Soldier dies of breast cancer, but her widow won’t get benefits
Washington Post
Posted by Andrea Stone
February 10, 2013
Charlie Morgan didn’t get her last wish.
On Sunday morning, the New Hampshire National Guard soldier succumbed to Stage IV breast cancer after a long battle against the disease and a federal law that now leaves her widow with none of the benefits a grateful nation bestows on its straight warriors.
As I wrote here on Thanksgiving, Morgan, who came out as a lesbian on MSNBC in September 2011, the day the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy became history, hoped she would outlive the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Clinton-era law forbids Karen, her legally married wife, from receiving the survivor benefits other military widows get.
That money would have gone a long way toward helping raise their young daughter Casey. Just like the death benefits Charlie’s mother got when her soldier husband died in an accident during the Vietnam War went to pay for food and a roof for young Charlie.
“I’m praying that they take it up soon,” Morgan told me in a phone interview from her home in New Durham, N.H. a few days before Thanksgiving. “It’s my motivation for staying alive. I really need to be alive when they actually do overturn DOMA, otherwise Karen is not guaranteed anything.”
read more here
Monday, February 11, 2013
Double Amputee Wounded Marine Will Get New Home
Wounded Marine Will Get New Home
February 10, 2013
by Jocelyne Pruna
5 News Online
Marine Sgt. Marshall Kennedy underwent 35 surgeries after an explosion overseas, and the organization Homes For Our Troops is building a home designed for his needs.
The hallways and doorways will be wider so his wheelchair can move around easily. The framing of his new home is almost complete and there’s a large sign at the front announcing the project.
“When I first got injured, you never expect people like this,” Kennedy said.
Homes For Our Troops is a national non-profit organization that builds houses for wounded veterans who give so much to this country. Marshall, his wife and two boys Caleb, 3, and Ethan, 5, stopped by Sunday to check on the progress.
“It’s a great feeling,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to be better for us to have this very nice house, it’s going to be a well-built home and it’s going to stand the test of time.”
Marshall’s life changed on June 13, 2011 in Sangin, Afghanistan. He stepped on an IED, an improvised explosive device.
He lost his left leg below the knee, right leg above the knee, and suffered lacerations on his left arm, a shoulder injury as well as internal injuries. Still, Kennedy considers himself lucky.
read more here
February 10, 2013
by Jocelyne Pruna
5 News Online
Marine Sgt. Marshall Kennedy underwent 35 surgeries after an explosion overseas, and the organization Homes For Our Troops is building a home designed for his needs.
The hallways and doorways will be wider so his wheelchair can move around easily. The framing of his new home is almost complete and there’s a large sign at the front announcing the project.
“When I first got injured, you never expect people like this,” Kennedy said.
Homes For Our Troops is a national non-profit organization that builds houses for wounded veterans who give so much to this country. Marshall, his wife and two boys Caleb, 3, and Ethan, 5, stopped by Sunday to check on the progress.
“It’s a great feeling,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to be better for us to have this very nice house, it’s going to be a well-built home and it’s going to stand the test of time.”
Marshall’s life changed on June 13, 2011 in Sangin, Afghanistan. He stepped on an IED, an improvised explosive device.
He lost his left leg below the knee, right leg above the knee, and suffered lacerations on his left arm, a shoulder injury as well as internal injuries. Still, Kennedy considers himself lucky.
read more here
Slain Riverside police officer identified as Marine veteran
Slain Riverside police officer identified as Marine veteran, father of 2
Michael Crain was stationed at Camp Pendleton
Posted: 02/11/2013
Last Updated: 12 hours ago
SAN DIEGO
Michael Crain, 34, was the Riverside police officer allegedly ambushed by Christopher Dorner while on routine patrol last week, Riverside's police chief revealed Sunday.
Crain was an Inland Empire native with "a big heart" and loved spending time with wife Regina and their children Ian, 10, and Kaitlyn, 4.
Crain left "an unforgettable impression" on everyone he met, according to Riverside police Lt. Guy Toussaint.
"He loved attending dance recitals with his daughter and coaching his son's baseball team," Toussaint said. "He also loved his classic 1970 Chevy Nova, which he spent his spare time restoring."
Crain, a former active Marine and war veteran, was publicly identified Sunday for the first time by the department. His name had been withheld due to concerns about the danger presented by Dorner, whose location remained a mystery on Sunday.
read more here
Michael Crain was stationed at Camp Pendleton
Posted: 02/11/2013
Last Updated: 12 hours ago
SAN DIEGO
Michael Crain, 34, was the Riverside police officer allegedly ambushed by Christopher Dorner while on routine patrol last week, Riverside's police chief revealed Sunday.
Crain was an Inland Empire native with "a big heart" and loved spending time with wife Regina and their children Ian, 10, and Kaitlyn, 4.
Crain left "an unforgettable impression" on everyone he met, according to Riverside police Lt. Guy Toussaint.
"He loved attending dance recitals with his daughter and coaching his son's baseball team," Toussaint said. "He also loved his classic 1970 Chevy Nova, which he spent his spare time restoring."
Crain, a former active Marine and war veteran, was publicly identified Sunday for the first time by the department. His name had been withheld due to concerns about the danger presented by Dorner, whose location remained a mystery on Sunday.
read more here
Pope Benedict XVI to resign
Pope Benedict XVI to resign on Feb. 28, Vatican says
By Claudio Lavanga and Alastair Jamieson
NBC News
Updated at 6:52 a.m. ET: ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday he will resign on February 28 because of his failing health, saying he no longer has the strength to carry out his duties. The 85-year-old announced his decision during an address, in Latin, at the "Concistory for the canonization of the martyrs of Otranto", a small event held in the early morning.
The decision, which appeared to take even the Vatican by surprise, makes him the the first pope to resign since at least 1415.
His statement was posted on the Vatican Radio website.
He said carrying out the duties of being pope — the leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide — requires "both strength of mind and body."
"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the pontiff's statement said.
read more here
By Claudio Lavanga and Alastair Jamieson
NBC News
Updated at 6:52 a.m. ET: ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday he will resign on February 28 because of his failing health, saying he no longer has the strength to carry out his duties. The 85-year-old announced his decision during an address, in Latin, at the "Concistory for the canonization of the martyrs of Otranto", a small event held in the early morning.
The decision, which appeared to take even the Vatican by surprise, makes him the the first pope to resign since at least 1415.
His statement was posted on the Vatican Radio website.
He said carrying out the duties of being pope — the leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide — requires "both strength of mind and body."
"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the pontiff's statement said.
read more here
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Total military suicides for 2012 is closer to 500
This has been gnawing at me since last week when I posted how Military Suicide reports do not add up. I went to the DOD website to see if there were any corrections released. I just found the Army report with these numbers.
182 for the Year 2012 Army
143 for Year 2012 Army National Guard and Reservists
335 Total Army but the article did not include the Guards and Reservists in the total.
That was from the Department of Defense for the Army, National Guards and Reservists.
This is from Marine Corps Times article Chiarelli: Suicide a nationwide problem It listed
182 Army Active Duty
48 Marines
59 Air Force
60 Navy
The truth is, we will never know how many for sure. Sometimes the cause of death is ruled accident when it was suicide and the other way around. What should concern us more than anything else is these numbers continue to go up but nothing in the way the military treats it has changed anymore than they way they treat PTSD.
The rate for veteran suicides actually increases with age. One more thing to be concerned with as this generation ages.
Army Releases December 2012 and Calendar Year 2012 Suicide Information
The Army released suicide data today for the month of December and calendar year 2012. During December, among active-duty soldiers, there were 7 potential suicides: 3 have been confirmed as suicides and four remain under investigation. For November, the Army reported 12 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers: four have been confirmed as suicides and 8 remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 182 potential active-duty suicides: 130 have been confirmed as suicides and 52 remain under investigation. Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.
During December, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides (10 Army National Guard and five Army Reserve): four have been confirmed as suicides and 11 remain under investigation. For November, among that same group, the Army reported 15 potential suicides (12 Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): 10 have been confirmed as suicides and five remain under investigation.
For 2012, there have been 143 potential not on active-duty suicides (96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve): 117 have been confirmed as suicides and 26 remain under investigation. Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.
182 for the Year 2012 Army
143 for Year 2012 Army National Guard and Reservists
335 Total Army but the article did not include the Guards and Reservists in the total.
That was from the Department of Defense for the Army, National Guards and Reservists.
This is from Marine Corps Times article Chiarelli: Suicide a nationwide problem It listed
182 Army Active Duty
48 Marines
59 Air Force
60 Navy
In 2012, the Army had 182 active-duty suicides, the Marine Corps, 48; the Air Force, 59 and the Navy, 60, according to the services.Adding in the Army National Guards and Army Reservists the total is 492.
The truth is, we will never know how many for sure. Sometimes the cause of death is ruled accident when it was suicide and the other way around. What should concern us more than anything else is these numbers continue to go up but nothing in the way the military treats it has changed anymore than they way they treat PTSD.
The rate for veteran suicides actually increases with age. One more thing to be concerned with as this generation ages.
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