Thursday, February 11, 2016

Another Veterans Charity With Selective Service?

If they got this part wrong, what did they get right that they ended up on Forbes?
"Every day, an average of 22 veterans take their own lives. This tragic reality motivated Josh and Lisa Lannon and Tom Spooner to do something."
Warriors Heart Founders Offer Help To Struggling Veterans
Forbes
Devin Thorpe
February 10, 2016

They founded Warriors Heart, an addiction treatment center that provides peer-to-peer solutions to help veterans, law enforcement and first responders who struggle with addiction and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Josh Lannon took the time to explain the challenges that veterans face, what Warriors Heart is doing and what he hopes will come of their efforts.

Lannon says the VA isn’t the answer. “While the VA (Veterans Administration) has good people, they can’t keep up with the needs of veterans after 14 years of war.”
read more here

Veteran Moved From Sleeping Under Bridges to Building Them

A veteran used to sleep under bridges but after he got help, he ended up building bridges to help other veterans.
Homeless vet went from sleeping under bridges to helping others
KVOA News
Written By Monica Garcia
February 10, 2016

TUCSON (KVOA)-- A Tucson Navy veteran went from living on the streets, to helping other homeless vets.

For years Andrew Young struggled with alcohol addiction and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Throughout his twenties, Young was homeless, traveling from city to city sleeping under bridges.

It wasn’t until Young reached out to the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs, did he receive the help he so needed.

According to Young, the VA Outreach Program helped him not only stay sober, but finally get off Social Security Disability benefits he’d grown dependent on.
read more here

KVOA | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Florida Vietnam Veteran Still Looking For Answers

This is a confusing report to read. While it addresses some of the issues veterans should never, even have to face, like paying out of pocket for what should be done by the VA, it has the years leaving more questions. It says this Vietnam veteran received bad news from a VA doctor about cancer and advised to not wait to get treated for it. That was in 2008. Then it talks about canceled appointments in 2015 along with a drop in his disability.
Vietnam veteran: I want answers!
WFTV 9 News
by: Staff writer, Charlotte Sun
Feb 9, 2016

Bob Conetta loves America.

He would give anything to his country.

When he received his draft notice, he went into the U.S. Army and was sent to Vietnam, serving with the 1st Air Cavalry Division.

On July 20, 1968, outside Hue City, he gave his left leg, his right eye and most of his hearing when a mine was detonated near him.

This did not stop Conetta. He served as the financial secretary for the Utility Workers Union of America, Locals 1-2, in New York City. He was instrumental in creating Operation Family Reunion, a program that brings family members to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to be with their loved one who has sustained serious wounds.

Despite his injuries, he moved forward with his life.

'Get the procedure done on my own’

After he retired and relocated to Punta Gorda, Conetta was diagnosed with prostate cancer -- one of the 15 presumptive conditions from Agent Orange.

On July 2, 2008, he had bloodwork.

On July 14, 2008, he had a biopsy.

On Aug. 26, 2008, he was scheduled for a bone scan -- six weeks after his biopsy that proved he had prostate cancer.

Conetta said the Department of Veterans Affairs doctor said he put him in for the bone scan but his cancer was aggressive, saying, "I implore you not to wait."
read more here

Headline Put Rescued Dog Above Vietnam Veteran Being Murdered?

UPDATE
Chicago man, woman charged with murder of veteran in University Village shooting



I read a lot of strange stories. This just made it to the top of my list of head exploding reporting! A Vietnam veteran served 3 tours and was dealing with PTSD. He adopted a rescue dog. Great story so far. Then I went to the link on Robert Howard to see what was reported by Sun Times Homicide section. The story on the dog was longer than the story on Howard.

Should we care a rescue dog was left homeless again? Sure, but have things gotten so bad in Chicago a story on a dog seems to mean more than a murdered veteran?

Apollo needs new home after his rescuer, Vietnam veteran Robert Howard, was shot to death in University Village Chicago Sun Times
by Brittany Reyes
Posted Feb. 9, 2016
Robert Howard Jr. was a graduate of VALOR (Veterans Advancing Lives of Rescues). He was killed on Jan. 26 and is missed by loved ones, Safe Humane Chicago members, and his emotional support dog, Apollo.
The death of Robert Howard Jr. left the dog he’d once rescued without a home and his best friend.

Howard, a 62-year-old Vietnam War veteran killed in a shooting in University Village on Jan. 26, was the proud owner of Apollo, a big, joyful puppy who was matched with Howard through Veterans Advancing the Lives of Rescues (VALOR).

VALOR is an 8-week Safe Humane Chicago program that pairs military veterans struggling with post traumatic stress disorder with animals that had been abused, neglected or used for fighting.

After struggling with PTSD since his three-year tour in Vietnam from 1970-73, Howard began participating in VALOR in early 2015. His experience with the program was so positive that he decided to adopt a dog for himself, according to Cynthia Bathurst, the organization’s executive director.

In April 2015, Howard acquired Rugby, an 8-month old puppy who’d been rescued through Chicago Animal Care and Control. Howard renamed his new companion Apollo, and documented their experience together in a feature for The Unexpected Pit Bull’s 2016 annual calendar.
read more here

MOH Edward Byers Added to Navy SEAL Museum

Navy SEAL Museum to honor Medal of Honor recipient
TC Palm
February 9, 2016


Five Naval Special Warfare Operators are honored by the installation. The names of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Robert Joseph "Bob" Kerrey, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, Petty Officer Second Class Michael E. Thornton, Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy (posthumously) and Petty Officer Second Class Michael A. Monsoor (posthumously) are engraved at the base of the memorial.
FORT PIERCE — The Navy SEAL Museum has announced the addition of a sixth name to its Medal of Honor statue. Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator, Edward Byers, U.S. Navy, will be added to the installation as a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his courageous conduct while serving as part of the team that rescued an American hostage from Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan Dec. 8-9, 2012.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military honor in the United States. It is awarded by the President in the name of the U.S. Congress for personal acts of valor determined to be above and beyond the call of duty. Three distinctions of the honor are made, one for each the Army, Navy and Air Force; the Marine Corps and Coast Guard are recipients of the Navy's medal.

On Nov. 9, 2013, a Medal of Honor statue was dedicated to the Navy SEAL Museum through a generous gift from former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. The statue depicts the actions of Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Thornton, carrying wounded Medal of Honor recipient, Tom Norris, off the battlefield.
read more here
YouTube Video Navy SEAL Museum