Son of Vietnam veteran knows what "my brother's keeper" really means

‘Somebody’s Gotta Do Something’: RV Salesman Spends Spare Time Making Watches to Raise Money for Vets

Faithwire
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor
March 14, 2019

“Why create another [charity]? Why not just come up with a way to generate some money to help charities that are already out there doing good work?” Carey asked.

“They don’t understand why I’m doing this,” Carey said, noting he is constantly explaining to those around him why he chooses to sacrifice his own income for the greater good.

We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. While he’s not particularly religious, that’s the biblical principal that inspires one watchmaker in Illinois to donate his profits to different veterans charities around the country.

In 2012, Thomas Carey and his dad started Minuteman Watches, a company they created with the sole purpose of giving back to those who have served in the military.

Though his father — a Vietnam veteran — is permanently disabled as a result of Agent Orange, Carey has continued the work.

During the day, Carey sells RVs. But in his free time, he’s building and shipping out watches to people around the country, choosing not to pocket the money that comes in. Instead, he gives it away.

Carey told Faithwire his extracurricular effort often leaves his coworkers dumbfounded.
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Are you a messenger of misery...or healer of hearts?

"As if mere life were worth their living for"

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 16, 2019

We are bombarded with the exasperating messages of "suicide awareness" on a daily basis while the messengers of misery are content to be paid for sharing what is failing everyone else.

If you want to know how many have been robbed of the message they needed to hear, like #TakeBackYouLife all you have to do is read this site on any given day and see reports of the lives gone to suicide. The thing you do not see, is how far those chosen deaths reached. Family, friends, peers and others seeking some resolution to their own pain, received the message, loud and clear, when they needed to know how to heal the broken hearts before it became too late to avoid regrets.

There was a time when people like me needed to raise awareness of what was going on out of desperation. Believing that someone with the power to change the outcome would do so once they became aware of it, I took on the heartbreaking task of doing that back in 2007. I put together a massive report wondering "Why isn't the press on suicide watch?" because I while putting together the video report, even I was shocked by what I discovered. 

Now it has become raising awareness that those groups are increasing the need to for this country to regain their senses and do the work require to achieve a much different outcome. That work needs to be done by their families!

There was a time when we were allowed to be ignorantly embracing fairy tales and escaping into moments of fantasy...before we grew up!

While we allow ourselves moments now, we are thoughtful enough to acknowledge we live in the harsh real world, and we stop dreaming of a perfect relationship. Our knight's armor is no longer shinny...it is rusty. His/her horse has a bent back and we no longer climb the stairs to the top of the tower...we look for the elevator.

There is a battle being fought on the Home Front that we are losing. 

We read about it all the time but few are investing the time to defeat the enemy claiming more lives after combat, that we lost during all of them. Their jobs caused PTSD. Until we battle the thing that is causing all our misery...it will win. Once we arm ourselves with knowledge, it stops defeating them!

They survived combat, but could not find the support or weapons to fight this battle for their own lives. Pretty disgraceful when you think of it that way.

Families have the tendency to assume they can stop worrying once their veteran returns home, when that is the time to do a hell of a lot more than worry about them. It is time to begin your own battle.

A woman I have known for years, finally approached me about a year ago. She had been receiving the messages of misery for over 30 years and reached the point where she knew there was a much better way of living. She found it and is living a more hopeful life with her veteran husband.

The hope of healing their hearts was delivered free of charge. How do you do a GoFundMe for something you do for the reasons for free? That is something no advertising or marketing company is willing to support. I know, because I have talked to several of them. They listen politely and then say "Let me talk to my team and I'll get back to you"...but they never do.

"Festus—I would it were. This life’s a mystery.
The value of a thought cannot be told;
But it is clearly worth a thousand lives
Like many men’s. And yet men love to live
As if mere life were worth their living for...

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most—feels the noblest—acts the best..." From ‘Festus’
By Philip James Bailey (1816–1902)

 Just loving them is not enough. Wanting a better life with them, does not make it better. Blaming them for what is happening to your family will not make any of you live a happier life together.

Stop sharing the messages of misery and start being the healer of their hearts! It requires a lot of work, time and patience but you can do it! If I could begin this work at the age of 23...learn from reading clinical books in the library with a dictionary, you can do it with the internet and instant access to the world from the cellphone in your hand!

Do you want them to blame you for not helping them when they needed you the most or believe you are the best thing that ever happened to them?

Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
Gladys Knight
I've had my share of life's ups and downs
But fate's been kind, the downs have been few
I guess you could say that I've been lucky
Well, I guess you could say that it's all because of you
If anyone should ever write my life story
For whatever reason there might be
Oh, you'll be there between each line of pain and glory
Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me
Ah, you're the best thing that ever happened to me
Oh, there have been times when times were hard
But always somehow I made it, I made it through
Cause for every moment that I've spent hurting
There was a moment that I spent, ah, just loving you
If anyone should ever write my life story
For whatever reason there might be
Oh, you'll be there between each line of pain and glory
Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me
Ah, you're the best thing that ever happened to me
I know, you're the best thing, oh, that ever happened to me
Songwriters: James D. Weatherly
Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Miami Gardens Police Officer found dead

Officer dies in reported suicide

Miami Times
March 14, 2019

Officer dies in reported suicide

Miami Gardens Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to a home near 3800 Block of NW 201 Terrence in reference to an apparent suicide. The victim was pronounced dead by Fire Rescue on the scene. An investigation revealed that the victim was discovered unresponsive by his wife. 

The victim is employed as an officer with a “South Florida law enforcement agency,” according to Miami Gardens Police. 

The victim’s name is being withheld pending complete notification of next-of-kin. The victim was transported to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office for a post mortem examination to determine the cause and manner of death.

Vet Community Is About to Change

With Historic Number of Women in Uniform, the Vet Community Is About to Change

Military.com
By Mary Dever
11 Mar 2019

In 2018, the DAV released a comprehensive new report, Women Veterans: The Journey Ahead, based on the quality of programs and services currently available to female veterans, as well as recommendations for shaping the VA culture and system to better serve this population.

Army Pfc. Keylin Perez stands in front of the formation bearing the unit guidon during a field training exercise at Fort Meade, Md., Jan. 13, 2019. Perez is assigned to the 200th Military Police Command’s Headquarters Company. (U.S. Army/Army Master Sgt. Michel Sauret)

When former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women in combat roles in 2013, he gave the military two years to complete integration.

In 2015, two women successfully completed Army Ranger School, leading to a Pentagon decision calling for combat specialties to be opened to women. The following year, one of those women -- Army Capt. Kristen Griest -- became the first female infantry officer in American history.

With this change, and as the role of women in the military continues to expand, Women's History Month is the perfect time to recognize the thousands of women who fight to protect our country and how this new modern-day warrior is forcing changes in the services, programs and culture facing our veterans.

In fact, the number of women in the armed services -- and subsequent veteran population -- is rapidly increasing. According to the Defense Department, women now make up 20 percent of the Air Force, 19 percent of the Navy, 15 percent of the Army and almost 9 percent of the Marine Corps.

Women now make up approximately 10 percent of the current veteran population, the fastest-growing demographic. The number of female veterans treated at the VA almost tripled between 2000 and 2015. As a result of this rapid growth, the VA experienced difficulty meeting the clinical needs of female veterans at all sites of care.
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Reminder: My husband and I are lifetime members of the DAV...because we believe in their mission to care for all generations AND GENDERS

Gary Sinise Foundation gave Veteran and family new place to be welcomed home

Wounded North Texas Army Veteran, Family Get Free Home: ‘I Can’t Say Enough How Great This Place Is’

CBS 11 News
By J.D. Miles
March 14, 2019

ARGYLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – There were tears of gratitude in Argyle where a wounded veteran and his family moved into a new home.

It was donated by the Gary Sinise Foundation which creates more accessible homes for deserving veterans and first responders.

A parade of veterans led the escort to where Jake Murphy and his wife raised the American flag outside their new home.

“As years pass I’ll be able to live comfortably in a place that is customized to my specific needs,” said Ret. Army Captain Jake Murphy.

Murphy lost both of his legs in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan more than seven years ago.

His previous home was inaccessible for a wheelchair which he sometimes uses.

The new home has wider doorways, lower racks and faucets as well has tablet controlled lights and other home environment functions. “I can’t say enough how great this place is for me, Lisa and our children,” he said. The home is one of 71 gifted to wounded heroes across the country through the Gary Sinise Foundation. read more here

Travis Mills, finalist for Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizen Honor Award

Travis Mills of Maine a finalist for national award honoring courage and sacrifice

Press Herald
STAFF REPORT
March 7, 2019

Mills, a combat-wounded veteran and quadruple amputee, established a foundation and opened a retreat center for veterans in Maine.

Travis Mills has been selected as a finalist for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizen Honor Award, according to 1st District U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine.

Pingree in a statement Thursday said that Mills was one of 20 finalists for the award. Four citizens will be selected to receive the citizens’ honor from living Medal of Honor recipients.

Retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills. Photo by Elise Klysa

“To be selected as a finalist for this national award is a great honor in itself and a fitting one for a veteran who has inspired so many,” Pingree said. 

“Travis Mills’ hard-fought physical recovery after being critically injured by an IED in Afghanistan demonstrates a resilience and inner strength we can learn from.”
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Veteran MP-Amputee...leans on three legged service dog...plus puppy

Double Amputee Veteran Training 3-Legged Puppy to Be Therapy Dog for Schoolchildren

PEOPLE
By KELLI BENDER
March 14, 2019

“Without her, I would have given up already. I got to places so low in my life that I didn’t want to go on but didn’t know what to do with her because she relies on me,” Gardner said. “I didn’t know how she’d handle it. Now, I’d never give up on her and I’m so afraid of the day I have to let her go. She’s given me my life back and a purpose helping others.”

Christy Gardner is paying it forward in the best way possible: with a puppy!

In 2006, Gardner, a U.S. Army Military Police Officer at the time, was injured during a peacekeeping mission. Due to complications from these injuries, Gardner had both of her legs amputated. This drastic change left Gardner in a low place, unable to live on her own and unsure on how to enjoy life.

Those feelings shifted when she met Moxie, a golden retriever service dog trained by Florida’s K9s for Warriors. Always an animal lover, Gardner was open to the idea of getting a service dog when her doctors suggested a canine companion.

She was place with Moxie in 2010. The effect the service dog had on her was immediate.

Now, both Gardner and Moxie have been working together to prepare Lucky for life as a three-legged therapy dog. Moxie has been doing her part to teach Lucky the essentials of good dog behavior.
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The Glock was loaded with a round in the chamber, now veteran offers empowerment

An Indiana veteran sat in his kitchen ready to take his life. Then he looked at the clock.

Indianapolis Star
Holly V. Hays
March 14, 2019

Two days later, while he was still contemplating how best to kill himself, Eric received a phone call. One of his former platoon sergeants, a close friend, had killed himself.

The Glock was loaded with a round in the chamber.

U.S. Army veteran Eric Donoho sat in the kitchen of his Carmel home, trying to decide where he was going to die.

Not here, he thought. My family's gonna have to live in the house I just killed myself in.

Eric had been to war. Survived three bomb blasts. Lost children and friends. Was on the verge of losing his marriage.

Would the yard be better? Should I get in the car?

The minutes ticked by as he deliberated. Something made him check the clock.

2:15 p.m.

Time to pick up the kids.

He walked away from the fateful decision that day but remained committed to following through with it.

The death would later upend his family. But the death would not be his.

Bliss and heartbreak
A native of South Bend, Eric enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2004, when he was 26. He trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, completing infantry, airborne and shoulder-fired missile training. On a flight to his assignment in Fort Richardson, Alaska, he met the woman who would become his wife.

They spent much of the eight-hour flight between Atlanta and Anchorage laughing, Jenn Donoho said. They married nine months later, March 2006.

“We had so much fun in our early relationship and marriage, and whenever things were tough, he always had the right amount of humor to lighten those moments,” Jenn said.

They had less than a year together before Eric was deployed in October. Jenn was 28 weeks pregnant with their first child, a son they would name David.

"We said goodbye at base," Jenn said, "and that night, I dreamed that David died."

A Red Cross notification upon landing in Kuwait had Eric back on a flight to Alaska. There was trouble with the pregnancy. He arrived just in time for his son's stillbirth.

The couple buried their son at Fort Richardson National Cemetery before Eric redeployed to catch up with his platoon in Iraq.

“That was horrible for everybody,” Jenn said.

Eric was rattled by an explosion his first night back.

He returned to the things he loved before war: photography and the outdoors. During a veterans retreat and expedition to New Mexico he took a photo he now calls “The Canyon of Hope" along the Gila Fork River.
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Flagstaff officer found dead

Flagstaff officer found dead from suicide, police report

Arizona Daily Sun
SCOTT BUFFON Sun Staff Reporter
Mar 13, 2019

A Flagstaff Police Department officer has died of an alleged suicide Tuesday, Flagstaff police officials report.

Officer Daniel Beckwith had been on paid leave since June 2018 and living in Mesa with his wife, according to the Flagstaff Police Department on Facebook. Beckwith was a 5-year veteran of the Flagstaff Police Department.

The Mesa Police Department responded to a report of a suicidal subject on March 12. Upon their arrival, they discovered Beckwith dead at his home. There was no one else at the home when police arrived.
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#BreakTheSilentService and #TakeBackYourLife

American Chopper custom bike for Vietnam Memorial project

American Chopper unveils bike to support East Aurora's Vietnam Memorial project

WBFO
By MICHAEL MROZIAK
March 13, 2019

The purpose of the project was to create a one-of-a-kind motorcycle which could raise funds to complete a plan to acquire one of the two traveling replica Vietnam walls. In addition to erecting the memorial on a permanent space in Knox Farm State Park, plans include construction of restrooms, a welcome center and gift shop. DiPietro told WBFO the front entrance to the park will also be reworked.

A motorcycle custom-built as a means to support a project to bring a traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to Western New York permanently was unveiled in a nationally-televised broadcast Wednesday evening. A local State Assemblyman hopes the Vietnam Veteran-themed chopper can join the replica wall as a permanent fixture in Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora.

A screen capture from the Discovery Channel's program American Chopper shows a custom-built motorcycle which pays tribute to Vietnam veterans. The motorcycle will be used to raise funds to acquire and permanently relocate one of the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall replicas to Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora. Credit Discovery Channel screen capture

The project to build the motorcycle was first announced last December in Buffalo. Orange County Choppers, based downstate in Newburgh, constructed the motorcycle paying tribute to Vietnam veterans. The work was highlighted in the episode of Discovery Channel's American Chopper airing March 12.
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