Soldiers with severe PTSD have trouble finding help
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
by Louise Elliott, CBC News
Shawn Hearn, like many Canadian soldiers battling post-traumatic stress disorder, is having a tough time getting proper treatment back home after serving in a war zone.
Hearn, who served in Bosnia as a sniper in 1994, and those involved in helping soldiers with PTSD say changes to the treatment system need to be made.
And there's a lot on the line. Hearn recently attempted suicide and has been fighting hard to get the treatment he needs.
Hearn came back from Bosnia a different person. At first he didn't know why. He speaks in Guelph, Ont., near the Homewood private treatment centre where he says he's finally getting help.
"Basically I began to notice changes, my family began to notice changes, and in 1997 I ended up in hospital with an overdose," he says.
After that overdose, Hearn remained in the army another three years. In 2000, he was finally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He left the military and began to try to understand his symptoms: severe depression, flashbacks, night fears.
Read more: Soldiers with severe PTSD have trouble finding help
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
May 20, 2010
Watch Glenn Close’s Brilliant PSA
Dr. Jon LaPook Discusses
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Watch Glenn Close’s Brilliant PSA
Dr. Jon LaPook Discusses
Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans Right Now!
Attention Military Veterans, espeically those looking to live in the Southern California area, Habitat for Humanity is building 27 homes to provide inexpenseive affordable housing for those that qualify.
Any Veteran thinking about buying a home in the future should stop by and check it out.
Habitat offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Prospective Habitat OC homeowner families make a down payment equal to 1% of the purchase price. Additionally, they contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction of their home or someone else’s home. Because Habitat homes are built using donations of land, material and labor, mortgage payments are kept affordable.
Habitat is building 27 homes in San Juan Capistrano, California specifically for Veterans to own. The homes are sold at or below the organizations cost with a 1% down payment and a 0% interest loan. This is an excellent opportunity for you, and I urge you to explore this possibility!!
read more here
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans
Attention Military Veterans, espeically those looking to live in the Southern California area, Habitat for Humanity is building 27 homes to provide inexpenseive affordable housing for those that qualify.
Any Veteran thinking about buying a home in the future should stop by and check it out.
Habitat offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Prospective Habitat OC homeowner families make a down payment equal to 1% of the purchase price. Additionally, they contribute 500 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction of their home or someone else’s home. Because Habitat homes are built using donations of land, material and labor, mortgage payments are kept affordable.
Habitat is building 27 homes in San Juan Capistrano, California specifically for Veterans to own. The homes are sold at or below the organizations cost with a 1% down payment and a 0% interest loan. This is an excellent opportunity for you, and I urge you to explore this possibility!!
read more here
Habitat for Humanity Building Homes for Veterans
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest among friends, family
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
May 19, 2010, 8:33PM
LEONIA — The cremated remains of Herman Henry Reichert, an World War I Army private from Teaneck, had sat in storage at a funeral home for nearly 58 years.
Today, his orphaned ashes and those of 12 other servicemen were finally buried.
The New Jersey Mission of Honor, a statewide veterans group, conducted its largest military funeral to date today with a combined 500 people paying tribute to 13 lost veterans at Overpeck Park in Leonia and later at Doyle Veterans Cemetery in Wrightstown.
Francis Carrasco, the Mission’s chairman, said it can take up to a year to identify and confirm whether remains are those of a veteran. The group, formed 15 months ago, is dedicated to retrieving and burying remains of veterans. He adds their mission has only just begun since New Jersey enacted a law last year allowing the group to pursue the unclaimed ashes of servicemen at state funeral homes.
read more here
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
May 19, 2010, 8:33PM
LEONIA — The cremated remains of Herman Henry Reichert, an World War I Army private from Teaneck, had sat in storage at a funeral home for nearly 58 years.
Today, his orphaned ashes and those of 12 other servicemen were finally buried.
The New Jersey Mission of Honor, a statewide veterans group, conducted its largest military funeral to date today with a combined 500 people paying tribute to 13 lost veterans at Overpeck Park in Leonia and later at Doyle Veterans Cemetery in Wrightstown.
Francis Carrasco, the Mission’s chairman, said it can take up to a year to identify and confirm whether remains are those of a veteran. The group, formed 15 months ago, is dedicated to retrieving and burying remains of veterans. He adds their mission has only just begun since New Jersey enacted a law last year allowing the group to pursue the unclaimed ashes of servicemen at state funeral homes.
read more here
Formerly unidentified veterans are finally laid to rest
A lot to be ashamed of on Memorial Day
A lot to be ashamed of on Memorial Day
by
Chaplain Kathie
When we think about Memorial Day it's easy to honor the fallen because they ask no more of us. We think if we visit a cemetery, go to a parade and wave a flag, we've done our part to honor the men and women who gave their lives for the rest of us. The truth is, I bet most of them in heaven are disgusted with us and wonder what their sacrifice really meant to us when we fail to care for the survivors of combat. After all when it comes to serving in a war, they fight for each other and are willing to die so that someone else can make it back home.
Then we read stories about what is happening to men and women around the country when they come home and the rest of us live in fantasy land believing all is well and they are taken care of. This is so far from the truth it's pitiful. Just read the following and know one thing when you close out the page. There are countless other stories just like it so when you make plans for Memorial Day, ask yourself a question. Just how do we really honor any of them when this happens?
by
Chaplain Kathie
When we think about Memorial Day it's easy to honor the fallen because they ask no more of us. We think if we visit a cemetery, go to a parade and wave a flag, we've done our part to honor the men and women who gave their lives for the rest of us. The truth is, I bet most of them in heaven are disgusted with us and wonder what their sacrifice really meant to us when we fail to care for the survivors of combat. After all when it comes to serving in a war, they fight for each other and are willing to die so that someone else can make it back home.
Then we read stories about what is happening to men and women around the country when they come home and the rest of us live in fantasy land believing all is well and they are taken care of. This is so far from the truth it's pitiful. Just read the following and know one thing when you close out the page. There are countless other stories just like it so when you make plans for Memorial Day, ask yourself a question. Just how do we really honor any of them when this happens?
Disposable Soldiers
Joshua Kors: Injured veterans continue their battles at home while fighting for the healthcare treatment they deserve.
The mortar shell that wrecked Chuck Luther’s life exploded at the base of the guard tower. Luther heard the brief whistling, followed by a flash of fire, a plume of smoke and a deafening bang that shook the tower and threw him to the floor. The Army sergeant’s head slammed against the concrete, and he lay there in the Iraqi heat, his nose leaking clear fluid.
“I remember laying there in a daze, looking around, trying to figure out where I was at,” he says. “I was nauseous. My teeth hurt. My shoulder hurt. And my right ear was killing me.” Luther picked himself up and finished his shift, then took some ibuprofen to dull the pain. The sergeant was seven months into his deployment at Camp Taji, in the volatile Sunni Triangle, twenty miles north of Baghdad. He was determined, he says, to complete his mission. But the short, muscular frame that had guided him to twenty-two honors–including three Army Achievement Medals and a Combat Action Badge–was basically broken. The shoulder pain persisted, and the hearing in his right ear, which evaporated on impact, never returned, replaced by the maddening hum of tinnitus.In July 2007 the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs called a hearing to investigate PD discharges. Barack Obama, then a senator, put forward a bill to halt all PD discharges. And before leaving office, President Bush signed a law requiring the defense secretary to conduct his own investigation of the PD discharge system. But Obama’s bill did not pass, and the Defense Department concluded that no soldiers had been wrongly discharged. The PD dismissals have continued. Since 2001 more than 22,600 soldiers have been discharged with personality disorder. That number includes soldiers who have served two and three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This should have been resolved during the Bush administration. And it should have been stopped now by the Obama administration,” says Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. “The fact that it hasn’t is a national disgrace.”go here for more
Career Fair in Clearwater for veterans
WORKNET WEDNESDAY CAREER FAIR
Join us for our next WorkNet Wednesday Career Fair scheduled for Wednesday, June 23, 2010 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the EpiCenter, 13805 58th Street N., Clearwater, 33760. Click here for directions.
In honor of our veterans, the first hour is dedicated to veterans only. Open to the general public after 1:00 p.m.
Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen, dies at 32
One thing we don't talk enough about is linked to short term memory loss. When they have PTSD, that is part of it. They forget things that just happened while they are haunted by things that happened in the past. It's a huge problem for veterans, especially when they are supposed to remember to take medications at certain times. Sometimes they forget they just took them and take more. Sometimes they don't take them when they are supposed to. Being organized and learning some tricks, like using pill boxes helps with this. While it's impossible to know if a death was accidental overdose or not when they die, there has been many cases when a veteran has survived and said they were not sure if they took too much or not.
There is also the issue that PTSD does harm the heart because of the high levels of stress. One more thing we don't talk enough about. Then again, when it comes to our veterans, we don't talk enough about any issue they have to endure when they come home.
There is also the issue that PTSD does harm the heart because of the high levels of stress. One more thing we don't talk enough about. Then again, when it comes to our veterans, we don't talk enough about any issue they have to endure when they come home.
"...she had hoped to become a counselor, helping other veterans."
Theresa Flannery, Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen, dies at 32
By JIM WARREN
McClatchy Newspapers
Theresa Flannery went to Iraq in 2004 and walked into one of the hottest firefights of the war.
She and other U.S. soldiers were trapped on the roof of a government compound at Najaf, dodging rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades from renegade militiamen. Flannery traded gunfire with enemy snipers, shattering bones in her wrist diving for cover. A photo of Flannery, taken during the two-hour fight, circulated around the world, and the former Miss Madison County was recommended for a Bronze Star.
Back home in Kentucky, Flannery got a hero's welcome. But only family members and close friends knew of the price she paid, and her struggles with post traumatic stress disorder.
Last Thursday, Flannery, 32, died while on a visit in Lexington, N.C. She apparently died in her sleep.
Preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive. But her father, David Flannery, said he has no doubt that her death was related to the physical and emotional scars she carried from her experiences in Iraq.
"That's my gut feeling," he said. "Theresa had been dealing with some horrible problems from PTSD. She was being treated for that, and they kept changing the medication she was taking. She was on 85 percent disability from the Army. She had lost a lot of weight."
Read more: Iraq War veteran and former beauty queen dies at 32
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Supreme Court gets papers in Snyder lawsuit against Westboro
Supreme Court gets papers in Snyder lawsuit
By Jessica Gresko - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 17:36:54 EDT
WASHINGTON — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq says anti-gay protesters who showed up with inflammatory signs at his son’s funeral in Maryland should not be given blanket protection by the Constitution.
Attorneys for Albert Snyder submitted a 67-page brief Monday in their case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorneys argued that the First Amendment does not fully protect the protesters because they infringed on Snyder’s own rights to peacefully assemble with family and friends for the funeral.
Snyder, a Pennsylvania resident, is challenging the protests held by the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and other members — many of them Phelps’ family members — have become well-known for their funeral protests, which they have used to advertise their belief that U.S. Iraq war deaths are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
read more here
Supreme Court gets papers in Snyder lawsuit
By Jessica Gresko - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 17:36:54 EDT
WASHINGTON — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq says anti-gay protesters who showed up with inflammatory signs at his son’s funeral in Maryland should not be given blanket protection by the Constitution.
Attorneys for Albert Snyder submitted a 67-page brief Monday in their case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorneys argued that the First Amendment does not fully protect the protesters because they infringed on Snyder’s own rights to peacefully assemble with family and friends for the funeral.
Snyder, a Pennsylvania resident, is challenging the protests held by the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and other members — many of them Phelps’ family members — have become well-known for their funeral protests, which they have used to advertise their belief that U.S. Iraq war deaths are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
read more here
Supreme Court gets papers in Snyder lawsuit
NC man charged with posing as officer again
NC man charged with posing as officer again
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 14:10:08 EDT
WILMINGTON, N.C. — A man who pleaded guilty last year to altering an identification card after he was spotted in the uniform of a three-star Marine general has been charged again with posing as a highly decorated Marine officer.
Sixty-seven-year-old Michael Hamilton of Richlands was charged last week with wearing a Marine colonel’s uniform and three counts of wearing medals, including two Navy Crosses, the second highest award for valor, according to court papers.
Hamilton was photographed wearing the uniform and medals at Jacksonville’s Vietnam Memorial during a military recognition day ceremony last month.
read more here
NC man charged with posing as officer again
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 14:10:08 EDT
WILMINGTON, N.C. — A man who pleaded guilty last year to altering an identification card after he was spotted in the uniform of a three-star Marine general has been charged again with posing as a highly decorated Marine officer.
Sixty-seven-year-old Michael Hamilton of Richlands was charged last week with wearing a Marine colonel’s uniform and three counts of wearing medals, including two Navy Crosses, the second highest award for valor, according to court papers.
Hamilton was photographed wearing the uniform and medals at Jacksonville’s Vietnam Memorial during a military recognition day ceremony last month.
read more here
NC man charged with posing as officer again
Community mourns fallen soldier
Community mourns fallen soldier
BY ELIZABETHE HOLLAND
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/23/2010
COTTLEVILLE — Church bells tolled and a massive American flag fluttered in the breeze Saturday as motorcyclists in leather vests stood in salute and soldiers in dress blues delivered the casket holding Sgt. Denis Kisseloff's body to an awaiting hearse.
They were among scores of people — nuns, Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts, firefighters and others — who probably didn't know Kisseloff, of St. Charles, but came to pay their respects as his body made its way from his funeral service in St. Charles County to his gravesite in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
read more here
Community mourns fallen soldier
BY ELIZABETHE HOLLAND
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/23/2010
COTTLEVILLE — Church bells tolled and a massive American flag fluttered in the breeze Saturday as motorcyclists in leather vests stood in salute and soldiers in dress blues delivered the casket holding Sgt. Denis Kisseloff's body to an awaiting hearse.
They were among scores of people — nuns, Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts, firefighters and others — who probably didn't know Kisseloff, of St. Charles, but came to pay their respects as his body made its way from his funeral service in St. Charles County to his gravesite in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
read more here
Community mourns fallen soldier
Feds urged to recover Marines killed in WWII battle
Memorial Day is coming again and it seemed like a good time to bring this up. I am still searching for where my husband's uncle is buried. I came across this. There are many of our fallen buried in other countries and we have a feeling my husband's uncle is one of them. I know several were returned and buried at Arlington.
Friday August 17, 2001:
WWII Marines Buried at Arlington
Playing "Onward! Christian Soldiers,'' the Marine Band marched Friday along the twisting paths of Arlington National Cemetery to the open grave sites of 13 World War II Marines whose remains had lain nearly 60 years in a mass grave on a South Pacific battlefield.
The full honors ceremony marked the homecoming of 2nd Raider Battalion Marines killed during a 1942 raid on Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.
The battalion destroyed most of its target, a Japanese seaplane base. But, hurriedly departing under fire from hostile aircraft, they were unable to carry away their dead.read more here
It would be a great thing to bring them all home or at least find out where they are.
Feds urged to recover Marines killed in WWII battle
From wire service reports
Posted: 09/15/2009 10:26:27 PM PDT
U.S. Marines hunker down for protection against fierce Japanese fire on the beaches of Tarawa during World War II.
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday announced a plan to urge the Department of Defense to recover the bodies of hundreds of Marines killed in the World War II battle of Tarawa, left in temporary graves where they fought and died more than 65 years ago.
The unanimous vote to send a letter to Congressional representatives, seeking legislation and funding for a recovery effort, came in tandem with the presentation of an honorary scroll to Leon Cooper.
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky asked the board to bestow the honor and proposed the letter.
Cooper is a veteran of the Tarawa campaign and five other Pacific battles, including Iwo Jima. His documentary, "Return to Tarawa: The Leon Cooper Story," narrated by Ed Harris, calls on the U.S. government to honor the memory of the dead who fought on Red Beach in Tarawa.
"Our government has done nothing since 1943 to recover and repatriate these brave Americans who gave their lives in defense of our freedom," Cooper stated.
During 76 hours of combat, 1,106 Marines were killed and 2,200 wounded. Of those killed, 118 were buried at sea, 88 were listed as missing in action and the remainder were buried in temporary graves.
The Department of Defense acknowledges that 25,000 to 30,000 bodies of men "missing in action" are recoverable, but fewer than 100 are brought home each year, Cooper said.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_13346176
The 4th Marine Division landed on Saipan 15 June 1944. The severity of this battle was indicated by the 2,000 casualties suffered in the first two days of battle. The Flag was raised on Saipan after 25 grueling and bitter days of combat. The Division sustained 5,981 casualties killed, wounded and missing. This represented 27.6 percent of the Division's strength. The Japanese count was 23,811 known dead and 1,810 prisoners were taken.
http://gyrenesgungho.com/history.htm
Lest We Forget
Op-Ed for Memorial Day: Lest We Forget
Written by Linda Seebeth
Monday, 24 May 2010 09:00
May 20, 2010, Issaquah, Washington (Issaquah Reporter Editorial) - Memorial Day became a national day of remembrance thanks to the efforts of wives and mothers of fallen soldiers. Civil War widows lobbied for years until Memorial Day - originally Decoration Day - was officially proclaimed in 1868.
Those women lost loved ones and didn’t want the rest of the United States to forget the painful costs of war.
Today, just as back then, our veterans and their families primarily carry the enormous burden of war for the rest of society.
Memorial Day is commemorated one day a year, yet many of our fellow Americans live Memorial Day every day of their lives.
This I know, because when I married my husband, in many ways I married Vietnam.
Forty-one years ago, John was a young soldier filled with the idealism of youth. He was a medic and volunteered to fly aboard helicopter ambulances. Unarmed Army medevacs- Dustoff had the highest casualty rate of all aeronautical units in Vietnam.
After nine months of flying rescue missions, John took a hit from an AK-47. Today, he still breathes and speaks from a hole in his neck - a daily reminder of the gunshot wound he received in Vietnam.
Every war causes loss of life and limb. And every war creates disabled veterans with lifelong physical challenges.
While treating the wounded, John saw sights in the chopper’s cargo bay that no one would ever want to see - and no one could easily forget. He doesn’t want to remember the pleading, frightened eyes of grotesquely wounded soldiers or the whimpering of dying Vietnamese children.
But those memories are etched deep inside him. I have learned that war does not always end when the warrior comes home.
He’s not the same Johnny anymore.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.php/veterans-category-articles/1715-linda-seebeth
also on Veterans For Common Sense
Written by Linda Seebeth
Monday, 24 May 2010 09:00
May 20, 2010, Issaquah, Washington (Issaquah Reporter Editorial) - Memorial Day became a national day of remembrance thanks to the efforts of wives and mothers of fallen soldiers. Civil War widows lobbied for years until Memorial Day - originally Decoration Day - was officially proclaimed in 1868.
Those women lost loved ones and didn’t want the rest of the United States to forget the painful costs of war.
Today, just as back then, our veterans and their families primarily carry the enormous burden of war for the rest of society.
Memorial Day is commemorated one day a year, yet many of our fellow Americans live Memorial Day every day of their lives.
This I know, because when I married my husband, in many ways I married Vietnam.
Forty-one years ago, John was a young soldier filled with the idealism of youth. He was a medic and volunteered to fly aboard helicopter ambulances. Unarmed Army medevacs- Dustoff had the highest casualty rate of all aeronautical units in Vietnam.
After nine months of flying rescue missions, John took a hit from an AK-47. Today, he still breathes and speaks from a hole in his neck - a daily reminder of the gunshot wound he received in Vietnam.
Every war causes loss of life and limb. And every war creates disabled veterans with lifelong physical challenges.
While treating the wounded, John saw sights in the chopper’s cargo bay that no one would ever want to see - and no one could easily forget. He doesn’t want to remember the pleading, frightened eyes of grotesquely wounded soldiers or the whimpering of dying Vietnamese children.
But those memories are etched deep inside him. I have learned that war does not always end when the warrior comes home.
He’s not the same Johnny anymore.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.php/veterans-category-articles/1715-linda-seebeth
also on Veterans For Common Sense
VCS Invited to Testify Before Congress
Our pro-veteran advocacy continues to be recognized by Congress
. On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, Veterans for Common Sense will be honored to testify before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee regarding the "State of the Veterans Benefits Administration."
Yes, that means VCS will be offering our suggestions on how to fix the broken and overwhelmed VBA. We support VBA staff who are trying their best under difficult circumstances and burdensome rules.
VCS also hopes help is on the horizon.
We recently asked VA when it would publish final regulations to streamline and modernize PTSD claims. VA replied the agency is still working on new regulations. We hope they come out soon. The longer it takes VA to write new rules based on new scientific evidence, then the longer veterans wait for healthcare and benefits.
For a sample of what we plan to say to Congress about VBA, please visit our new program web site http://www.fixva.org/.
This week's update is mostly about veterans' issues.
Here's a news clip providing an example of why VA urgently needs reform. Journalist Michael Sedon at NorthJersey.com reports on the plight of an Iraq War veteran facing multiple VA challenges. Please read the article and see how VCS is fighting for research and treatment for illnesses related to exposure to depleted uranium, a radioactive toxic waste.
Gulf War veteran and Army Times investigative reporter Kelly Kennedy reveals how PTSD may harm veterans' immune system.
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), who sits in the important Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, is quoted in by the Fayetteville Observer describing VA as having "a culture of no" when it comes to veterans' benefits.
Even other top government officials recognize VA is held back by old, inadequate technology. In an article by Eliot Van Buskirk for Wired Magazine, President Obama's chief information officer Vivek Kundra says VA poses a challenge to itself and veterans because VA uses such outdated technology.
Tenn. Iraq vet’s statue vandalized again
Tenn. Iraq vet’s statue vandalized again
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 10:22:16 EDT
MARTIN, Tenn. — A statue memorializing a Martin soldier has fallen victim to vandals for the second time in two years.
The statue was erected in honor of Dustin Laird, who was killed in 2005 in Iraq only a month before he was scheduled to return home.
In 2008, two people from Martin were convicted of vandalism after confessing to painting a skull over the statue's face and dousing it with red paint to simulate blood.
According to radio station WCMT, the head and arms were broken off over the weekend.
Dustin's father, Billy Laird, plans to replace his son's memorial soon.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_statue_vandalized_052510/
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 10:22:16 EDT
MARTIN, Tenn. — A statue memorializing a Martin soldier has fallen victim to vandals for the second time in two years.
The statue was erected in honor of Dustin Laird, who was killed in 2005 in Iraq only a month before he was scheduled to return home.
In 2008, two people from Martin were convicted of vandalism after confessing to painting a skull over the statue's face and dousing it with red paint to simulate blood.
According to radio station WCMT, the head and arms were broken off over the weekend.
Dustin's father, Billy Laird, plans to replace his son's memorial soon.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_statue_vandalized_052510/
Wainwright GI told to remove Facebook video
Wainwright GI told to remove Facebook video
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
An Alaska-based soldier is under investigation for a video on his Facebook page that taunts smiling Iraqi children by asking if they're gay, if they engage in certain sex acts and if they would grow up to be terrorists.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
An Alaska-based soldier is under investigation for a video on his Facebook page that taunts smiling Iraqi children by asking if they're gay, if they engage in certain sex acts and if they would grow up to be terrorists.
U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
Sources: U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
WASHINGTON — At least 10 U.S. Army soldiers from an already-troubled unit of the 2nd Infantry Division in southern Afghanistan are now the focus of a criminal investigation into allegations they deliberately killed three Afghan civilians, used illegal drugs and conducted other illicit activities, several military sources told CNN.
The soldiers are part of the 5th Stryker Brigade of the 2ID, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the military has not named those under investigation.
The military issued a brief statement last week saying a criminal probe was under way into the allegations of killing, illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy. One military official familiar with the details of the case told CNN the matter was brought to the attention of commanders by at least one other soldier. The killings of the three civilians did not take place in one single incident, the official said.
Those under investigation are members of the same company, the official said. All 10 remain in Afghanistan. One soldier is being held in detention known as "pre-trial confinement." The others have been "put in a position where they can do no harm," the official said. He would offer no other details.
read more here
U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
WASHINGTON — At least 10 U.S. Army soldiers from an already-troubled unit of the 2nd Infantry Division in southern Afghanistan are now the focus of a criminal investigation into allegations they deliberately killed three Afghan civilians, used illegal drugs and conducted other illicit activities, several military sources told CNN.
The soldiers are part of the 5th Stryker Brigade of the 2ID, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the military has not named those under investigation.
The military issued a brief statement last week saying a criminal probe was under way into the allegations of killing, illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy. One military official familiar with the details of the case told CNN the matter was brought to the attention of commanders by at least one other soldier. The killings of the three civilians did not take place in one single incident, the official said.
Those under investigation are members of the same company, the official said. All 10 remain in Afghanistan. One soldier is being held in detention known as "pre-trial confinement." The others have been "put in a position where they can do no harm," the official said. He would offer no other details.
read more here
U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
May 24, 2010
By John Harlow/USAG-Natick Public Affairs Officer
BOSTON -- On a sunny morning in Boston, more than 2,000 runners gathered on Yawkey Way outside of Fenway Park to run nine kilometers with the finish line being one of the most famous spots in Boston... home plate of Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox Foundation hosted the run to raise money supporting The Home Base program which helps veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
The Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. was on hand to welcome the runners, thank them for what they are doing to help our wounded warriors and congratulate them when they crossed home plate. Casey is very familiar with the area, having graduated from Boston College High School in Dorchester, Mass.
"This run is very important to our servicemembers," said Casey. "We are working to reduce the stigma of asking for help which is half our battle. Once we reduce the stigma, we can help Soldiers recover."
The Red Sox Foundation partners with Massachusetts General Hospital for The Home Base Program. The event on Sunday raised $2.4 million to support research for PTSD and TBI.
read more here
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
May 24, 2010
By John Harlow/USAG-Natick Public Affairs Officer
BOSTON -- On a sunny morning in Boston, more than 2,000 runners gathered on Yawkey Way outside of Fenway Park to run nine kilometers with the finish line being one of the most famous spots in Boston... home plate of Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox Foundation hosted the run to raise money supporting The Home Base program which helps veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
The Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. was on hand to welcome the runners, thank them for what they are doing to help our wounded warriors and congratulate them when they crossed home plate. Casey is very familiar with the area, having graduated from Boston College High School in Dorchester, Mass.
"This run is very important to our servicemembers," said Casey. "We are working to reduce the stigma of asking for help which is half our battle. Once we reduce the stigma, we can help Soldiers recover."
The Red Sox Foundation partners with Massachusetts General Hospital for The Home Base Program. The event on Sunday raised $2.4 million to support research for PTSD and TBI.
read more here
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
PTSD in the news
Golf Outing Raises Funds for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Posted Monday, May 24, 2010 ; 10:27 PM
Updated Monday, May 24, 2010; 11:55 PM
The organizer has been suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since 1993.
Story by Kristen Sell
HURRICANE -- There was a lot of activity Monday afternoon on Sleepy Hollow's greens in Hurricane.
But the golfers swinging clubs weren't just paring for entertainment.
This golf tournament raised money for Mission PTSD Foundation.
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http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=80372
PTSD counseling helps veterans heal from emotional wounds of war
by Len Cannon / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on February 3, 2010 at 10:05 PM
Updated Thursday, Feb 4 at 12:04 AM
Related:
PTSD Web site
HOUSTON—Paul Schroeder and Robert Nuttal are decorated soldiers who both served on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But even though they’re long retired, they’re still haunted by the battlefield.
"People say, ‘Well, when did you get back from Iraq?’ I got back last night – it was in my dreams," Schroeder said. "The smells are the worst, but it’s also the noise and the sheer chaos."
They saw things overseas that they can’t forget.
"The bodies had burned into the seats where they had become one, and I found myself chiseling these bodies out, one at a time," Nuttal said.
Guilt is just one of the problems Nuttal and Schroeder have struggled with after returning home.
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Distress of 9/11 may have led to miscarriages
Distress of 9/11 may have led to miscarriages, research says
By Madison Park, CNN
May 25, 2010 7:42 a.m. EDT
Even without personal connections, people can be stressed by major events like September 11, 2001.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Distress after 9/11 may have contributed to a higher loss of male fetuses
Even without direct relationships with those killed, women appear affected by attacks
Stress during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, early labor, low birth weight
Factors seem to affect only male fetuses; reason not known
(CNN) -- The shock and stress felt by pregnant women after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, may have contributed to an increase in miscarriages of male fetuses in the United States, according to a study released Monday.
Researchers found the male fetal death rate increased in September 2001 and subsequently affected the ratio of boys born in a later month, according to the study published in the journal BMC Public Health.
The authors hypothesized that this might be a case of "communal bereavement." Even without direct relationships with the deceased, pregnant women may have been distressed by the attacks, resulting in miscarriage, according to the research.
"A huge population saw the consequences and carnage onscreen," said lead author Tim Bruckner, who is an assistant professor of public health at University of California Irvine, about the effects of 9/11. He examined this topic "because pregnancy is sensitive to stressors. I wondered whether pregnant women might have a physiological reaction to witnessing harm."
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Distress of 9 11 may have led to miscarriages
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