Monday, September 21, 2009

AZ police investigate apparent murder-suicide

AZ police investigate apparent murder-suicide
Posted: Sep 21, 2009 1:55 PM EDT
Arizona police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide that left a mother and her two teenage sons dead.

Mesa police spokesman Detective Steve Berry said the woman's husband came home from work late Saturday and found her dead. As he continued checking the home, the man found his two sons dead, too.

The dead were identified as 50-year-old Susan Mullaly, 15-year-old Ryan Mullaly and 12-year-old Nicholas Mullaly
read more here
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11168858

Deputies To Learn About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Deputies To Learn About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Law Enforcement Often First Professionals To Come In Contact With Ailing Soldiers
Last updated Sunday, September 20, 2009 11:55 PM CDT in News
By Anna Fry
THE MORNING NEWS

Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies will learn about veterans and post-traumatic stress disorder during special training scheduled for October.

"We're not going to turn them into mental health experts," said Vaughn DeCoster, team leader with the Fayetteville Veterans Center. "It's kind of sensitivity training, if you will."

DeCoster and two Veterans Affairs-affiliated nurses are providing the training. The training is mandatory for all deputies in the field, who are the sheriff's office employees most likely to deal with people with the disorder, said Capt. Mike Jones.

Deputies recently responded to a disturbance involving a recently-returned soldier with the disorder, Jones said. The man's family was complimentary of the deputies' handling of the situation but recommended training, he said.

The Sheriff's Office approached the center about the training and it's the first time it's been done, DeCoster said. The purpose is to educate deputies about soldiers returning from war and the community resources to which deputies can refer them.

The area doesn't have any big active-duty bases near, so soldiers returning from war can go unnoticed in public, he said.

"There are people out there that are suffering silently," DeCoster said.

All soldiers returning from war must decompress and adjust, he said. Just because soldiers are returning from combat and show symptoms doesn't mean they have post-traumatic stress disorder
read more here
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2009/09/21/news/092109bzptsd.txt

Longwood FL school under lock down over black bear

Bear At School; Campus Locked Down
Bear In Tree Near Classrooms

POSTED: Monday, September 21, 2009
UPDATED: 1:01 pm EDT September 21, 2009



LONGWOOD, Fla. -- A Seminole County school is on lock down after a black bear was found on its campus.

According to Fish and Wildlife, the bear was found on Pace-Brantley Hall school property Monday morning.
read more here
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/21039378/detail.html
linked from CNN

Sgt. Rafael Peralta should have honor earned

The excuse of a friendly fire bullet limiting his capacity to act when a grenade came, is blown away by the military procedures they already have. PTSD medicated troops sent back into combat, but no one questions their mental capacity if they act heroically. TBI troops still kept on duty, but no one questions their mental capacity either. Here they have someone with a bullet wound but still put others first and pulled the grenade to himself. This act, was worthy of one medal but not the Medal of Honor because he was already wounded? Dah! How stupid does this get?

Marine could still get medal

By William Cole

President Obama on Thursday posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military recognition, to a Massachusetts soldier who died in Afghanistan trying to save a wounded comrade.

Staff Sgt. Jared C. Monti, a team leader with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, died in Nuristan province on June 21, 2006.

It was a reminder of a Medal of Honor not received in the case of a Hawai'i Marine, Sgt. Rafael Peralta. It is a cause that fellow Marines refuse to give up on.

At least four Marines with Peralta on Nov. 15, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, have stated in written reports that they saw the short and stocky Marine nicknamed "Rafa" pull a grenade to his body after it had bounced into a room, saving the lives of others in the process.

The 25-year-old was with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment out of Kane'ohe Bay.

A Medal of Honor recommendation for Peralta made it through examinations by the Marine Corps, U.S. Central Command and the Department of the Navy before being rejected by five individuals appointed in an unusual move by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to review the nomination.
read more here
Marine could still get medal

Marine ride to provide holiday cheer

Marine ride to provide holiday cheer
Toys for Tots campaign kicks off
Updated: Sunday, 20 Sep 2009, 7:53 PM EDT
Published : Sunday, 20 Sep 2009, 11:46 AM EDT

Anthony DiLorenzo
FEEDING HILLS, Mass. (WWLP) - Local bikers wound their way through the Pioneer Valley, Sunday morning with the Marine Corps League of Westfield, raising money for an important cause.

Their efforts will help needy children this holiday season as well as wounded warriors.

Hundreds of bikers are all revved up for the holiday season. Even Santa Claus himself, and bikers from throughout New England spread Christmas cheer with the kickoff of the Toys for Tots campaign with a benefit ride through the Pioneer Valley.

Around 200 bikers are not only helping the needy children but also the wounded warriors that have come back from battle with deep scars.

"Toys are coming in one at a time as a donation, and then a donation will go toward the 'Marine Helping Marine' program," explained Commandant Fran Curnow, of the Westfield River Valley Marine Corps League.

It's a program Lou Johnson champions in his fallen son's name, "participating in something like this makes me feel we're extending his example of doing for others."

Nineteen-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Phil Johnson of Enfield, CT, was killed three years ago in Iraq.

The Johnson family now makes it their mission, to help other military families with similar struggles.
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Marine ride to provide holiday cheer

Marine reservist killed after stopping to help accident victims

Marine reservist dies after being hit by car in Arlington

11:54 PM CDT on Sunday, September 20, 2009
By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com

Arlington's 27th traffic fatality of 2009 was a Marine reservist who stopped to help victims of a traffic accident on Interstate 20 between Collins Street and Matlock Road shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday.

According to police, the original accident involved three vehicles in the westbound lanes of I-20. Two people were sent to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

The reservist and another man stopped to divert traffic and help the victims of the accident get out of their cars.
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Marine reservist dies after being hit by car in Arlington

North Wales man tells of post traumatic stress from warzone

North Wales man tells of post traumatic stress from warzone
Sep 21 2009 by Eryl Crump, Daily Post


THE horrors of war are a recurring nightmare for Thomas Rowlands

The 37-year-old from Anglesey saw active service in Northern Ireland and Bosnia during his seven-year spell with the First battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers.

Medically discharged from the Army he says he is suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and has had no help at all to cope with the condition. But now he is one of the first to receive support he needs from a new Gwynedd-based organisation called Pathways.

He told the Daily Post: “It was Bosnia which ended my Army days. I saw children blown up while I looked on helpless to do anything.

“Youngsters of three and four years old begging me and my mates for food from our ration packs.

“Then we return from the war zone and the Army says there is nothing wrong with me.”

He says since returning to Wales he has had difficulty coping with normal, everyday life.

“I can’t sleep and can’t hold a job down. I’ve had more than 25 jobs in all.
read more here
North Wales man tells of post traumatic stress from warzone

Marine charged with faking war wounds and combat medals

Sgt. David W. Budwah is not just a jerk deciding to play dress-up hero, telling tall tales to impress strangers. He isn't your average veteran faking wounds to collect funds he didn't earn. He is worse because he is still in the Marines! This is a betrayal against every real wounded veteran, every real combat medal wearing hero and every man serving today in the military.


Marine charged with faking war wounds for gain
By DAVID DISHNEAU (AP) – 3 hours ago

SABILLASVILLE, Md. — On a sultry day in July 2008, Marine Sgt. David W. Budwah strode in his battle fatigues to the front of a picnic pavilion to tell three dozen young boys what he did during the war.

With his clear gaze, rigid posture and muscled, tattooed arms, Budwah looked every inch the hero he claimed to be. He said he was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when a homemade grenade exploded, wounding his face and arm when he dove to shield a buddy from the blast.

He urged the boys, ages 9-12, to take pride in themselves, their country and its warriors.

"We're here to make sure of the freedom you have every day," Budwah told his audience at Camp West Mar, a wooded American Legion compound about 60 miles northwest of Washington.

Spencer Shoemaker, then 10, was so impressed he had his picture taken with Budwah and kept a treasured newspaper clipping about the visit.

"What he said made me feel like I wanted to join the Marines," Spencer said.

But the Marines say Budwah is a liar, a fraud and a thief. They are court-martialing the 34-year-old Springhill, La., native, alleging he was never in Afghanistan, wasn't wounded and didn't earn the combat medals he wore — or the many privileges he enjoyed.

Budwah joined the Marines in October 1999 and spent nearly all of the next six years with a radio communications unit in Okinawa, Japan, according to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va., where Budwah has been stationed since February 2006.
read more here
Marine charged with faking war wounds for gain

500 Mile March for PTSD Will Happen in Spring

500 Mile March for PTSD Will Happen in Spring
Tim King Salem-News.com
The March from Oregon to California will take place after winter thaws.


U.S. soldiers on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan
Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

(SALEM, Ore.) - The date for our planned 500-Mile March for PTSD has been moved to Spring. We had originally intended to conduct the march in September, but the extension will allow us to be fully prepared and not operating in haste.

The march will raise funds for our hour-ling television documentary on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD. We completed a production trip just weeks ago in Oregon, California and Arizona, gaining significant material for the program.

Our next immediate plan is to travel to Washington state to record interviews and footage of an art display dedicated to helping sufferers of PTSD, and then back to Sacramento to interview several key people who we were not able to connect with on the last trip.

The documentary will feature interviews with soldiers and Marines with their boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, who talk about PTSD and what they are doing to avoid having it as an aspect of their lives.

The point of it is to educate people who have PTSD and family members of combat veterans afflicted with this disorder, to give them ideas that they can put to use. There are many approaches and many degrees of PTSD, and there is no single answer to offer as a remedy. Instead we are showing the programs and therapies that can actually make a difference.

We also are aware of the fact that combat is only one reason why people suffer from PTSD. This documentary will be a useful tool for all Americans who have Post Traumatic Stress.
read more here
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/september202009/ptsd_march_9-20-09.php

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Woman dies after catching fire during surgery

Woman dies after catching fire during surgery

By JIM SUHR Associated Press Writer ST. LOUIS (AP) - A southern Illinois woman died after being severely burned in a flash fire while undergoing surgery, a rare but vexing dilemma in operating rooms.

Janice McCall, 65, of Energy, Ill., died Sept. 8 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., six days after being burned on the operating table at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill., her family's attorney said.

Attorney Robert Howerton said he had requested medical records from the Marion hospital and that he had few details about what happened. He declined to say why McCall was having surgery.

The Tennessee state medical examiner's office said McCall died from complications of thermal burns and classified her death as accidental.
read more here
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/59731387.html

Phillip Paul captured came three days after he escaped

Washington state killer captured after field-trip escape
Story Highlights
Legally insane killer escaped Thursday during hospital field trip to fair

Escape in Spokane County, Washington, prompted manhunt

Phillip Paul killed community activist in 1987, believing she was a witch

(CNN) -- A legally insane killer who escaped in Washington state during a field trip was recaptured Sunday, the Yakima County Sheriff's Department told CNN.


Authorities combed Washington state for Phillip Paul, a killer who escaped Thursday during a field trip.

Phillip Paul's capture came three days after he escaped in Spokane County, Washington. After escaping, he was the subject of a massive manhunt.

Details of the capture weren't immediately available.

Though Paul had been confined in a mental institution because of a murder confession, he was allowed to be part of Thursday's trip to a county fair.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/20/washington.escaped.killer/index.html

Flag flies in memory of POWs, MIAs

Raising awareness
Flag flies in memory of POWs, MIAs
By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer


The black and white flag for America’s missing in action joined the red, white and blue on one of Auburn’s most prominent flagpoles Friday.

And as the flag snapped in a stiff breeze above Veterans Memorial Park and below Old Glory, heads turned proudly upward, a school choir sang the National Anthem and veterans’ thoughts drifted to those left behind in the fields of Normandy or in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Vietnam veteran R.C. Bynog had made it a goal to have the flag fly this year on national POW-MIA Remembrance Day. The Auburn ironworker sold commemorative hats to raise funds for the flag and helped convince county authorities that the flag deserved a place on a pole it had never graced before.

Friday’s ceremony took Bynog back to a time when he was barely 20 and driving convoy vehicles east of Saigon. He turns 60 later this year.

“It’s important,” Bynog said. “So we don’t forget the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
read more here
Raising awareness

Vietnam Veteran Appreciation Gathering

Vietnam veterans gather to talk about their experiences
Vietnam veterans gathered Saturday to talk about their experiences and to help one another heal. The fourth annual Vietnam Veteran Appreciation Gathering in Altoona and brings us the story.Posted: 10:40 PM Sep 19, 2009
Reporter: Chris Baylor Email Address: mailto:chris.baylor@weau.com%20?subject=Vietnam
Vietnam veterans gather to talk about their experiences
Vietnam veterans gathered Saturday to talk about their experiences and to help one another heal. The fourth annual Vietnam Veteran Appreciation Gathering in Altoona and brings us the story.

"My responsibilities as a young 19 year old was to be a patch man,” says David Backstrom.

"I was a teenage medic in what they call navel support activity," says Backstrom.

David Backstrom says up until recently Vietnam Veterans didn't get a lot of credit for serving during a dangerous time.

"I think what happened is they understand with another war going on they're thinking wow what the heck, well stronger language, but what an awful thing to have happen to solders," says Backstrom.

Backstrom was one of the vets who took to the open mic Saturday to talk about his experiences in Vietnam.

Thuy Smith and her group, The Thuy Smith International Outreach, put on the fourth annual gathering.

The group helps children in Vietnam and works with veterans here in the states.

"These guys are now seeing that it's a positive thing to come together like this. Vietnam was a long time ago but it will always be a part of them but we can come together and make it a positive thing today," says Thuy Smith.
read more here
http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/59904657.html

Great Dane escapes death to help heal Vietnam Vet

Great Dane escapes death, rescuer, runs to an open heart
By SUE NOWICKI
The Modesto Bee
MODESTO -- Henry was on death row, days from getting the needle, when he was saved and taken to a safe house. But three days later, he jumped the 6-foot-high fence in the back yard and went on the lam.

That's when Ron Dorville of Modesto happened along and took the Great Dane home with him. The sight of his 4-foot-10-inch wife, Sue, walking the big dog made a neighbor grin and call The Modesto Bee. The call brought the caper to light.

The Dorvilles took Henry -- Ron named him after King Henry VIII of England because the dog "has a regal air" -- to a veterinarian.


Henry has been good medicine for Ron, a retired Army colonel who served in Vietnam, has post-traumatic stress disorder and is recovering from prostate cancer surgery earlier this summer.

read more here

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/163/story/1066055.html