Document says number of attempted attacks on U.S. is at all-time high
From Carol Cratty, CNN
May 27, 2010 1:38 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
DHS memo says number and pace of attempted attacks have surpassed "any other previous one-year period"
Attacks are expected to be attempted with "increased frequency," document warns
Report cites recent cases of homegrown terrorism, including failed Times Square bombing
Terror groups are increasingly using westerners as operatives, report says
Washington (CNN) -- Just weeks after the failed car bombing of New York's Times Square, the Department of Homeland Security says "the number and pace of attempted attacks against the United States over the past nine months have surpassed the number of attempts during any other previous one-year period."
That grim assessment is contained in an unclassified DHS intelligence memo prepared for various law enforcement groups, which says terror groups are expected to try attacks inside the United States with "increased frequency."
CNN obtained a copy of the document, dated May 21, which goes on to warn, "we have to operate under the premise that other operatives are in the country and could advance plotting with little or no warning."
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Document says number of attempted attacks on US is at all time high
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Iraq veteran told to take down his flag or leave?
The flag is not a religious symbol someone could be offended by. It is not a political symbol. This is America after all and the flag is a symbol of the nation itself. The condo development is in America. So how could any association have it within their rules to not allow the flag to hang from a window? I've read reports in the past about rules against flag poles and against having flags outside but for heaven's sake, this flag is inside the couple's unit! What if they had curtains made out of the red, white and blue stripes? After all it seems to be ok to have material with the colors but not the flag itself. We know things have gotten way out of control when a veteran willing to lay down his life for the sake of this country can't even hang a flag in his window.
Wisconsin Veteran Must Remove Flag After Memorial Day, Wife Says
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 26, 2010
FOXNews.com
An Army veteran in Wisconsin will be allowed to display an American flag until Memorial Day, but the symbol honoring his service in Iraq and Kosovo must come down next Tuesday, his wife told FoxNews.com.
Dawn Price, 27, of Oshkosh, Wis., said she received a call from officials at Midwest Realty Management early Wednesday indicating that she and her husband, Charlie, would be allowed to continue flying the American flag they've had in their window for months through the holiday weekend. The couple had previously been told they had to remove the flag by Saturday or face eviction due to a company policy that bans the display of flags, banners and political or religious materials.
"It's basically an extension so we can fly the flag on Memorial Day," Price told FoxNews.com. "It does need to come down after that."
Charlie Price, 28, served tours of duty as a combat engineer in Iraq and Kosovo, his wife said. To honor his eight years of service, she began decorating their apartment during Veterans Day in November. An American flag topped off the display, she said.
"I knew it made Charlie really proud to see that," she said. "And this isn't something new. This has been up for quite some time now."
Veterans' groups were furious at the realtors' refusal to allow the flag to fly.
"As a veteran, it sickens me that the Dawn and Charlie Price's building management company would imply that the American flag could be construed as offensive by their residents," said Ryan Gallucci, a spokesman for AmVets.
"We're talking about our most revered national symbol. This is insulting to anyone who has defended our flag honorably, like Charlie Price."
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Wisconsin Veteran Must Remove Flag After Memorial Day
Contractor settles allegations over Black Hawks
Contractor settles allegations over Black Hawks
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 26, 2010 16:51:37 EDT
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A military contractor has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations by federal authorities that it failed to test armor plated inserts used in Black Hawk helicopters.
U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David Fein announced Wednesday that Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., agreed to the settlement over the inserts it makes for Sikorsky Aircraft. The helicopters are used by the Army.
Contractor settles allegations over Black Hawks
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 26, 2010 16:51:37 EDT
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A military contractor has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations by federal authorities that it failed to test armor plated inserts used in Black Hawk helicopters.
U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David Fein announced Wednesday that Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., agreed to the settlement over the inserts it makes for Sikorsky Aircraft. The helicopters are used by the Army.
Contractor settles allegations over Black Hawks
Trooper sues state police over PTSD
Trooper sues state police over post-traumatic stress
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Pennsylvania state trooper filed a federal lawsuit against several members of his organization on Tuesday, alleging that they tried to force him out after he said he suffered PTSD from attending the autopsy of a child.
Charles Shippee, of Richland, worked in the Butler barracks in the department's forensic services unit. On Jan. 20, 2009, the lawsuit said, Mr. Shippee attended the autopsy of an 11-year-old girl who had been mauled to death by a Rottweiler.
While attending the autopsy, Mr. Shippee took 188 photographs of the child. According to the lawsuit, "the experience was horrible beyond description," and he has still not recovered.
Read more: Trooper sues state police over
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Pennsylvania state trooper filed a federal lawsuit against several members of his organization on Tuesday, alleging that they tried to force him out after he said he suffered PTSD from attending the autopsy of a child.
Charles Shippee, of Richland, worked in the Butler barracks in the department's forensic services unit. On Jan. 20, 2009, the lawsuit said, Mr. Shippee attended the autopsy of an 11-year-old girl who had been mauled to death by a Rottweiler.
While attending the autopsy, Mr. Shippee took 188 photographs of the child. According to the lawsuit, "the experience was horrible beyond description," and he has still not recovered.
Read more: Trooper sues state police over
Memorial Day: Keeping our troops and veterans first
Memorial Day: Keeping our troops and veterans first
by CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT
Each year on Memorial Day, Americans come together to remember those who have sacrificed their lives on behalf of our country in the name of freedom and democracy. The debt owed to them is immeasurable. Without the brave efforts of all the service men and women and their families, our country would not live so freely.
On Memorial Day, as we rightly extol the tremendous contribution and sacrifice of our veterans, we should respond in deeds as well as words. The needs of those who serve do not end on the battlefield, and neither should our obligation to them.
We promise to help them succeed. With this economic crisis, Congress has enacted critical measures to expand educational opportunity and economic relief to make a real difference in the lives of veterans. The new Post 9-11 GI Bill, which took effect in August, restores the promise of a full, four-year college education for our American veterans, which I believe is part of jumpstarting a new American economic recovery, just like after World War II. We have also extended those crucial college benefits to all children of fallen service members since 9-11.
Recognizing that veterans coming home are facing double digit unemployment, as part of the Recovery Act to put Americans back to work rebuilding America, Congress provided nearly 2 million disabled veterans a $250 payment to help make ends meet.
Many of our troops have served multiple tours of duty, with great strain on their families and substantial cost to their finances. In response, Congress provided special $500 payments for every month the 185,000 service members and veterans were forced to serve under stop-loss orders since 2001. Congress also has taken steps to reduce the backlog and wait for veterans trying to access their earned benefits.
We have increased military pay 3.4 percent and expanded TRICARE health benefits. We are building more military child care centers and better barracks and military family housing.
For wounded veterans, Congress just enacted landmark legislation to provide help to family members and other caregivers of disabled, ill or injured veterans, such as training, counseling, and respite care, and to eliminate copayments for catastrophically disabled veterans. Congress also provided family leave benefits for families of our wounded warriors.
With the strong support of veterans organizations, this Congress also has made an unprecedented commitment to veterans’ health care. The veterans budget, hailed as a “cause for celebration,” provides the largest funding increase for health care and other services ever requested by a President – even more than veterans organizations requested.
We have increased the investment in veterans’ health care and services by 60 percent since January 2007 – including the largest single increase in the 78-year history of the VA. This funding has strengthened health care for more than 5 million veterans, resulting in 17,000 new doctors and nurses, and greater access for veterans in rural areas. It has been critical for the 382,000 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in need of care this year – with expanded mental health screening and treatment – to treat the signature injuries of the war, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. We’ve begun to see a real difference in the lives of veterans right here in Central Texas, with expanded services, longer hours and more parking at our Austin Outpatient Clinic.
On 35-acres off Highway 71, we are building the largest veterans’ clinic of its kind anywhere in America. This will triple the size of the existing clinic and double the clinic staff. Three times as much space for healthcare means more care in Austin and fewer trips to Temple or beyond.
For the 1.8 million women who have bravely served, Congress just enacted legislation expanding and improving VA health care services for women veterans, providing care of newborn children of women veterans for the first time in history, and enhancing treatment for PTSD and sexual trauma.
This is government-provided health care that works, and together, we can continually make it work better.
We promise to leave no soldier or veteran behind. On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.
To all of you veterans – you understand a fundamental truth: our military is not the strongest in the world because of our tanks, our ships, or our fighter jets. Rather, it is because of the dedication, spirit, skill, and bravery demonstrated by men and women, who have put on our uniform for the cause of freedom and the red, white, and blue.
also read
Honoring our Veterans
by CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT
Each year on Memorial Day, Americans come together to remember those who have sacrificed their lives on behalf of our country in the name of freedom and democracy. The debt owed to them is immeasurable. Without the brave efforts of all the service men and women and their families, our country would not live so freely.
On Memorial Day, as we rightly extol the tremendous contribution and sacrifice of our veterans, we should respond in deeds as well as words. The needs of those who serve do not end on the battlefield, and neither should our obligation to them.
We promise to help them succeed. With this economic crisis, Congress has enacted critical measures to expand educational opportunity and economic relief to make a real difference in the lives of veterans. The new Post 9-11 GI Bill, which took effect in August, restores the promise of a full, four-year college education for our American veterans, which I believe is part of jumpstarting a new American economic recovery, just like after World War II. We have also extended those crucial college benefits to all children of fallen service members since 9-11.
Recognizing that veterans coming home are facing double digit unemployment, as part of the Recovery Act to put Americans back to work rebuilding America, Congress provided nearly 2 million disabled veterans a $250 payment to help make ends meet.
Many of our troops have served multiple tours of duty, with great strain on their families and substantial cost to their finances. In response, Congress provided special $500 payments for every month the 185,000 service members and veterans were forced to serve under stop-loss orders since 2001. Congress also has taken steps to reduce the backlog and wait for veterans trying to access their earned benefits.
We have increased military pay 3.4 percent and expanded TRICARE health benefits. We are building more military child care centers and better barracks and military family housing.
For wounded veterans, Congress just enacted landmark legislation to provide help to family members and other caregivers of disabled, ill or injured veterans, such as training, counseling, and respite care, and to eliminate copayments for catastrophically disabled veterans. Congress also provided family leave benefits for families of our wounded warriors.
With the strong support of veterans organizations, this Congress also has made an unprecedented commitment to veterans’ health care. The veterans budget, hailed as a “cause for celebration,” provides the largest funding increase for health care and other services ever requested by a President – even more than veterans organizations requested.
We have increased the investment in veterans’ health care and services by 60 percent since January 2007 – including the largest single increase in the 78-year history of the VA. This funding has strengthened health care for more than 5 million veterans, resulting in 17,000 new doctors and nurses, and greater access for veterans in rural areas. It has been critical for the 382,000 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in need of care this year – with expanded mental health screening and treatment – to treat the signature injuries of the war, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. We’ve begun to see a real difference in the lives of veterans right here in Central Texas, with expanded services, longer hours and more parking at our Austin Outpatient Clinic.
On 35-acres off Highway 71, we are building the largest veterans’ clinic of its kind anywhere in America. This will triple the size of the existing clinic and double the clinic staff. Three times as much space for healthcare means more care in Austin and fewer trips to Temple or beyond.
For the 1.8 million women who have bravely served, Congress just enacted legislation expanding and improving VA health care services for women veterans, providing care of newborn children of women veterans for the first time in history, and enhancing treatment for PTSD and sexual trauma.
This is government-provided health care that works, and together, we can continually make it work better.
We promise to leave no soldier or veteran behind. On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.
To all of you veterans – you understand a fundamental truth: our military is not the strongest in the world because of our tanks, our ships, or our fighter jets. Rather, it is because of the dedication, spirit, skill, and bravery demonstrated by men and women, who have put on our uniform for the cause of freedom and the red, white, and blue.
also read
Honoring our Veterans
Phoenix police officer fatally shot
Phoenix police officer fatally shot
By BOB CHRISTIE (AP) – 6 hours ago
PHOENIX — A Phoenix police officer shot and killed early Wednesday while investigating a suspicious vehicle was a 29-year-old married father of two young children, authorities said.
Officer Travis Murphy's wife had given birth just two weeks ago to the couple's second child, police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said.
Murphy and his partner were first on the scene of a call where neighbors reported someone hit a parked car and was trying to hide a Ford Mustang in the carport of a vacant home. The officers got out of their patrol vehicle and split up in search of a suspect.
Moments later, shots were fired and Murphy's partner found him mortally wounded. Fellow officers put him in a police vehicle and sped him to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead.
go here for more
Phoenix police officer fatally shot
By BOB CHRISTIE (AP) – 6 hours ago
PHOENIX — A Phoenix police officer shot and killed early Wednesday while investigating a suspicious vehicle was a 29-year-old married father of two young children, authorities said.
Officer Travis Murphy's wife had given birth just two weeks ago to the couple's second child, police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said.
Murphy and his partner were first on the scene of a call where neighbors reported someone hit a parked car and was trying to hide a Ford Mustang in the carport of a vacant home. The officers got out of their patrol vehicle and split up in search of a suspect.
Moments later, shots were fired and Murphy's partner found him mortally wounded. Fellow officers put him in a police vehicle and sped him to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead.
go here for more
Phoenix police officer fatally shot
Florida Sheriff's Office honored to escort fallen Marine back home
Sheriff's Office honored to escort fallen Marine back home
By Lise Fisher
Staff writer
Published: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 4:19 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 4:19 p.m.
When officers on Thursday escort the body of Lance Cpl. Philip Paul Clark back to Gainesville, they will be honoring a hero.
"It's to send a message to those who are serving in the armed forces that we recognize their sacrifice and their commitment," Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell said.
Area law enforcement agencies will escort Clark's body from Jacksonville to Gainesville, before arriving at the Williams-Thomas Funeral Home in Jonesville.
Clark, 19, died on May 18 while serving in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. Marine was hit with shrapnel in both legs while on patrol in Marjah, Afghanistan, his family has said. He was a 2008 graduate of Buchholz High School.
go here for more
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100526/ARTICLES/100529576/1002
By Lise Fisher
Staff writer
Published: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 4:19 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 4:19 p.m.
When officers on Thursday escort the body of Lance Cpl. Philip Paul Clark back to Gainesville, they will be honoring a hero.
"It's to send a message to those who are serving in the armed forces that we recognize their sacrifice and their commitment," Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell said.
Area law enforcement agencies will escort Clark's body from Jacksonville to Gainesville, before arriving at the Williams-Thomas Funeral Home in Jonesville.
Clark, 19, died on May 18 while serving in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. Marine was hit with shrapnel in both legs while on patrol in Marjah, Afghanistan, his family has said. He was a 2008 graduate of Buchholz High School.
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http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100526/ARTICLES/100529576/1002
US soldier goes from rodeo cowboy to Afghanistan GI
US soldier is a veteran of war and rodeo
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA (AP) – 3 hours ago
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan — Paul D. Bliss has, in his words, "pretty much destroyed my knees, dislocated my right and left shoulders, busted my left arm, fractured my right arm, been kicked in the face here," — he motions to a scar — "right above my right eye: 28 stitches from that. Busted my nose four or five times. Bruised my back a few times. I've also dislocated both my ankles."
That was before the 36-year-old U.S. Army sergeant went to war. A rodeo cowboy, he rode bulls for fun and money, and got tossed and trampled plenty of times.
So far, through two tours in Iraq and now a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan that ends this summer, he has escaped serious injury.
"I have gotten very lucky," Bliss said. "When your number comes up, that's what you have to face."
His unit, the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment of Task Force Stryker, is operating in a fairly quiet area near Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, though it took high casualties last year. Bliss, a Catholic, keeps the dead in his prayers: "Their names and their faces just stay in the back of my head."
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US soldier is a veteran of war and rodeo
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA (AP) – 3 hours ago
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan — Paul D. Bliss has, in his words, "pretty much destroyed my knees, dislocated my right and left shoulders, busted my left arm, fractured my right arm, been kicked in the face here," — he motions to a scar — "right above my right eye: 28 stitches from that. Busted my nose four or five times. Bruised my back a few times. I've also dislocated both my ankles."
That was before the 36-year-old U.S. Army sergeant went to war. A rodeo cowboy, he rode bulls for fun and money, and got tossed and trampled plenty of times.
So far, through two tours in Iraq and now a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan that ends this summer, he has escaped serious injury.
"I have gotten very lucky," Bliss said. "When your number comes up, that's what you have to face."
His unit, the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment of Task Force Stryker, is operating in a fairly quiet area near Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, though it took high casualties last year. Bliss, a Catholic, keeps the dead in his prayers: "Their names and their faces just stay in the back of my head."
go here for more
US soldier is a veteran of war and rodeo
One man's trash, another man's treasure
One man's trash, another man's treasure
I've been paying great attention to the news about the oil disaster in the Gulf and frankly, I'm very confused. Up until the oil began to flood the coast, there were many voices saying they wanted the government out of just about everything, especially businesses. Governors were saying they didn't want money to help their economy with most of them refusing to take funds to help the people in their states. Now all of a sudden, these same voices are saying the government isn't doing enough. So where were these voices when all government regulations were disregarded for the sake of business deals?
It seems many have taken on the attitude government is only good when it matters to them and not when they are personally detached from the situation. One man's trash, another man's treasure.
BP had a deal, basically to do what they wanted and when there wasn't a problem with safety, everything was hands off, allowing them to do what they wanted the way they wanted. They were supposed to have plans in place to deal with any problems but it turned out they didn't. When the oil rig exploded, lives were lost, a point that keeps getting forgotten in all of this except for the families suffering the loss. Now Anderson Cooper on CNN is in the Gulf joining everyone slamming the government as others jump on Commandant Admiral Thad Allen asking for him to resign. Why?
Why does everyone seem to think that the government had any responsibility to come up with everything necessary to take care of what business didn't? Why should it have been the Coast Guards job to be able to instantaneously clean up the oil? Wasn't that the job of BP and the people in government issuing the permits to drill for oil in the first place? What were they thinking when they allowed the rig to be built in the beginning?
I've heard people compare this to Hurricane Katrina. Why? It was a hurricane that was coming and was expected to do major damage to New Orleans. The hurricane couldn't be prevented but the response after could have been better, should have been better and was the responsibility of the government to respond. This was supposed to be the governments job. This oil disaster was supposed to be the job of BP to take care of.
So now, with the experts working for BP, unprepared for what they were supposed to do and unable to do it even after all these years they had to be ready, now it's the government's fault they are not taking care of the problem. This makes no sense at all. It makes even less sense when you think of the voices in the media all these years saying they want government out of business unless they are giving them tax breaks. It is not the Coast Guard's fault this happened but it has become their problem. Why should Allen take blame for it? His job was not to take care of an oil rig. How is this President Obama's fault? Is he now supposed to take over the oil companies? What happened to all the voices saying goverment should stay out of business?
People wanted hands off the banking industry until it crashed and then it was up to the government to bail them out. Tax payers paid the price because no one thought about what could happen when they had freely operated without constraints for years. Now they make billions of profits and we suffer because we can't get loans. People wanted hands off on the pharmaceutical industry until the dangers of the drugs they were selling was found after they had already caused deaths. Then it was the government's job to have been checking the safety. Again, people suffered.
I guess it all comes down to who needs what and when. State's rights were an issue and the voices calling for government to stay out of it are now saying government is not doing enough. While I think the government does have a responsibility now to make sure the oil stops and cleans up what has already happened, we need to think about something. BP has had years to come up with plans it failed to do and the government has had only a matter of weeks to figure out what to do. As for who pays for this, it should be BP because they didn't care enough about the damage they could do while they were counting their money. BP had the attitude that "one man's trash (the Gulf Coast) was their treasure. It all comes down to what should have been done all along and now that it is a problem people are looking to government to fix it.
So please, help me out here. I'm really confused over this and can't understand why all of a sudden the same voices are singing a different tune.
I've been paying great attention to the news about the oil disaster in the Gulf and frankly, I'm very confused. Up until the oil began to flood the coast, there were many voices saying they wanted the government out of just about everything, especially businesses. Governors were saying they didn't want money to help their economy with most of them refusing to take funds to help the people in their states. Now all of a sudden, these same voices are saying the government isn't doing enough. So where were these voices when all government regulations were disregarded for the sake of business deals?
It seems many have taken on the attitude government is only good when it matters to them and not when they are personally detached from the situation. One man's trash, another man's treasure.
BP had a deal, basically to do what they wanted and when there wasn't a problem with safety, everything was hands off, allowing them to do what they wanted the way they wanted. They were supposed to have plans in place to deal with any problems but it turned out they didn't. When the oil rig exploded, lives were lost, a point that keeps getting forgotten in all of this except for the families suffering the loss. Now Anderson Cooper on CNN is in the Gulf joining everyone slamming the government as others jump on Commandant Admiral Thad Allen asking for him to resign. Why?
BP officials may know by Thursday afternoon whether the oil company's latest attempt to cap the runaway leak in the Gulf of Mexico is yielding results. FULL STORY
Cooper: It's dead out there
LIVE: 'Top kill' underwater view
Carville: Tell BP 'I'm your daddy'
Your message for BP? Timeline
Full coverage
Why does everyone seem to think that the government had any responsibility to come up with everything necessary to take care of what business didn't? Why should it have been the Coast Guards job to be able to instantaneously clean up the oil? Wasn't that the job of BP and the people in government issuing the permits to drill for oil in the first place? What were they thinking when they allowed the rig to be built in the beginning?
I've heard people compare this to Hurricane Katrina. Why? It was a hurricane that was coming and was expected to do major damage to New Orleans. The hurricane couldn't be prevented but the response after could have been better, should have been better and was the responsibility of the government to respond. This was supposed to be the governments job. This oil disaster was supposed to be the job of BP to take care of.
So now, with the experts working for BP, unprepared for what they were supposed to do and unable to do it even after all these years they had to be ready, now it's the government's fault they are not taking care of the problem. This makes no sense at all. It makes even less sense when you think of the voices in the media all these years saying they want government out of business unless they are giving them tax breaks. It is not the Coast Guard's fault this happened but it has become their problem. Why should Allen take blame for it? His job was not to take care of an oil rig. How is this President Obama's fault? Is he now supposed to take over the oil companies? What happened to all the voices saying goverment should stay out of business?
People wanted hands off the banking industry until it crashed and then it was up to the government to bail them out. Tax payers paid the price because no one thought about what could happen when they had freely operated without constraints for years. Now they make billions of profits and we suffer because we can't get loans. People wanted hands off on the pharmaceutical industry until the dangers of the drugs they were selling was found after they had already caused deaths. Then it was the government's job to have been checking the safety. Again, people suffered.
I guess it all comes down to who needs what and when. State's rights were an issue and the voices calling for government to stay out of it are now saying government is not doing enough. While I think the government does have a responsibility now to make sure the oil stops and cleans up what has already happened, we need to think about something. BP has had years to come up with plans it failed to do and the government has had only a matter of weeks to figure out what to do. As for who pays for this, it should be BP because they didn't care enough about the damage they could do while they were counting their money. BP had the attitude that "one man's trash (the Gulf Coast) was their treasure. It all comes down to what should have been done all along and now that it is a problem people are looking to government to fix it.
So please, help me out here. I'm really confused over this and can't understand why all of a sudden the same voices are singing a different tune.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Don’t exploit the sacrifice of veterans
Town Crier: Don’t exploit the sacrifice of veterans
by Dave Hardesty / For the Tracy Press
May 26, 2010
With Memorial Day approaching, a veteran friend sent me a short piece titled “Courage.” My reply was not what he expected.
“Courage” starts with a critically wounded soldier in a battle in the highlands of “VietNam” on Nov. 11, 1967.
It claims the commanding officer ordered “MedEvac” helicopters away because of the intensity of enemy fire.
Then, the piece milks the heartstrings of the reader with the wounded soldier’s thoughts of his family 12,000 miles away being returned to reality by sounds of an approaching Huey helicopter.
The story continues and introduces Capt. Ed Freeman, the pilot of the Huey who rescued not only this soldier but also 29 others while risking his crew and aircraft to enemy fire and also being wounded.
It concludes with the statement that Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Freeman, of the United States Air Force, died at the age of 70 in Boise, Idaho, and that our news media apparently failed to acknowledge this hero’s passing as they focused attention on the death of Michael Jackson and the philandering of Tiger Woods.
go here for the rest and read how wrong this is
Dont exploit the sacrifice of veterans
also read here
ED W. FREEMAN
Captain, U.S. Army Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
By the time the Korean War broke out, Ed Freeman was a master sergeant in the Army Engineers, but he fought in Korea as an infantryman.
He took part in the bloody battle of Pork Chop Hill and was given a battlefield commission, which had the added advantage of making him eligible to fly, a dream of his since childhood. But flight school turned him down because of his height: At six foot four, he was “too tall” (a nickname that followed him throughout his military career). In 1955, however, the height limit was raised, and Freeman was able to enroll.
He began flying fixed-wing aircraft, then switched to helicopters. By 1965, when he was sent to Vietnam, he had thousands of hours’ flying time in choppers. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), second in command of a sixteen-helicopter unit responsible for carrying infantrymen into battle. On November 14, 1965, Freeman’s helicopters carried a battalion into the Ia Drang Valley for what became the first major confrontation between large forces of the American and North Vietnamese armies.
Back at base, Freeman and the other pilots received word that the GIs they had dropped off were taking heavy casualties and running low on supplies. In fact, the fighting was so fierce that medevac helicopters refused to pick up the wounded. When the commander of the helicopter unit asked for volunteers to fly into the battle zone, Freeman alone stepped forward. He was joined by his commander, and the two of them began several hours of flights into the contested area. Because their small emergency-landing zone was just one hundred yards away from the heaviest fighting, their unarmed and lightly armored helicopters took several hits. In all, Freeman carried out fourteen separate rescue missions, bringing in water and ammunition to the besieged soldiers and taking back dozens of wounded, some of whom wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t been evacuated.
go here for more
http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/11/265756.aspx
by Dave Hardesty / For the Tracy Press
May 26, 2010
With Memorial Day approaching, a veteran friend sent me a short piece titled “Courage.” My reply was not what he expected.
“Courage” starts with a critically wounded soldier in a battle in the highlands of “VietNam” on Nov. 11, 1967.
It claims the commanding officer ordered “MedEvac” helicopters away because of the intensity of enemy fire.
Then, the piece milks the heartstrings of the reader with the wounded soldier’s thoughts of his family 12,000 miles away being returned to reality by sounds of an approaching Huey helicopter.
The story continues and introduces Capt. Ed Freeman, the pilot of the Huey who rescued not only this soldier but also 29 others while risking his crew and aircraft to enemy fire and also being wounded.
It concludes with the statement that Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Freeman, of the United States Air Force, died at the age of 70 in Boise, Idaho, and that our news media apparently failed to acknowledge this hero’s passing as they focused attention on the death of Michael Jackson and the philandering of Tiger Woods.
go here for the rest and read how wrong this is
Dont exploit the sacrifice of veterans
also read here
ED W. FREEMAN
Captain, U.S. Army Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
By the time the Korean War broke out, Ed Freeman was a master sergeant in the Army Engineers, but he fought in Korea as an infantryman.
He took part in the bloody battle of Pork Chop Hill and was given a battlefield commission, which had the added advantage of making him eligible to fly, a dream of his since childhood. But flight school turned him down because of his height: At six foot four, he was “too tall” (a nickname that followed him throughout his military career). In 1955, however, the height limit was raised, and Freeman was able to enroll.
He began flying fixed-wing aircraft, then switched to helicopters. By 1965, when he was sent to Vietnam, he had thousands of hours’ flying time in choppers. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), second in command of a sixteen-helicopter unit responsible for carrying infantrymen into battle. On November 14, 1965, Freeman’s helicopters carried a battalion into the Ia Drang Valley for what became the first major confrontation between large forces of the American and North Vietnamese armies.
Back at base, Freeman and the other pilots received word that the GIs they had dropped off were taking heavy casualties and running low on supplies. In fact, the fighting was so fierce that medevac helicopters refused to pick up the wounded. When the commander of the helicopter unit asked for volunteers to fly into the battle zone, Freeman alone stepped forward. He was joined by his commander, and the two of them began several hours of flights into the contested area. Because their small emergency-landing zone was just one hundred yards away from the heaviest fighting, their unarmed and lightly armored helicopters took several hits. In all, Freeman carried out fourteen separate rescue missions, bringing in water and ammunition to the besieged soldiers and taking back dozens of wounded, some of whom wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t been evacuated.
go here for more
http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/11/265756.aspx
Vietnam vet holds to Memorial Day spirit
Vietnam vet holds to Memorial Day spirit
Combating commercialism of Memorial Day
By Jeff Hawkins
As enemy bullets blanketed the Vietnam rice patty he used as cover, Marine Corps Lt. Bob Doran looked to his point man.
"He was shot," Doran recalled. "Dead."
Explosions ripped the terrain around him and the men he led into combat. Waiting for infantry support, Doran tried to contact friendly forces. But his field phone was missing most of its antenna. "It was shot off," he said, about 40 years after an early baptism of battle.
Doran's situation deteriorated.
"My M-16 (rifle) was jammed. ... I've got eight other kids wondering what is going to happen next," he said. "It was the first two weeks I was there, and I was pinned down in a major firefight. I'm calling in ... calling in ... nothing was happening. ..."
Then, "Thank God," Doran continued, "'Gunny' Rodriguez came up from behind and was able to wipe them out. He saved our lives."
Read more: Vietnam vet holds to Memorial Day spirit
Combating commercialism of Memorial Day
By Jeff Hawkins
As enemy bullets blanketed the Vietnam rice patty he used as cover, Marine Corps Lt. Bob Doran looked to his point man.
"He was shot," Doran recalled. "Dead."
Explosions ripped the terrain around him and the men he led into combat. Waiting for infantry support, Doran tried to contact friendly forces. But his field phone was missing most of its antenna. "It was shot off," he said, about 40 years after an early baptism of battle.
Doran's situation deteriorated.
"My M-16 (rifle) was jammed. ... I've got eight other kids wondering what is going to happen next," he said. "It was the first two weeks I was there, and I was pinned down in a major firefight. I'm calling in ... calling in ... nothing was happening. ..."
Then, "Thank God," Doran continued, "'Gunny' Rodriguez came up from behind and was able to wipe them out. He saved our lives."
Read more: Vietnam vet holds to Memorial Day spirit
Vietnam veteran gets Bronze Star
Vietnam veteran gets Bronze Star
After 40 years, veteran honored for heroism
BY STANLEY DUNLAP
SDUNLAP@JACKSONSUN.COM
• May 26, 2010
Until recently Lori Smith's father didn't go in-depth whenever talking about his time in the military.
In April—40 years after saving his company commander from a hand grenade—Brownsville resident Danny Presley received a Bronze Star for his efforts in the Vietnam War.
"We knew he was a hero but getting to see and hear the things he did in the Army is neat," Smith said Tuesday.
Last fall, Presley began scouring the Internet after reading a Vietnam veteran's magazine when he found his name listed under decorated soldiers.
That led Presley to find out he had been awarded the Bronze Star as well as other medals, citations and badges for his service in the U.S. Army. Since 1969 the only medal Presley realized he had was a Purple Heart that came after being injured by a grenade around a month after saving his commander's life.
While in a hospital Presley's captain told him about nominating him for the award but soon after Presley forgot while recovering from his injuries.
"I never thought anything about it until I saw this," he said pointing to papers from the website.
The Bronze Star citation notes that on Aug. 28, 1969 Presley spotted three enemy soldiers who were hiding and was able to warn his company commander and comrades.
read more here
Vietnam veteran gets Bronze Star
After 40 years, veteran honored for heroism
BY STANLEY DUNLAP
SDUNLAP@JACKSONSUN.COM
• May 26, 2010
Until recently Lori Smith's father didn't go in-depth whenever talking about his time in the military.
In April—40 years after saving his company commander from a hand grenade—Brownsville resident Danny Presley received a Bronze Star for his efforts in the Vietnam War.
"We knew he was a hero but getting to see and hear the things he did in the Army is neat," Smith said Tuesday.
Last fall, Presley began scouring the Internet after reading a Vietnam veteran's magazine when he found his name listed under decorated soldiers.
That led Presley to find out he had been awarded the Bronze Star as well as other medals, citations and badges for his service in the U.S. Army. Since 1969 the only medal Presley realized he had was a Purple Heart that came after being injured by a grenade around a month after saving his commander's life.
While in a hospital Presley's captain told him about nominating him for the award but soon after Presley forgot while recovering from his injuries.
"I never thought anything about it until I saw this," he said pointing to papers from the website.
The Bronze Star citation notes that on Aug. 28, 1969 Presley spotted three enemy soldiers who were hiding and was able to warn his company commander and comrades.
read more here
Vietnam veteran gets Bronze Star
Commitment services for churchless
Commitment services for churchless
If you left the church, have not found one where you feel you belong, or consider yourself "anti-established religion" there is a place for you in God's house until you find a church where you feel they are living up to what Christ had in mind.
I am often asked where my church is and I respond that my "church" is wherever I am in any given moment of the day. It is not my "job" to fill a church but it is my job to fill the need of people struggling with spiritual issues and searching for someone to remind them God loves them.
Over my lifetime I have met a lot of people struggling and feeling abandoned by the church they were raised in and they have left it. Others were not raised in a "church going" family. They still have spiritual needs and feel lost or alone. For others they have no idea how to live a spiritual life on their own. That is my job.
Searching the Internet I found there are people offering Commitment Services for gay people unable to marry. This left me wondering why this is not possible for others to commit to each other as friends, as caring people, as committed communities.
This is why I am offering my services as a Chaplain with customized Commitment Services.
Is your community sending or welcoming home someone in the service? Then commit to them to pray for them and care for their families. Make a public promise to them as they have made a public promise to serve this nation.
Have you entered into a relationship but are not ready to commit to them in marriage? Then publicly commit to them and promise to love, honor and cherish them. Been married for a long time and want to customize a Commitment Service to reaffirm your love? Do you know someone in your community in need of knowing they matter? Have a service organization wanting to expand how much you are willing to do? Then publicly promise to do it.
Call me if you are in Central Florida for a customized Commitment Service to invite God to support you and sustain you.
Chaplain Kathie
PTSD Consultant
Senior IFOC Chaplain
Kathie Costos DiCesare
407-754-7526
web site
http://www.namguardianangel.com/
blog
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
Nam Guardian Angel is a Charter of the IFOC, (501c3)
If you left the church, have not found one where you feel you belong, or consider yourself "anti-established religion" there is a place for you in God's house until you find a church where you feel they are living up to what Christ had in mind.
I am often asked where my church is and I respond that my "church" is wherever I am in any given moment of the day. It is not my "job" to fill a church but it is my job to fill the need of people struggling with spiritual issues and searching for someone to remind them God loves them.
Over my lifetime I have met a lot of people struggling and feeling abandoned by the church they were raised in and they have left it. Others were not raised in a "church going" family. They still have spiritual needs and feel lost or alone. For others they have no idea how to live a spiritual life on their own. That is my job.
Searching the Internet I found there are people offering Commitment Services for gay people unable to marry. This left me wondering why this is not possible for others to commit to each other as friends, as caring people, as committed communities.
This is why I am offering my services as a Chaplain with customized Commitment Services.
Is your community sending or welcoming home someone in the service? Then commit to them to pray for them and care for their families. Make a public promise to them as they have made a public promise to serve this nation.
Have you entered into a relationship but are not ready to commit to them in marriage? Then publicly commit to them and promise to love, honor and cherish them. Been married for a long time and want to customize a Commitment Service to reaffirm your love? Do you know someone in your community in need of knowing they matter? Have a service organization wanting to expand how much you are willing to do? Then publicly promise to do it.
Call me if you are in Central Florida for a customized Commitment Service to invite God to support you and sustain you.
Chaplain Kathie
PTSD Consultant
Senior IFOC Chaplain
Kathie Costos DiCesare
407-754-7526
web site
http://www.namguardianangel.com/
blog
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
Nam Guardian Angel is a Charter of the IFOC, (501c3)
Soldiers with severe PTSD have trouble finding help in Canada
Soldiers with severe PTSD have trouble finding help
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
by Louise Elliott, CBC News
Shawn Hearn, like many Canadian soldiers battling post-traumatic stress disorder, is having a tough time getting proper treatment back home after serving in a war zone.
Hearn, who served in Bosnia as a sniper in 1994, and those involved in helping soldiers with PTSD say changes to the treatment system need to be made.
And there's a lot on the line. Hearn recently attempted suicide and has been fighting hard to get the treatment he needs.
Hearn came back from Bosnia a different person. At first he didn't know why. He speaks in Guelph, Ont., near the Homewood private treatment centre where he says he's finally getting help.
"Basically I began to notice changes, my family began to notice changes, and in 1997 I ended up in hospital with an overdose," he says.
After that overdose, Hearn remained in the army another three years. In 2000, he was finally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He left the military and began to try to understand his symptoms: severe depression, flashbacks, night fears.
Read more: Soldiers with severe PTSD have trouble finding help
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
by Louise Elliott, CBC News
Shawn Hearn, like many Canadian soldiers battling post-traumatic stress disorder, is having a tough time getting proper treatment back home after serving in a war zone.
Hearn, who served in Bosnia as a sniper in 1994, and those involved in helping soldiers with PTSD say changes to the treatment system need to be made.
And there's a lot on the line. Hearn recently attempted suicide and has been fighting hard to get the treatment he needs.
Hearn came back from Bosnia a different person. At first he didn't know why. He speaks in Guelph, Ont., near the Homewood private treatment centre where he says he's finally getting help.
"Basically I began to notice changes, my family began to notice changes, and in 1997 I ended up in hospital with an overdose," he says.
After that overdose, Hearn remained in the army another three years. In 2000, he was finally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He left the military and began to try to understand his symptoms: severe depression, flashbacks, night fears.
Read more: Soldiers with severe PTSD have trouble finding help
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
May 20, 2010
Watch Glenn Close’s Brilliant PSA
Dr. Jon LaPook Discusses
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Watch Glenn Close’s Brilliant PSA
Dr. Jon LaPook Discusses
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans Right Now!
Attention Military Veterans, espeically those looking to live in the Southern California area, Habitat for Humanity is building 27 homes to provide inexpenseive affordable housing for those that qualify.
Any Veteran thinking about buying a home in the future should stop by and check it out.
Habitat offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Prospective Habitat OC homeowner families make a down payment equal to 1% of the purchase price. Additionally, they contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction of their home or someone else’s home. Because Habitat homes are built using donations of land, material and labor, mortgage payments are kept affordable.
Habitat is building 27 homes in San Juan Capistrano, California specifically for Veterans to own. The homes are sold at or below the organizations cost with a 1% down payment and a 0% interest loan. This is an excellent opportunity for you, and I urge you to explore this possibility!!
read more here
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans
Attention Military Veterans, espeically those looking to live in the Southern California area, Habitat for Humanity is building 27 homes to provide inexpenseive affordable housing for those that qualify.
Any Veteran thinking about buying a home in the future should stop by and check it out.
Habitat offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Prospective Habitat OC homeowner families make a down payment equal to 1% of the purchase price. Additionally, they contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction of their home or someone else’s home. Because Habitat homes are built using donations of land, material and labor, mortgage payments are kept affordable.
Habitat is building 27 homes in San Juan Capistrano, California specifically for Veterans to own. The homes are sold at or below the organizations cost with a 1% down payment and a 0% interest loan. This is an excellent opportunity for you, and I urge you to explore this possibility!!
read more here
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest among friends, family
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
May 19, 2010, 8:33PM
LEONIA — The cremated remains of Herman Henry Reichert, an World War I Army private from Teaneck, had sat in storage at a funeral home for nearly 58 years.
Today, his orphaned ashes and those of 12 other servicemen were finally buried.
The New Jersey Mission of Honor, a statewide veterans group, conducted its largest military funeral to date today with a combined 500 people paying tribute to 13 lost veterans at Overpeck Park in Leonia and later at Doyle Veterans Cemetery in Wrightstown.
Francis Carrasco, the Mission’s chairman, said it can take up to a year to identify and confirm whether remains are those of a veteran. The group, formed 15 months ago, is dedicated to retrieving and burying remains of veterans. He adds their mission has only just begun since New Jersey enacted a law last year allowing the group to pursue the unclaimed ashes of servicemen at state funeral homes.
read more here
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
May 19, 2010, 8:33PM
LEONIA — The cremated remains of Herman Henry Reichert, an World War I Army private from Teaneck, had sat in storage at a funeral home for nearly 58 years.
Today, his orphaned ashes and those of 12 other servicemen were finally buried.
The New Jersey Mission of Honor, a statewide veterans group, conducted its largest military funeral to date today with a combined 500 people paying tribute to 13 lost veterans at Overpeck Park in Leonia and later at Doyle Veterans Cemetery in Wrightstown.
Francis Carrasco, the Mission’s chairman, said it can take up to a year to identify and confirm whether remains are those of a veteran. The group, formed 15 months ago, is dedicated to retrieving and burying remains of veterans. He adds their mission has only just begun since New Jersey enacted a law last year allowing the group to pursue the unclaimed ashes of servicemen at state funeral homes.
read more here
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest
A lot to be ashamed of on Memorial Day
A lot to be ashamed of on Memorial Day
by
Chaplain Kathie
When we think about Memorial Day it's easy to honor the fallen because they ask no more of us. We think if we visit a cemetery, go to a parade and wave a flag, we've done our part to honor the men and women who gave their lives for the rest of us. The truth is, I bet most of them in heaven are disgusted with us and wonder what their sacrifice really meant to us when we fail to care for the survivors of combat. After all when it comes to serving in a war, they fight for each other and are willing to die so that someone else can make it back home.
Then we read stories about what is happening to men and women around the country when they come home and the rest of us live in fantasy land believing all is well and they are taken care of. This is so far from the truth it's pitiful. Just read the following and know one thing when you close out the page. There are countless other stories just like it so when you make plans for Memorial Day, ask yourself a question. Just how do we really honor any of them when this happens?
by
Chaplain Kathie
When we think about Memorial Day it's easy to honor the fallen because they ask no more of us. We think if we visit a cemetery, go to a parade and wave a flag, we've done our part to honor the men and women who gave their lives for the rest of us. The truth is, I bet most of them in heaven are disgusted with us and wonder what their sacrifice really meant to us when we fail to care for the survivors of combat. After all when it comes to serving in a war, they fight for each other and are willing to die so that someone else can make it back home.
Then we read stories about what is happening to men and women around the country when they come home and the rest of us live in fantasy land believing all is well and they are taken care of. This is so far from the truth it's pitiful. Just read the following and know one thing when you close out the page. There are countless other stories just like it so when you make plans for Memorial Day, ask yourself a question. Just how do we really honor any of them when this happens?
Disposable Soldiers
Joshua Kors: Injured veterans continue their battles at home while fighting for the healthcare treatment they deserve.
The mortar shell that wrecked Chuck Luther’s life exploded at the base of the guard tower. Luther heard the brief whistling, followed by a flash of fire, a plume of smoke and a deafening bang that shook the tower and threw him to the floor. The Army sergeant’s head slammed against the concrete, and he lay there in the Iraqi heat, his nose leaking clear fluid.
“I remember laying there in a daze, looking around, trying to figure out where I was at,” he says. “I was nauseous. My teeth hurt. My shoulder hurt. And my right ear was killing me.” Luther picked himself up and finished his shift, then took some ibuprofen to dull the pain. The sergeant was seven months into his deployment at Camp Taji, in the volatile Sunni Triangle, twenty miles north of Baghdad. He was determined, he says, to complete his mission. But the short, muscular frame that had guided him to twenty-two honors–including three Army Achievement Medals and a Combat Action Badge–was basically broken. The shoulder pain persisted, and the hearing in his right ear, which evaporated on impact, never returned, replaced by the maddening hum of tinnitus.In July 2007 the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs called a hearing to investigate PD discharges. Barack Obama, then a senator, put forward a bill to halt all PD discharges. And before leaving office, President Bush signed a law requiring the defense secretary to conduct his own investigation of the PD discharge system. But Obama’s bill did not pass, and the Defense Department concluded that no soldiers had been wrongly discharged. The PD dismissals have continued. Since 2001 more than 22,600 soldiers have been discharged with personality disorder. That number includes soldiers who have served two and three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This should have been resolved during the Bush administration. And it should have been stopped now by the Obama administration,” says Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. “The fact that it hasn’t is a national disgrace.”go here for more
Career Fair in Clearwater for veterans
WORKNET WEDNESDAY CAREER FAIR
Join us for our next WorkNet Wednesday Career Fair scheduled for Wednesday, June 23, 2010 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the EpiCenter, 13805 58th Street N., Clearwater, 33760. Click here for directions.
In honor of our veterans, the first hour is dedicated to veterans only. Open to the general public after 1:00 p.m.
Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen, dies at 32
One thing we don't talk enough about is linked to short term memory loss. When they have PTSD, that is part of it. They forget things that just happened while they are haunted by things that happened in the past. It's a huge problem for veterans, especially when they are supposed to remember to take medications at certain times. Sometimes they forget they just took them and take more. Sometimes they don't take them when they are supposed to. Being organized and learning some tricks, like using pill boxes helps with this. While it's impossible to know if a death was accidental overdose or not when they die, there has been many cases when a veteran has survived and said they were not sure if they took too much or not.
There is also the issue that PTSD does harm the heart because of the high levels of stress. One more thing we don't talk enough about. Then again, when it comes to our veterans, we don't talk enough about any issue they have to endure when they come home.
There is also the issue that PTSD does harm the heart because of the high levels of stress. One more thing we don't talk enough about. Then again, when it comes to our veterans, we don't talk enough about any issue they have to endure when they come home.
"...she had hoped to become a counselor, helping other veterans."
Theresa Flannery, Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen, dies at 32
By JIM WARREN
McClatchy Newspapers
Theresa Flannery went to Iraq in 2004 and walked into one of the hottest firefights of the war.
She and other U.S. soldiers were trapped on the roof of a government compound at Najaf, dodging rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades from renegade militiamen. Flannery traded gunfire with enemy snipers, shattering bones in her wrist diving for cover. A photo of Flannery, taken during the two-hour fight, circulated around the world, and the former Miss Madison County was recommended for a Bronze Star.
Back home in Kentucky, Flannery got a hero's welcome. But only family members and close friends knew of the price she paid, and her struggles with post traumatic stress disorder.
Last Thursday, Flannery, 32, died while on a visit in Lexington, N.C. She apparently died in her sleep.
Preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive. But her father, David Flannery, said he has no doubt that her death was related to the physical and emotional scars she carried from her experiences in Iraq.
"That's my gut feeling," he said. "Theresa had been dealing with some horrible problems from PTSD. She was being treated for that, and they kept changing the medication she was taking. She was on 85 percent disability from the Army. She had lost a lot of weight."
Read more: Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen dies at 32
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