New Video for Point Man Int. Ministries

One of the greatest blessing in what I do is coming into contact with people from all over the country and in many other nations. People who work on PTSD do it for one reason and that is to help people who have survived trauma. Some do it because someone they know was wounded so deeply they developed PTSD, as in my case with my husband. Some do it because they survived trauma and felt blessed they did not develop PTSD. Others simply do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Whatever the reason, all of us agree that each part that makes us human has been wounded and needs to be taken care of to heal as well as possible. The mind, body and spirit are all connected. This I know very well and so do groups like Point Man International Ministries.

There is a lot of talk in the news about the soldier who is an atheist being treated badly because he does not believe in God. As a Chaplain it is not our duty to convert anyone or force anyone into anything. We are supposed to be there to help as humans. Oh, sure our faith is the basis for what we do, but Chaplains come in all faiths. More on this later.

For most who offer their spiritual guidance and support, nothing else matters but the need for help, healing, forgiveness and compassion. That is what Point Man has been doing since 1984.

Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge.
It isn't about who got a parade! When I came home from Vietnam, my cousin, a WWII Vet invited me to a VFW meeting and I was all but ignored because I was not in a "real" war and so how could I have any kind of problem? All these guys stuck to each other like glue and pretty much ignored the "new" Vets. And you all remember how it felt. I see the same "new guys" 35 years later with the same baloney coming out of their mouths. How in the world can you say you support the troops and then ignore them when they get home?

Seems to me that no matter how many are killed, the survivors have an obligation to each other and to our posterity to insure the "new guys" don't go through the same stuff our dads, grandfathers and ourselves had to endure...

So to all you "NEW GUYS", Welcome Home. Thank you for a job well done. Your sacrifice is deeply appreciated here. We support you regardless of when or where you served; we understand what you've been through and what you're dealing with now. Continue through the site and get connected!
Dana Morgan (President of PMIM)http://www.pmim.org/

So this new video is for them and all the work they do. It is what they are about. From WWII and Korea, to Vietnam and the Gulf War and into Afghanistan and Iraq, Point Man is reaching out to help the wounded warrior's spirits heal. If you think you need help, you are pretty much 100% correct. You need all the help you can get right now, not tomorrow and not waiting for the VA to get in gear to be able to take care of all of you. Call Point Man Ministries and begin to heal now instead of waiting.

I posted earlier today how the bulk of the troops and veterans with PTSD are afraid to seek help because it will hurt their careers. This is not the case but the fear is still very real and keeping them from getting help. They are suffering while waiting. Show them the way and tell them to call Point Man Ministries to begin to heal. Speak to other veterans who have been there and done that.

These are some pictures of members of Point Man Ministries I met at the Traveling Wall in Florida for the reunion in Melbourne.








This is the President of Point Man Dana Morgan


And this is my friend Mike Harris


If you are a wounded veteran who wants to know how much you are loved, call them and know what pure love is.

Study finds troops shy away from mental health care

Study finds troops shy away from mental health care
Story Highlights
NEW: Gates to announce efforts urging troops to seek more mental care

Military personnel fear seeking help for mental health problems could harm careers

APA survey: 3 out of 5 military members fear consequences of getting help

RAND Corp. study: 1 in 5 Afghanistan or Iraq war vets has psychiatric problems

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. military personnel fear that seeking help for mental health problems could harm their careers, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Three of five members of the military worry that it would have at least some impact, according to the small online survey conducted for the American Psychiatric Association. About half said they thought other people would think less of them if they sought help for mental health problems.

The report was released a day before a scheduled announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates aimed at encouraging more service members to seek help for post-combat stress.

Pentagon officials said troops who file for security clearances will no longer have to answer a question on the standard application about whether they have been treated for combat-related mental health issues. Currently, if service members say they have received treatment, they must answer the question in an in-depth interview with a security agent.

Dr. Carolyn Robinowitz, president of the APA, called the figures in the survey "alarming" and urged Congress to devote more money to treating mental health problems arising from service in combat zones.

One in four of the troops surveyed said he or she knew "nothing at all about effective mental health treatments for issues that may arise from their service in a war zone," Robinowitz said.
She said a military culture that emphasizes toughness could hinder efforts to get troops to seek help.

"The military has done a good job of having a lot of educational materials around," she said, but she is not sure the information "filtered down" to the people who need it.

An Army psychiatrist admitted that it is a challenge to get people to seek help.

"Stigma is a problem. We recognize that," said Col. Elisabeth Cameron Ritchie of the Army surgeon general's office. "Anything we can do to decrease the stigma, we want to do."

A clear majority of troops rated their own mental health as good or excellent, but many reported regularly experiencing common symptoms of mental illness, including difficulty sleeping at least twice a week and a lack of interest in daily activities at least twice a week.

The findings came on the heels of a much larger study by the RAND Corp., which found that nearly one in five service members returning from Afghanistan or Iraq had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression, but only about half of them sought treatment.

That study, "Invisible Wounds of War," also said troops feared that seeking help could harm their careers.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/30/military.mentalhealth/

Experts say millions more could seek help for PTSD

Posted on Mon, Apr. 28, 2008

The War Within: Experts say millions could seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder
BY MIKE FITZGERALD
News-Democrat

Forget what they say about time healing all wounds.

More than 57 years have passed since Phil Heath, 76, of Granite City, served with the Marine Corps in Korea. But he can't shake the image of the first Marine he saw die in combat.

It was April 24, 1951. Heath's company was trapped on a hill, defending it from communist attackers.

Fallen Marines covered the hillside, and stretchers were scarce. So Heath and his comrades used an old tarp to carry away the soldier's body, he said.

"But in order to put him in there, I had to pick his intestines up off the ground and put them on him," said Heath, a retired steel mill supervisor. "So his intestines were just laying open."

Neither can Heath forget the last Marine he saw die five months later.



That was Sept. 15, 1951. Promoted by then to platoon leader, Heath was fighting to survive on an outpost nicknamed "Starvation Hill." He had taken cover in a foxhole when Chinese mortar shells began raining down on his unit.

"And a young 18-year-old boy in my platoon had the left side of his head blown off," Heath said, his voice quavering. "I'll never get over it, you know."

'People who deserve help'

Heath is one of hundreds of thousands of aged veterans seeking help for the nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety they have battled for decades. They are spurred by a growing public awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) wrought by tens of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking help.

And experts predict millions more World War II, Korea and Vietnam veterans will join them.

go here for more
http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/321948.html

Twin Ports VA wants women to seek help

News From 91.3 KUWS
Twin Ports VA wants women to seek help
Story posted Tuesday at 6:22 p.m.

4/29/2008


Veterans’ outreach workers are planning a workshop for women veterans. Danielle Kaeding reports services in the area are lacking for women in the military.

The Twin Ports VA Clinic in Superior sees 6000 veterans for care in the region. Jeff Hall is a retired major who served in the Persian Gulf and is now a social worker with the clinic. He helps women vets who were victims of sexual assault. “They generally come in for other reasons, seeking healthcare or something. The VA has computerized records, and, on the computerized records, there are assessments. You know, questions they’ve got to ask everybody: questions about depression, questions about PTSD, questions about military sexual trauma.
go here for more
http://www.businessnorth.com/kuws.asp?RID=2298

40% Military Spouses See Mental Health Harm

Wars Harming Mental Health
Of Soldiers, Spouses
Problems Present
Long, Hidden Toll;
Help Often Avoided
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
April 30, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused heightened stress, depression and sleeplessness among some military personnel and their families, a new report says.


The survey by the American Psychiatric Association, set to be released Wednesday, found that 32% of military members believe their tours in the two war zones had "at least some negative impact" on their mental well-being. Among military spouses, 40% believed their mental health was hurt by their husband's or wife's service overseas.

Many members of the military community remain reluctant to request counseling, the report found. Almost 75% of the military personnel felt that seeking help would harm their careers, while 66% of the military spouses worried that looking for assistance for their own issues would harm their loved ones' chances of promotion.

"The old beliefs remain in place in the military, and there's a real fear that admitting to mental illness will mean being stigmatized," said Dr. Carolyn Robinowitz, president of the American Psychiatric Association. "The risk is that mental-health issues can go untreated, which has the potential to really hit families hard."

This is the first time the APA has commissioned such a survey, making it hard to judge changes over time in the mental health of military personnel. The survey of 183 military members and 164 spouses was conducted online by Harris Interactive. The report didn't give a margin of error.

The report adds to concerns that mental-health problems will be a long-term and largely hidden cost of current conflicts.

Because of advances in medicine, many military personnel are surviving physical injuries that would have been fatal a few years earlier. But the grinding nature of the counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, where there are no clear front lines and where civilian casualties are common, means that more veterans might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression than in conflicts such as World War II.


"The young men and young women today spend 365 days on the front lines, and I think that has the possibility of a serious toll on someone," Rep. Ike Skelton (D., Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters Tuesday.
click post title for more

One of the greatest strengths there is to help veterans seek help for combat stress or PTSD is the family. They are on the front line of the battle for peace, yet too many don't know it or even come close to understanding the vital role they play. Soldiers are trained to do their jobs but the spouse is expected to just stay home and wait instead of being trained to take on the war they bring home within their minds. Even today, thirty years after this wound was called Post Traumatic Stress, far too many are not aware of any part of this wound. While they may know something is wrong, the majority of the spouse population come under the false hope that their spouse will "get over it" and go back to the way they were. This false hope is too often deadly.

As time is lost waiting for them to return to "normal" PTSD claims more territory within the mind of the soldier. More time is lost as the spouse struggles to figure out what they themselves did wrong and eventually without intervention, marriages fall apart. Depression increases and hope of healing or "getting over it" evaporates. All of this needlessly because as soon as they seek help for PTSD it stops getting worse. Yet when you ask a spouse if they love their husband or wife enough to save their lives, they would say they would do anything. So where is the disconnect?

When it comes to PTSD they simply assume their spouse just doesn't love them enough anymore. They assume their soldier spouse is acting like all other people do when they no longer want to be married and the impression of the rate of divorce clouds their view of the man or woman they fell in love with. While the affects of PTSD create havoc in the home, they cannot see the wound that has created all of it.

Combat veterans cannot be viewed as normal people. There is nothing normal about combat. There is nothing that goes on that is part of normal life. When you think about the fact there are over 300 million people in this country yet only about 24 million veterans with less serving in combat zones.

Veterans Day 2007: Nov. 11

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars. The day has evolved into also honoring living military veterans with parades and speeches across the nation. A national ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

23.7 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2006.
(Source: Table 505 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

Female Veterans

1.7 million
The number of female veterans in 2006.
(Source: Table 505 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

16%
Percentage of Gulf War veterans in 2006 who were women.
(Source: Table 506 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

Race and Hispanic Origin

2.4 million
The number of black veterans in 2006. Additionally, 1.1 million veterans are Hispanic; 292,000 are Asian; 169,000 are American Indian or Alaska Native; and 28,000 are Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders cover only those reporting a single race.) (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)

When They Served

9.2 million
The number of veterans 65 and older in 2006. At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.9 million were younger than 35.
(Source: Table 506 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

8 million
Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2006. Thirty-three percent of all living veterans served during this time (1964-1975). In addition, 4.6 million served during the Gulf War (representing service from Aug. 2, 1990, to present); 3.2 million in World War II (1941-1945); 3.1 million in the Korean War (1950-1953); and 6.1 million in peacetime. (Source: Table 506 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

430,000
In 2006, number of living veterans who served during both the Vietnam era and the Gulf War.

Other living veterans in 2006 who served in two or more wars:

350,000 served during both the Korean and Vietnam wars.

78,000 served during three periods: World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

294,000 served in World War II and the Korean War. (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)
3
The documented number of living World War I veterans who served with U.S. forces as of Oct. 2, 2007. (Source: Department of Veterans Affairs)

Where They Live

6
Number of states with 1 million or more veterans in 2006. These states are California (2.2 million), Florida (1.7 million), Texas (1.7 million), New York (1.1 million), Pennsylvania (1.1 million) and Ohio (1 million). (Source: Table 505 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

Education

25%
Percent of veterans 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree in 2006. (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)

90%
Percent of veterans 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher in 2006. (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)

Income and Poverty

$34,437
Annual median income of veterans, in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars. (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)

5.9%
Percentage of veterans living in poverty, as of 2006. The corresponding rate for nonveterans was 12.3 percent. (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)

On the Job

11.1 million
Number of veterans 18 to 64 in the labor force in 2006. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey.)

Disabilities

6.1 million
Number of veterans with a disability. More than half this number (3.5 million) were 65 and older. (Source: 2006 American Community Survey.)

Voting

17.4 million
Number of veterans who voted in the 2004 presidential election. Seventy-four percent of veterans cast a ballot, compared with 63 percent of nonveterans. (Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004, at

Business Owners

14.5%
Percentage of owners of firms that responded to the 2002 Survey of Business Owners who were veterans. Respondent veteran business owners totaled 3 million. (Source: Characteristics of Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2002 at )

68%
Percentage of veteran owners of respondent firms who were 55 and older. This compares with 31 percent of all owners of respondent firms. Similarly, in 2002, 55 percent of veteran-owned respondent firms with employees reported that their businesses were established, purchased, or acquired before 1990, compared with 36 percent of all employer respondent firms. (Source: Characteristics of Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2002 and Characteristics of Veteran Business Owners: 2002, at )

7%
Percentage of all respondent veteran owners who were disabled as the result of injury incurred or aggravated during active military service. (Source: Characteristics of Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2002 and Characteristics of Veteran Business Owners: 2002, at )

Benefits

2.7 million
Number of veterans who received compensation for service-connected disabilities as of 2006. Their compensation totaled $26.6 billion.
(Source: Tables 508 and 509 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

Jan. 21, 2007
The date of death of the last World War I veteran receiving compensation or pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Source: Department of Veterans Affairs)

$72.4 billion
Total amount of federal government spending for veterans benefits programs in fiscal year 2006. Of this total, $34.5 billion went to compensation and pensions and $31.3 billion for medical programs. (Source: Table 508 of the upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008.)

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/010733.html

How could anyone ever look at veterans as "normal" when they are unlike the rest of us who have never had to do what they have had to do?

There is a training procedure the Pentagon has never even contemplated tackling when they train the soldiers to take care of their weapons and use them. They never thought about training the families to love them proactively. They never trained them to watch over them and know when they need help. Yet as this report provides even more support to the claim it is the spouse who is the one who notices the affects of combat, they are the last to understand what it all is and what needs to be done about it. If 40% see the mental health changes and harm, then why is it less than 40% of the veterans seek help? Why isn't it 100% of the veterans with PTSD seeking help when if it had been a bullet wound, they all would be treated? It's because the military has yet to treat PTSD like all other wounds.


Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Father's Fort Bragg video causes Army wide inspections!

Army-wide barracks inspection ordered

By Matthew Cox - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 18:26:05 EDT

The Army’s senior leadership recently ordered a service-wide barracks inspection to make sure its billets are in better shape than the dilapidated quarters 82nd Airborne Division soldiers just came home to from Afghanistan, Army installation heads said today.

The impromptu walk-through carried out by all major commands occurred this past weekend in response to a video posted recently on YouTube that shows peeling paint, mold and a bathroom drain plugged with what appears to be sewage in the barracks that paratroopers from the Fort Bragg, N.C., unit were housed in after returning from a 15-month combat deployment.

“Folks, we let our soldiers down; that is not like us,” Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, the deputy director of Operations & Facilities of Army Installation Command, told reporters. “There is no good excuse for what happened.”

While the walk-through is not yet complete, Rogers said that garrison commanders have reported so far that “soldiers are being housed to the Army’s standard,” but stopped short of describing the poor barracks conditions some soldiers are living in at Fort Bragg as an isolated incident.

“I would hope that it is an isolated condition, and we will figure that out,” Rogers said. “If there are issues; we’ll fix them. That’s what we are going to do, we are going to fix them,” Rogers said. “We are still going through the data, and we will know by the end of the week.”

In addition to the walk-through, Army installation officials have stood up a Senior Non- Commissioned Officer Facilities Forum to make an assessment of Army barracks conditions. The forum, which will meet monthly, will be chaired by Command Sgt. Major Debra Strickland of Installation Management Command. It will inspect barracks and make recommendations for correcting current and future upkeep problems.

The video, shot by the father of Sgt. Jeff Frawley on April 14, caught the attention of Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., on April 25. She said she contacted the Army secretary after learning of the barracks’ condition.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/army_barracks_roundtable_042908w/


Don't anyone ever say it with a straight face again that one person cannot make a difference. This father just did!

Military reports 4 deaths and 13 wounded

6 soldiers wounded in Iraq fighting

By Hamid Ahmed - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 10:07:30 EDT

BAGHDAD — More than two dozen people were killed when Shiite militants ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad’s embattled Sadr City district, bringing the death toll in area on Tuesday to more than 30, a U.S. military spokesman and Iraqi officials said.

The clashes broke out at 9:30 a.m. after U.S. troops were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, spokesman Navy Lt. Col. Steve Stover said.

Six American soldiers were wounded in the fighting. As the troops were leaving the area, a vehicle was hit with two roadside bombs, Stover said.

The attack occurred along a road on which the U.S. military is erecting a concrete barrier to try to cut off the militants’ ability to move freely into the rest of Baghdad and hamper their ability to fire rockets and mortars at the Green Zone, the central Baghdad district where government offices and the U.S. Embassy are located.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_iraqfighting_042908/

Seven soldiers injured in training mishap
The Associated PressPosted : Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 15:25:24 EDT

FRANKFURT, Germany — The Army says seven soldiers have been injured in a training exercise in Germany and two of them were flown to a hospital intensive care unit.
The soldiers, none of whom has been identified, were injured in a vehicle accident Monday afternoon at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in southern Germany, the Army said Tuesday.
The other five suffered injuries and were taken to another hospital. Three have been released and the other two are set to be released later Tuesday.
All seven soldiers are part of V Corps, U.S. Army Europe.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_germany_training_accident_042908/

4 soldiers killed in Baghdad fighting
April is deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq since September
By Slobodan Lekic - The Associated PressPosted : Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 5:48:57 EDT

BAGHDAD — Bombardments by suspected militants killed four U.S. soldiers as troops tried to push Shiite fighters farther from the U.S.-protected Green Zone and out of range of their rockets and mortars.
At least 44 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since September.
The military said three soldiers were killed Monday in eastern Baghdad by indirect fire, a reference to mortars or rockets. The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City has been the scene of intense fighting recently with Shiite militiamen.
A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a shell in western Baghdad, the military said.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_casualties_042808/

Ex-Marine wants to start area chapter of Women’s Marine group

Ex-Marine wants to start area chapter of Women’s Marine group
By CHERYL R. CLARKE cclarke@sungazette.com

WELLSBORO — A former Marine wants to join with others to form a chapter of a Marines association here and has invited another former Marine from the Reading area to help her.

Naudette Baldwin, 60, who was in the Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970 in the midst of the Vietnam airlift, contacted Kathy VanGorder, liaison officer to the Pennsylvania Department of the Marine Corps League. VanGorder is a Wellsboro native and the daughter of Earl Russell.

The two women are planning a recruiting meeting Saturday at noon at the Babb’s Creek Inn in Morris.

Baldwin, a lance corporal, went through boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and went to Aviation Supply School in Memphis, Tenn. She was stationed at El Toro Air Base, Santa Ana, Calif.

A life member of the Women Marines Association, Baldwin said she wants to belong to a local chapter so she can participate in national events.

In order to participate in any local group activities, she would have to go to New York state, something she doesn’t want to do.

Baldwin joined the military during an era when women were rare in the armed forces. But, she said she had no problems with any of the male officers or other Marines because, by the 1960s and ‘70s, things had changed quite a bit.

“By the time I went through Parris Island, we were more or less accepted,” she said.

Baldwin was discharged in 1970 after serving her stint in aviation supply.

“If a mechanic came in for a part, I was there to supply it and had to order the parts needed, as well as help with keeping the inventory,” she said.

Her group was the last platoon that went through Parris Island before the basic training for women became the same as it is for men, Baldwin said.

“The ones right behind me had to go through the same basic training as the men,” she said. “It was still tough, which is the reason I went in, plus Vietnam was just starting and I wanted to help with the war effort.”

VanGorder, 67, told a different story of how women were treated in the military.

She also was a lance corporal when she was on active duty in the 1950s and was discharged in 1960, spending two years with the Air Wing at Cherry Point.
go here for more
http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/509341.html?nav=5014

Marine Corps still investigating puppy tossing video

Marine Corps still investigating puppy tossing video




Associated Press
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
April 28, 2008


HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) — It’s been nearly two months since a video appeared on the Internet showing a U.S. Marine tossing what appeared to be a live puppy into a ravine.

The Marine Corps says it’s still investigating, with no charges and no disciplinary action so far.

A new statement from Marine Corps Base Hawaii calls the video “appalling, deplorable and contrary to the high standards we expect of every marine at home and abroad.”

The corps says it first learned of the video appearing on the Web site YouTube on March 3.

The statements says the investigation will confirm authenticity of the video and identify those responsible.

The announcement says the vast majority of Marines conduct their duties with honor and compassion. It cites numerous incidents of Marines adopting pets.
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080428/VALLEYNEWS/25643527

Veterans dept. says ex-marine owes nearly $4,000

Veterans dept. says ex-marine owes nearly $4,000
• But Carl Diekman, who served on Iwo Jima, doesn't agree.

By Jim Holt
Signal Senior Writer
jholt@the-signal.com
661-259-1234 x527
Posted: April 28, 2008 2:14 a.m.
Updated: April 28, 2008 4:55 a.m.

Picture in your mind the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph of the Second World War.
One of the proudest moments in American history - five brave U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy serviceman working together to erect the Stars & Stripes atop a strategic island in the West Pacific Ocean.

Now subtract one of those six flag bearers from that mental snapshot.

Unthinkable.

Yet, for a Canyon Country family of a World War II veteran, that's exactly what the Department of Veterans Affairs did when it cut off veterans checks to a highly-decorated U.S. Marine who served in Iwo Jima that flag-raising day.

Retired Staff Sergeant Carl Diekman of the U.S. Marines 5th Division was one of 110,000 Marines on one of 880 vessels sent to Iwo Jima in the closing months of the Second World War.

Cutting him out of his monthly VA check this year was like cutting a Marine out of the famous Iwo Jima photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal more than a half century ago.

go here for the rest

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/1604/