Soldier's Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts

Laurie Malms photo
Sgt. W. Eric Rodman and his mom, Laurie Malms

Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts

By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff writer

DAYTONA BEACH -- Each time Laurie Malm's son "goes down range," as he describes his three deployments to Iraq, she has sent lap-size quilts for his whole unit.

The project isn't what's hard, because Malm of Fernandina Beach usually enlists the help of willing volunteers from quilting guilds.

The hard part for Malm is knowing this is her son's third time being sent into a dangerous war zone.

The first time was when her son's Army unit marched on Baghdad in 2003.

"He was there when they invaded," Malm said in a phone interview. "What I wrote to President Bush and Colin Powell at the time: 'If you are sending my son to die, there better be weapons of mass destruction and a horde of them.' So now, to know that there wasn't, and so many of the soldiers have fallen, I feel it's wrong."

Rodman's return was welcomed with a parade for his unit, and Malm thought it was over.

As a result of the first project, she started Lollipops Designer Bindings -- an online business that sells bias bindings made for quilting and sewing enthusiasts -- when she learned "how many quilters hate to make bias," she said, referring to the bindings created using strips cut on the bias of the fabric.

For her son's recent deployment she assembled nearly 40 volunteers to make more than 20 quilts with the help of her friend Gracye Beeman, owner of The Sewing Garrett in Daytona Beach. Beeman has a special sewing machine that helps speed up the process of building a quilt.
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Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts

Police: Good Samaritan beheaded in Florida

Police: Good Samaritan beheaded in Florida

By Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in south Florida say a homeless man beheaded a good Samaritan who had given him a place to stay.

Lee County Sheriff's deputies went to 70-year-old Charles Rogers' apartment Thursday and found his body still in his wheelchair. His head had been placed near the front door.
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http://www.komonews.com/news/national/46486397.html

Body found in river where Fort Lewis soldier disappeared

Body found in Nisqually River
By KOMO Staff OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Search and rescue crews have recovered a body from the Nisqually River.

PFC Robert Wheatley Jr. was one of nine people on three rafts which capsized in the river when they hit a log jam. The other eight made it to shore safely.

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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46733502.html

Maj. Steve Hutchison adopted dog finds a home in the U.S.

Slain soldier's dog finds a home in the U.S.
A dog adopted by a 60-year-old Army major who was killed last month in Basra, Iraq, will have a home in Michigan.


After Maj. Steve Hutchison was killed on May 10, the saga of his “illegal” adoption of the stray dog he named Princess Leia became one of the fondest stories told by members of his unit.

In their telling, Hutchison signed a memo authorizing the dog as a member of the unit, which trains Iraqi border security officials. But even when that got him in trouble with his bosses, Hutchison didn’t give up.
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Few answers year after body of guardsman found

What will it take to get the military to finally figure out what happened? A movie of the week deal? How could they leave the family suffering without answers? Will reporters beat down their doors for answers? Someone must know something!

Few answers year after body of guardsman found

By Holbrook Mohr - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 12:47:16 EDT

JACKSON, Miss. — One year after the skeletal remains of a Kentucky soldier were found in the woods on a South Mississippi military base just days before his unit left for Iraq, his death is still a mystery.

Spc. Ryan Longnecker, a Kentucky National Guard soldier, was training at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Miss., when he disappeared Aug. 6, 2007. His body was found June 3, 2008.

Several theories about the death and apparent inconsistencies in the case have left Longnecker’s family with questions they fear may never be answered, said Shirley Ann Longnecker of Cambridge City, Ind., the soldier’s paternal grandmother.

“They were supposed to give lie detector tests to a couple of the guys that he had a run-in with earlier, and somebody’s keeping them from talking about it,” the grandmother said. “We still feel like there could be foul play, but we don’t know.”

Longnecker’s nose and jaw were broken when the remains were found in a secluded area on the massive, 136,000-acre base just two days before his unit shipped out, Shirley Ann Longnecker said. The military would not confirm that to The Associated Press.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_longnecker_one_year_060209/

Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans

Silver Star Families of America Aiding Dying Veterans
The Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans who are eligible.

Silver Star Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR
Log (Press Release) – May 30, 2009 – OUR WOUNDED, OUR ILL AND OUR DYING

The Silver Star Families of America has one mission: To remember, honor and assist the wounded and ill of our armed forces from all wars. And while we struggle to meet the needs of our wounded and ill we cannot forget those that need us the most; our dying veterans.

More than 1,800 veterans die every day. (More than 600,000 a year) This represents one quarter of all deaths in the United States. 85 per cent of veterans do not receive V.A. care and most still die in their own communities with only about 4 per cent dying in V.A. facilities.

Our dying brothers and sisters deserve to die with dignity, respect and honor. And they deserve to die pain free with Spiritual and emotional support.

Hospice care is part of the basic eligibility package for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. (VHA) If hospice care is appropriate for enrolled veterans and has been approved by a VA physician, VA medical centers will either provide hospice care directly in their facilities or purchase it from community hospices.

“The need for education extends beyond the public to community hospice and VA providers as well. Many community hospices are unaware of the dedicated inpatient hospice units that exist in VA facilities. Likewise,VA facilities are often unfamiliar with the services community hospices can offer and how to work with them. There are also complex issues surrounding payment reimbursement and administration.” (Hospice Veteran Partnership Tool Kit)

End of life issues are always hard for us to deal with but it is an essential part of the mission of the Silver Star Families of America. We have started to issue Prayer Blankets to Hospice units at selected V.A. facilities. We can use your financial help.

Please go to: http://www.silverstarfamilies.org/VA_HOSPICE_CARE.html

Death is part of life and we will leave no veteran behind until they finally leave us for their last duty post.

10th Mountain soldier's death in Iraq under investigation

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.



Spc. Marko M. Samson, 30, of Columbus, Ohio, died May 31 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 277th Aviation Support Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.



The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock

Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock
By Laci Holcombe FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Monday, June 01, 2009
Story last updated at 6/1/2009 - 1:21 am

The unique bond that is formed between people who serve together in war was strongly displayed Friday when members of a Marine platoon that served together in

Vietnam gathered to remember and catch up.


Despite the years that have passed, the bond between these men remains strong.

Friday was an evening of recognition for First Platoon, India Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment. They gather twice a year for memories and camaraderie.

Larry Wilson, their platoon leader more than 40 years ago, helps sponsor and organize these reunions.

"In 1997, we had our first reunion in Big Bear, Calif.," said Wilson, "and it was the first time I had seen anybody since I led them in battle in 1967."

"So when we got together," said Wilson, "it was such a wonderful experience that we decided we should do this more often."

He said they decided to honor platoon member Lionel (Jerry) Lucero of Lubbock this year because he was their "tunnel rat." Wilson said they sent him into the tunnels to look for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, which used tunnels for storage and to hide from American forces.

"So I decided that this year we should come to Lubbock and see Jerry," said Wilson. Wilson said he had served here in the FBI in the 1970s, so he had a fondness for the city.
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http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060109/fea_445807128.shtml

Local ex-Marine spreads word about Camp Lejeune's once-toxic water

Local ex-Marine spreads word about Camp Lejeune's once-toxic water
ByFernandoQuintero
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 2, 2009
When he discovered he had bladder cancer in 2005, Mike Segura of Casselberry began searching for answers.

"The day I was diagnosed, I said, 'Lord, I don't know why I got this,'" said Segura, 51. "Right then, I felt peaceful. I could see He had a purpose."

In April 2008, Segura found a possible answer — and a purpose. A letter from the U.S. Marine Corps informed him he may have been exposed to toxic chemicals during his stay at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. During four decades, an estimated 500,000 civilians and soldiers were exposed to tainted drinking water on the base.

Segura's purpose, it turns out, is to help spread the word to others who lived on or near Camp Lejeune. He thinks his illness — and those of many others — was caused by exposure to the toxins that seeped from a dry cleaner and industrial activity at the camp into its water supply.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-aseccamp-lejeune-contamination-0060209jun02,0,6976866.story

Soft Spots continues to get rave reviews

ASU alum, Iraq War vet finds healing in his book, 'Soft Spots'
Clint Van Winkle, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, was struggling to cope with life after combat upon his return to the States in 2003. Awful memories and images of devastation, callous violence and mind-scenes that included burned bodies and dead children were impossible to erase, and help was hard to find. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A 2005 graduate of Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (B.A., English), Van Winkle found a small but important piece of the elusive healing process through his authorship of “Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) a book that evolved from essays he had written. The critically acclaimed book is a detailed account of his service in the early stages of the Iraq War and, more importantly, war’s aftermath and his frustrating experiences upon his return home.

“This memoir of combat in Iraq, and the post-traumatic stress disorder that followed, contains more literary touches than most, and it’s an admirable effort…it presents a vivid picture of what many vets endure,” reads one review in Publishers Weekly. Another review, by The Washington Post’s Juliet Wittman, notes, “Nothing gets held back in “Soft Spots”…despite the author’s lacerating honesty, the narrative is dreamlike and surreal.”

Van Winkle was a Marine sergeant in Iraq, commanding an amphibious assault vehicle section while attached to Lima Company 3rd BN 1st He crossed into Iraq on the first day of the war and moved about the country constantly, encountering all the horrors of war as only a front-line combatant can. Among those horrors were “soft spots,” the term used to refer to a fallen Marine, killed in battle, and accidentally stepped on in the midst of rubble. Marines.
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http://asunews.asu.edu/20090601_iraqvet