"Decorated" Vietnam Veteran Faces Charges Under Stolen Valor

Feds charge Davenport man over medals, Stolen Valor 
Quad City Times
Barb Ickes
Updated 8 hrs ago

Following additional inquiries to the Army and Navy by a Times reporter, a military investigation of Brooks' service record commenced. Results indicated Brooks earned no Silver Stars, nor was he awarded any Purple Hearts.

A decorated Davenport Vietnam veteran is not as decorated as he has claimed, according to federal officials, and he now is facing a charge related to Stolen Valor.

One year ago, Bob Brooks told the Quad-City Times that his war record has been questioned for decades, even by his fellow veterans in Vietnam Veterans Quad-Cities Chapter 299. Although he long has been an active member of the chapter, Brooks was asked last year to resign from the group's Honor Guard and to step down from his role as a delegate to the national convention of Vietnam Veterans.

Brooks did not return phone calls seeking comment.

In a recent letter to members of Chapter 299, president Bill Albracht wrote, "This all came about after the conclusion of an ongoing investigation in reference to Brooks claiming numerous valor awards and military decorations that he never earned nor received. Although he did serve with distinction in Vietnam, he was never awarded the claimed 3 Silver Stars, 5 Purple Hearts."
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Suspect in Murder-Suicide Sought Help

Brother: Gunman in murder-suicide near J'town battled PTSD
WAVE3 News
By Joey Brown, Digital Content Manager
Wednesday, March 23rd 2016

Brad Hettinger's obituary shows him in a military uniform and identifies him as Captain Brad Louis Hettinger. It states that he had served as captain of the 8-229th ARB Task Force Apache Flying Tigers overseas.

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The brother of a man who shot and killed his wife and two young children, and then torched their house before taking his own life on Sunday says in a written statement about the tragedy that Brad Hettinger had been battling post-traumatic stress disorder.

The statement, issued just after noon on Wednesday, reads in its entirety as follows:

"We as a family are devastated and deeply shaken by the events that have transpired. Brad Hettinger was an honorable, respectable, family centered man who believed strongly in his religious values, who served his country with valor, and who provided a nurturing and caring environment for his family. Before the events of March 20, Brad was actively seeking help for complications associated with PTSD while simultaneously attending marriage counseling with his wife. We ask the greater Louisville community to direct some of your prayers and thoughts toward the Gayheart and Hettinger families during this most grievous of times."
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Vietnam Veterans Saved By The Boss

How Bruce Springsteen Rescued Vietnam Veterans of America—and the Vietnam Veterans Movement
Vietnam Veterans of America Online
BY MARC LEEPSON
March/April 2016

If “it wasn’t for Bruce coming forward,” Muller said, “there would not have been a coherent, national movement on behalf of Vietnam vets.” VVA “became the national group, the only national group, with a [congressional] charter.”

Near the end of his sold-out concert January 29 in Washington, D.C., rock and roll legend Bruce Springsteen told the crowd of more than 18,000 that he had some special guests in the audience, a group of veterans from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Then he recognized another veteran in the house: Bobby Muller.

It was altogether fitting and proper that Springsteen—the hard-rocking, 66-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician, singer, and songwriter—recognized Muller, the founder and first president of Vietnam Veterans of America. That’s because Springsteen has been a strong supporter of Vietnam veterans and VVA for more than thirty-five years.

“Strong,” in fact, barely describes Springsteen’s commitment to VVA and the men and women who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. That’s because in 1981, three short years after the organization was founded, when VVA was at a financial crisis point and about to go under, Bruce Springsteen stepped in and saved the organization.

“In those early years it was always hand to mouth,” said John Terzano, who ran VVA’s Washington, D.C., office in the early 1980s. “Figuring out how to pay our bills was a constant problem. We had to go months without paying the rent, and had numerous conversations about shutting down. We were in extra dire straits.”

“We were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt,” Muller said. “I’m in my [New York] office and I’m preparing to close down the organization [and] I get a call.” On the line: Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen’s manager. Landau told Muller that Springsteen “was interested in Vietnam vets and you seem like the guy” to talk to. He invited Muller to see Springsteen perform the next night, July 3, 1981, at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. After the show—he was blown away—Muller and Springsteen met and talked.

The upshot: Springsteen gave a benefit concert the next month in Los Angeles. That concert, on August 20, 1981, at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena, sold out. Afterward, Bruce Springsteen presented VVA a check for $100,000, “a staggering sum of money,” as Muller put it.
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National Puppy Day Honors Hero Dogs

Heroic dogs that saved their owner’s lives from fires, suicide and more as we celebrate National Puppy Day 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 
BY NICOLE BITETTE 
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

MIDDLEBRANCH VETERINARY Service dog Figo, who threw himself into the path of an oncoming mini-bus to shield his blind owner, has come out of surgery and is on the mend.

Dog is every owner's best friend.

It is commonly known that dogs are incredibly loyal and have instincts to help others. The pets are present in more than 43 million U.S. households — and for good reason.

Pooches have come to the aid of their owner's on countless occasions and are known to help those suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD and many other illnesses.

On National Puppy Day, here's a look at just a few of the many dogs that saved their owner's lives:
read about them here

Our dog Harry was a rescue but to tell the truth, I think what he gave us back in return meant he was an angel in disguise. He protected the house and then rested on a huge chair in the living room along with perfectly placed pillows or he'd rearrange them himself. What else would you expect considering he was Rhodesian Ridgeback-Rottweiler-Hound?

On Monday we had to put Harry to rest. Something happened to either his spinal cord or a disc. The vet wasn't sure and couldn't tell unless he had an operation but with no guarantee he would be as active, we couldn't put him through it. Both rear legs were paralyzed. He turned 5 this month.

Harry was my husband's brother and my baby. I know that sounds strange but while I was at work, he kept my husband company until Momma came home and then he freaked out as if I had been gone for days.

If you can't understand how much dogs mean to a family, then you probably never had one as part of your's.

This is what Harry did every time he heard a fire engine, almost as if he knew they were putting their lives in danger.
Love your dog and cherish all the time you have with them. If you lose them, then grieve for the loss and if someone acts as if they should have meant nothing to you, feel sorry for them because they missed all the love you received from the dog they just didn't understand.

Australia: Need for Annual Mental Health Screenings Pushed

Here in the US there is already a law requiring it however, when asked by our Senate, they said they didn't do post-deployment screenings. 

ADF members should have annual mental health screenings, Senate inquiry recommends 
ABC News Australia 
By Kristy O'Brien 
March 22, 2016

Since 2000, 96 serving members have killed themselves and a further 13 veterans have taken their own life.

Alex Kasmarek struggled with mental illness for eight years after returning from Iraq. ABC News

An Iraq veteran has spoken out about his experience with mental illness following his service abroad, saying he felt suicidal every day for eight years.

Alex Kasmarek has told the ABC his life spiralled out of control after he returned from an eight-month rotation of Iraq, left the military and found himself homeless.

His comments come after a Senate inquiry found nearly one in four returned soldiers had experienced a mental disorder in the previous 12 months, and the rate of suicidality - which the Federal Government defines as serious thoughts about taking one's own life, suicide plans and suicide attempts - was double those of the general population.

"Every day of my life for eight years I had an undesirable will to shoot myself. Every single day. And I just didn't know why," Mr Kasmarek said.

"I didn't know what PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] was exactly, and Army doctors told me I was fine. I just thought I was going mentally insane."
read more here

When you watch this clip, you'll hear how low the suicides were back then, so please remember, they were important enough to hold a hearing like this back then but things got worse and we received no accountability from anyone. Their answer was a half day course for "non-commissioned officers" to take.