Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan lost Marine veteran brother to COVID-19

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan says coronavirus killed her Marine brother

Fox News
By Robert Gearty
March 24, 2020

“THIS is why we must #StayHome,” Flanagan wrote. “If you feel fine, that’s great. But please consider the possibility that you’re carrying the virus and don’t know it, and then you walk past the next Ron, my big brother, in public. COVID-19 now has a personal connection to me. Please do all you can to prevent one for you.”

A man who died of the coronavirus in Tennessee over the weekend had served in the Marines and was the older brother of Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan.

She shared the sad news in an Instagram post Sunday night, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

“To many, he’ll be a statistic: Tennessee’s second COVID-related death,” she wrote. “But to me, I’ll remember a loving, older brother, uncle, father and husband.”
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Increase in calls to Veterans Crisis Line during COVID-19 isolation

Wounded Times saw this one coming!

Pandemic prompts an increase in calls to Veterans Crisis Line

STARS AND STRIPES
By NIKKI WENTLING
Published: March 24, 2020

“We are highly concerned over the likelihood the suicide crisis is deepening,” said Joe Chenelly, national executive director of AMVETS. "The combination of required physical isolation, the worry about getting sick, and the economic turbulence has the potential to be devastating.”

WASHINGTON — Calls to the Veterans Crisis Line have increased since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Monday.

The crisis line, a suicide prevention tool for veterans and their families, has experienced a 12% increase in call volume, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie told veterans organizations on a call Sunday. About 20% of recent calls to the hotline were related to the pandemic, the VA press secretary confirmed.

The VA posted to its website a list of recommendations for veterans who are anxious about the pandemic. They suggested staying connected with friends and family over the phone and on social media, meditating, reducing their news consumption before going to sleep, doing activities they enjoy, focusing on what they can control, eating a balanced diet and exercising, among other things. read it here

And here is the post, Isolated veterans need help during COVID-19

U.S. Marine veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and as police officer committed suicide in lobby

When a veteran commits suicide at a VA, it is a scream for help for others before it is too late for them. When a police officer does it at the station, it is for the same reason. So when exactly do we allow that scream to motivate us to actually do something?

Former Euclid Police officer commits suicide in department's lobby

News Herald
Staff report
Mar 23, 2020

Gauntner was a decorated police officer and is a U.S. Marine veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, according to a previous News-Herald article.

Todd Gauntner a former Euclid Police officer, committed suicide March 23 in the department's lobby. In 2019, Gauntner, left, was sentenced to five days in jail for brandishing a gun at two men during a 2018 bar fight in Willoughby. News-Herald file

Former Euclid Police Officer Todd Gauntner came to the Euclid Police Department lobby at 3 a.m., March 23, and committed suicide, the department announced in a news release.

He made no attempt to hurt anyone other than himself and no one else was injured, the release stated.
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Abrams tank burst into flames on Fort Hood

The Army is investigating why an M1 Abrams tank burst into flames on Fort Hood

Task and Purpose
JAMES CLARK
MAR 23, 2020

"We can report that no injuries occurred as a result of the fire." Maj. Paul M. Oliver

The tank appears to have caught fire just outside the unit's motor pool on Fort Hood.(Reddit)

An M1 Abrams main battle tank belonging to 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment caught fire on Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas.

A photo of the flaming tank, which appears to have been taken just outside the unit's motor pool, began making the rounds on the r/Army subreddit on Friday, though the post has since been deleted.

Multiple videos, shot by several different soldiers, were sent U.S. Army WTF Moments, a popular online military community, which provided the footage to Task and Purpose.
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Florida Deputies took custody of homeless, partially blind veteran with open hearts!

A partially blind homeless veteran was robbed. Florida deputies put him up in a hotel.

WTSP
Author: Dale Greenstein
March 23, 2020

The deputies said it was a privilege to help someone who fell on hard times after serving our country.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Sadly, his story is far from unique. He risked his life for our country, and now he’s spending his life on the streets.

But one homeless veteran’s desperate situation got even worse – when he was robbed. He’s partially blind. He was hungry. And he needed help.

He has family – a sister – but she's is dying from cancer, so he refused to become a burden on her.

That’s where two Florida deputies come in.

According to a Facebook post from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Deputies Perez and Wensyel came across the veteran and simply couldn’t turn a blind eye.

They bought him a warm meal. But, they weren’t finished.

The deputies found him a hotel to stay in and paid for the room out of their own pockets.
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