Homeless Vet Who Died in Casper is One of Many
K2 Radio
By Roger Gray
November 27, 2016
Stephen Carl Reiman was a veteran of the United States Navy.
He served during the tail end of the Viet Nam War on board the missile cruiser USS Long Beach.
And he died in Casper on November 17th.
But, no one knew where he was from, where his family was, or anything else, other than his military service.
He was in a motel room in Sheridan when he fell ill, and died at the Wyoming Medical Center.
And except for the doctors and nurses in attendance, Stephen Reiman was alone.
A group called the Missing in America Project is dedicated to finding these vets who die homeless and alone.
And there are a lot of them.
“As of today, we have contacted about 2000 funeral homes out of about 23,000 in the nation, so we are still only at the start of our project,” said Fred Salanti, who heads up the project.
“We have found cremains in those 2000 funeral homes of 14,202 unclaimed people. Of that number, we have identified veteran’s cremains of 3,206. Of that number, 2,947 are already buried. And the rest are waiting for a service to be held in the area.”
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Monday, November 28, 2016
Stolen Valor Texas Marine Pleads Guilty
Texas Marine pleads guilty to stealing dead veteran’s war story, defrauding government
New York Daily News
Sarah Grochowski
November 28, 2016
A former Marine who cashed in on false claims of a wounded combat veteran's story is now facing 21 years behind bars.
A federal investigation has accused the Marine with taking another veteran's tale of survival as his own. Blackstone pleaded guilty to all of the charges, ABC affiliate WFAA reports.
Blackstone garnered monthly stipends from the U.S. Veteran's Association and secured a mortgage-free home from charity in 2012, according to the report.
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New York Daily News
Sarah Grochowski
November 28, 2016
A former Marine who cashed in on false claims of a wounded combat veteran's story is now facing 21 years behind bars.
A federal investigation has accused Brandon Blackstone with taking another veteran's tale of survival as his own. (MIKE FAVAZZA VIA YOUTUBE)Brandon Blackstone, a Texas Marine, for years told the heart-wrenching tale of a Humvee that drove over an active landmine during his service in the Iraq War, claiming he sustained traumatic brain, head, and leg injuries.
A federal investigation has accused the Marine with taking another veteran's tale of survival as his own. Blackstone pleaded guilty to all of the charges, ABC affiliate WFAA reports.
Blackstone garnered monthly stipends from the U.S. Veteran's Association and secured a mortgage-free home from charity in 2012, according to the report.
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Sunday, November 27, 2016
Marine Riders of Michiana Spent Thanksgiving with "Family"
Local Marines open doors for homeless vets on Thanksgiving
WNDU 16 News
Shaun Gallagher
November 24, 2016
ELKHART, Ind. --- Thanksgiving is a day to enjoy time with family and some great food but for some local veterans, they don't have that option. Some homeless veterans from Miller's Vets had the opportunity to experience Thanksgiving with a family of a different kind; their extended military family.
"We've all had our Thanksgiving with our families," Paul "Goose" Patillo, Squad Leader of Marine Riders of Michiana said. "Every year, it's the same thing. Well, we'd like to start taking care of the veterans on Thanksgiving Day to have the full effect of Thanksgiving."
Patillo is a member of Marine Riders of Michiana, a local motorcycle club of marines. Patillo says many times people hold dinners for veterans down on their luck a week or two after Thanksgiving but it loses its luster. So he wanted to hold something day of to give them the full effect of the holiday.
For the veterans in attendance, they're familiar with missing holidays like Thanksgiving while serving overseas. So they depend on each other as family to enjoy Thanksgiving.
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WNDU 16 News
Shaun Gallagher
November 24, 2016
"A lot of us when we were in the service, a lot of us couldn't go home, couldn't afford to go home or couldn't make a drive," Castillo said. "We all got together and that was Thanksgiving. It was as good as being with family without being with your family."
"We've all had our Thanksgiving with our families," Paul "Goose" Patillo, Squad Leader of Marine Riders of Michiana said. "Every year, it's the same thing. Well, we'd like to start taking care of the veterans on Thanksgiving Day to have the full effect of Thanksgiving."
Patillo is a member of Marine Riders of Michiana, a local motorcycle club of marines. Patillo says many times people hold dinners for veterans down on their luck a week or two after Thanksgiving but it loses its luster. So he wanted to hold something day of to give them the full effect of the holiday.
For the veterans in attendance, they're familiar with missing holidays like Thanksgiving while serving overseas. So they depend on each other as family to enjoy Thanksgiving.
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Navy Capt. Paul "Bud" Rogers to be buried at sea
Navy veteran, who was supposed to be on USS Thresher, to be buried where submarine sank
The Day
By Julia Bergman Day staff writer
November 26, 2016
Groton — A Navy veteran will soon be laid to rest at the bottom of the ocean, more than 200 miles off the New England coast. A submarine from the Naval Submarine Base will fulfill the wish of deceased Navy Capt. Paul "Bud" Rogers to be buried at sea. During routine operations, the submarine will transport Rogers' cremated remains to where the USS Thresher (SSN-593) sank. The Navy is not releasing the name of the submarine or the date the burial will take place, since it does not discuss submarine operations.
Rogers, who spent much of his 41-year career serving on submarines, was supposed to be an observer on the Thresher during the boat's sea trials, but his supervisor, at the last minute, decided that he didn't have enough experience and replaced him with someone else.
It was just a day or two later, according to Rogers' wife, that on April 10, 1963, the Thresher sank — killing all 129 men aboard.
Rogers was devastated, and felt survivor's remorse for much of his life.
"Bud felt that he should've been the one to go down with the Thresher, not this other man," his wife, Barbara "Bobbye" Rogers, 86, said from her home in Wernersville, Penn. "All those years, it bothered him."
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The Day
By Julia Bergman Day staff writer
November 26, 2016
Groton — A Navy veteran will soon be laid to rest at the bottom of the ocean, more than 200 miles off the New England coast. A submarine from the Naval Submarine Base will fulfill the wish of deceased Navy Capt. Paul "Bud" Rogers to be buried at sea. During routine operations, the submarine will transport Rogers' cremated remains to where the USS Thresher (SSN-593) sank. The Navy is not releasing the name of the submarine or the date the burial will take place, since it does not discuss submarine operations.
Rogers, who spent much of his 41-year career serving on submarines, was supposed to be an observer on the Thresher during the boat's sea trials, but his supervisor, at the last minute, decided that he didn't have enough experience and replaced him with someone else.
It was just a day or two later, according to Rogers' wife, that on April 10, 1963, the Thresher sank — killing all 129 men aboard.
Rogers was devastated, and felt survivor's remorse for much of his life.
"Bud felt that he should've been the one to go down with the Thresher, not this other man," his wife, Barbara "Bobbye" Rogers, 86, said from her home in Wernersville, Penn. "All those years, it bothered him."
read more here
Massachusetts College Removed American Flag? Seriously!
The state where the Revolutionary started raised a bunch of whiners afraid of the flag patriots died for? And the college gave into them, taking it down...can't publish the rest of what I'm thinking right now.
Veterans to Protest at College That Stopped Flying US Flags
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AMHERST, Mass
Nov 27, 2016
Veterans are planning a protest at a western Massachusetts college facing criticism from around the country for its decision to stop flying U.S. flags after students allegedly burned a flag in protest of Donald Trump's presidential election.
Local veterans and others intend to place hundreds of U.S. flags on the streets around Hampshire College in Amherst on Sunday, as part of what organizers are calling a "peaceful demonstration of freedom."
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Hampshire College In Amherst Stops Flying All Flags
CBS News Boston
November 22, 2016
“There were a range of views on campus, including people whose experience growing up have made the flag a symbol of fear,"
A worker takes down an American flag on the campus of Hampshire College. (WBZ-TV)AMHERST (CBS) — It’s been a week of flag-related controversy for Hampshire College, after the school’s Board of Trustees made the decision to lower the U.S. flag on campus to half-staff in the wake of the presidential election–and then decided to remove the flag entirely after a wave of backlash.
Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash told WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Ben Parker he knows it’s a controversial decision to remove the flag, but he wanted to create a dialogue among those with differing opinions about the symbol.
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