Body of Missing Veteran Found in Ohio

Missing Morrow man's body found in Little Miami River 
WLWT News 
By Jeff Cousins 
Feb 21, 2016 

Aaron Berns, 27, fled from scene of house fire in January


MORROW, Ohio —A months-long search for a missing Morrow man ended Saturday.

Aaron Berns, 27, went missing Jan. 1 after a fire in the 200 block of Main Street in Morrow.

Berns' family said he had been struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving two tours in the military overseas.

Prior to the identification of the body, the family had planned a vigil for Berns on Sunday.
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UPDATE

Family holds vigil for Morrow veteran pulled from river

Cincinnati News, FOX19-WXIX TV

First U.S. Penis Transplant To Be Wounded Soldier

Wounded U.S. soldier soon to receive first U.S. penis transplant 
BALTIMORE 
BY REUTERS STAFF 
February 18, 2016

"When you meet these guys and you realize what they've given for the country, it makes a lot of sense," Dr. Richard Redett, a plastic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital who will help perform the operation, told Reuters.

A U.S. soldier wounded in an explosion will be the first person in the United States to receive a penis transplant, doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital said, which could open the way for about 60 other servicemen with genital injuries to have this surgery.

Dr. Richard Redett in an undated photo.

REUTERS/JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE

Surgeons hope a donated organ from a recently deceased man will provide full function including urination, sensation and sex. The surgery requires joining nerves and blood vessels under a microscope.
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Veterans Get Pennies From Philanthropist's Dollars

Where are the donations? Philanthropists short change veterans’ organizations
Boston Globe
Mady J. Schuman
February 20, 2016

Americans donated $358.4 billion in 2014. But military and veteran organizations received less than two-tenths of one percent of these philanthropic dollars. Simply stated, veterans are not on the radar. The philanthropic community needs a wake-up call that veterans deserve more than platitudes.

JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES/FILE 2014

Veteran Lloyd Epps tested his prosthetic leg at the VA hospital in Manhattan.

For most of the presidential campaign thus far, veterans’ issues have been an afterthought.

Candidates of all stripes have been using veterans as props to score points, but little attention has been paid to the real hardships veterans endure on a daily basis. And precious little time has been spent discussing policy prescriptions that would help the men and women who have fought for our country overseas.

However, over the last few weeks, veterans’ issues have been thrust back into the national spotlight thanks to a well-publicized event in which Donald Trump — under the guise of philanthropy — held a fundraiser. His stated goal was to bring in big bucks for the charities and other organizations that help vets. Instead, the event was a media circus designed to advance the needs of his campaign.

At the same time, veterans groups nationwide have come under scrutiny as one of the largest, richest, and most recognized brands in the space — the Wounded Warrior Project — has been put under the media microscope and its financial and fundraising practices called into question.
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FOX25 Investigates Soldier's Car Lease, Bank Gives Car

Bank decides to relieve car lease for active duty soldier after FOX25 story 
FOX 25 WFXT 
by: Kerry Kavanaugh 
Feb 20, 2016 

PEABODY, Mass. — A Peabody soldier was called to active duty and at first a bank wouldn't give her any relief on her car lease. 

After FOX25 brought the situation to the bank's attention, not only did they forgive the lease, Chase Bank is allowing the soldier to keep the car.

"She's been paying the lease for three years...they should give back to our soldiers a little something," Roxanne Katz, the soldier's mother.

Roxanne Katz said as long as she can remember, her daughter has wanted to serve her country. When she got the call for basic training, the Peabody soldier, Kristina Katz, had just two weeks to get her affairs in order. She tried to terminate the car lease on her Mazda 6, which she would no longer be able to drive or afford. She still had a year left on the 48 month lease, but her family said at first, Chase Bank wasn't budging.

"They sent her a letter saying that they denied the early termination," said Roxanne Katz.

She has since shipped out to her basic training and her family was still trying to get her some relief. FOX25 Investigates learned relief on car leases falls under the Service Members Civil Relief Act.
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PTSD Service Dog Was Too "Small" in Texas?

Veteran with service dog asked to leave local business 
My East Texas 
By Nikki Diaz 
Published 02/19 2016

TYLER, Texas (KETK)
An Army veteran with PTSD is voicing his concerns after he and his service dog were asked to leave a local business.

Veteran Gary Hamilton says he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2008.

He claims, per his psychiatrist recommendation and with help through army administration in Fort Knox, Kentucky, he received a service dog in 2012.

On February 10th, Hamilton says he was asked to leave Healthline Medical in Tyler because of his dog.

"An employee there come up to me and said we're not allowed to have dogs in here and I pointed out to her that, which he had his vest on, and I said, 'He's a service dog and here's the service he provides for me' and she says, 'Well, that doesn't apply to us here because we have respiratory equipment and we have oxygen in here.'"
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