Korean War Veteran died alone...buried by community, Governor and Senator

Hundreds packed a Korean War veteran's funeral when he died without surviving family members in Nebraska

CNN
By Christina Maxouris
June 25, 2019

(CNN)When Dale Quick died earlier this month and left no known survivors, a Nebraska funeral home appealed to his community to make sure he got the funeral he deserved.

"We are appealing to any and all veterans, veterans' clubs and organizations and our community to attend Dale's service to honor an individual who so selflessly served our country," Roper and Sons Funeral Home wrote in an obituary posted to its website.

The 91-year-old "led a simple life" after serving in the military for nearly seven years, the funeral home said.

CNN's Jake Tapper also took to social media to spread the word.

The community heard the call.

On Monday morning, hundreds showed up to pay their respects to Quick, including 50 bikers and flag carriers who led his casket, CNN affiliate KLKN reported.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Sen. Ben Sasse were also there.
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President Trump offered to negotiate for debunked nasal spray for PTSD

Struggling To Curb Veteran Suicide, VA Approves Costly Depression Drug Amid Accusations It’s Rushing The Process

Kaiser Health
June 24, 2019

The agency is racing to get the drug through the approval process after President Donald Trump signaled support for the treatment. But psychiatrists and medical researchers, including some at the VA, raised questions about the drug’s effectiveness and safety, and Democratic lawmakers question why the decision-making on the drug has been so rushed.

The New York Times: Veterans Agency To Offer New Depression Drug, Despite Cost And Safety Concerns Confronted by a rising rate of suicides in some groups of veterans., the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday decided to approve the use of a new and costly depression drug, despite concerns among doctors and other experts about the drug’s effectiveness. The decision to endorse the drug — called Spravato, and manufactured by Janssen, a unit of Johnson and Johnson — came days after President Trump offered to negotiate a deal between the drug maker and the agency. Johnson and Johnson reportedly was working with associates at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, and the company has been supporting V.A. suicide-prevention efforts. (Carey and Steinhauer, 6/21)

Center For Public Integrity: Controversial J&J Drug Pushed By Trump Is Nixed From VA's Pharmacy List A Department of Veterans Affairs panel has pushed back against efforts to rush a controversial anti-depression drug into use for its patients, voting not to include the drug, Spravato, on its list of drugs available through prescription at its pharmacies. The VA had been racing to get Spravato ready for patients after President Trump, according to VA sources, urged the agency to buy the Johnson and Johnson drug for treatment-resistant depression. But psychiatrists and medical researchers, including some at the VA, have raised questions about the drug’s effectiveness and safety. (Cary, 6/21)
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Arrest made after murder of Air National Guard female soldier and children

Arrested boyfriend of slain Staten Island servicewoman had violent past

New York Post
By Tina Moore, Anabel Sosa and Max Jaeger
June 23, 2019

A Staten Island military man was arrested and charged Sunday in the murder of his Air National Guard girlfriend and their two young sons, police announced.

The scene of the alleged murder (left) and Alla Ausheva Richard Harbus; CNP

The arrest came as new details emerged about accused killer Shane Walker’s violent past — and his Russian-born girlfriend’s tragic story of achieving her American dream only for her life to be cut short at 37.

Cops charged Walker, 36, with murder, manslaughter, arson and criminal possession of a weapon for killing US Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Alla Ausheva along with the couple’s sons Ivan, 2, and Elia, 3.

Ausheva was found bludgeoned to death in her home Saturday near the bodies of their children, who appear to have been drowned.
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Community forms Hands Across the Bridge to support veterans and first responders fighting PTSD

Community Joins Hands Across SH 66 Bridge in Support of Veterans, First Responders

Blue Ribbon News

“To see this amount of support from the community shows that people do care,” Salerno said. “And that eases the minds of our military veterans and first responders, knowing that all of these people are out here for them.

(ROCKWALL, TX — June 24, 2019) 
On June 22, community members joined hands on the State Highway 66 bridge to raise awareness on suicides committed among our country’s military veterans and first responders.

In Oct. 2018, Third Watch LE Motorcycle Club started a Walk Across the Bridge movement to raise awareness and combat suicides among veterans and first responders suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The bridge walk, held on the 22nd of each month, has grown from 13 participants in October to an average of 90 participants each month.

As part of their bridge walk event this month, Third Watch LEMC invited folks to line the bridge, hold hands, and take a few minutes of silence to remember those veterans and first responders who committed suicide due to PTSD. The Hands Across the Bridge event saw more than 140 people span a third of the two-mile bridge in support of the cause.

Third Watch LEMC’s John Salerno, a 9/11 survivor and retired NYPD detective, said he was honored at the turnout for the event, and hopes they can make it halfway across the bridge for the next one.
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Veteran lost brother to PTSD battle...stranger let her know he cared

Stranger leaves heartfelt note for veteran who lost brother to PTSD

WINK
Jerrica Valtierra
Jack Lowenstein
Published: June 20, 2019

A little kindness can go a long way. And for a woman, a stranger’s act of kindness meant the world to her. Now, she wants to thank a man who showed her and her brother a simple kindness.

Lauren Osborne is a retired Florida Highway Patrol officer and a U.S. Air Force veteran. Osborne lost her brother to PTSD after he served in the U.S Marines Corp.

Osborne drives around with a special decal on her car that memorializes her brother’s life. She also just so happens to have a dash cam that captured a man share his sentiments with her.

“There’s no way that I could really thank him for what he did,” Osborne said. “It was really sweet.”

Osborne’s camera recorded the moment a man left a note on her car’s windshield.

“Sorry about your brother,” the stranger’s note read. “May God bless him. He was part of a great brotherhood.”

Osborne said she had to take the time to appreciate the message left especially for her and her brother.

“I received this note,” Osborne said. “I was actually taken aback a little bit. I had to sit in my car and read it.”

Osborne’s brother served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Osborne said he experienced the unimaginable while he was overseas.

“One of the hardest things I ever probably will go through in my entire life,” Osborne said. “My brother, a U.S. Marine for five years, he was a sergeant when he discharged at the end of 2010. He became incredibly withdrawn.”
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