Is This Any Way to Treat Our Heroes?
Joan E. Dowlin
Freelance musician (French hornist) from the Philadelphia, PA area.
Posted: October 30, 2009 06:00 PM
A close family friend's son recently returned from Afghanistan where he had been working as a government contractor for the US war there. He is a Veteran Marine who joined in 2002 right after terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11/01. He unselfishly wanted to serve his country and defend us from these attacks.
He was readily accepted by the United States Marine Corp. and his fellow soldiers, having been voted #1 Honor Man of his boot camp even though he was at least 10 years older than most of his peers. He worked his way up to Staff Sergeant and was so well liked by his battalion that they resisted sending him out to the battlefield. They didn't want to lose him.
But go to war he did with tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He served proudly with many honors and awards until 2006 when he started contract work in Afghanistan.
Read more at: Is This Any Way to Treat Our Heroes
Friday, October 30, 2009
Is This Any Way to Treat Our Heroes
While it is a huge problem for the veterans with families trying to find a way to get the help they need, I would like you to read this story and then ask yourself one very simple question. What about the veterans with no families at all? When you think about that then you can understand how we have so many veterans homeless, dropping out of the system, avoiding the VA and losing all hope.
Open house set Nov. 3 at Vet Center in Fort Myers
Open house set Nov. 3 at Vet Center in Fort Myers
In advance of Veterans Day, the Fort Myers Vet Center today has issued an invitation to all veterans and the public to attend an Open House on Tuesday, November 3. The open house will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. at 4110 Center Pointe Drive Suite 204, Fort Myers.
"There is a growing need for readjustment counseling/ services to existing and newly returning combat veterans and their families.The VA is committed to providing these services and high-quality outreach to all combat veterans, said John Peptis, team leader.
The Fort Myers Vet Center has been a driving force in this effort, he said.
"We serve five counties, Lee, Glades, Charlotte, Hendry,and Collier. We have veterans driving from those counties to our location for treatment. So this is an outreach effort for veterans from all combat eras.
"The community-based Veteran Centers are a key component of VA's mental health program, providing veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling, along with help for family members dealing with bereavement and loved ones with PTSD," he said.
Studies by the U.S. Medicine Institute of Health have reported that Vet Centers have proven a best practice model in fostering peer-to-peer relationships. The best way to overcome concerns about stigmatization is through person-to-person contact with a trained professional, Peptis said.
The Open House will not only be a chance to meet the Vet Center staff, but it will also be an opportunity to learn more about the Vet Center program.
Light refreshments will be served.An award ceremony will take place at 2 p.m.
For more information contact Peptis at 239-479-4401 of 239-479-4401. Martha Vaugh, the officemanager can also help you with any questions.
Open house set Nov. 3 at Vet Center in Fort Myers
In advance of Veterans Day, the Fort Myers Vet Center today has issued an invitation to all veterans and the public to attend an Open House on Tuesday, November 3. The open house will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. at 4110 Center Pointe Drive Suite 204, Fort Myers.
"There is a growing need for readjustment counseling/ services to existing and newly returning combat veterans and their families.The VA is committed to providing these services and high-quality outreach to all combat veterans, said John Peptis, team leader.
The Fort Myers Vet Center has been a driving force in this effort, he said.
"We serve five counties, Lee, Glades, Charlotte, Hendry,and Collier. We have veterans driving from those counties to our location for treatment. So this is an outreach effort for veterans from all combat eras.
"The community-based Veteran Centers are a key component of VA's mental health program, providing veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling, along with help for family members dealing with bereavement and loved ones with PTSD," he said.
Studies by the U.S. Medicine Institute of Health have reported that Vet Centers have proven a best practice model in fostering peer-to-peer relationships. The best way to overcome concerns about stigmatization is through person-to-person contact with a trained professional, Peptis said.
The Open House will not only be a chance to meet the Vet Center staff, but it will also be an opportunity to learn more about the Vet Center program.
Light refreshments will be served.An award ceremony will take place at 2 p.m.
For more information contact Peptis at 239-479-4401 of 239-479-4401. Martha Vaugh, the officemanager can also help you with any questions.
Open house set Nov. 3 at Vet Center in Fort Myers
Life with PTSD can be better
Serenity Prayer
The Serenity Prayer goes like this --
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next. Amen.
"That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him"
We cannot stop all wars although we wish we could.
We cannot stop all soldiers from dying, but we can do our best to make sure they have all they need including the best reason to do it, the best plan to carry it out and the best goal to reach as soon as possible so that we save more lives than we lose.
We cannot heal all wounds nor can we replace limbs but we can make sure the wounded are treated with the best medical care as fast as possible.
We cannot restore sight to the blind but we can provide them with what they need to live lives as close to what they had before as possible.
We cannot erase all burn tissue but we can try to.
We cannot prevent all veterans from going homeless but we can make sure there are a lot fewer who do end up with no place to sleep.
We cannot prevent every suicide but we can make sure there are fewer of them.
We cannot prevent every attempted suicide but we can give them fewer reasons to want to try to end their lives.
We cannot stop every family from falling apart but we can reduce the numbers of families feeling so hopeless they cannot find reasons to try to work things out.
We cannot prevent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but we can heal it. No, not cure it, but heal it.
Above all we cannot heal their souls unless we search our own once and for all to try all we can do to really honor the lives they were willing to risk for us.
O God and Heavenly Father,
Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed;courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
We can make their lives better but first we need to know what it is so that we can stop blaming them and start helping them.
This video is about what needs to be changed.
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 14, 2009
Vietnam vets sought for documentary
Vietnam vets sought for documentary
Are you a Vietnam veteran who wants to tell your story for a documentary?
The Florida Veterans Programs & Projects Inc. will work with the St. Johns County Veterans Service Office and Vietnam veteran Tom Waskovich as the project military adviser. All interviews will be recorded and sent to the Veterans History Project and forwarded to the Library of Congress.
Participants must fill out a release form and questionnaire. For downloadable forms, call Michael Rothfeld at (904) 829-0381 or e-mail him at mrothfeld@anyveteran.org.
Are you a Vietnam veteran who wants to tell your story for a documentary?
The Florida Veterans Programs & Projects Inc. will work with the St. Johns County Veterans Service Office and Vietnam veteran Tom Waskovich as the project military adviser. All interviews will be recorded and sent to the Veterans History Project and forwarded to the Library of Congress.
Participants must fill out a release form and questionnaire. For downloadable forms, call Michael Rothfeld at (904) 829-0381 or e-mail him at mrothfeld@anyveteran.org.
Bulletproof vests for high school gang rape suspects in court
Bulletproof vests for rape suspects in court
(10-29) 22:29 PDT RICHMOND, CALIF. -- Security was unusually tight Thursday as four young men made their first court appearance in last weekend's gang rape at Richmond High School, a crime that brought anguish to students and leaders in the city and sent shock waves throughout the nation.
Later Thursday, police arrested a sixth suspect in the case. A fifth suspect was arrested earlier but has not been charged.
Three defendants, all of them juveniles charged as adults, were wearing bulletproof vests when they were led into Superior Court by a corps of Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies. The three - one of whom had a black eye - looked morose and said nothing as relatives wept in the gallery.
click link for more
(10-29) 22:29 PDT RICHMOND, CALIF. -- Security was unusually tight Thursday as four young men made their first court appearance in last weekend's gang rape at Richmond High School, a crime that brought anguish to students and leaders in the city and sent shock waves throughout the nation.
Later Thursday, police arrested a sixth suspect in the case. A fifth suspect was arrested earlier but has not been charged.
Three defendants, all of them juveniles charged as adults, were wearing bulletproof vests when they were led into Superior Court by a corps of Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies. The three - one of whom had a black eye - looked morose and said nothing as relatives wept in the gallery.
click link for more
Burbank Police Sergeant shoots himself on residential street
Sergeant shoots himself on residential street
Neil Thomas Gunn Sr., who was listed in recent FBI probe, was pronounced dead at the scene
By Christopher Cadelago
Published: Last Updated Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:59 PM PDT
HILLSIDE — A Burbank Police sergeant who was listed in an FBI probe into police misconduct shot himself to death Thursday morning on the corner of a residential street, authorities said.
Burbank Police Sgt. Neil Thomas Gunn Sr., 50, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the corner of North Sunset Canyon Drive and East Harvard Road, Lt. John Dilibert said.
Police were called to the intersection at about 11:40 a.m. after witnesses reported seeing Gunn turn the gun on himself, Sgt. Thor Merich said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Officers sectioned off several blocks of Sunset Canyon Drive and surrounding streets, shielding views of the body from the public as detectives investigated the scene.
go here for moreSergeant shoots himself on residential street
linked from LATimes
Neil Thomas Gunn Sr., who was listed in recent FBI probe, was pronounced dead at the scene
By Christopher Cadelago
Published: Last Updated Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:59 PM PDT
HILLSIDE — A Burbank Police sergeant who was listed in an FBI probe into police misconduct shot himself to death Thursday morning on the corner of a residential street, authorities said.
Burbank Police Sgt. Neil Thomas Gunn Sr., 50, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the corner of North Sunset Canyon Drive and East Harvard Road, Lt. John Dilibert said.
Police were called to the intersection at about 11:40 a.m. after witnesses reported seeing Gunn turn the gun on himself, Sgt. Thor Merich said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Officers sectioned off several blocks of Sunset Canyon Drive and surrounding streets, shielding views of the body from the public as detectives investigated the scene.
go here for moreSergeant shoots himself on residential street
linked from LATimes
Palo Alto campus searches for healing after suicides
Palo Alto campus searches for healing after suicides
Since May, four students at Henry Gunn High School have taken their own lives at a nearby railroad crossing. Classmates have started using notes of affirmation and blog posts to try to restore hope.
Reporting from Palo Alto, Calif. - The small squares of colored paper began cropping up on the doors and walls of Henry M. Gunn High School last week, two days after William Dickens, 16, killed himself on the nearby train tracks.
"Just keep swimming," one Post-it note said. "There is always someone who will listen," was written on another. And, "There's no meaning to happiness w/o sadness. Take it easy."
Dickens was the fourth Gunn student in less than six months to commit suicide near where East Meadow Drive crosses the Caltrain tracks here in the affluent, high-achieving heart of the Silicon Valley. A fifth student tried to kill himself but was thwarted by his mother, who suspected his intentions, followed him to the crossing and saved him with the help of a passer-by.
read more here
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-student-suicides30-2009oct30,0,6600846.story
Since May, four students at Henry Gunn High School have taken their own lives at a nearby railroad crossing. Classmates have started using notes of affirmation and blog posts to try to restore hope.
Reporting from Palo Alto, Calif. - The small squares of colored paper began cropping up on the doors and walls of Henry M. Gunn High School last week, two days after William Dickens, 16, killed himself on the nearby train tracks.
"Just keep swimming," one Post-it note said. "There is always someone who will listen," was written on another. And, "There's no meaning to happiness w/o sadness. Take it easy."
Dickens was the fourth Gunn student in less than six months to commit suicide near where East Meadow Drive crosses the Caltrain tracks here in the affluent, high-achieving heart of the Silicon Valley. A fifth student tried to kill himself but was thwarted by his mother, who suspected his intentions, followed him to the crossing and saved him with the help of a passer-by.
read more here
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-student-suicides30-2009oct30,0,6600846.story
Afghan war's deadliest month takes heavy toll at Fort Lewis
While we grieve for the loss of life we must never forget that the men and women they served with have just lost a part of their family as well. The memories of the fallen will never leave them. Not the memories of their smiles and time shared together, good times as well as bad ones. Not the memories of how they died and that they are no longer there. These "are the times that try man's soul" and they should be afforded every opportunity to grieve the loss that time and events will allow.
The most troubling thing to think about is that while there is a shortage of military chaplains for them to talk to, there are some chaplains without full knowledge of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is. There are too few mental health workers for the soldiers to talk to and without the chaplains knowing what is going on, it makes it all the more harder to heal. We then end up counting the dead but forget the living and how much this touches their lives. If we think for a second we have seen the worst numbers of PTSD veterans, we are not even close to what is to come.
The most troubling thing to think about is that while there is a shortage of military chaplains for them to talk to, there are some chaplains without full knowledge of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is. There are too few mental health workers for the soldiers to talk to and without the chaplains knowing what is going on, it makes it all the more harder to heal. We then end up counting the dead but forget the living and how much this touches their lives. If we think for a second we have seen the worst numbers of PTSD veterans, we are not even close to what is to come.
Afghan war's deadliest month takes heavy toll at Fort Lewis
This month has been the deadliest for U.S. troops since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, and Fort Lewis has been hit particularly hard, with 10 soldiers killed.
By Nick Perry
Seattle Times staff reporter
A Renton man, who did not wish to be identified, carries an American flag at half staff over the Freedom Bridge, which crosses Interstate 5 to Fort Lewis.
Related
Fort Lewis soldier Sgt. Leslie Hill said he's attended two memorial services in recent weeks and plans to be at another Tuesday as he and others on the post come to terms with losing 26 soldiers in Afghanistan in less than three months.
"I just lost one of my buddies," Hill said. "It's been rough on everyone."
This month has been the deadliest for U.S. troops since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. Fort Lewis has been hit particularly hard. The post held a private candlelight vigil Thursday night for the families, friends and battalion members of the eight Fort Lewis soldiers killed Tuesday.
Seven were killed when enemy forces in the Arghandab Valley attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers, whose names were released by the Department of Defense on Thursday, came from across the country and were 22 to 29 years old.
read more here
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010165038_fortlewis30m.html
Motorist accused of raping stranded woman he stopped to "help"
Motorist accused of raping stranded woman
Rene Stutzman
Sentinel Staff Writer
9:54 p.m. EDT, October 29, 2009
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - (An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the victim was a teenager. She is 26.)
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS
Police today arrested a 33-year-old man, accused of stopping to help a young woman who was stranded on Interstate 4 then driving to a storage facility and raping her.
Winel Albert Castro Molina of Lake Mary was booked into the Seminole County jail this morning. He's accused of rape and is being held on $25,000 bail.
Altamonte Springs Officer Todd Smith interrupted the rape in progress shortly after 3 a.m, said Special Officer Tim Hyer, an agency spokesman.
Smith was on a routine patrol when he found Castro Molina and the 26-year-old woman in the back seat of her car at a rental storage facility on Douglas Avenue.
read more here
Motorist accused of raping stranded woman
Rene Stutzman
Sentinel Staff Writer
9:54 p.m. EDT, October 29, 2009
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - (An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the victim was a teenager. She is 26.)
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS
Police today arrested a 33-year-old man, accused of stopping to help a young woman who was stranded on Interstate 4 then driving to a storage facility and raping her.
Winel Albert Castro Molina of Lake Mary was booked into the Seminole County jail this morning. He's accused of rape and is being held on $25,000 bail.
Altamonte Springs Officer Todd Smith interrupted the rape in progress shortly after 3 a.m, said Special Officer Tim Hyer, an agency spokesman.
Smith was on a routine patrol when he found Castro Molina and the 26-year-old woman in the back seat of her car at a rental storage facility on Douglas Avenue.
read more here
Motorist accused of raping stranded woman
Man pushing motorcycle on Volusia County road killed in crash
Man pushing motorcycle on Volusia County road killed in crash
Bianca Prieto
Sentinel Staff Writer
6:04 a.m. EDT, October 30, 2009
A man pushing his broken down motorcycle on the side of a Volusia County road was killed after being struck by a car, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
John M. Turner, 59, of New Smyrna Beach, was walking the motorcycle on the northbound lanes of a North Samsula Drive near Lettuce Road around 10:30 p.m. when he was hit, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers say Jamie Sue Parker, 29, of Jacksonville Beach, was driving northbound on the same road when she hit him.
Charges are pending against Parker, said Sgt. Kim Montes
Man pushing motorcycle killed
Bianca Prieto
Sentinel Staff Writer
6:04 a.m. EDT, October 30, 2009
A man pushing his broken down motorcycle on the side of a Volusia County road was killed after being struck by a car, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
John M. Turner, 59, of New Smyrna Beach, was walking the motorcycle on the northbound lanes of a North Samsula Drive near Lettuce Road around 10:30 p.m. when he was hit, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers say Jamie Sue Parker, 29, of Jacksonville Beach, was driving northbound on the same road when she hit him.
Charges are pending against Parker, said Sgt. Kim Montes
Man pushing motorcycle killed
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)