Feels like home to me

Vietnam Veterans Reunion


Last Sunday the Nam Knights along with every other motorcycle group escorted the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall through the streets of Melbourne FL. The annual Vietnam and All Veterans Reunion began.



It gets harder and harder for me to overcome my heartache when so many people avoid one of the most important minorities in this country. We hear about the rights of African Americans and argue about Spanish immigrants in this country legally and illegally all the time. We seem to know more about them along with the latest scandal involving politicians, another minority, just as we hear abundant news regarding the celebrity scandals and their personal lives. What some people find important stories to know about astounds me.

When I am with people with no connection to the veterans or anyone serving today, I feel like I have very little to talk to them about. My Dad and all my uncles served in WWII and Korea. My husband's Dad and three uncles served in WWII, with one of them killed in action and another being so traumatized by his ship sinking that he had what was then called "shell shock" spending the rest of his life living on a farm. My husband, a disabled Vietnam Veteran and his nephew ended up with PTSD. My husband receives help to stay stabilized but his nephew ended up committing suicide. Veterans are a huge part of my life but few seem to understand or even care.

This blog alone is a great indication of the lack of attention the general public delivers. The most read post I've done on this blog or my older ones was about a Marine tossing a puppy off a cliff. The stories of heroism were passed over. The stories about suicides were passed over. Very little is read. When my videos were on YouTube, they were watched thousands of times while other videos were watched millions of times on various topics from comedy, to music, to people behaving like idiots looking for laughs.

Some people say they can't understand because they didn't serve. I didn't serve either but because I am personally involved, I'm personally committed to them.

23rd Annual Florida Vietnam and All Veterans Reunion
April 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 , 2010 at Wickham Park Melbourne, Florida
Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall®, April 18th - 25th, 2010

AGENDA FOR SATURDAY 4/24

10:00 AM - Line up for Massing of the Colors, back of Amphitheater
11:00 AM - Opening Ceremonies/Massing of the Colors
12:00 PM - LZ Helicopter Landing
1:00 PM - Two of Diamonds
2:00 PM - Doc Holiday
2:30 PM - Sweetwater Junction Band
3:30 PM - Patience Mason, at the Wall, Recovering from War - PTSD
4:00 PM - Doc Holiday
4:30 PM - Catlin Wehrly
5:30 PM - Suncoast Vietnam Vets "The Last Patrol"
6:00 PM - John Steer
6:45 PM - Doc Holiday
7:00 PM - Michael J Martin
8:30 PM - Doc Holiday
9:00 PM - Viva Rock Band
http://floridaveteransreunion.com/

This soldier was touched by the Wall and we talked for a little while. I thanked him for serving, which to some seems like a very small thing to do but considering that it is a certainty he enlisted, it was the least I could do. Vietnam veterans came home and no one thanked them.

But just as with years before the crowds came to see old friends and to honor the friends left behind. They came together to share stories and to remember that while few others will understand and even less will appreciate what they did, there is a bond that has yet to be broken.

Being with them feels like home to me so that I am able to help other generations and I never forget that the knowledge I have, the training I've taken, was all possible because of what they did when they came home and no one cared about them. They fought to have PTSD treated and compensated for. They made all the trauma related services possible, but again, few understand this. Yet another minority taken care of because veterans cared enough to make a difference. Not just for themselves, but for all generations. Not just for people with military histories to tell, but for all civilians affected by traumatic events.

So Monday I go back to work after a few hours of posting and talk to people without the slightest clue what it is like to be with these men and women, to talk to them and go beyond showing up for parades or to honor a coffin coming home. In my deepest prayers are prayers that everyone will embrace the chance to get to know them and really understand that for all we have, we owe most of it to them. No one likes war but we forget they would rather not have to go into combat either. No one wants war but we have them to thank when they are willing to go. If the subject comes up, it will be quickly changed by someone and I'll go with the flow until I come home and catch up on the emails and reports few others will ever read.

It's not like I have any real choice in the matter. Once you know them, once you understand them, once you really pay attention to all they go through, there is no way of going back to being oblivious. They make this all feel like home to me.

U.S. soldier who was killed trying to help others honored at memorial service

Soldier killed by car honored at memorial
By Dan Blottenberger, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, April 23, 2010

SCHWEINFURT, Germany — Hundreds of friends and family packed Ledward Barracks chapel in Schweinfurt on Thursday to remember a U.S. soldier who was killed trying to help others.

Staff Sgt. Thomas H. Oakley, 33, of Coventry, R.I., was struck and killed by a car April 14 near Bamberg after he stopped to help some motorists involved in a car accident. To those attending the memorial, it was no surprise that Oakley died trying to help others.

"He left this world the same way he lived in it — in the service of others," said Capt. Lee Gray, Oakley’s company commander, during the service. "Staff Sergeant Oakley didn’t have to stop late at night — to help others involved in the accident on the autobahn — he knew that his family was waiting for him at home, but [helping others] was programmed in his DNA."
read more here
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=69535

Ungrateful employers won't hire veterans?

We do a great job of talking about supporting the troops and being a grateful nation but when it comes to proving it, we do a lousy job. If a company won't hire a man or woman after they sacrificed and risked their lives, then maybe they should pay hire taxes to cover the pay these veterans will not be receiving as an employee.

Stigma of service may hurt vets’ job search
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, April 23, 2010
WASHINGTON — When Joe Tryon left the Army in early 2009 he assumed his six years as an officer and command experience in Iraq would make him an attractive employee. More than a year later, he still hasn’t found a job.

“I thought my combat leadership would outweigh boardroom experience,” the 32-year-old said. “But apparently it does not.”

At least part of the reason for that, say veterans groups, is a lingering stigma among some employers who worry what else combat troops carry with them: post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, or similar mental health problems. Tryon said he heard that concern in several job interviews.

Earlier this week a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., pushed once again to undo that stereotype, proposing legislation to help veterans better showcase their skills to potential employers through job training programs, expanded GI Bill benefits and career counseling advice.
read more here
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=69531

Great Vietnam veteran story turned into crap by bad editor

This could have been a really great story on this Vietnam veteran had it not been for terrible editing topping off bad reporting. This is exactly the way it appeared. Believe me I know how easy it is to make mistakes typing but that's what editors are for. I don't have one and that's why you see mistakes on my posts, but this is a "news station".......they can afford an editor!

Veteran receives long-overdue honor
Updated: Tuesday, 20 Apr 2010, 8:10 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 20 Apr 2010, 8:10 AM EDT

Joe Arena
Posted by: Emily Lenihan
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WIVB) - A Dunkirk native has received a long-overdue honor.

It comes more than a decade after her died from complications her suffered while serving in Vietnam.

They may not have died in action, but they passed away as a result of the action they endured during the Vietnam conflict. Dunkirk native Michael Gregoreski is one of those men. Monday in our nation's capitol, Michael and several men just like him were honored for their service.

"This memorial is for veterans who died because of causes from in injuries or because of agent orange while they served in Vietnam," said Michael's cousin Pam.

Michael's name, along with almost a hundred more, will be etched on another wall adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. The former Army private passed away in 1999 as a result of combat injuries. He didn't fight for the awards, but Pam says he earned every one them.

"Mike received four purple hearts, he had a silver star and there were multiple other awards as well," Pam said.
read more here
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/Veteran-receives-long-overdue-honor

Army Withdraws Evangelist Speech Invite

Army Withdraws Evangelist Speech Invite

April 23, 2010
Stars and Stripesby Jeff Schogol

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army has disinvited Franklin Graham to speak at the Pentagon on National Prayer Day after a military advocacy group objected because Graham has reportedly described Islam as “evil” and “wicked.”

“I regret that the Army felt it was necessary to rescind their invitation to the National Day of Prayer Task Force to participate in the Pentagon’s special prayer service,” Graham said in a statement on Thursday.

I want to express my strong support for the United States military and all our troops. I will continue to pray that God will give them guidance, wisdom and protection as they serve this great country.”
read more here
Army Withdraws Evangelist Speech Invite

Marine's Murder Conviction Overturned

Marine's Murder Conviction Overturned
It was the only murder conviction the government had gotten in one of the highest-profile criminal cases against U.S. troops to arise out of the war in Iraq. A military appeals court on Thursday overturned the murder conviction of Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, who led troops charged in the April 2006 murder of an Iraqi in the village of Hamdania. Full Story

Healing Power of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for some but pain for others

There needs to be something said right here and right now. While it's true there is great healing for most at the Wall, there is also another part of this story. There are some veterans unprepared for the power of the Wall. There are some that find their PTSD awakened because of a journey to this magnificent expression of their grief and loss.

I've had a few over the years stunned by thinking they came home ok from Vietnam only to find that once they stand in front of the Wall, they walk away in pain. Pain that had been sleeping inside of them since the 60's or 70's, fully taking control over their lives after. For them, seeing the Wall is their secondary stressor.

If you know a Vietnam veteran, do not push them to go to see the Wall. Take them to see some of the traveling walls touring the country. Make sure you stay by their side and are there, ready to listen if they need to talk. If they react badly, it's not a good idea to take them to Washington. If they seem fine with the traveling wall or say they feel better after seeing it, then they are ready for the monument in Washington. Again, stay by their side and be ready for what they need from you.

The majority find it healing and that is very true but we cannot dismiss that for some it's more painful than they were prepared for.

The Healing Power of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
New research finds visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial helps vets suffering from PTSD. But a single visit isn’t enough.
April 23, 2010

By Tom Jacobs

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., occupies a “remarkable place in America’s collective heart,” as Colin Powell noted during a 2007 ceremony marking its 25th anniversary. But does visiting the famous wall, in which the names of the more than 58,000 American casualties are etched in highly polished black granite, help psychologically wounded survivors cope with their loss?

A newly published study suggests it does, although multiple visits are apparently required for the positive effect to take hold. The paper, in the journal Environment and Behavior, looks at the way veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder respond to the memorial’s various design features, which combine to facilitate the process of mourning.
read more here
Healing Power of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

American Legion Post 293 gives a night out to wounded warriors

Thanking those who serve
Post 293 gives a night out to wounded warriors
Friday, April 23, 2010
By SARA K. TAYLOR

Staff writer


For members of American Legion Edwin Adams Post 293 in Waldorf, giving back is a way of life.

So when the National American Legion Headquarters, the largest veterans organization in the country, introduced a wounded warrior program designed to support injured servicemen and women returning stateside, Legion members were all for it.

Every few months the post calls on Joey Stretch, a White Plains limousine service, to head to Washington, D.C., to pick up recuperating soldiers and their spouses for a dinner at the Legion.

The ride to Waldorf is escorted by the Legion Riders, motorcyclists who are Legion members, who are devoted to various charity ventures.

For Ken Lake, 30-year Legion member and its vice commander, organizing the night out is just a way of saying "thanks" to those who serve in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"We're just trying to do our part," said Lake, a Vietnam veteran. "When I got back from Vietnam, nobody treated me like this."
read more here
Post 293 gives a night out to wounded warriors

Two teenagers arrested for killing Vietnam Vet

2 Arrested In Vietnam Vet's Murder At Carryout

Apr 23, 2010 10:35 am US/Eastern

Many Shocked By Carryout Murder Of 72-Year-Old Man(4/9/2010)
Man Killed In Carryout Shooting(4/9/2010)

Reporting
Kelly McPherson BALTIMORE (WJZ)
Police make two arrests in the shocking murder of an elderly Vietnam veteran gunned down in a robbery at a carryout.
CBS

Two teenagers are behind bars, accused of gunning down a Vietnam veteran in a robbery at a local carryout.

Kelly McPherson reports police announced two arrests in the crime Thursday evening and credit community outrage in helping to lead to the arrests.

Charles Bowman, 72, was not only a Vietnam veteran but also a security guard at a local paper.

His murder rocked the community more than any other murder, so much so that the police say his reputation is what motivated the public to come forward to help identify witnesses and ultimately two suspects.

"There's a lot of very upset people that this 72-year-old man, who everyone liked, on his way to work was senselessly murdered. So I think in this case, the victim's reputation helped," said Maj. Terrence McLarney, Homicide Division.
read more here
http://wjz.com/local/carryout.shooting.man.2.1650998.html

Fort Campbell tries to stop soldier suicides

Fort Campbell tries to stop soldier suicides
BY: KRISTIN M. HALL, The Associated Press Writer Thursday, April 22, 2010

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Thousands of soldiers, their bald eagle shoulder patches lined up row upon row across the grassy field, stood at rigid attention to hear a stern message from their commander.

Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend addressed the 101st Airborne Division with military brusqueness: Suicides at the post had spiked after soldiers started returning home from war, and this was unacceptable.

"It's bad for soldiers, it's bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our Army and our country and it's got to stop now," he insisted. "Suicides on Fort Campbell have to stop now."

It sounded like a typical, military response to a complicated and tragic situation. Authorities believe that 21 soldiers from Fort Campbell killed themselves in 2009, the same year that the Army reported 160 potential suicides, the most since 1980, when it started recording those deaths.

But Townsend's martial response is not the only one. Behind the scenes, there has been a concerted effort at Fort Campbell over the past year to change the hard-charging military mindset to show no weakness, complete the mission.

Adam wrote a note telling his dad, "Sorry to be a disappointment." Then he shot himself inside a bathroom stall with his rifle.

Spc. Adam Kuligowski's problems began because he couldn't sleep.

Last year, the 21-year-old soldier was working six days a week, analyzing intelligence that the military gathered while he was serving in Afghanistan. He was gifted at his job and loved being a part of the 101st Airborne Division, just like his father and his great uncle.

But Adam was tired and often late for work. His eyes were glassy and he was falling asleep while on duty. His room was messy and his uniform was dirty.

His father, Mike Kuligowski, attributes his son's sleeplessness and depression to an anti-malarial medication called mefloquine that was found in his system. In rare cases, it can cause psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, paranoia, depression, hallucination and psychotic behavior.

go here for more
Fort Campbell tries to stop soldier suicides

Fort Carson soldier died of gunshot wound, brother says

Fort Carson soldier died of gunshot wound, brother says

LANCE BENZEL
THE GAZETTE
A 28-year-old Fort Carson soldier who became his unit's first casualty after its recent deployment to Iraq died of a gunshot wound, the Army told family members without providing specifics.

Pfc. Charlie Antonio, of Kahului, Hawaii, was reportedly found dead Sunday on his post in southern Iraq. The Defense Department said Antonio died in a “non-combat related incident.”

“They’re still in the process of investigating,” said Marlon Antonio of Kahului, who spoke with Army casualty officers Monday.

Antonio served in the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, which deployed to southern Iraq in March. Its mission is to help train Iraqi security forces in preparation for the eventual U.S. withdrawal.

Marlon Antonio described his brother as a “good and kind” man who worked two hotel jobs in Maui before joining the Army a year ago.
read more here
http://www.gazette.com/articles/soldier-97577-fort-carson.html

PTSD On Trial:Judge to rule on whether psychiatrist can testify

Judge to rule on whether psychiatrist can testify about capital murder defendant's PTSD


By MARTHA DELLER

mdeller@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- State District Judge Scott Wisch is expected to decide today whether a defense psychologist can testify that Marine Corps veteran Eric Acevedo had post-traumatic stress disorder when he fatally stabbed his former girlfriend two years ago.

Tarrant County prosecutors say that on March 22, 2008, Acevedo, 23, broke into a Saginaw town house he had once shared with Mollieann Worden and fatally stabbed her. Because he broke in, what would have been a murder charge was elevated to capital murder.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, so if convicted, Acevedo will automatically be sentenced to life without parole.

Acevedo's attorneys, Jim Lane -- a former Army captain and military lawyer -- and David Richards, do not dispute that Acevedo killed Worden but say that because he was diagnosed with PTSD after returning from his third tour of Iraq in four years, he should not be convicted of capital murder.



Read more: Judge to rule on whether psychiatrist can testify

National Guard renews suicide prevention campaign

National Guard renews suicide prevention campaign

In response to a rising number of Soldier suicides last year within the Army, the Missouri National Guard is reemphasizing its suicide prevention program.

Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner, Missouri Adjutant General, said no topic is more important.

“Every Guard and family member is equally important and an extremely valuable asset to our organization,” Danner said. “As such, we must take the necessary steps to care for the greatest resource this nation has to offer: our people.”

Danner’s remarks come in the wake of the highest number of suicides within the active duty Army in 28 years. According to the Department of Defense, there were 12 potential suicides among active duty soldiers in January and 14 in February. And there have been two potential suicides among Missouri National Guardsmen in the last six weeks.

With large numbers of National Guard troops being deployed for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Danner’s message to the troops is simple. Help is available.

To that end, soldiers of the Missouri National Guard are participating in suicide prevention and awareness classes. Sgt. 1st Class Robert Meyers recently presented the course to Soldiers of the 1038th Medium Truck Company at Jefferson Barracks.

“The message I want these soldiers to get is that we must help each other,” Meyers said. “Soldier suicide hits pretty close to home and we’ve got be able to look for identifying factors and get these Soldiers some help.”
read more here
National Guard renews suicide prevention campaign

War will change your soul

Eventually no matter who you are, war will affect you. War will change your soul.

A US medic's tale of traumatic war stress treatment
BBC News

Specialist William B Allen is a US Army combat medic who served two tours in Iraq, spending 27 months there. He recently completed a three-week treatment programme for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Center at Fort Hood, the largest US military base in the world.

Being a combat medic, we're on 24 hours a day. We had mass casualty events, female suicide bombers blowing up hospitals three times in a row. We'd be the ones to respond to that. I was always responding to these IED (improvised explosive device) blasts. I was blown up several times.

When you're back in America you never stop being hyper-vigilant. Insomnia set in for about four months. I was going bananas, I was going crazy.

I started drinking, substance abuse, I had suicidal ideas, even acted on those. I was tired of having the nightmares, I wanted to go see my dead friends.
read more here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8634488.stm

Coast Guard says Search continues for 11 workers missing since explosion

Oil slick spreads from sunken rig
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 22, 2010 6:11 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Officials don't know whether slick is leaking from rig or well, or is residue from fire
Oil slick measuring 1-by-5 miles spreads from site of sunken rig, Coast Guard says
Search continues for 11 workers missing since explosion Tuesday night on rig
Federal lawsuit alleges companies connected to oil rig explosion were negligent
(CNN) -- A 1-by-5-mile sheen of crude oil mix has spread across the Gulf of Mexico's surface around the area where an oil rig exploded and sank, a Coast Guard lieutenant said Thursday.

"This is a rainbow sheen with a dark center," Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry told reporters Thursday afternoon.

Officials do not know whether oil or fuel are leaking form the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig and the well below, but BP Vice President David Rainey said "it certainly has the potential to be a major spill." BP PLC operates the license on which the rig was drilling.

A remotely-operated vehicle is surveying the area and cleanup efforts are already under way, Landry said. The sheen "probably is residual from the fire and the activity that was going on on this rig before it sank below the surface," she said.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard continued to search for 11 people missing after an explosion late Tuesday set the rig ablaze forcing workers to be evacuated from the vessel. Officials are still unsure what caused the blast.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/22/oil.rig.explosion/index.html?hpt=T2

Fort Carson GI dies in noncombat incident in Iraq

Carson GI dies in noncombat incident in Iraq

The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 22, 2010 12:12:28 EDT

FORT CARSON, Colo. — A 28-year-old Fort Carson soldier serving in Iraq has died.

The Defense Department said Pfc. Charlie Antonio of Kahului, Hawaii, died Sunday in Annassar, Iraq, of injuries from a noncombat incident.

Antonio was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson.
Carson GI dies in noncombat incident in Iraq

VA admits 18 veterans commit suicide each day

Last year Veterans for Common Sense already found out how many we were having to bury after combat for them was over. The problem is, this battle they were fighting on their own, alone and forgotten by the rest of the American people. Too many want to believe that after we send them off our duty is done unless they come home in a coffin covered with an American flag. The truth is, our duty to them just begins and is our duty for the rest of their lives to take care of them.

18 veterans commit suicide each day

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 22, 2010 15:40:18 EDT

Troubling new data show there are an average of 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department.

Seven percent of the attempts are successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine months.

The numbers, which come at a time when VA is strengthening its suicide prevention programs, show about 18 veteran suicides a day, about five by veterans who are receiving VA care.

Access to care appears to be a key factor, officials said, noting that once a veteran is inside the VA care program, screening programs are in place to identify those with problems, and special efforts are made to track those considered at high risk, such as monitoring whether they are keeping appointments.
read more here
18 veterans commit suicide each day

Kentucky National Guardsman Found Dead in Afghanistan

Kentucky National Guardsman Found Dead in Afghanistan
A Kentucky Army National Guardsman has died in Afghanistan, and the military is investigating the cause.
Posted: 9:21 PM Apr 20, 2010
Reporter: Associated Press

The National Guard says 28-year-old Sgt. Randolph A. Sigley Jr. of Richmond, was found dead in his quarters Sunday at Bagram Airbase, where he was serving with the 2123rd Transportation Company.

The Guard says Sigley had been a member since 2006, and previously served a tour in Afghanistan when he was in the Marines, from 2000 to 2004.
go here for more
Kentucky National Guardsman Found Dead in Afghanistan

VA Marks 85 Years

Normally something like this would present a hopeful moment but after tracking all that has gone wrong for our veterans all these years, I'm left to wonder what they are putting their money into. All these billions over all these years, especially in mental health and PTSD, all the studies, research, testing and we have ended up with a suicide rate going up every year along with everything else the veterans have had to deal with once they were supposed to stop worrying about their lives. I keep reading about this study and that study, remembering I read the same research being done thirty years ago. I keep reading they have done this, they have done that and end up finding out that their expensive this's and that's have done no good at all.

We read about the thousands of veterans calling into the Suicide Prevention Hotline but never manage to look at what the numbers are really telling us. How can it be a good thing that thousands of veterans have been so mistreated they would think of taking their own lives instead of being assured their lives mattered enough? That the VA was finally able to figure out why some came home with the war trapped inside of them and they were addressing it seriously? That research would not be funded over and over and over again after researchers have blown past research and it turned into a bunch of crap? When will they get this right? I get angry waiting because they keep dying when they should never have to face the choice to stay alive or die by their own hands.

When the VA releases a report that they know what I know then I'll be impressed. Considering I do not have anything more than a lot of years with them and a hell of a lot of common sense, but managed to figure it out, they should have a long, long time ago. The problem is what I know does not have a price tag, does not help any pharmaceutical corporation nor does it put more of them in their graves.

VA Marks 85 Years of "Discovery, Innovation and Advancement"
Researchers Have Brought Hope to Generations

WASHINGTON (April 22, 2010) - Eighty-five years of enriching the lives
of Veterans and all Americans through top-notch medical research will be
spotlighted April 26-30 when the Department of Veterans Affairs
celebrates National VA Research Week.

On April 22, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs W. Scott Gould was
joined by disability advocate Lee Woodruff and country music star - and
Iraq and Afghanistan vet - Stephen Cochran at VA's Central Office in
Washington to kick off the official 85th birthday party for the
Department's research program.

"The rich history of accomplishment by VA researchers has improved
Veterans' lives and advanced the practice of medicine throughout the
country," said Gould. "The innovative VA researchers who turn so many
hopes into realities are truly national treasures."

VA, which has the largest integrated health care system in the country,
also has one of the largest medical research programs. This year,
nearly 3,400 researchers will work on more than 2,300 projects, funded
by nearly $1.9 billion.

VA's research program was recently in the news when the prestigious New
England Journal of Medicine published the results April 16 of a study by
VA's Albert Lo of Providence, R.I., to use robotics to improve the
recovery of stroke victims with impaired use of their arms and hands.

Gould noted the most recent space shuttle flight on April 5 carried to
the international space station a VA research project to study the
impact of aging on the human immune system. The study is overseen by
Dr. Millie Hughes-Fulford, a VA researcher in San Francisco and a former
scientist-astronaut who flew on the space shuttle in 1991.

"From the development of effective therapies for tuberculosis and
implantable cardiac pacemakers, to the first successful liver transplant
and the nicotine patch, VA's trail-blazing research accomplishments are
a source of great pride to our Department and the nation," Gould added.

In 1977, VA researcher Rosalind Yalow was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Medicine for developing techniques that measure substances in the blood
with great accuracy. Her work brought about "a revolution in biological
and medical research," according to the Nobel Committee.

Eighteen years before, in 1959, Dr. William Oldendorf, a VA researcher
in Los Angeles, built a unique device to measure blood flow in the brain
with only $3,000. He went on to create something even more remarkable
-- a prototype for the first computerized tomography (CT) scanner.

"Examples of this dedication and advancement are not limited to
history," said Gould. "Today's committed VA researchers are focusing on
traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, post-deployment
health, womens health and a host of other issues key to the well-being
of our Veterans."

Vermont National Guard soldiers' families called by evil hoaxer

Hoaxer calls Vermont National Guard soldiers' families telling them their son or daughter is injured
By Ethan Sacks
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, April 21st 2010, 10:54 AM
Family members of soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been targeted with late-night phone calls from a twisted hoaxer expressing sympathy for their son or daughter's injuries or death in the line of duty.

At least three prank calls were believed to have been made by a woman last week in Vermont, making the family worry until it could get in touch with the loved one, who was not injured, ABC News reported.

"All our families, it's a roller-coaster ride," National Guard Lt. Col Lloyd Goodrow told ABC. "Somebody does something like this, it just makes it worse."

About 1,500 Vermont guardsmen are serving in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported.



Read more: Hoaxer calls Vermont National Guard soldiers families

The National Guard Needs Your Help

The National Guard Needs Your Help

Sen. Ron Wyden
U.S. Senator from Oregon
Posted: April 21, 2010 07:45 PM

When the first members of Oregon's Army National Guard began returning from Iraq last weekend family, friends and neighbors literally lined up to welcome them home. 110 motorcyclists escorted the caravan of buses along a route lined with Oregonians holding signs to show their support. Parents, spouses and children rushed to embrace their loved ones, while elected officials -- such as myself -- offered words of thanks for the ten months these brave men and women spent serving their country in harm's way. I hope Oregon's Guard got the message that we are grateful for their service and glad to have them home safe.

Oregonians aren't the only ones who recognize the extraordinary service and sacrifice of their state's National Guard. For decades these scenes have repeatedly played out across the country as reservists and guardsmen and women have increasingly been called on for extended deployments. During the Vietnam War 3,000 reservists and guardsmen were called to duty. For Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 267,300 reserve component service men and women were called to service. Current Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq had already involved more than 760,000 guard and reservists.

However, unlike active duty service members -- who come home to military bases and the jobs and support systems that they provide -- once the fanfare of homecoming subsides, returning Guard members are in many instances left to face the increasingly stark reality of transitioning to civilian life on their own.
read more here
The National Guard Needs Your Help

PTSD I Grieve

Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 11, 2009

Click to Play View Details

Vietnam Veterans finally finding their way back home

Guns, grunts, guts and grief is the best way to explain how Vietnam veterans came home. Some of them were so humiliated after risking their lives by people attacking them back home they wondered if their lives mattered at all. Imagine risking your life after being drafted or enlisting and then finding out your own countrymen treat you like a target. For others, they came home to avoidance and ambivalence with family and friends wanting to forget all about where they had been. No one wanted to hear anything.

They didn't give up. They fought to have PTSD treated and compensated by the VA. Most of what we see today in psychologists treating trauma survivors came out of their courage to make it happen for combat veterans. For far too many the message was late in being delivered.

Now we have Iraq and Afghanistan veterans reaping the rewards of their battles at the same time the Vietnam veterans are slowly arriving at the VA seeking help after all these years. Sons and daughters returning from combat are finally understanding what was wrong with their Dads all these years and they are talking them into going for help. They suffered all these years thinking there was no hope for them but evidence has shown it is never too late to get help to heal.

There are parts of lives that can be restored and for what can't be there are coping skills to ease the pain. When you find a gathering of Vietnam veterans they will tell you that almost everyone of them have PTSD in some degree. There are many different levels of PTSD and while most will experience every symptom of it, some will only have a few of them, or at least, they admit to having a few symptoms. They may talk about nightmares but deny flashbacks. Family members have witnessed the moments of returning to combat as they try to deny their time travel back. Some have given up on healing because no one seems to have been able to help them.

Attitudes have changed toward PTSD just as they have changed toward the veterans coming home. Now they find support. They find comfort when they see more and more of their brothers admitting they have PTSD and going for help to heal. They also find hope that it is not too late for them to return back home all the way.

Instead of fighting battles with guns, they do it with the same guts they had in Vietnam courageously facing their fears so they can heal. These grunts have walked miles knowing each step could be their last and each day back home a little more of them became trapped by the ghosts of Vietnam. They grieved for the loss of friends, the loss of their innocence, the loss of faith in their own countrymen and the loss of themselves. Now they find strength in numbers and support to know it is never too late for them.

Current wars prompt Vietnam vets to seek help for post-traumatic stress
Thursday, April 22, 2010
By Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller

"When you leave the war zone, there's grief and guilt and traumatic bereavement over things you did that, in the heat of the moment, seemed correct. When you go back with your own family, the guilt rises and grief hits."

A handful of veterans meets on Fridays at the Veterans Affairs clinic in Hempfield to talk about the Vietnam War.

Anne Merical, a licensed clinical social worker, listens.

"When they came home, they had nothing to identify what was going on with them, as far as nightmares, anger, hyper-vigilance, addictions, triggers for flashbacks and relationship problems," she said. "Now they are talking for the first time about what they went through."

The ones who did talk to civilian and VA psychiatrists years ago helped lead to the identification of the condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder and its inclusion in the American Psychiatric Association's 1980 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness.

After facing constant news coverage of the current wars and learning that today's soldiers are returning with similar issues, many Vietnam veterans are finally seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, Ms. Merical said.

About 70 percent of her clients are Vietnam War vets, and half suffer from the disorder. Two other Greensburg area therapists, David Johns and psychologist Andrea VanEstenberg, have treated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Read more: Current wars prompt Vietnam vets to seek help for PTSD

Project Healing Waters "much-needed respite" for veterans

Veterans take to Cherokee waters for healing
By Giles Morris • Staff writer

I don't do people,

Bart Crowe said matter-of-factly.

But there he was getting his fishing tackle together to hit the trophy waters in Cherokee with a couple of fishing buddies.

Crowe carried an M-60 machine gun during Operation Desert Storm in 1990. His war was four days long, he said, and punctuated by a 20-hour tank battle. Now he is a disabled veteran with diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, post-traumatic brain injury, fybromyalgia and chronic fatigue.

I don't sleep. I've bounced from job to job. I've literally gone after bosses, Crowe said. I really don't do people. I center my life around veterans.

Crowe and a handful of other Western North Carolina veterans gathered at River's Edge Outfitters in Cherokee on Monday morning and then headed up Oconaluftee River to fish alongside members of the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team. The outing was the inaugural fishing event for the Cherokee Chapter of Project Healing Waters.

For Crowe, it was a much-needed respite.

Just getting out there on the water is relaxing, Crowe said. It's not about catching fish. It's about getting some peace and hearing the streams instead of thinking about things I shouldn't.

Project Healing Waters was founded in 2005 as a way to help rehabilitate wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. Today, there are more than 80 chapters nationwide and the project continues to grow.
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Veterans take to Cherokee waters for healing

'Welcome Home' for Vietnam vets set for Saturday

'Welcome Home' for Vietnam vets set for Saturday
Rock Hill will finally honor Vietnam vets like Mutt and his brothers in arms
By Andrew Dys - Columnist His name is Edward McCrorey, but even at 61, as he walks through the hallway of the old York County building on Cherry Road, the name "Mutt" rings out.

McCrorey has been Mutt in Rock Hill on ball fields and streets and churches since he has walked - maybe before. He was Mutt on the worst battlefields on earth in Vietnam.

Mutt is not a pejorative. It is a nickname. A name of respect. A man with a nickname that has lasted 61 years through hell on earth in a war, and still counting - that's somebody known and loved.

This call-out came from the guy who runs that county building, a giant of a man in this city, Magistrate Judge Bob Davenport.

"Mutt, man, it is good to see you," said Davenport.

"Good to be seen," said Mutt.

Mutt is at the building Tuesday because it houses the county's veterans affairs office. That's where people who served in the military go to get their benefits handled, where they meet others just like themselves.

Mutt is more than some veteran. His hat says "USMC." His shirt says "Vietnam Veteran." His face says, when it comes to Vietnam and combat and what a skinny kid from Rock Hill had to do for his country, "Horror."

On Saturday at District Three Stadium, this area will honor vets like Mutt for the first time with a "Welcome Home" ceremony.

It comes 39 years after Mutt came home.



Read more: Welcome Home for Vietnam vets set for Saturday

Vietnam Vet lived long enough to see dream come true

Vietnam veterans's dream comes true

By: Debbie Griffin, River Falls Journal


Vietnam War veteran and longtime teacher at Meyer Middle School Lanny Saumer worked for years to raise funds and build Trieu Trung Elementary in Vietnam, not far from where he served as a Marine near the Demilitarized Zone.

He worked with the non-profit organization DOVE Fund and engaged students at MMS students to support the project.

His wife, Karen Saumer, said construction on the $62,000 school finished in September last year -- just before Lanny died in November. He knew before he passed away that the school was finished and would be dedicated soon.

“It made him smile,” said his 34-year-old son Brandon.
read more here
http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/event/article/id/94914/

Group wants Billy Graham's son off Pentagon's National Day of Prayer event

There are things I agree with Mikey Weinstein. When he makes sure that all soldiers get to practice their faith or lack of it according to their own beliefs, I think it's a wonderful thing. Yet when he wants the honorary chairman left off the event itself, that is really going way too far. It's a free speech thing on top of that. People can say whatever they want but no one is forced to listen. If they are forcing the troops to listen, then that would be wrong, but if they have a choice, there should be no problem at all.

Group wants evangelist off May Pentagon event

By Dan Elliott - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 20, 2010 15:59:28 EDT

DENVER — A watchdog group on Tuesday objected to an evangelist’s invitation to speak at the Pentagon next month, saying his past description of Islam as “evil” offended Muslims who work for the Defense Department and the appearance should be canceled.

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said inviting evangelist Franklin Graham to speak May 6, the National Day of Prayer, “would be like bringing someone in on national prayer day madly denigrating Christianity” or other religious groups.

It would also endanger American troops by stirring up Muslim extremists, Weinstein said.

Graham is the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and president and CEO of both Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian international relief organization in Boone, N.C., and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, in Charlotte, N.C.
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Group wants evangelist off May Pentagon event

Waging War on PTSD

When it comes to numbers, the going rate of PTSD is usually one out of three. Some say one out of five. The difference is between a fast change in the survivor or one that comes long after.

They can look back and see it through history but as much as they look back if they do not understand what opens the door to it, they will never really find what works for them to heal.

To "Know your enemy" finds a way to defeat them. This enemy invader will keep winning until the day comes when they understand what makes some changed so drastically while others walk away. The key to this is in their soul. How much they care, how deeply they feel, is the difference between grieving and healing.

Many US veterans have been mentally scarred by recent conflicts

US military wages war on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

After long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, many US soldiers are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, prompting the US military to develop ways to help them, the BBC's Paul Adams in Washington reports.

Twelve soldiers sit on the floor, with eyes closed, focussing on their sacral chakra. They chant in unison.

An audience listens attentively to the words of a Greek tragedy, written 2,500 years ago.

And a young man, mentally scarred, trains a dog to open doors for an injured colleague.

These are surprising scenes from the US military's 21st Century war on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

We're looking at skyrocketing suicide rates, and we recently hit the 30-year high Tim Embree, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

It's been more than eight years since the US went to war in Afghanistan, and more than seven since it invaded Iraq.

In that time, almost two million American men and women have been sent to one or other battlefield. Many have been sent to both.

It's hard to know precisely how many have already suffered PTSD, or will do as a result of their traumatic experiences, but experts believe the number is high.

Family distress

Dr Charles Engel, director of the Pentagon's Deployment Health Clinical Center based at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington, extrapolates on the basis of past experience.



The Theatre of War programme has a huge healing effect, medics say
"What we usually think of in terms of PTSD are numbers of the order of 10-15% of people who've been deployed to theatre being affected," he says.

That would be 200,000-300,000 people.

"I think it's safe to say we haven't grappled with it since Vietnam," says Dr Engel.

Recent surveys have all shown that PTSD is taking its toll on military men and women and their families, with symptoms including depression, substance abuse, domestic violence.

"We're looking at skyrocketing suicide rates," says Tim Embree, of the campaigning group, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, "and we recently hit the 30-year high."
read more here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8634277.stm

Vietnam veterans honored for their service and sacrifice

Vietnam veterans honored for their service

By Malia Rulon - Gannett News Service
Posted : Monday Apr 19, 2010 20:43:28 EDT

WASHINGTON — Sisters, brothers, wives, daughters, sons, grandchildren, friends and volunteers took turns at a memorial service Monday reading the names of 97 members of the armed forces who died as a result of their service in Vietnam.

Among the names: William Howard Hegge of Cincinnati, who died six years ago of pancreatic cancer at the age of 54. Donald Dwight McCans of Gettysburg, Pa., also died of cancer. He was 60. So did William Black St. John of Hobe Sound, Fla., who was 67.

As family members read aloud the names of their loved ones, many noted the branch of service they were in, their rank and the dates served. Most also tacked on a too-common postscript: Agent Orange.

These service personnel, many of whom died of cancer decades after the war ended, don’t qualify to have their names etched onto the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington.

Under Defense Department guidelines, only men and women who died from wounds suffered in combat zones are eligible. The wall contains 58,261 such names.

But the scars of war stretch far beyond those 58,261 deaths. Each year, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund honors men and women whose noncombat deaths are related to their service, through either emotional suffering caused by their service or complications associated with exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide used by the U.S. military to remove plants and leaves from foliage that provided enemy cover.

Nearly 2,000 veterans have been honored since the annual memorial service began.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/04/ap_vietnamvets_041910/

Who more than self their country loved

And crown thy good with brotherhood

We all sing the lyrics to America the Beautiful with memorized verses but others live the lives we sing about.

Who more than self their country loved
by
Chaplain Kathie


The brotherhood they live is with the men and women they serve this nation with. They came from every part of this nation to join together as the defenders of this land. They serve to preserve our freedoms and rights. While they have been fighting on foreign shores for generations, they go where the nation sends them. Some may say, "I didn't want them to go." but circumstances and elected politicians, chosen by the majority, decided where they would go and for how long they would stay. This is why we as a nation must separate the politicians deciding from the men and women risking their lives because of their decisions.

Their brotherhood joins them together with others from cities, towns, political parties and faiths. They come together from broken homes and strong families, adopting each other as one of their own. This bond does not break. This bond is not forgotten. From the day they deploy into combat, they are no longer citizen thinking of themselves. They are warrior risking their lives for the sake of this nation and each other. When they return, they do not return to living among the rest of us as citizen once more. They return as veteran, the few among the many knowing what the price of our lives is. They retain it all in their soul.

America the Beautiful

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward


.......O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Who more than self their country loved

They carry the burdens we will never know embedded in their soul and we move on. We see them march in parades as the years go by, yet once they are home, we feel our duty is done. Yet longing to return to our selfish lives we push memories of their sacrifices away until the next Memorial Day when we once again hang the flag from our homes and decorate the grave markers of our own family members. On Veterans Day, we may skip shopping and actually go to see them march down the street never once thinking that they are veterans every day of their lives.

We don't think of their wounds. We don't think of the memories they have to hold. We don't think of the nights they are haunted by dreams or the days when flashbacks take them back to danger. We don't think of how they grieve over the loss of brothers they shared their lives with no more than we think of the strangers they were sent to fight and defeat.

July 4th we watch the fireworks and stuff ourselves at cookouts. We feel oh so patriotic on a few days a year, but they know what it is like to have paid the price as patriots believing in this nation enough to be willing to lay down their lives for her.

No matter what they returned to, they would still find this nation worthy of doing it again. When asked, Vietnam veterans held this nation in that great of esteem, even after they were subjected to terrible treatment and betrayed, that they would still go back, still held onto their sense of pride they were among the few to know the price of freedom. They reached beyond themselves even then and made sure they would take care of each other as well as taking on the extra burden of other generations of veterans so that none of them would feel the sting of a national anger being taken out on the warriors sent or the ambivalence toward the wounded in need of care.

Today veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan carry on that brotherhood, that bond forged by service to this nation and they take care of each other. The rest of us move on, worry about what our own problems, become obsessed with the latest celebrity gossip and take political positions where we regard the other side as less patriotic without ever thinking that the men and women sent to fight our battles came from every political party, walk of life, faith and belief we now feel we have the right to treat with disgust. Oh, how we have managed to once again let politics remove us from gratitude.

Let the disagreements go on since they fought to defend that right to disagree. Let there be differences debated since our differences have as much to do with our strength as what binds us together. Let there be voices heard from different views. What we must stop is the slander and lies, the anger and hatred, the personal attacks against one party from another and begin to work with the knowledge the price of our right to speak freely has been paid from by the men and women serving together and risking their lives together first and foremost in their souls.

Let there be no veteran spending his/her days in need of help to survive with their wounds or neglected from our care. Let there never be one veteran left to regret they survived to the point where it becomes more acceptable to take their own lives than to live one more day in pain.

Let us never again send them into combat without preparing ahead of time to care for the wounded and the widows and let us never again allow any veteran we sent to wait for care that should have been waiting for them. "Crown they good" and let them know this nation is not going to forget the price they paid for the rest of us.

Sparta pastor’s spiritual journey leads to Iraq and back

Sparta pastor’s spiritual journey leads to Iraq and back
By STACEY KALAS skalas@lacrossetribune.com Posted: Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Rev. Deris L. Rice looks at life differently since returning in February after spending 10 months and 18 days in Iraq as a U.S. Army Reserve chaplain.

“I think I’m a lot closer to my family,” said the 30-year-old pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ in Sparta. “Family is the No. 1 priority for me now. Maintaining my physical health is important. That was one of the things I worked on a lot during my deployment.”

He’s also grown as a listener and gained an appreciation for beauty and the simple pleasures in life, said his wife, the Rev. Kristin Schmor Rice, an ordained Presbyterian minister and a student of supervisory education at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Association of Clinical Pastoral Education at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.

“He’s always been a reflective person,” she said. “But now he seems to appreciate the opportunity to do more of that out loud. He’s also become more of a ‘systems thinker,’ paying careful attention to how systemic issues or events in our world impact different people, and he’s been more willing to engage some of these issues as an advocate.”

As chaplain of the 55th Medical Company combat stress control unit, made up of mental health professionals, Rice’s job was to “go along and support missions spiritually and religiously,” he said, regardless of his own political or social views.

“I’m not there to judge people based on what they believe. I’m there to provide for their needs,” said Rice, who described himself as being more on the “conservative, evangelical end” of the UCC spectrum, but open minded.

read more here

Sparta pastor spiritual journey leads to Iraq and back

Operation Safety 91 brings wounded warrior to students

Saturday, April 17, 2010
OS91 brings US hero, William Castillo to New Hope Christian Academy in Minneola, FL

Friday, April 16, 2010, Operation Safety 91 (OS91) www.OS91.com founded to honor and protect America's 1st Responders, brought wounded Iraq/Afghan war hero, William Castillo to New Hope Christian Academy (NHCA) in Minneola, FL, to speak with the students. OS91 surprised William with a grand welcome from Mayor Pat Kelley, and Ladder 86 with Fire Chief Derryl O’Neal, Lt. Jim Simon, Vance Flummer, George (Sam) Smith and Josh Smith. Assistant Chief David Kilbury of Clermont Fire Department also attended. Representing Lake County Sheriff's Department were Captain Stevin Moss (Tavares) and Lt. Gregory Link (Minneola).
read more here
http://operationsafety91.blogspot.com/

Iceland volcano delays evac for U.S. wounded in Afghanistan

Iceland volcano delays evac for U.S. wounded in Afghanistan


By Nancy A. Youssef McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The volcanic ash cloud hanging over Europe is slowing down U.S. military transport of soldiers injured in Afghanistan back to U.S. hospitals by eight hours, Pentagon officials said Monday.

Rather than flying from Germany’s Ramstein Air Force base, which has been grounded by the ash cloud, soldiers are now being transported to the naval base in Rota, Spain. The resulting re-routing to get troops to Rota means an additional eight hours of flight back to the United States, the Pentagon said.

When a soldier is seriously injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, doctors stabilize them there, and then get them to Ramstein where medical teams conduct emergency surgeries and stabilize them for the trip home. Troops then come home to the United States for long-term treatment.

Ramstein is a large mega-base that has been the home for such efforts to save soldiers since 2001; Rota is much smaller and not nearly as engaged in the wars. That said, there are far fewer injuries in Iraq and so far this month in Afghanistan troop deaths at 10, far fewer than the peak of scores of dead that came through Ramstein at the height of violence in Iraq.



Read more: Iceland volcano delays evac for U.S. wounded in Afghanistan

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/19/92451/iceland-volcano-delays-evac-for.html#ixzz0lah3QVlL

Navy looks for answers after Seabee dies from malaria

Navy looks for answers after Seabee dies from malaria
By Nancy Montgomery, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, April 19, 2010

HEIDELBERG, Germany — By the time he got to Landstuhl, Joshua Dae Ho Carrell was more dead than alive.

The Seabee was unconscious, with a tube stuck down his throat to help him breathe. His kidneys, liver and lungs were failing, and he was in shock, with his blood pressure falling.

Carrell, 23, was suffering from severe falciparum malaria, an infection of red blood cells acquired from mosquito bites that had sent parasites coursing through his bloodstream, sticking to capillaries, obstructing blood flow, damaging organs and, worst of all, causing his brain to swell.

It was three days before last Christmas. Carrell had been infected during a deployment to Liberia. He and 24 other Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 were in the fourth month of a goodwill mission to renovate a hospital.
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Navy looks for answers after Seabee dies from malaria

VA GI BIll students underpaid living stipends

VA underpaying on GI Bill living stipends

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 19, 2010 13:50:19 EDT

In a sign of continuing problems with the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Veterans Affairs Department officials acknowledged Monday that living stipends being paid to students for the spring term are outdated because of problems with computing the payments.

On average, this means students are receiving about $63 less a month than they should. In some cases, especially in high-cost areas, the losses could be significantly higher.

The problem came to light just days before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a hearing about implementation problems for the new and problem-plagued education program, which launched Aug. 1.
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VA underpaying on GI Bill living stipends

Deal reached on family caregiver VA benefits

Deal reached on family caregiver benefits

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 19, 2010 16:36:46 EDT

People caring for severely disabled veterans would be eligible for a host of new benefits — including payment for some — under a compromise reached between key congressional committees, the Veterans Affairs Department and the White House.

The agreement, supported by major military and veterans groups, proposes training, education, counseling and mental health services for the primary caregivers of veterans whose disabilities are so great that they likely would be institutionalized if a friend or family member was not providing daily care.

It also proposes full-day in-home respite care for veterans so caregivers can take a break.

For the live-in caregivers of severely disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the agreement provides VA health care for those who do not have other health insurance and a monthly living stipend to compensate them for what it would cost VA to provide similar care by contract.
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Deal reached on family caregiver benefits

Suspect shoots 3 at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, kills self

Suspect shoots 3 at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, kills self
Posted: Apr 19, 2010 4:49 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 19, 2010 6:06 PM EDT

The incident was first reported around 4:30 p.m. at the hospital at 9352 Park West Boulevard.

(WATE) - Officials say a suspect shot three people at Parkwest Medical Center in West Knoxville Monday afternoon, then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
go here for more

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=12337008&hpt=T2

15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing

15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing
By Ed Payne, CNN
April 19, 2010 3:16 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Homeland security chief joins survivors, local officials, others at memorial ceremony
"It felt like I'd hit a car," said Daniel Gordon, 37, who was about 7 miles from the blast
Teen, injured by bomb at 18 months old, goes on with life, rarely asks, "Why me?"
Two other victims share sense of destiny, aim to make a difference with their lives

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Tonight, hear from the survivors and the people who lived through it. How has life changed, and what are the unanswered questions from that day? Tune in tonight for prime-time coverage beginning at 8 ET on CNN.

(CNN) -- Fifteen years ago, a bomb ripped through a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the worst homegrown terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

The April 19, 1995, attack killed 168 people, shattering the notion that America was largely immune to domestic terrorism.

On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to to Oklahoma City to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the bombing. She joined survivors, local officials and others at a memorial ceremony, standing in silence for 168 seconds representing the number of dead.

In a poignant moment, the names of each of the victims were later read aloud by relatives and colleagues, with speakers referring to their mothers, grandparents and others who died in the bombing.
read more here
15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing

Andrew Pogany called "coward" courageously fights for other PTSD veterans

Once branded a coward, he fights for PTSD victims
By PAULINE ARRILLAGA
The Associated Press
Monday, April 19, 2010; 12:00 AM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- They call him the angry guy now. Even his friends. And at this moment, on a snowy evening when he should be home, putting his son to bed, Andrew Pogany is, in fact, ticked off.

He sits with a soldier in a law office. The man has brought with him a pile of medical files, and another desperate story: Sent off to war to fight for his country. Diagnosed, now, with post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet the Army, the soldier tells Pogany, is drawing up papers to discharge him in a way that could mean no medical benefits.

The soldier confides he thinks about killing himself. All the time, he says.

Pogany makes sure he has his cell number. Then he copies the medical records, and recommends a book by a Vietnam veteran turned Zen monk. The man once helped Pogany through his own tough times. Maybe the monk's words will help this guy hang on.

Two hours behind closed doors, then a handshake and the soldier leaves. Pogany seethes.

"Disgusting," he fumes. "This is so disgusting."
read more here
Once branded a coward, he fights for PTSD victims

Camp Lejeune ignored water warnings

Report: Lejeune ignored water warnings
Published: April 18, 2010 at 9:37 PM


WASHINGTON, April 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps denies officials disregarded warnings about contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, N.C., for years.

Thousands of Marines and their families drank, cooked and bathed in water laced with dangerous chemicals, The (Charlotte, N.C.) Observer said Sunday in an exclusive report. Citing documents, the newspaper said when outside contractors raised concerns base officials ignored their warnings or ordered more tests.

The most contaminated wells shut down in 1984, more than four years after the first of repeated warnings, the newspaper said.

"The kind part of me wants to say (the Marines) took a while to figure it out," said Mike Hargett, a contractor who had raised questions about the water in 1982 and 1983. "The unkind part says somebody was sloppy and negligent."
read more here
Lejeune ignored water warnings

Veterans reunion celebrates 23 years of helping soldiers

When you look into the eyes of Bill Vagianos you see a hero. I don't use that term lightly. He came home from Vietnam and became an advocate for all veterans as well as working to take care of Orlando's homeless. He could have served his time with the Marines in Vietnam and then did nothing more other than just take a job, but Bill ended up with a mission that still has not ended. He is still watching the backs of his brothers.

It's no secret how I feel about Vietnam veterans and Bill is one of the greatest examples of why I adore them as much as I do.

I am very glad that Norman Moody wrote this because there are so many people working very hard to help veterans and most people never hear about them.

"The premise behind it when we started was never again will another generation of veterans be treated like that," said Bill Vagianos, the immediate past-president of the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard. "You may object to the war and the politics, but don't blame the warrior."

Veterans reunion celebrates 23 years of helping soldiers
Event aided Cocoa man, and he's been a part of it ever since
BY R. NORMAN MOODY • FLORIDA TODAY • April 19, 2010


As point man during the Vietnam War, Ken Baker kept a watchful eye for danger at the front of foot patrols.

After he came home critically injured and spent a year in hospitals, he withdrew. He stayed away from public places. He avoided being at the front of anything.

"I was a hermit," he said. "We did a lot of things ourselves. We didn't like crowds. I didn't like the grocery store."

It took several years, but Baker came to terms with his injuries and the post-traumatic stress disorder, building relationships with fellow Vietnam veterans, which eventually led them to the formation of the Vietnam Veterans of Brevard in 1985.

Baker once again became a point man of sorts.

Over the years, he has served in every role for the 300-member organization that in 2005 became the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard. This week, the group hosts its 23th annual reunion at Wickham Park in Melbourne, billed as the largest veterans' gathering in the nation.

Organizers say it attracts tens of thousands of veterans, their families and other visitors.

Baker, 61, of Cocoa said the idea for a reunion grew from those early days, when members of the group went to see the 1986 movie "Platoon." The reunion marked a turning point for Baker and others suffering from the emotional effects of war.

The group is working to get judges to understand and take defendants' PTSD into consideration and helping to establish an Honor Flight chapter in Brevard County, a group that takes World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. It also runs a yearly Stand Down, a one-day event to help homeless veterans with personal needs.

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Veterans reunion celebrates 23 years of helping soldiers

Sea of bikes escort Vietnam Memorial Wall in Melbourne

The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall escort was this morning out of Melbourne FL. Amazing to see so many bikes from all over. It was great riding through the streets and seeing people along the way waving and holding American flags. As usual the police did a great job blocking off the side roads so the parade of bikes could pass.

There is no offical count as of this post. The media didn't really cover it and since there were so many from all over, you'd think there would have been wall to wall media there, but I didn't see any.

Two decades later, father goes back to jail for same crime

Jailed at 19 for shaking baby, Fla. father guilty again when she dies from it 2 decades later

MITCH STACY

Associated Press Writer

1:44 p.m. EDT, April 17, 2010


NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) — Soon after Christina Welch turned 18 in the spring of 2005, her biological parents asked permission to pay her a visit. Mike and Tina Wells broke down when the bed covers were pulled back and they saw the state of the girl: so severely brain damaged as a baby that she never learned to walk, talk or sit up by herself.

Maureen Welch, the woman who had adopted her, walked into the kitchen to leave the three of them alone, thinking to herself that it was good the couple finally got to see what Mike Wells had done to his infant daughter.

"I didn't know I hurt her that bad," he said to Welch when he came into the kitchen. He apologized and told Welch she was a guardian angel sent by God to take care of their Christina.

Mike Wells was 19 when he shook his 2-month-old daughter and covered her mouth to stop her from crying. He and Tina Wells were convicted of aggravated child abuse in 1989, and each served less than a year in prison.
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Jailed at 19 for shaking baby

Vietnam veteran and captain with the fire department died

Kathy McLaughlin
The casket of Roosevelt fire department Capt. Vince Iaccino awaits burial at St Peter's Cemetery in the Town of POughkeepsie on Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Hundreds of firefighters mourn "a wonderful man"
John W. Barry • April 17, 2010


About 300 people - two-thirds of them fire fighters - turned out to Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Poughkeepsie today for a funeral Mass held for Roosevelt Fire Department volunteer Vincent Iaccino, who died Monday.


Iaccino, a Vietnam veteran and captain with the fire department, died of an apparent heart attack following a fire training exercise. Iaccino, 65, was president of Roosevelt Engine Co. No. 1 and captain of the Emergency Service Squad. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and volunteered with the Roosevelt fire department for 22 years.


"I feel very strongly about tradition," Roosevelt Fire Chief William Steenbergh said shortly before the funeral procession arrived at the church. "There is no more sacred tradition in the fire service than the line-of-duty funeral."
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Hundreds of firefighters mourn a wonderful man-

U.S. combat-wounded troops war theater to Washington due to volcanic ash

Ash plume over Europe affects medevac flights

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Apr 17, 2010 10:45:55 EDT

A volcanic ash plume that has severely impacted commercial aviation over Europe also has forced the diversion of all military and commercial contract flights over the region, an official said Friday morning.

The most immediate effect is on U.S. combat-wounded troops, who are being flown straight from the war theater to Washington, D.C., without making the customary stop in Germany, said Navy Capt. Kevin Aandahl, a spokesman for U.S. Transportation Command.

One contracted commercial passenger flight has been grounded in Europe, “and they’re just going to wait out the plume,” Aandahl said.

He said he couldn’t identify the base, or whether it was carrying troops forward to the war theater, for operational security reasons.
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Ash plume over Europe affects medevac flights

Military Connection reaches 25,000 followers on Twitter

MILITARYCONNECTION.COM - The Go to Site Reaches 25,000 Followers on Twitter
SIMI VALLEY (April 6, 2010) - MilitaryConnection.com, often referred to as "The Go to Site" reached a milestone in its social networking efforts today, reaching 25,000 followers on Twitter. The event is a landmark in the company's history as it continues to act as a leader in the military/veteran arena, offering thousands of pages of free information and resources to military members, veterans and their families.

MilitaryConnection.com has something for everyone and is constantly updated to provide our audience with the most relevant information. Many of the site's thousands of daily visitors are job seekers or prospective students who utilize the multitude of employment and educational resources available. Students find pertinent information regarding the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, while job candidates surf our resources for employment in both civilian and government sectors.

MilitaryConnection.com is one of the most comprehensive online directories of military and veteran resources, and was named a 2009 Top 100 Employment Web Site. Debbie Gregory, CEO said, "We live in the greatest nation in the world. Military Connection takes pride in our continuing efforts to support and assist non-profit groups that help those who serve, past and present. We often facilitate collaborations that are win/wins for corporations, non-profits and most importantly for our military, veterans and their families."

Military Connection has received commendations and awards from USO, Soldier's Angels, TAPS, ThanksUSA, Homefront America, the Defense Department and many others groups. In 2008, Military Connection became a corporate partner with the Department of Defense's America Supports You program.

With all that it has to offer, it is no wonder why Military Connection stands at the forefront of the military networking crusade, continuously reaching further and encompassing more branches of information for the military community.

The site's Virtual Job Fair and Job Boards alone feature thousands of jobs daily, while the Directory of Scholarships lists thousands of pages of scholarship information for military, veterans and their families.

MilitaryConnection.com encourages military, veterans, non-profits and government organizations to exchange links.

Send YOUR press releases, articles, special events, reunions, conferences, etc. that will be included on our site to bring visibility and help get out the word about your organization.

When the next tour is back home, it's on MilitaryConnection.com – The Go to Site for everything military and veteran.

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Reminder of the violence that she survived

Virginia Tech Commemorates 2007 Shootings
Three Years After Massacre Claimed 32 Lives, Survivors Remember Tragedy in Differing Ways

(CBS/AP) Heidi Miller worked hard to ensure that her time at Virginia Tech would be defined by her academic achievements and experiences, not by the massacre during her freshman year that claimed 32 lives and left her wounded in 2007.

After a long summer of physical rehabilitation back home in Harrisonburg, Miller returned to Tech the next semester.

She is preparing to graduate next month with a 3.7 grade-point average, a double major in international studies and geography, and a minor in French.

She will remember many of the highlights, such as her trips to Europe and New Zealand.

Even though she believes she has done her best to make the most of her time in college, she is ready to move on from Blacksburg, a place that also has served as a harsh and frustrating reminder of the violence that she survived.
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Virginia Tech Commemorates 2007 Shootings

Marine found dead in barracks at Cherry Point

Marine found dead in barracks at Cherry Point
April 16, 2010 1:36 PM
Sun Journal Staff
CHERRY POINT — A Marine at Cherry Point air station was found dead in his barracks room Wednesday, officials there said Friday through a press statement.

Lance Cpl. Daniel W. Sweeney, 20, of Coon Rapids, Minn., was assigned to the Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 (VMAT-203), 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. He was found during a barracks inspection at 3:10 p.m. and was pronounced dead by emergency medical treatment personnel about 10 minutes later.

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Marine found dead in barracks at Cherry Point

$1 million raised at D.C. gala for families of fallen troops

$1 million raised at D.C. gala for families of fallen troops
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Online Edition, Wednesday, April 14, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A leading group dedicated to helping families of fallen servicemembers raised $1 million at its annual fundraising gala on Tuesday.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors has helped the families of more than 25,000 servicemembers who have died in the line of duty, in accidents or by suicide since 1994. The group provides a peer mentoring program, seminars for adults and a “good grief camp” for children on how to deal with grief, as well as casualty case management assistance for families on a variety of issues.

“We’ve trained over 2,000 peer and military volunteers to meet the mission of caring for all who are grieving the death of an American hero,” said group founder and chair Bonnie Carroll.

About 300 people attended Tuesday’s gala including 30 surviving family members, said TAPS spokeswoman Ami Neiberger-Miller

Kim Ruocco, whose husband Marine Corps Maj. John Ruocco committed suicide in 2005, said TAPS allowed her family to deal with their grief without shame or embarrassment.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=69359