Tragedies don't stop for the holidays

I haven't been posting very much over the last few days. It's not that trauma stops over the holiday's or that I've been too busy outside of the house. It's more that I've entered into yet another burned out stage. I can't come close to remembering how many times this has happened over the years. Covering trauma, suicide, murders, tragedies along with PTSD, is very stressful. This is not including the emails flying back and forth while I try to get people to understand what PTSD is. Not to worry because every time I get burnt out, God has an endless supply of matches. I'll be back up to speed in a few days.

Yesterday I received a phone call telling me my ex-husband passed away on Christmas Eve. We were married less than two years when I was too young and stupid to know any better. He was a part of my life I wanted to forget. It ended very badly. The strange thing is, when I became engaged to Jack, my ex-husband walked over to him, shook his hand and told Jack, "Congratulations. (sarcastically) You're marring my wife." We knew he must have still been following me. But my ex-husband was fully of surprises. I had to get the marriage annulled so that Jack and I could get married in the Greek Church. My ex-husband signed the papers without any trouble at all and apologized for all that went wrong. I totally forgave him but it was still a part of my life that hurts whenever I think about him.

Today I'm wondering how I'm supposed to feel about his passing. It's hard to get it through my head there is no right or wrong in this. I'll admit I did feel a little guilty when I heard the words. It was as if a weight had come off my shoulders. I know the next time I travel back home, I won't have to be looking over my shoulders wondering if he'll pop up. He hadn't done it in years but there was a nagging feeling from the first few years when we ended and he was always somehow right behind me.

It's hard to think he ended up alone. According to the obituary, he did not leave behind a wife or children. I always thought he would have remarried. Now I wonder if he ever forgave himself.

Whenever you meet someone, there is there past you are meeting as well. We all come with a history or our lives. We do things that hurt other people. Our actions today go into their tomorrows just as their actions go into our's. No matter how hard we try to forget, move on, the time we share with someone else is always with us for better or worse. We all keep secrets. There were several reports over the last few days showing that things in our lives do not take a break over the holidays.


A famous man committed suicide but no one knows why John Costelloe committed suicide.

"He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would reach out," Neu said. "There couldn't have been a more supportive and friendly group. If he wanted to reach out to people, we were right in front of him. I wish he did."

TRAGEDY STRIKES 'SOPRANO' HUNK
TV'S 'JOHNNY CAKES' KILLS SELF

By JAMIE SCHRAM, PERRY CHIARAMONTE and DAVID K. L I
The Brooklyn actor who played Johnny Cakes - the gay-fireman lover of a mob capo on "The Sopranos" - killed himself in a holiday tragedy that has stunned family and friends.

The front door to John Costelloe's Sunset Park home was still sealed with police stickers yesterday, more than a week after the rugged 47-year-old actor committed suicide.

Costelloe, a former FDNY firefighter, shot himself in the head in his basement bedroom on Dec. 16, cops and pals said.

"It's beyond me. This is too much for me to handle right now," the actor's dad, Michael Costelloe, 77, said yesterday.

Firefighter and former colleague Matt Dwyer couldn't believe his friend was gone. click the link above for more

A woman killed her 8 year old son and then tried to kill herself.

Police: Florida Woman Murdered 8-Year-Old Son on Christmas
Friday, December 26, 2008


PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Police have charged a 31-year-old Florida woman with murder after she allegedly smothered her 8-year-old son to death on Christmas.

Police said Eryn Allegra, of Port St. Lucie, gave the boy eight Advil pills to put him to sleep, then early Thursday morning suffocated him with a pillow in a hotel room. Allegra then allegedly tried to slit her wrists, but the blade she used was too dull. Police said she dialed 911 and was taken to a local hospital.

Allegra told investigators she had been having financial problems since August 2007.

It was unclear if Allegra had an attorney.

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed up like Santa, had cash to start a new life but decided that he would end the lives of people in his life first. He walked away from another child and his mother to start a new life with the woman he would end up killing along with her family.

Santa shooter carried secret guilt, attorney says
Story Highlights
Bruce Pardo's son from previous relationship was brain damaged, attorney says
Secret of boy's existence was factor in divorce, newspaper reports
Police are looking for car Pardo might have rented
Authorities release information on those unaccounted for after fire
From Stan Wilson
CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The man who police say dressed as Santa Claus and killed nine people at a Christmas Eve party lived with guilt from an incident that left his son from a previous relationship a paraplegic, according to an attorney who once represented the woman in that relationship.

Prime suspect Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who police said committed suicide hours after he went on a shooting rampage and started a raging house fire in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina, had a son who sustained severe brain damage several years ago in an apparent swimming pool accident while he was in Pardo's care, according to attorney Jeffrey Alvirez.

Police have said Pardo targeted his rampage at his former wife, Sylvia Ortega Pardo, and her family at the family's Christmas Eve party.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Pardo had kept his son's existence and condition a secret from his wife. When she found out, her anger over the situation and also finding out that Pardo had claimed the child as a tax dependent for several years became a major factor in divorce proceedings, the paper said, quoting an unidentified source close to the investigation.

Can we stop any of these stories from happening? Could anyone have stopped Pardo? Or Allegra? Or Costelloe? Where were the people who may have helped Allegra and her son with financial problems? Maybe they cared the way Costelloe's friends did but they couldn't do anything to help. What we can do is to do whatever is in our own power to help people in need. We can just do the best we can. At least that way when these things happen, we can always know we did the best we could to prevent it. No matter what we do, we also have to understand there will always be that question of what could we have done differently? All too often that question can only be answered by the other people.

My ex wanted what he wanted and didn't want to save our marriage unless it was under his terms. Then he couldn't let it go easily. Too many times we see only what we want and what we don't have instead of what we ourselves could have done differently.

Former Guardsman to receive Silver Star award

Former Guardsman to receive Silver Star award
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Dec 26, 2008 16:26:26 EST

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A former Guardsman is being honored with an award for heroism in Iraq more than three years ago.

Jason Harrington, of Lancaster, Pa., will receive the Silver Star during a ceremony Saturday in Harrisburg.

It’s the third-highest decoration for members of the U.S. armed forces.

His actions were credited with saving the lives of fellow soldiers during an incident in Iraq in September 2005.

Harrington finished his Guard service in 2006.

Military Struggles With Response To PTSD

Military Struggles With Response To PTSD
CBS News - New York,NY,USA

CBS Evening News: Beneath A Brave Solider's Suicide, Cracks In the Mental Health System

Dec. 26, 2008


(CBS) The Pentagon says 1 in 5 service members who come home from Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress.

Some find their experiences too much to bear. There were 115 military suicides last year, and 93 through just August of this year.

The biggest obstacle to getting those numbers down may be the military culture itself, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.

First Sergeant Jeff McKinney was a model soldier, a newlywed, and a new father.

Now, his family says, he's a casualty of war. Two wars really: the war in Iraq, where he served honorably, and the war within the military over how to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

On July 11, 2007, McKinney, serving on his second tour, killed himself in front of his men. He had endured months of sleeplessness, nightmares and guilt over losing so many of the soldiers he commanded.

"I think he felt like he couldn't send one more broken body home, one more dead person home," Jeff McKinney's father, Charles McKinney, said.

McKinney's personal battle mirrors the war within the U.S. Army, between those who call combat stress a killer, and those who call it an excuse.

In McKinney's case, there had been troubling signs, but he hadn't been taking the medication given to help him cope -- and his captain feared taking him off duty would destroy his career.

Commanders like First Sergeant McKinney are often the hardest to convince they need help.

"We've got a rough and tough, sort of macho culture that says none of that soft squishy touchy feely stuff," said Brigadeer General Loree Sutton, director of the military's Center for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. "Well, we need to bring the brain out of what has been a black box." PTSD Victims Casualties Of War

Often overlooked within the military, more and more U.S. soldiers have suffered the painful effects of posttraumatic stress disorder. Kimberly Dozier reports from Dallas, Texas.


click link above for more

PTSD:BattleMind advice 60 days too late!

PTSD:BattleMind advice 60 days too late!
by Chaplain Kathie

This comment was left on my blog for a post I did on 1st Sgt. Jeff McCkinney.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The tragic story of 1st Sgt. Jeff McKinney": Hello. I read your article about the 1st Sgt. that recently committed suicide. I wanted to tell you my story. My husband was in the 278th TN National Guard and he committed suicide on May 16, 2008. Here is my story:http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2008/11/military_sees_rise_in_troop_su.htmlSincerely,Tracy Eiswert
Please, help me spread the word about veteran suicides! Send this link to everyone you know. P.S. The VA has denied all my appeals for a 100% rating................

Well, I watched the video in horror. At first as I listened to Tracy, I started to cry because she said, "no one told her" about PTSD. That's been the problem since Vietnam. People like me are hard to find. Let's face it, there is nothing glamorous or Google worthy when it comes to PTSD or trauma for that matter. Most of the people that need to know about all of this, need to know it well in advance of it coming into their family, but considering two thirds of the American people do not know what PTSD means, they are not about to go looking for information on it. I know what I know because my life depended on it when I met my husband 26 years ago.

Tracy's story was just one more reminder I didn't need that no matter how many hours I spend doing this, no matter how many videos, Power Points or posts I do, it does no good if people like Tracy have no idea what's available to help. Most of the emails I get come in the middle of the night from a veteran or a spouse after finding me by accident, either by a post or because of one of my videos. Yet if they were searching for sexy videos or comedies, they'd find what they were looking for right away. No matter what you Google, you can find it, but what you can't find is the miracle you're looking for when a life is on the line.

Let's face it, when it comes to PTSD, the government, as others have put it in the past, suck at what they do.

Watching the video on PBS I am even more convinced that Battle Mind is not only bad, it's dangerous. There is a Chaplain talking to a bunch of soldiers talking about getting angry, nightmares and flashbacks. His advice, based on Battle Mind, is to wait 90 days. Imagine that? After all, all the experts I've read over the last 26 years all seem to agree that if the symptoms of PTSD do not begin to fade in 30 days, they need to seek help. It appears the VA is 60 days too late along with everything else. (Is there any wonder why they won't hire me to work for them anymore?)

James Peak is also in this video. He denies that the rise in suicides is tied to combat. Isn't that remarkable considering that the news accounts of some of these suicidal veterans all have one thing in common. They all experienced combat and ended up with flashbacks, nightmares, along with all the other symptoms of PTSD but when Peak tries to tie it into nothing more than relationship problems and financial ones setting off depression, it's easy to hide it. Simply because PTSD ends up setting off depression and relationship problems and financial problems as well.

Battle Mind does not work and gives bogus advice. If it worked you'd see the number of attempted suicides and successful ones go down instead of up every year. Peak also denied that the redeployments increased the risk even though the report was released by the Army a couple of years ago, stating categorically that the risk of PTSD increased by 50% for each redeployment. At least there is a VA psychiatrist in this video saying that it has increased the risk.

As bad as we are treating the regular military, we are even worse at treating the National Guards men and women. They come home and are expected to just get back to normal life when there is nothing normal about life in combat for any of them.

The question is, how can people like me be paid attention to by the people in charge? It's impossible. Letters sent to congress go unanswered or they answer with a form letter. Even service organizations that are sent my videos ignore them. It's all backed up by research, news reports and living with it everyday plus doing the outreach work and listening to them very carefully. Some service organizations are using them and they are helping, which is a good thing, but how many accidental finds are out there searching for help right now?

The other point is that the local communities aren't paying attention either. If they think they have budget problems now, wait until they see family after family have to bury another National Guards man or woman because they didn't get the help they needed. Wait until yet another church holds a funeral for one that took their own life because the church refused to get involved in a family falling apart and a combat veteran suffered.

Service groups across the country are falling all over themselves trying to increase membership to stay active and pay their bills, but do they think of getting active when it comes to what the new generation of veterans need? Hell no! That would be too beneficial to their communities. I know. I've tried to get them to pay attention and have been ignored. It's not that I don't know people with the power to change all of this, they just won't listen.

Go to the link below and watch the video on what happened to Tracy's husband and know that everyday there are 18 more of them. We are losing over 6,000 a year to suicide and that number is expect to go up because the VA yet again is late but the veterans, well they were expected to show up on time to be sent into combat or they had to go to jail. Nice. Isn't it?

Posted on November 11, 2008
Military Sees Rise in Troop Suicides
Summary
The army reports that suicides among active duty personnel have doubled in recent years. With low recruitment levels and wars continuing in both Iraq and Afghanistan, many soldiers have had to deploy multiple times, which might be contributing to the increase.
This report tells one family's story of battling with the mental effects of going to war and struggling to get adequate therapy and tools to deal with post traumatic stress. The NewsHour's Betty Ann Bowser also talks to the Army and Department of Veterans Affairs about how they are responding to the rise, and to veterans' advocates fighting for better mental health services.
The Army has started several programs aimed at reaching soldiers suffering from depression; including hiring more mental health workers and starting a suicide hotline, but some advocates say it is not enough.

Boy, 12, Given Military Burial

Boy, 12, Given Military Burial

December 23, 2008
Knight Ridder

MILLERSPORT, Ohio -- The Soldiers flanked the casket, solemn and precise, and folded the American flag with a yank-and-flip motion. On one knee, a sergeant presented the flag to a grieving mother.

Around them, mourners with red eyes and heaving shoulders testified, silently, to the mark Dennis Channel Jr. left on each of them.

Seven Soldiers from the Ohio Army National Guard raised their rifles and fired three rounds. A lone bugler sounded taps, a haunting call that wafted over the nearby graves of veterans.

Dennis, known to all as "Bubba," was buried Monday with full military honors.

He was 12 years old.

The Millersport boy was too young to be a Soldier or a veteran, for whom such an honor is generally reserved.

Sgt. Maj. Rebecca Herzog had never led an honor guard at a funeral for anyone out of uniform, except a member of Congress, in 10 years on the job. But Dennis deserved it, the Guard decided.

He was his own kind of warrior. He waged a battle with brain cancer, diagnosed when he was just 5 years old. He was a brave Soldier, all agreed, one who changed the world for the better.

Dennis died, holding his parents' hands, shortly after 3 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19.
click link for more

Military families turn to more resources to cope

As number of deployments rises, military families turn to more resources to cope

08:24 PM PST on Thursday, December 25, 2008

By MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Press-Enterprise

Reports in recent months on the state of the military family have not been encouraging.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that military documents showed a 12percent increase in the divorce rate among Marines in the past year. Recent studies, including at least one conducted by the military, show an elevated risk of domestic violence among military personnel and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Cases of post-traumatic stress are on the rise.

The strain placed on relationships by military deployments is never easy. But the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought an unprecedented number of repeated deployments that experts say put even more demands upon individual soldiers and their families.

NUMBERS INCREASE

But Marianne Espinoza knows that other couples struggle. She deals with them on a daily basis. So does Peter Morris, program manager for Family Advocacy at the Marine base in Twentynine Palms

"Of the people we're seeing, it seems that multiple deployments are complicating their lives," Morris said.

Although the number of Marines seeking counseling in his program hasn't risen significantly in the past year, he said, the percentage of those seeking help with anger management has nearly doubled. In fiscal year 2007, Morris said, his program saw 77 clients for anger management out of a total of 535. For 2008, the total number of clients rose slightly to 560, but anger management cases jumped to 144.

Morris attributes part of the increase to better promotion of his program's services and an increased effort to identify and treat Marines who may be having problems.

But, he said, "I think the doubling may also reflect that for some individuals the stress is telling."

This part is wrong. Too bad the reporter did not know the facts. The 300,000 is the number the RAND Corp. released in a study on PTSD. They also used another 350,000 for their TBI figures. There have been over 1.8 million deployed between Iraq and Afghanistan, just to clear the record up on this report.

TRAUMA TRANSFERS

Helga West is president and CEO of Witness Justice, a Maryland-based organization that advocates for victims of violent crime and, more recently, military personnel. A voluntary Web-based survey conducted by Witness Justice showed the trauma of the battlefield being transferred to the home front.

West admits that the 248 survey participants are "not very representative" of the military as a whole. More than 300,000 have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Nonetheless, she believes the results should raise concerns. She points to the fact that 60 percent of the respondents said their family relationships had changed after deployment. Fifty-five percent said that family life was challenging after their return.
go here for more
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_vets26.3879dbc.html

Missing Flordia Baby turns out to be hoax

The people of Florida, along with most of the nation, just went thru 6 months of heart tugging, heart breaking news of Caylee Anthony, then comes this story. This woman lied about a missing baby to her boyfriend. Supposedly her boyfriend was about to meet his son for the first time. There was a picture on the Internet the woman used to pretend it was her son. Instead of being honest, she lied about the baby she didn't have, then turned around lying even more that he had been abducted. Story ends there? Hardly. It wasn't bad enough she lied to this poor man causing him to think he had a son and then making him think his son had just been kidnapped but then she lied to the police. Think about all the law enforcement officers trying to find this non-existent baby after what they went through with Caylee Anthony. Did she ever think of them?

Dec 25, 2008 5:50 pm US/Eastern

Police: Missing Florida Boy May Be In Mass. Car
MIAMI (WBZ) ―

The search for a missing toddler in Florida has ties to Massachusetts.

6-month-old Riley Buchness was last seen by his parents December 23 in Miami.

Police did not offer details of his disappearance, other than he was with a woman by the name of "Camille."

Riley, who is white and about a foot tall was last seen wearing a white onesie with blue jeans.

His hair is in a mohawk style, he has one tooth, and a fake tattoo of an anchor on his left arm.

He's believed to be with a 20-to-30 year old woman named "Camille." Her last name is not known. She speaks with a heavy French accent. She is white, 5-feet-5 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, with very long brown hair, brown eyes, and a gap between her teeth.

Police say Riley and Camille are possibly traveling in a red Acura, possibly with a Massachusetts license plate.

Investigators are asking anyone who sees the child or the car to contact their local police department immediately.

Police: Missing Baby Story Was A Hoax

MIAMI (WBZ) ―

Megan McCormick, in police custody, has been charged with filing a false police report for lying about the disappearance of her baby
CBS


The search in Florida for a missing toddler with ties to Massachusetts has been called off - because it was a hoax.

Miami police had been looking for help in their search for 6-month-old Riley Buchness, who was last seen by his mother December 23 in Miami.

HOW IT STARTED

Police had very few details of the boy's disappearance when they first asked for the public's help Thursday.

However, they did release a photo of him, saying he was with a woman by the name of "Camille."

"Camille" was allegedly the boy's nanny and she was possibly traveling in a red Acura, possibly with a Massachusetts license plate.

The mother and father are said to be from Massachusetts.

NO NANNY AND NO BABY

It turns out there is no Camille and there is no Riley.

Miami police said Friday that the whole story was fabricated by the woman who claimed to be the missing child's mother.

That woman, Megan McCormick, has now been charged with filing a false police report. click link for more of this

For guardsmen, deployment upends Christmas

For guardsmen, deployment upends Christmas
HAMLET, N.C. — It was still October when Jennifer Guinn hung her family’s stockings — six red ones with the owner’s name printed across each white cuff.

There was a Christmas wreath on the front door to greet Halloween trick-or-treaters, and the Guinns’ four kids helped trim the tree with sparkling white lights — two full months before Santa was due.

With her husband, Staff Sgt. Ryan Guinn, due to spend most of December training with his National Guard unit for an upcoming yearlong deployment to Iraq, celebrating the season as a family meant celebrating on the military’s timeline.

“We knew that once he left he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the tree for long,” Jennifer Guinn said. “He wanted time to be able to enjoy all the lights ... while he was here.”

For the 76 soldiers of E Company who will deploy to Iraq in April, and their families, this year’s Christmas is a holiday upended by pre-deployment training. Instead of spending time with family and friends, they practiced gunnery at Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Associated Press is chronicling the company, their families, and Hamlet, the town they’re leaving behind, as the North Carolina National Guard’s 30th Brigade Combat Team leaves for a 12-month tour in Iraq. The empty seats at Hamlet’s dinner tables and church pews as Christmas approached served as a preview of what awaits.

click link for more

Read More

Vehicle crashes into Hanukkah celebration

Vehicle crashes into Hanukkah celebration

Story Highlights
14 people hospitalized after elderly man loses control of his vehicle

Vehicle crashed into a Long Island building holding a Hanukkah festival

Some of the injuries were severe, police said



(CNN) -- Fourteen people were hospitalized Thursday after an elderly man lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a Long Island building where a Hanukkah festival was under way, police told CNN.


Rescue workers at the scene after a car plowed into a storefront where a Hannukah celebration was taking place.

Some of the injuries were severe, Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Tanksley said. Police said the 78-year-old man's vehicle crashed into a Woodmere, New York, storefront where Chabad of Five Towns was holding its Hanukkah Wonderland event.

Police said the driver, who hit a parked car before going through the storefront, is among the injured. There were no details available for the others.

Hospitals in the vicinity reported receiving adults and children, including two children listed in serious condition.

The event included menorah- and dreidel-making activities for children, according to the Chabad of Five Towns Web site.

Heshey Jacob, president of the Hatzolah Volunteer Emergency Medical Service, said the vehicle went through a play tent in the front of the building where children were playing and into the back of the store. Watch footage of the accident site »

Thirteen victims were initially transported to hospitals, he said, including one medevaced to Nassau County Medical Center. Another child, traumatized by the accident, was taken to a hospital later.

Other than the driver, the injured range in age from 18 months to 40 years old, police said.
click link for more

Do you know what freedom really means?

Catholics have statues in their churches. Greeks have icons. Presbyterians have banners. Christians cannot agree on everything. They never did and they never will. Some denominations believe we are all saints and we are already chosen to enter into Heaven. Others believe it comes from simply accepting Christ into their lives and never having to do another thing. Some actually believe that lying is not a sin for them, but one for other people. Others believe that we are to live our own lives according to the teachings of Christ and doing all we can to follow how He said to treat others. (This happens to be the one I belong to.)

When it comes to the government, many in this country find it unacceptable that they are supposed to be representing all people, of all faiths equally. No one is above or below the law, or at least that's the way it's supposed to be. We are all supposed to be able to walk into a VA clinic, since the government runs them, and know our faith is equally honored as anyone else's no matter what the faith is or even if they have no faith at all. The government is supposed to stay out of it.

When it comes to the military, we need to remember that they are just like the rest of us when it comes to their own private choice of faith. A VA chapel is supposed to be there for all veterans seeking a place to pray as they see fit, not as some well meaning person chooses to have surrounding them when they do.

If Bible's are supplied, then which ones are chosen? We do not all follow the same Bible. There are many different versions of it and we cannot even all agree on the Apostle's Creed. Who gets to decide? Who gets to decide if any other religious book is there for the Jewish veterans? Or the Muslim veterans? Or the Buddhists? Or the Hindus? Any idea? Do they supply the Rosary beads for Catholics and the worry beads for Greek Orthodox people using them to calm down? Do they supply crosses with Christ on them for the faiths that do hold that image of Him, or do they supply the Celtic cross with the holes or the other plan ones with no Christ on them? Who decides that? What about the saints? Do they use the word "saint" when talking about the heroes of the Bible or do they use just the names as some faiths do?

Not so simple when you actually think about it instead of just using gut instinct. Our faiths are just as complicated as we are. We make the choice of what faith to practice or practice none at all. We decide it all freely. So do the troops and the veterans.

When I read this article, I read the words;

Wieters says he has not been able to find out who is behind the suit, but he is adamant that the floor is no place for the Bible and the cross. So he has decided to fight the policy and stand up for the freedom that millions of veterans have fought for over the years.

and wondered if he actually thought about what those words mean.

Does he understand the freedom to choose our own faith as Americans is one of those freedoms they were defending? Does he understand that the freedom of religion and the free expression of it means that one cannot be regarded as holy while dismissing all others?

I have been in synagogues and respected their faith. When you think of walking into a VA chapel and seeing Christian images, you need to know they would feel uncomfortable. All others would feel uncomfortable in a place where they are supposed to be able to sit and pray as their own faith dictates or simply to touch their own spirit communicating with God or their Higher Power. This is not a matter of Christianity being pushed out but one of not having other faiths pushed away.

I am a Chaplain. I don't work for the VA but I work with veterans. I take care of them no matter what faith they have or even if they have no faith at all equally. I carry a Bible in my car in case someone needs it and Holy water along with a Rosary even though I'm Greek Orthodox and do not use a Rosary. I do not pull these things out unless someone asks for them. So what would be wrong with having them there in the Chapel out of view and pulling them out if someone asks for them? Otherwise they are acting as if they have the power to judge non-Christians. It also means that the government is supporting one branch of Christianity over other dominations.


As I said, Mr. Wieters seems well meaning but he is not thinking about how other veterans can feel about what he thinks is a good thing to do.

Bible, cross bumped from altars
OneNewsNow - Tupelo,MS,USA
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 12/24/2008


It's not acceptable, says a retired employee of the Veterans Administration, that Bibles and crosses are no longer being placed on the altars of VA facilities across the country.

Bob Wieters is a Vietnam veteran who retired from the VA in 1996 after more than 32 years of federal civil service. The Pineville, Louisiana, man was appalled when he learned what happened to a fellow veteran at a VA facility in North Carolina.

"He was arrested because he...kept placing the Bible and the cross back on the altar at the VA in North Carolina," Weiters relates. "[S]o when I heard that, I went to our local VA here -- and sure enough, I found the Bible and the cross on the floor next to the altar."

Wieters says he learned that the VA is apparently giving in to the demands of someone who does not want the Christian items displayed at VA chapels.

"There was a lawsuit that was filed against the Department of Veterans Affairs, and it is currently in some sort of court litigation," says the war veteran. "But in the interim...the VA as a whole [has decided] to remove the cross and the Bible from all altars at the VA nationwide, which I think is completely wrong." click link above for more