The war inside
By Katie Burford
The Durango Herald
June 30, 2012
As a Marine stationed in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2007, Christian Warren spent his days and nights living among the Iraqis the Americans were trying to help. This meant delivering aid like a humanitarian but being ready at any moment to respond like a soldier should an attack occur.
That state of hypervigilance that served him in Iraq isn’t so useful now when Warren is studying for classes at Fort Lewis College, where he plans to major in adventure education.
Memories, flashes, sensations all flood in unbidden. Sleeplessness, anxiety and resignation result.
“Some days it becomes overwhelming, and I just break down for a day,” Warren said.
He has done counseling and group therapy and briefly found himself approaching dependence on painkillers. These days, his medicine is the outdoors, where he hikes and climbs.
The term used to describe this reaction, post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, has become part of the mainstream vernacular as vets like Warren stream home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
read more here
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Thousands turn out for Iowa event honoring vets
Thousands turn out for Iowa event honoring vets
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 1, 2012
DES MOINES, Iowa — Several thousand people lined the streets of downtown Des Moines on Saturday for a parade honoring veterans and current members of the armed services.
Gov. Terry Branstad’s office organized the parade, which began at the state Capitol with a flyover of F-16 fighter jets. Branstad, who served in the Army from 1969 to 1971, also marched in the parade, wearing his old uniform.
Daryl Johnson, of Mason City, carried a POW/MIA flag as part of the parade’s color guard, the Des Moines Register reported. The 65-year-old Johnson, who served in the U.S. Army from May 1968 to 1971 and is a Vietnam veteran, said it was an honor to participate.
“It helps us recognize the extra pain and suffering that those individuals and their families go through,” Johnson said of the flag honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action.
The parade served another important function, Johnson said.
“As a Vietnam veteran, I certainly want to welcome back veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.
read more here
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 1, 2012
DES MOINES, Iowa — Several thousand people lined the streets of downtown Des Moines on Saturday for a parade honoring veterans and current members of the armed services.
Gov. Terry Branstad’s office organized the parade, which began at the state Capitol with a flyover of F-16 fighter jets. Branstad, who served in the Army from 1969 to 1971, also marched in the parade, wearing his old uniform.
Daryl Johnson, of Mason City, carried a POW/MIA flag as part of the parade’s color guard, the Des Moines Register reported. The 65-year-old Johnson, who served in the U.S. Army from May 1968 to 1971 and is a Vietnam veteran, said it was an honor to participate.
“It helps us recognize the extra pain and suffering that those individuals and their families go through,” Johnson said of the flag honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action.
The parade served another important function, Johnson said.
“As a Vietnam veteran, I certainly want to welcome back veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.
read more here
Military veterans find new firefight
Military veterans find new firefight
By PAUL FATTIG
The (Medford, Ore.) Mail Tribune
Published: June 30, 2012
Armed with a fire hose attached to a pump that's pulling water from a fold-a-tank, firefighter Jeff Darner kept a fire-drowning spray on the tree in front of him.
Behind him, fellow firefighters Charles Dusenberry and Michael Tucker worked to keep the engine running and the water flowing.
The men are veterans whose experience in the military will be counted on as members of Team 10, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management squad of wildland firefighters that includes 10 young military veterans on the 20-person team.
Based at the BLM's Medford District, the team has grown out of a nationwide program by Uncle Sam to put young veterans to work and on a career path.
It is one of three teams being organized in Oregon and Washington, including one in Klamath Falls and another in Spokane. Several other teams of young veterans are being mustered in California and Nevada.
read more here
By PAUL FATTIG
The (Medford, Ore.) Mail Tribune
Published: June 30, 2012
Armed with a fire hose attached to a pump that's pulling water from a fold-a-tank, firefighter Jeff Darner kept a fire-drowning spray on the tree in front of him.
Behind him, fellow firefighters Charles Dusenberry and Michael Tucker worked to keep the engine running and the water flowing.
The men are veterans whose experience in the military will be counted on as members of Team 10, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management squad of wildland firefighters that includes 10 young military veterans on the 20-person team.
Based at the BLM's Medford District, the team has grown out of a nationwide program by Uncle Sam to put young veterans to work and on a career path.
It is one of three teams being organized in Oregon and Washington, including one in Klamath Falls and another in Spokane. Several other teams of young veterans are being mustered in California and Nevada.
read more here
A community mourns slain Guardsmen
A community mourns slain Guardsmen
Thousands pay their respects to 2 of the guardsmen killed in Afghanistan
By MINDY LUCAS and NOELLE PHILLIPS
First Lt. Ryan Rawl and Sgt. John David Meador II shared a lot in life and in death. Both graduated from Lexington High School. Both wrestled. Both worked in law enforcement. Both were married with children. Both volunteered for the S.C. National Guard. Both deployed to Afghanistan in November with the 133rd Military Police Company.
Both died June 20 when a suicide bomber attacked their unit while they were conducting a security checkpoint in Khost, Afghanistan.
Rawl’s and Meador’s funerals were held eight miles apart, both at 10 a.m. Saturday. The services drew thousands of mourners, who endured scorching heat to pay respects to the soldiers and their families.
read more here
Thousands pay their respects to 2 of the guardsmen killed in Afghanistan
By MINDY LUCAS and NOELLE PHILLIPS
Sgt. John David "J.D." Meador II 's mother, Sharon Meador and brothers, James Meador, center, and Michael Meador, comfort each other during the graveside service. Meador was buried at Fort Jackson National Cemetery on June 30, 2012, with full military honors. - Rob Thompson /RTHOMPSON@THESTATE.COM
First Lt. Ryan Rawl and Sgt. John David Meador II shared a lot in life and in death. Both graduated from Lexington High School. Both wrestled. Both worked in law enforcement. Both were married with children. Both volunteered for the S.C. National Guard. Both deployed to Afghanistan in November with the 133rd Military Police Company.
Both died June 20 when a suicide bomber attacked their unit while they were conducting a security checkpoint in Khost, Afghanistan.
Rawl’s and Meador’s funerals were held eight miles apart, both at 10 a.m. Saturday. The services drew thousands of mourners, who endured scorching heat to pay respects to the soldiers and their families.
read more here
Camp Lejeune Marine survives blast, inspires brothers
Marine survives blast, inspires brothers
By Cpl. Jeff Drew
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
June 27, 2012
2nd Marine Division
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – “I was looking at Simone when it went off and where he was standing was just a big dust cloud,” Sgt. Bjorn Cantrell said. “Then we heard Simone scream out to us he was hurt.”
The morning of Aug. 24, 2011, began with the Marines of 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, preparing to step out on a blocking mission. They were tasked with protecting engineers along Route 611 in Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, as they repaired a wall damaged by a roadside bomb. Not long after they were in place, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Adrian Simone, carrying 110 pounds of ammunition, water and equipment – nearly his own bodyweight – stepped on a pressure plate and changed the course of his life indefinitely.
“I was standing over the (improvised explosive device), I bent down and heard a pop, not loud at all, then felt the concussion,” Simone said as he retold his experience. “There wasn’t any immediate pain. I remember seeing my legs fly off, because they were amputated right there. I came back to and heard the ‘EEEEE’ sound as the dust was settling. I was in a hole and I knew I had to get out so I started to climb out and realized my muscles were shot. I couldn’t move so I started screaming for help.”
Cantrell, Simone’s squad leader, rushed to his aid, applying tourniquets to his legs alongside squad members Lance Cpl. Cory Mays and Lance Cpl. Pat Sutton. The Marines began to treat him for shock and, when the corpsman arrived, he was given morphine for the pain.
read more here
By Cpl. Jeff Drew
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
June 27, 2012
2nd Marine Division
“In Afghanistan, life is simple: you either die that day or you don’t die that day. You just do your job. When you go to a place like Sangin with a ton of IEDs, you have to put the thought in your mind you might die today. You can’t think about it, you can’t care about it, you just need to do your job. If you step on an IED then well, you step on an IED and hopefully you won’t lose that much. But, it’s a possibility. This is war.”
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – “I was looking at Simone when it went off and where he was standing was just a big dust cloud,” Sgt. Bjorn Cantrell said. “Then we heard Simone scream out to us he was hurt.”
The morning of Aug. 24, 2011, began with the Marines of 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, preparing to step out on a blocking mission. They were tasked with protecting engineers along Route 611 in Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, as they repaired a wall damaged by a roadside bomb. Not long after they were in place, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Adrian Simone, carrying 110 pounds of ammunition, water and equipment – nearly his own bodyweight – stepped on a pressure plate and changed the course of his life indefinitely.
“I was standing over the (improvised explosive device), I bent down and heard a pop, not loud at all, then felt the concussion,” Simone said as he retold his experience. “There wasn’t any immediate pain. I remember seeing my legs fly off, because they were amputated right there. I came back to and heard the ‘EEEEE’ sound as the dust was settling. I was in a hole and I knew I had to get out so I started to climb out and realized my muscles were shot. I couldn’t move so I started screaming for help.”
Cantrell, Simone’s squad leader, rushed to his aid, applying tourniquets to his legs alongside squad members Lance Cpl. Cory Mays and Lance Cpl. Pat Sutton. The Marines began to treat him for shock and, when the corpsman arrived, he was given morphine for the pain.
read more here
PTSD counselor charged with falsifying his military discharge papers
Former PTSD counselor charged with falsifying his military discharge papers
By Lindsay Wise
June 29, 2012
A Houston-area Army veteran who claimed to be a combat-tested Special Forces soldier and Silver Star recipient has been charged with a federal crime for falsifying his military discharge papers.
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Paul A. Schroeder, 40, of The Woodlands, who is accused of unlawfully possessing and exhibiting a certificate of discharge from the military, "knowing the same to be forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered." The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Schroeder played a high-profile role in Houston's veteran community as the former director of counseling at PTSD Foundation of America, a local nonprofit.
read more here
By Lindsay Wise
June 29, 2012
A Houston-area Army veteran who claimed to be a combat-tested Special Forces soldier and Silver Star recipient has been charged with a federal crime for falsifying his military discharge papers.
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Paul A. Schroeder, 40, of The Woodlands, who is accused of unlawfully possessing and exhibiting a certificate of discharge from the military, "knowing the same to be forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered." The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Schroeder played a high-profile role in Houston's veteran community as the former director of counseling at PTSD Foundation of America, a local nonprofit.
read more here
Navy Cross Marine Hero returns home to cheers
La Porte crowd cheers return of Marine hero
By Tabatha Bognar
Saturday, June 30, 2012
A Houston-area Marine was given a hero's welcome Saturday by dozens of supporters in La Porte.
A crowd filled the parking lot outside La Porte High School stadium, cheering and waving flags for Cpl. Christopher Farias, 26, who returned home with a Purple Heart and Navy Cross for "fearless actions and leadership" during a 2010 attack on his patrol base in Afghanistan.
"I had no idea what was going on today," said Farias, who sustained serious injuries as he helped fellow Marines during a Taliban attack. "It hit home to have so many people come to pay their respects, and I thank them for their support." read more here
By Tabatha Bognar
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Marine Cpl. Christopher Farias, who earned the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, was given a hero's welcome Saturday in La Porte. He was cited for "fearless actions and leadership" during combat in Afghanistan. Photo: Melissa Phillip / © 2012 Houston Chronicle
A Houston-area Marine was given a hero's welcome Saturday by dozens of supporters in La Porte.
A crowd filled the parking lot outside La Porte High School stadium, cheering and waving flags for Cpl. Christopher Farias, 26, who returned home with a Purple Heart and Navy Cross for "fearless actions and leadership" during a 2010 attack on his patrol base in Afghanistan.
"I had no idea what was going on today," said Farias, who sustained serious injuries as he helped fellow Marines during a Taliban attack. "It hit home to have so many people come to pay their respects, and I thank them for their support." read more here
Fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey's last letter, "it was all worth it"
Fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey's last letter, "it was all worth it" became famous. Today, the LA Times brought back his story but it is a story that has been told one way or another since this country was born out of the actions of others willing to lay down their lives for it and their friends.
They live for their families but they die for their friends. It is something that we never seem to fully acknowledge. This country sends them as a whole to fight on foreign lands. Some believe in the reason they go, some don't, but when the men and women they serve with are in danger, they are ready to lay down their own lives to save them.
If we say they did it for their country, that is only part of the story. The most magnificent part of the story is how deep their love is.
Christ said, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) but Stacey wrote how he was not just willing to do that, but to lay down his life for total strangers so they could have a better life.
They serve no matter who is president at the time or which party controls congress. They serve in good economic times as well as bad. They serve in times of peace just as they serve in times of war. They are less than 1% of the population today and veterans are about 8% with disabled veterans the percentage is even lower yet this country keeps finding excuses to not do the right thing for them. A beautiful letter home from a Marine gets the nation's attention proving we do care. So how is it we never seem to prove it all the way?
They live for their families but they die for their friends. It is something that we never seem to fully acknowledge. This country sends them as a whole to fight on foreign lands. Some believe in the reason they go, some don't, but when the men and women they serve with are in danger, they are ready to lay down their own lives to save them.
If we say they did it for their country, that is only part of the story. The most magnificent part of the story is how deep their love is.
Christ said, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) but Stacey wrote how he was not just willing to do that, but to lay down his life for total strangers so they could have a better life.
They serve no matter who is president at the time or which party controls congress. They serve in good economic times as well as bad. They serve in times of peace just as they serve in times of war. They are less than 1% of the population today and veterans are about 8% with disabled veterans the percentage is even lower yet this country keeps finding excuses to not do the right thing for them. A beautiful letter home from a Marine gets the nation's attention proving we do care. So how is it we never seem to prove it all the way?
William C. Stacey dies at 23; Marine sergeant from Seattle
'If my life buys the safety of a child who will one day change the world, then I know that it was all worth it,' Marine Sgt. Will Stacey wrote in a final letter to his family.
By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times July 1, 2012
At Marine Sgt. William Stacey’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Albright, center, speaks with Stacey’s loved ones. From left, parents Robert and Robin Stacey, sister Anna Stacey and girlfriend Kimmy Kirkwood. (Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press / March 13, 2012)
Multi-star generals attended his Arlington National Cemetery funeral. His name adorns a fighter jet. His words echo in the halls of Congress.
Since Marine Sgt. William C. Stacey, age 23, was killed Jan. 31 on a remote hillside in Afghanistan's Helmand province, a letter he wrote to his family has gained much attention from politicians and the news media.
"It's quoted by liberals, conservatives and generals and people across the political spectrum. They use it in different ways. But I think Will would be proud of them all," said Robert Stacey, Will's father and interim dean at the University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences.
The letter was intended only for Stacey's family. It was opened shortly after two Marines appeared outside the Staceys' Seattle home as Will's sister, Anna, was heading to school. Will's mother, Robin, was already teaching her UW history class. Robert Stacey said that before a word was spoken, the family knew why the Marines were there.
"My death did not change the world; it may be tough for you to justify its meaning at all," wrote Will Stacey, who left behind college baseball at Shasta College in Redding to join the Marines in 2006. Military personnel often leave behind a final letter for their families in case they are killed.
"But there is a greater meaning," Stacey continued. "Perhaps there is still injustice in the world. But there will be a child who will live because men left the security they enjoyed in their home country to come to his. And this child will learn in the new schools that have been built.... He will grow into a fine man who will pursue every opportunity his heart could desire."
"He will have the gift of freedom, which I have enjoyed for so long. If my life buys the safety of a child who will one day change the world, then I know that it was all worth it."
read more here
Operation Shufly Marine Vietnam Veteran Honored
Former Marine recognized for his service in Vietnam War
11:18 PM, Jun 30, 2012
Written by
Rachel Stalley
St. Cloud resident Art Levandowski was one of four veterans honored during 2012 Marine Week held June 11-17 in Cleveland.
Levandowski, a 1962 graduate of St. Cloud Cathedral High School, was recognized for being part of Operation Shufly, the first operational Marine Corp. activation unit deployed to Vietnam.
Levandowski enlisted in the Marines out of high school and was stationed in San Diego and Memphis before he and a friend volunteered to go into Vietnam. He was a helicopter mechanic in squadron HMM 261, only one of five squadrons in Vietnam from 1962-63.
“We thought it would be great to adventure,” Levandowski said. “We felt like we were indestructible at that age.”
read more here
11:18 PM, Jun 30, 2012
Written by
Rachel Stalley
Art Levandowski of St. Cloud was one of four Marines recognized for work in Operation Shufly during 2012 Marine Week held June 11-17 in Cleveland. He was recognized with a pin from Lt. Gen. Steven Hummer during ceremonies. / Photo courtesy of Deb Isaacson
St. Cloud resident Art Levandowski was one of four veterans honored during 2012 Marine Week held June 11-17 in Cleveland.
Levandowski, a 1962 graduate of St. Cloud Cathedral High School, was recognized for being part of Operation Shufly, the first operational Marine Corp. activation unit deployed to Vietnam.
Levandowski enlisted in the Marines out of high school and was stationed in San Diego and Memphis before he and a friend volunteered to go into Vietnam. He was a helicopter mechanic in squadron HMM 261, only one of five squadrons in Vietnam from 1962-63.
“We thought it would be great to adventure,” Levandowski said. “We felt like we were indestructible at that age.”
read more here
Fort Campbell Mom, guilty of setting fire that killed her 2 children
Woman found guilty of setting fire to home, killing her 2 children at Fort Campbell Army post
By Associated Press, Published: June 28
PADUCAH, Ky. — A federal jury has found a woman guilty of setting fire to her home and killing two of her children at Fort Campbell.
U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman Stephanie Collins says the jury in Paducah, Ky., reached the verdict Thursday in the case of 32-year-old Billi Jo Smallwood after two hours of deliberations.
read more here
By Associated Press, Published: June 28
PADUCAH, Ky. — A federal jury has found a woman guilty of setting fire to her home and killing two of her children at Fort Campbell.
U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman Stephanie Collins says the jury in Paducah, Ky., reached the verdict Thursday in the case of 32-year-old Billi Jo Smallwood after two hours of deliberations.
read more here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)