to that which he loves — service to his country.
Recovering and undergoing rehabilitation at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, Camargo once mentioned to his patient advocate how he'd love to go home and along the way, he'd love to have a few motorcycles accompany him.
On Saturday, he got his wish and in a huge way.
read more here
Crystal River Hero Welcome Home
By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, September 13, 2009
CRYSTAL RIVER — One year ago this week, the job that Romulo "Romy" Camargo loves nearly cost him his life.
On a mission to destroy a damaged piece of equipment near Kandahar, Afghanistan, the Army Ranger and his unit were ambushed. Fighting their way out of the attack, Camargo was shot in the neck.
Since then, the 33-year-old soldier has fought a different fight, one that at first was a fight just to live. Now Camargo, who is paralyzed from the neck down, fights to be independent, to walk again and to return to that which he loves — service to his country.
Recovering and undergoing rehabilitation at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, Camargo once mentioned to his patient advocate how he'd love to go home and along the way, he'd love to have a few motorcycles accompany him.
On Saturday, he got his wish and in a huge way.
read more here
Crystal River Hero Welcome Home
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Vt. town comes together for paralyzed soldier
Vt. town comes together for paralyzed soldier
By John Curran - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jun 27, 2009 15:41:23 EDT
HYDE PARK, Vt. — For Pfc. Andrew Parker, it was a bittersweet homecoming: He was hailed as a hero, feted with a star-spangled parade and showered with gifts at a welcome home ceremony.
He had to watch it all from a wheelchair.
Parker, a 21-year-old Army cavalry scout, was paralyzed in November when a roadside bomb blew up the vehicle he was driving on patrol in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, after months of rehabilitation in Veterans Administration hospitals and a community fundraising effort that added wheelchair-accessible accommodations to his parents’ house, the wounded warrior came home.
Riding in his wheelchair in the back of a flatbed truck, a smiling Parker took in the flag-waving well wishers and the hand-lettered signs — “For your sacrifice and our freedom” and “Thank you, Andrew” among them — on a six-mile parade to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7779.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_army_vt_paralyzed_soldier_062709/
By John Curran - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jun 27, 2009 15:41:23 EDT
HYDE PARK, Vt. — For Pfc. Andrew Parker, it was a bittersweet homecoming: He was hailed as a hero, feted with a star-spangled parade and showered with gifts at a welcome home ceremony.
He had to watch it all from a wheelchair.
Parker, a 21-year-old Army cavalry scout, was paralyzed in November when a roadside bomb blew up the vehicle he was driving on patrol in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, after months of rehabilitation in Veterans Administration hospitals and a community fundraising effort that added wheelchair-accessible accommodations to his parents’ house, the wounded warrior came home.
Riding in his wheelchair in the back of a flatbed truck, a smiling Parker took in the flag-waving well wishers and the hand-lettered signs — “For your sacrifice and our freedom” and “Thank you, Andrew” among them — on a six-mile parade to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7779.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_army_vt_paralyzed_soldier_062709/
Friday, November 14, 2008
Disabled veterans swimming with the sharks
Shark swim helps vets feel whole again
An innovative program at the Georgia Aquarium is helping disabled veterans feel free
Swimming with sharks helps veterans feel whole again
Story Highlights
Fish Wish program allows veterans with disabilities to swim with sharks
Program is open to the public, but waiting list is long and cost is $290
Veterans report feeling "equal" in the weightless environment of water
By Judy Fortin
CNN Medical Correspondent
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Retired Army Spc. Scott Winkler had many scary encounters while serving in Iraq, but they were nothing compared with his recent experience at the world's largest aquarium: swimming alongside a massive whale shark.
The fact that Winkler, 35, of Augusta, Georgia, is a paraplegic made the once-in-a-lifetime experience even more challenging.
"It's like you're in space," Winkler said. "It's like you're an able body again. It makes you feel so free."
Winkler was paralyzed five years ago during an accident while unloading ammunition in Tikrit, Iraq.
He is one of more than two dozen disabled veterans who have participated in the Fish Wish program at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta during the past two months.
A separate swim and dive program is open to the public, but the waiting list is nearly full until the end of the year.
The experience isn't cheap. A half-hour dive costs $290. The veterans swam for free.
Therapeutic recreational specialist Susan Oglesby helps train safety divers at the aquarium to assist swimmers with disabilities. She explained there are very few limitations in the tank. Watch more on veterans swimming with sharks »
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Friday, August 29, 2008
3 tour Vietnam Veteran chooses victory over disability
Francisco Lopez-de-Victoria, 63, was forced to use a wheelchair after a 2000 back surgery went awry. The Navy retiree, who, served three tours in Vietnam and in Grenada, recently won two medals at the 28th Wheelchair Veterans Games in Omaha, Neb.
Veteran chooses victory over disability
By Jackie Alexander, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, August 29, 2008
Sometimes just getting out the door is hard for Francisco Lopez-de-Victoria. His red wheelchair often gets wedged in the narrow frame of his apartment's front door. • "It's almost like jumping a hurdle every morning," the 63-year-old said.
It's a marked change from his earlier life in which he spent more than 25 years in the Navy and played softball internationally.
A simple back procedure in 2000 left him having to use a wheelchair. Now, grass is treacherous. Curbs are insurmountable.
He spent hours in his native Puerto Rico underneath a mango tree, counting crawling ants and slowly trekking the path toward insanity, said his wife, Nereida.
But then his nephew rescued him by introducing him to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, Lopez-de-Victoria said.
The first year he took gold in each sport he played: table tennis, bowling, archery, shot put and weightlifting.
"If it wasn't for the games, I don't know," his wife said. "I think the games are what kept him sane."
Lopez-de-Victoria of Clearwater competed in his fifth National Veterans Wheelchair Games in late July, collecting a gold medal in archery and bronze in bowling.
go here for more
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article788791.ece
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bill to aid paralyzed vets blocked in Senate by GOP
Bill to aid paralyzed vets blocked in Senate
By Cristian Hernandez - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 16:45:16 EDT
A bill promising more money for programs that help paralyzed veterans is part of a bundle of legislation tied up in partisan bickering in the Senate.
The Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve Act, which includes money for research into spinal cord injuries, is one of about 36 bills combined by Senate Democrats into what they are calling the Advancing America’s Priorities Act.
The bills have been bundled in an attempt to bypass objections from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has used senatorial privileges and procedures to stop action on several bills, including the spinal cord injury bill.
The Democratic plan failed Monday on a 50-42 vote, leaving them short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the package.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_paralyzed_spinalcord_072908w/
By Cristian Hernandez - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 16:45:16 EDT
A bill promising more money for programs that help paralyzed veterans is part of a bundle of legislation tied up in partisan bickering in the Senate.
The Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve Act, which includes money for research into spinal cord injuries, is one of about 36 bills combined by Senate Democrats into what they are calling the Advancing America’s Priorities Act.
The bills have been bundled in an attempt to bypass objections from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has used senatorial privileges and procedures to stop action on several bills, including the spinal cord injury bill.
The Democratic plan failed Monday on a 50-42 vote, leaving them short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the package.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_paralyzed_spinalcord_072908w/
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