Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Iraq veteran Billy Chad Dellinger died of gunshot wounds

Hickory man accused of killing Iraq veteran is arrested
November 21, 2012
Richard Gould
Hickory Daily Record

HICKORY -- The man accused of shooting and killing a veteran of the Iraq war at a party early Tuesday morning was arrested and charged with first-degree murder Tuesday night.

Maurice Centel Mayfield, 22, of Hickory, turned himself in at the Hickory police Department just before 5 p.m.

Police said they were told that Mayfield and Billy Chad Dellinger argued, and Mayfield left the party. Mayfiled returned with a handgun, and Dellinger was shot in the torso at about 3:40 a.m., police said.

Dellinger, 35, of Hickory, was rushed to Frye Regional Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery. Initially listed in critical condition, Dellinger died of his wounds later in the day.
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Soldier and daughter killed in house fire at Fort Lee

Soldier, daughter who died in house fire had NC ties
NBC News
By: DANE HUFFMAN
NBC17.com
Published: November 20, 2012

FORT LEE, Va.
The two people found dead after a fire in a housing unit on post early Monday morning at Fort Lee have been identified as Sgt. Corey Flowers, 24, and his 2-year-old daughter, Kourtney Flowers.

Sgt. Flowers, a native of Raeford, N.C., was a mortuary affairs specialist with the 54th Quartermaster Company. He joined the Army in 2006 and has been stationed at Fort Lee ever since.

Spc. Pauletta Flowers, the wife of Sgt. Flowers and mother of Kourtney, was not in the residence during the fire.
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Fort Eustis soldier accused of desertion arrested

Fort Eustis soldier accused of desertion arrested in South Carolina
Daily Press
By Tara Bozick
November 20, 2012

A Fort Eustis soldier accused of being absent without leave was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Darlington County, S.C., in a traffic stop that closed part of a highway when deputies found flammable materials in his car, a department captain said.

Andrew Richard Jackson, 19, of Jacksonville, N.C., was charged with possession of marijuana after deputies found a small amount of the drug on him in a traffic stop on Interstate 20 just before 3 p.m., said Capt. Andy Locklair with Darlington County (S.C.) Sheriff’s Office.

After Jackson was in custody, deputies searched the stopped car and found several containers filled with an unknown flammable liquid in the trunk, Locklair said.
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WWII veteran signed up same day her husband did

Oldest Female WWII Veteran In Mass. Dies At Age 104
CBS
November 20, 2012

ATTLEBORO (CBS) – Irene Davey was the state’s oldest living female veteran.

The World War II veteran passed away on Sunday from pneumonia.

Her family remembered her Tuesday as vibrant, honest, feisty and funny.

Davey joined the U.S. Army in 1943.

She signed up the same day as her husband Harold signed up to join.
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Todd Love goes from Gators to Falcons

And I thought it was cool when Todd Love wrestled gator on "Gator Boys"
Todd Love, Triple-Amputee Marine Veteran, Visits Atlanta Falcons Practice (VIDEO) Posted: 11/20/2012 The word "hero" is thrown around a lot in sports, but this past weekend, the Atlanta Falcons paid tribute to some real heroes when they hosted a pair of injured war veterans.

Army Sgt. First Class Michael Schlitz and Marine Cpl. Todd Love, who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively, joined the Falcons in practice on Friday before being honored during Sunday's Salute to Service game, according to the Falcons blog.

The team has partnered with the Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the Gary Sinise Foundation to raise money to build smart homes for the two soldiers as well as other vets across the nation.
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Wounded Sgt. Helaina Lake returned to home to Maine

Wounded Livermore Falls Soldier Gets Hero's Welcome Home
11/20/2012
Reported By: Patty B. Wight

Today, 24-year-old U.S. Army Sgt. Helaina Lake returned to home to Maine. She's spent the past five months recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland from injuries sustained in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. Lake suffered burns and severe injuries to the right side of her body, including a shattered leg. Her recovery isn't over, but her return marks the first time she's been home in more than a year. Patty Wight was at the Portland Jetport when Lake arrived.

Sgt. Heliana Lake is surrounded by her father (left, holding Lake's son) and her sister (right, in white shirt) as she arrives at the Portland Jetport.


At the Portland Jetport mid-morning, it was clear that something important was happening, as dozens of firefighters in casual blue uniforms gathered in the arrivals section. One of them was South Portland firefighter Jeff Lake, Sgt. Helaina Lake's uncle. He says he never expected such an outpouring of support, not only from his fellow firefighters, but from around the state.

"It's really unbelievable, the amount of support and the amount of people that are just behind this little girl that went over there and served her country," he says. "And it's just unbelievable."

Helaina Lake was a volunteer firefighter herself before she was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. She had signed up for a second deployment when the suicide attack happened in June. Since then, her hometown of Livermore Falls has raised thousands of dollars to support her.
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Good veterans sites and advocates end up being harder and harder to find

This morning started out with reading this. PTSD:Secret epidemic could dog veterans about combat veterans in Australia trying to heal from Combat PTSD. Bringing Awareness to Invisible Wounds

It is a great idea but at 7:30 this morning, the videos were unavailable. It is easy to tell the massive need out there for information on PTSD because this video series was only uploaded yesterday and several have over 100 views.

It took me back to 2005 when I was playing with videos trying to do something different.

I knew no matter how much I wrote, the OEF and OIF veterans grew up learning a different way from my generation because of the Internet. They didn't want to read anymore. I taught myself how to make videos to reach them.

These videos were up on YouTube until 2009 when they started to block music. I moved them onto Great Americans. While they were on YouTube they were seen thousands of times.

I received this email from a professor at the University of Rotterdam because no one else was doing these videos back then.
I work as a psychologist at the faculty of psychology of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands).

On the internet I stumbeled upon your video about PTSD. I would like to ask your permission to use this video on our website for stricty educational purposes.


I received this from a Naval Officer
I saw your PTSD presentation online and want to share it with our Sailors returning from Iraq/Afghanistan.

Thanks for providing this much needed information,


This is the video they wanted to show.

This video focuses on the families as well as the veterans.


This video explains what PTSD is like.

Combat and PTSD along with military suicides have been reported on thousands of times on my blog yet even now there are way too many sites giving out very bad information. Yesterday I read that "all suicides are preventable" and was so appalled I had to leave a comment that the claim was not true and that it was very harmful to the families after someone they love committed suicide. It is bad enough these families blame themselves when they had no clue what to do but even harder when they did everything right and another life was gone all the same.

There are now so many sites and videos out there that my work has been buried in the pile but it is still just as spot on as it was when I started and hardly no one else was doing anything about it.

I refuse to live in a world where no one cares about the troops or our veterans. I thank God everyday that I don't have to. More and more information is coming out to the public. News that used to be found only after long hours spent searching for the data and reports. The trick is finding the real stories, correcting the wrong data and attempting to find solutions while holding the powerful accountable. This gets harder to do everyday.

While so many people go onto Facebook posting about how much weight they lost, what they had for dinner or what kind of mood they are in as if everyone wants to know what they are up to second by second, I have an automatic feed of my posts going to Twitter and Facebook, yet few even bother to read them. I'll be out in a group and bring up something I read that day but few have a clue about it. When they do they end up telling me they had a Facebook link to it.

I won't give up on them. I know them. I know they do care. They are an example of how little news they really get. Is it a matter of not enough time to read these stories or is it more a matter of they use these sites for fun instead of doing something to help someone else?

Over and over again we read how someone on Facebook did in fact make a difference in someone else's life because they read a heartbreaking story, yet even in military/veterans groups there are also horrible posts offering empty advice and even less compassion. None of this makes sense to me anymore.

When I started in all of this, the Internet was an infant and I had to use the library for information. I wrote in local newspapers. Now there are too many sites and too many "experts" making things worse instead of better.

Good veterans sites and advocates end up being harder and harder to find.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Navy sends three warships, Marines to waters off Israel

Navy sends three warships, Marines to waters off Israel
By CRISTINA SILVA
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 20, 2012

NAPLES, Italy — The U.S. Navy directed three warships and the Marines aboard last week to remain on standby near the coast of Israel as a security precaution as the Gaza Strip conflict between Israel and Hamas continued to escalate.

“This is being done as a precautionary measure to allow the Marine team to respond to any crisis or contingency, whatever is out there,” said Cmdr. Marc Boyd, spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa. “It is a prudent measure.”
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Driver of parade float hit by train is combat veteran too

I cannot imagine the kind of pain he is going through or anyone else that was there.
Driver in Texas parade crash an Army veteran
By Betsy Blaney
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 20, 2012

MIDLAND, Texas — A 50-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was driving a parade float that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing in Texas despite warning signals of a fast-approaching train, an attorney said Tuesday.

Four veterans were killed in the resulting collision in Midland on Thursday. Sixteen people were injured.

Dale Andrew Hayden was driving one of two flatbed trucks carrying wounded veterans and their loved ones in the procession to honor the war heroes, said Hal Brockett, Hayden’s attorney.

“Words can’t express the sorrow and remorse for the people who got hurt and killed,” Brockett said in an interview Tuesday.

Investigators say the float began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and the crossing lights were flashing. A Union Pacific train travelling at more than 60 mph ran into the truck as the occupants scrambled to jump to safety.

Hayden, who has a military career spanning more than three decades, now works as a truck driver for Smith Industries, an oilfield services company. Brockett said the company placed Hayden on medical leave.
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Veteran survivor of train crash plans lawsuit

Marines need help so that no child is left behind for Christmas

When you see a new charity pop up you should really wonder what they are taking away from established charities. There is such a great need in this country for groups needing all kinds of help but the new ones get all the attention. Here's one that has been around for a very long time and right now they are worried about making sure kids have a gift for Christmas to let them know they are not forgotten about.
Marine veterans need donations to help struggling families
By Jason Laday
South Jersey Times
November 19, 2012

EAST GREENWICH TWP. — In 2011, after nine years of providing toys for families in need every Christmas, the Marine veterans of the Semper Fidelis Detachment 204 and its Toys For Tots program fell short.

Despite donations of 47,000 toys, the Marine Corps League, based in Clarksboro, was forced to let 10,000 children whose families signed up for the service go without a present on Christmas. It was the first time the veterans had to turn families way in the program’s nearly decade-long history.

Now in 2012, the program’s 10th year, the Marine Corps League is working hard to prevent that from happening again.

“Last year was the first time we had to cut it off, and it was heartbreaking,” said William Harkins, a decorated Vietnam veteran and lance corporal in the Marines. He coordinates the league’s Toys for Tots program.

“The economy had a lot to do with it, but donations this year have been slow, too,” he added. “Hurricane Sandy knocked us out for three or four days, and that many days during this time of year is a killer.”
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