September 11th firefighter and first responder to Pentagon succumbed to injuries

This headline got my attention and that is pretty sad because it was not the word "gay" that did it. It was everything that came after it. Firefighter, first responder, Pentagon and September 11th. Who decided that what people do in their personal lives mattered so much they had to be added to a headline? While there are many articles that should include this disclosure, it was not necessary here.

Gay firefighter, first responder to Pentagon on 9/11, dies
Washington Blade
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
June 7, 2013

Phillip Curtis McKee III, a businessman, stained glass artist and firefighter who was among the first to respond to the fire at the Pentagon caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, died May 31 at a hospital in Fairfax City, Va. He was 41.

Family members attribute McKee’s death to complications from injuries and illness linked to three days of fighting the Pentagon fire following the 9/11 attack, including inhalation of toxic dust, a severe leg injury that resulted in him being wheel chair bound, and a prolonged bout of post-traumatic stress disorder.

McKee’s husband and partner of 15 years, Nopadon McKee, said the injuries forced Phillip McKee to retire from his job as a firefighter due to disability. Although he displayed “tremendous courage” in persevering as an artist, businessman, and author over the next 12 years, the injuries and his struggle with PTSD took its toll, Nopadon McKee said.

“He succumbed to his injuries,” a statement released by the family says.
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Police look for trauma support after Boston bombing

Police look for trauma support after Boston bombing
By Maria Cramer
GLOBE STAFF
JUNE 01, 2013

Boston Police Department officials said they are worried about long-term psychological effects of the Marathon bombings on their officers and are searching for ways to pay for more mental health specialists.

“We have an entire department that was impacted by the Marathon and many, many officers who saw things they should never have seen and endured things they should never have endured,” said Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey. “We’re going to have make sure they’re getting services not just for the first 12 to 24 hours [after the bombing], but the first week, the first month, the first year, and next five years down the road.”

In the days following the bombings, 600 officers were ordered to attend sessions called debriefings, in which they broke off in smaller groups to talk about the horror of that day. New York City police sent 18 retired and active officers trained in counseling to help Boston’s Critical Incident Management Team, which is composed of 45 officers trained in peer counseling.

The Boston Police department also contracts with three clinicians, but in the long run, the department will need even more help to respond to any psychological effects on officers in the weeks, months, and even years to come, Linskey said.

“Officers [generally] see horrific scenes and violent scenes that can have a cumulative effect on people over the years,” he said. “We’re going to have to invest additional resources.”
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Boston Police after bombs

Drummer Lee Rigby's murder prompted a rush of donations to Help for Heroes

'Help For Heroes' Site Crashes From Donations After Drummer Lee Rigby Murdered Wearing Charity T-Shirt
The Huffington Post
By Ron Dicker
Posted: 05/28/2013

The website of the Help for Heroes military charity in Britain crashed last week -- but for a worthy cause: Donations flooded the site after British soldier Drummer Lee Rigby was murdered wearing a "Help for Heroes" shirt.

A spokeswoman told The Huffington Post that site glitches were recently smoothed over after Wednesday's tech failure.

Rigby, a 25-year-old father who served in Afghanistan, was allegedly hacked to death by two men with extremist links before horrified onlookers Wednesday in the Woolwich section of London.
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Soldier butchered in London was Afghanistan veteran

Soldier butchered in London, Afghanistan veteran

UPDATE
Drummer Lee Rigby's murder prompted rush in donations
Slain London soldier was 'loving father' who served in Afghanistan
By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer
NBC News
May 23, 2013

Ministry of Defence
Drummer Lee Rigby was identified Thursday as the soldier killed in London in a suspected terror attack on Wednesday.

The British soldier brutally killed in London in a suspected terror attack was a drummer in a military band who had served in Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday. Lee Rigby, 25, known as “Riggers” to his friends, was killed in broad daylight on Wednesday as he walked in Woolwich, South London, near an army barracks.

It said he had been deployed on operation in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in April 2009, “where he served as a member of the Fire Support Group in Patrol Base Woqab.” Rigby had previously helped guard the U.K.’s royal palaces. “He was an integral member of the Corps of Drums throughout the Battalion’s time on public duties, the highlight of which was being a part of the Household Division’s Beating the Retreat - a real honour for a line infantry Corps of Drums,” the statement said.
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British soldier hacked to death returning to barracks in London

Cemeteries don't want to bury Boston bomber

I think his body should be put in the ground as soon as possible. Instead of praying for him, they should offer prayers for his victims and their families, since his life is over but their lives were forever changed by what he decided to do to them.

The 5 major developments in the Boston Marathon case over the weekend
By Holly Yan
CNN
Mon May 6, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A bombing suspect's friend accused of lying to authorities is due in court Monday
Cambridge's city manager says the older bombing suspect can't be buried there
Officials will announce a plan on how to distribute roughly $28 million in compensation

2. Cemeteries don't want to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev
For two weeks, no one claimed the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder bombing suspect who died the night he and his brother led police on a wild chase.

Now, the funeral home holding his remains is struggling to find a place to bury him.

The brothers' parents in Dagestan have said they will not fly his body back to Russia for burial, spokeswoman Heda Saratova said.

And Cambridge City Manager Robert W. Healy said he would not allow Tsarnaev to be buried in the city if requested by the funeral director or Tsarnaev's family.

"The difficult and stressful efforts of the citizens of the City of Cambridge to return to a peaceful life would be adversely impacted by the turmoil, protests, and widespread media presence at such an interment," Healy said in a statement Sunday.

Explaining his decision, he cited an excerpt from Massachusetts state law saying that "it shall be the duty of the city manager to act as chief conservator of the peace within the city."

"I have determined that it is not in the best interest of 'peace within the city' to execute a cemetery deed for a plot within the Cambridge Cemetery for the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev," Healy said. Tsarnaev's body now lies at Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, west of Boston.

Peter Stefan, owner of the funeral home, said three cemeteries he's contacted said they feared reprisals. If he can't find a gravesite, Stefan said he plans to ask the government to find one.

The funeral home owner said everyone deserves to be buried.

"This is what we do in a civilized society, regardless of the circumstances," he said.
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Massachusetts National Guardsmen rush to help on video

Boston Marathon Bombing, and the Heroes that took immediate action.
April 15, 2013
Please scroll down to read original post.
Update #13 (05:11 EST)
The two Soldiers that have been seen in various viral videos running up to help the individuals that were mauled by the blast have been identified by one of WTFM Sources.

1LT Stephen Fiola and 1SG Bernard Madore both are members of the 1060th Transportation Company of the Mass. National Guard.

Far right is 1LT Fiola and 1SG Madore is right above the TOUGH.
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These Soldiers Did the Boston Marathon Wearing 40-Pound Packs. Then They Helped Save Lives.
When the bombs went off, the Tough Ruck 2013 crew sprang into action.
—By Tasneem Raja
Tue Apr. 16, 2013

At 5:20 a.m. on Monday, four hours before the Boston Marathon's elite runners took off, a group of 15 active-duty soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard gathered at the starting line in Hopkinton. Each soldier was in full combat uniform and carried a "ruck," a military backpack weighing about 40 pounds. The rucks were filled with Camelbacks of water, extra uniforms, Gatorade, changes of socks—and first-aid and trauma kits. It was all just supposed to be symbolic.

"Forced marches" or "humps" are a regular part of military training, brisk walking over tough terrain while carrying gear that could help a soldier survive if stranded alone. These soldiers, participating in "Tough Ruck 2013," were doing the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon to honor comrades killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, or lost to suicide and PTSD-related accidents after coming home.
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Amid shock at Boston Marathon, a rush to help strangers

Amid shock at Marathon, a rush to help strangers
By David Abel
GLOBE STAFF
APRIL 16, 2013

The woman’s eyes stared vacantly into the sky.

The runners had been bounding in, beaming with relief. On both sides of Boylston Street, hundreds of spectators still had packed the area, many cheering with hoarse voices for the late finishers surging in, scores of them every minute. An elderly volunteer greeting runners kept repeating this mantra: “You’re all winners.”

When the first boom shattered the bliss and the haze of white smoke washed over the finish line, I could see in the eyes of the woman what had happened. She wasn’t breathing. She wasn’t moving. Her eyes appeared lifeless as she lay beside the metal barriers on the sidewalk, where dozens of people were sprawled on the concrete, their limbs mangled, blood and broken glass everywhere.

I had been in a crouch shooting video of runners taking their final steps of the race, maybe 10 feet from the blast. I saw runners in front of me fall, at least one of whom appeared wounded. Those beside me at the center of the finish line — Marathon volunteers, security, fellow journalists — fell back as the ground trembled.
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Bostonians and others rush to support stranded visitors
By Lateef Mungin
CNN
April 16, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The blasts left many without shelter as hotels were evacuated
Some people posted on websites that they were stranded
More than 100 people offered help on one website

(CNN) -- They're offering their spare rooms, their couches, their food, their cars -- even their own beds.

A huge wave of strangers is greeting the many visitors stranded by the Boston Marathon bombings with a massive outpouring of support.

"We figure this is the least we can do," said Heather Carey, who offered a couch at the home near Boston University she shares with roommates. "I saw a website with many others offering their spaces like we did. It is awesome to see so many people helping."

The twin blasts Monday that left three dead and more than 140 wounded also left countless people without shelter. Investigators turned the heart of Boston into a crime scene, evacuating several hotels. This left dozens of visitors, some of them international runners unfamiliar with the area, stranded.
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When someone does something evil, everyone always asks "Where is God?" but when people rush to help, thinking of others, God is right there.

Police officers, firefighters, Boston National Guardsmen and average citizens rushed to help the wounded and comfort the shocked people after these two bombs exploded.

April 15th, 2013
10:10 PM ET
Runner: Bombs sounded like Afghanistan
Capt. Thom Kenney is an Afghan war veteran who ran the Boston Marathon and finished the race minutes before the bomb attack. He describes what he witnessed to Anderson Cooper.

Fort Hood massacre survivors still seek justice

Sgt. may join suit in Fort Hood shooting
Posted: Saturday, January 5, 2013
Philip Jankowski
Herald staff writer

An active-duty staff sergeant wounded in the Nov. 5, 2009, mass shooting at Fort Hood is planning to join a large civil suit seeking to classify the shooting as a terrorist act.

Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler and his wife, Jessica Zeigler, will likely join 105 co-plaintiffs next week in a federal civil suit that claims government negligence played a significant role in the shooting.

Accused shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly shot Zeigler four times during the massacre at the post’s Soldier Readiness Center. A gunshot to his head temporarily paralyzed Zeigler and led to a long and arduous recovery.

The lawsuit claims the government could have prevented the shooting had agents acted upon intelligence indicating that Hasan had become a violent Islamic extremist.
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Troops among targets of N.Y. bomb-plot suspect

Troops among targets of N.Y. bomb-plot suspect
By Tom McElroy - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 21, 2011 8:33:59 EST
NEW YORK — An "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home has been arrested on numerous terrorism-related charges.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced at a news conference Sunday the arrest of Jose Pimentel of Manhattan, "a 27-year-old al-Qaida sympathizer" who the mayor said was motivated by terrorist propaganda and resentment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said police had to move quickly to arrest Pimentel on Saturday because he was ready to carry out his plan.

"We had to act quickly yesterday because he was in fact putting this bomb together. He was drilling holes and it would have been not appropriate for us to let him walk out the door with that bomb," Kelly said.
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15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing

15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing
By Ed Payne, CNN
April 19, 2010 3:16 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Homeland security chief joins survivors, local officials, others at memorial ceremony
"It felt like I'd hit a car," said Daniel Gordon, 37, who was about 7 miles from the blast
Teen, injured by bomb at 18 months old, goes on with life, rarely asks, "Why me?"
Two other victims share sense of destiny, aim to make a difference with their lives

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Tonight, hear from the survivors and the people who lived through it. How has life changed, and what are the unanswered questions from that day? Tune in tonight for prime-time coverage beginning at 8 ET on CNN.

(CNN) -- Fifteen years ago, a bomb ripped through a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the worst homegrown terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

The April 19, 1995, attack killed 168 people, shattering the notion that America was largely immune to domestic terrorism.

On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to to Oklahoma City to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the bombing. She joined survivors, local officials and others at a memorial ceremony, standing in silence for 168 seconds representing the number of dead.

In a poignant moment, the names of each of the victims were later read aloud by relatives and colleagues, with speakers referring to their mothers, grandparents and others who died in the bombing.
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15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing

Vietnam vet who lost son in USS Cole bombing wins in court

Judge: Lejeune officials violated veteran's rights by demanding removal of anti-Islam decals
By: MIKE BAKER
Associated Press
04/01/10 4:30 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. — Camp Lejeune officials violated the rights of a military veteran who came to his job on base in a vehicle emblazoned with anti-Islamic decals after his son died in a terrorist bombing, a federal judge ruled.

Jesse Nieto's stickers included one that said "ISLAM (equals) TERRORISM" and another with a threat to defecate on the Quran. He also had a decal to commemorate the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, in which 17 shipmates died including Nieto's youngest son.

"His vehicle is a way to express his mourning and anger," said Nieto's attorney, Robert Muise. Nieto has been driving a different vehicle to his on-base job since the summer of 2008, but Muise said he plans to return with his decals next week. He has worked at Lejeune since 1994 and previously served 25 years in the Marine Corps, including two combat tours as an infantryman in Vietnam.



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Lejeune officials violated veteran rights

Female suicide bombers blamed in Moscow leaving 38 dead

Female suicide bombers blamed in Moscow subway attacks
March 29, 2010 8:54 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Female bombers detonated explosions in Moscow subway stations, officials say
38 people killed, 65 wounded, government ministry reports
First blast occurred near the Kremlin and the nation's intelligence service
Web site associated with Chechen separatists claims responsibility for attacks
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Female suicide bombers detonated explosions that rocked two subway stations in central Moscow during rush hour on Monday morning, killing at least 38 people, officials said.

"It was a terrorist act carried out by the female suicide bombers," said Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, citing Russia's intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service. "They were specifically timed -- for ... the train was nearing the station -- to make the most damage.

"The blast was caused by 300 to 400 grams of explosives," he said.

Forensic teams were combing wreckage from the underground blasts for clues.
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Female suicide bombers blamed in Moscow subway attacks

USS Cole survivor died after years of PTSD

Obituary: Johann Gokool of Homestead, victim of attack on the USS Cole

BY ELINOR J. BRECHER
ebrecher@MiamiHerald.com
The October 2000 terrorist assault on the USS Cole killed 17 sailors and injured 39, among them Petty Officer 3rd Class Johann Gokool of Homestead, an electronic warfare technician who lost his left leg.

Last Wednesday, a week after his 31th birthday, Gokool transitioned from survivor to victim. Relatives say he died in his bed, apparently during one of the violent panic attacks that had plagued him since the incident.

His younger brother found Gokool about 7 p.m. on Dec. 23 in the house they shared. Medical examiners still haven't said what killed him, but relatives believe that a deadly attack stopped his heart.

The U.S. Navy classified Gokool 100 percent disabled due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The attacks came without warning, lasting from a few minutes to hours, and because of them, Gokool couldn't work, drive or even bowl -- his favorite pastime.

``He was afraid of having an attack with a ball in his hand,'' said his sister, Natala, 29. ``I'll pick him up to go somewhere and he'll sit in the back seat so if he has an attack, he won't distract or hurt me.''

Gokool, say relatives, frequently stayed up all night chatting online with military buddies around the world, During the day, ``he couldn't make plans,'' his sister said. ``He didn't like to be in public in strange places . . . He'd be stuck in his room for days. He lived like an owl.''

He talked about the explosion ``all the time,'' she said. ``Anybody who would listen, he would talk.''
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Johann Gokool of Homestead, victim of attack on the USS Cole

The siege is over, but the terror remains

The siege is over, but the terror remains
By Tami Abdollah
After a harrowing 42-hour lockdown in a Mumbai hotel room, Mission Viejo residents emerge to face their new lives -- fearful when the doorbell rings, afraid to be alone, wondering how they survived.
By Tami Abdollah
December 6, 2008
For Sarita Khilnani, it's the little things -- like the ring of her doorbell Wednesday night -- that suddenly fill her with fear and remind her of the 42 hours she spent locked in her room at Mumbai's Taj hotel.

Exactly one week earlier, terrorists had blasted their way into the hotel. When the doorbell rang at Room 363 that day, it was by a heavy hand, and followed by furious knocking.

It was 1 a.m. Friday, and Sarita, 32, and her mother, Mira, 62, stood at the door, their hands clasped. They dared not approach the peephole.

"Who is it?" they asked timidly, her mother speaking Hindi. But the voices had moved away and the two were left in silence.

Hours later, mother and daughter emerged from their room and entered the hallway. Room after room had its door broken in. Shards of glass littered the floor, and luggage was strewn about.


Today, Sarita Khilnani and her mother struggle to understand why the five rooms next to theirs were violently emptied, but theirs went untouched.
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In Mumbai hospital, dying and maimed ask: Why me?

In Mumbai hospital, dying and maimed ask: Why me?
Wards fill with victims of massacre as doctors struggle to cope with aftermath of attack
Randeep Ramesh in Mumbai guardian.co.uk,
Saturday November 29 2008 00.01 GMT The Guardian,
Harishchandra Shiverhankar scribbled furiously on a notepad, gesturing with his fingers to explain his last bloody memories of Wednesday night before waking up in an unfamiliar hospital bed.

The 56-year-old was walking towards the Metro cinema when he felt his legs collapse - a bullet had been shot through his lower back. A hand then grasped his hair, pulled back his head and a blade slit his neck. He had been caught in the vortex of violence unleashed by people who wanted to murder, not just maim.

Setting down his pad he manages to croak: "This should have never happened to me."

The office worker's story, told from his bed in Mumbai's JJ hospital, is part of a largely hidden tragedy - that behind the headlines of wealthy westerners fleeing Mumbai's terror frontline it was ordinary Indians who bore the brunt of the bloody attack on this city of 19 million people.

Next door to Shiverhankar lies Jayaram Chavan, his leg shattered by bullets. He had been running for his train home to the western suburbs amid the Victorian splendour of Mumbai's main Chhatrapati Shivaji rail terminal when two young men with guns in their hands opened fire. "I wanted to go home, that's all. Why me?"

Outside the private Bombay hospital journalists jostled for news of the three British nationals inside, but little was heard about the 70 Indians that lay next to them. Part of the reason for the lack of publicity about local casualties is that hospitals themselves have banned journalists, pointing out that the militants had targeted wards in the first wave of attacks. No one, unless they could prove they were hospital workers or related to the victims, was supposed to be allowed in. But the Guardian was allowed access by doctors keen to publicise Mumbai's suffering.
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US student killed in embassy attack in Yemen

U.S. student killed in embassy attack
Eighteen-year-old Susan El-Baneh and her husband of three weeks died holding hands, her brother said, victims of a terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. The Lackawanna, New York, native, a high school senior, had gone to Yemen a month ago for an arranged marriage. She and her husband were at the embassy to find out how to bring her husband back to the United States. full story