'He always wanted to make peace' ... Friends, family mourn as fallen Marine makes final trip home on Veteran Day
BY JENNIFER A. BOWEN - News-Democrat
All along the highways and small-town streets from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah to Hoyleton, people waved American flags, saluted or stood silently as the body of a Marine killed in Afghanistan made its last trip home Thursday afternoon.
American flags whipped in the breeze where they lined Illinois 177 along at least a half mile stretch into Hoyleton, the hometown of Marine Staff Sgt. Jordan B. Emrick, 26.
Emrick, an eight-year Marine veteran, was killed Friday by a roadside bomb in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. He had been serving with a company from Camp Pendleton in California and specialized in ordnance disposal.
He was the guy who found and defused bombs.
Emrick's body landed at MidAmerica after noon Thursday, and a procession of emergency vehicles, friends and family, and several hundred motorcycle riders with the Freedom Riders and the American Legion Riders, escorted the hearse carrying Emrick to the Styninger Funeral Chapel in Hoyleton.
Brandon Szwopinski, 26, of Hoyleton, grew up with Emrick and considered him family.
The two spent their childhood playing sports together and enlisted in the Marines months apart. Szwopinski has been deployed to Iraq and is preparing for a possible deployment to Afghanistan.
The death of his childhood friend and fellow Marine does not make him anxious or worried about his potential deployment.
Read more: He always wanted to make peac
Friday, November 12, 2010
HBO’s ‘Wartorn’ shows soldiers’ struggles with post-traumatic stress
HBO’s ‘Wartorn’ shows soldiers’ struggles with post-traumatic stress
By FRAZIER MOORE
The Associated Press
I am not so well. I am clear off the hooks,” wrote a soldier who soon would be discharged from the Army as unfit to serve.
Back at home in Pennsylvania, he turned increasingly paranoid and violent. Then he killed himself.
The year was 1864 for this young Civil War veteran.
It would take more than a century, and many more wars, for post-traumatic stress disorder to be recognized as a medical condition and to be acknowledged by the U.S. military as a raging fact of life.
A new HBO documentary, “Wartorn: 1861-2010,” charts this heartbreaking story, from the U.S. invasion of Iraq all the way back to the Civil War, whose veterans, according to the film, accounted for more than half the patients in mental institutions of that era.
James Gandolfini is an executive producer, returning the former “Sopranos” star to veterans affairs after his 2007 HBO documentary, “Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq.”
Read more: Wartorn shows soldiers’ struggles with post traumatic stress
By FRAZIER MOORE
The Associated Press
I am not so well. I am clear off the hooks,” wrote a soldier who soon would be discharged from the Army as unfit to serve.
Back at home in Pennsylvania, he turned increasingly paranoid and violent. Then he killed himself.
The year was 1864 for this young Civil War veteran.
It would take more than a century, and many more wars, for post-traumatic stress disorder to be recognized as a medical condition and to be acknowledged by the U.S. military as a raging fact of life.
A new HBO documentary, “Wartorn: 1861-2010,” charts this heartbreaking story, from the U.S. invasion of Iraq all the way back to the Civil War, whose veterans, according to the film, accounted for more than half the patients in mental institutions of that era.
James Gandolfini is an executive producer, returning the former “Sopranos” star to veterans affairs after his 2007 HBO documentary, “Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq.”
Read more: Wartorn shows soldiers’ struggles with post traumatic stress
In this 1950 photo, a corpsman fills out casualty tags as a soldier consoles his friend after the loss of a comrade in Korea. A new documentary, “Wartorn: 1861-2010,” charts post-traumatic stress disorder from the Civil War, whose veterans accounted for more than half the patients in mental institutions in that era, to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Commonality of pain
Commonality of pain
November 12, 2010 posted by Chaplain Kathie ·
If you hear someone say they have an abscess tooth, you understand how much pain they are in even if you’ve never had one, you have had a tooth ache.
If you hear someone say they have a sinus infection, you understand how much pain they are in with the pressure building in their head and their body is drained of energy.
Even if you have managed to escape these problems you can understand because we talk about them making them so common, the level of pain is associated with our own common experiences. Yet if someone says they are suffering because they were in the military, we tend to not connect to their experiences, avoid conversations and feel as if there is no way we can ever understand what it is like for them. The truth is, we can all understand it once we think of what we have in common with them.
Vietnam War Fallen
Look at this picture and you see a grunt gently holding a fellow warrior’s head in his arms. There are many moments of gentleness in combat. Love and compassion do live on even in the atmosphere of brutality. People don’t just die in war. They are shot. They are blown up. Even in the midst of this there are still moments when the human spirit rises above it all.
read more here
Commonality of pain
If you think we can't change the way they come home, just think that we can reach around the world and here's some proof of that.
This is from Google stats on this blog for Oct 12 to Nov 12
November 12, 2010 posted by Chaplain Kathie ·
If you hear someone say they have an abscess tooth, you understand how much pain they are in even if you’ve never had one, you have had a tooth ache.
If you hear someone say they have a sinus infection, you understand how much pain they are in with the pressure building in their head and their body is drained of energy.
Even if you have managed to escape these problems you can understand because we talk about them making them so common, the level of pain is associated with our own common experiences. Yet if someone says they are suffering because they were in the military, we tend to not connect to their experiences, avoid conversations and feel as if there is no way we can ever understand what it is like for them. The truth is, we can all understand it once we think of what we have in common with them.
Vietnam War Fallen
Look at this picture and you see a grunt gently holding a fellow warrior’s head in his arms. There are many moments of gentleness in combat. Love and compassion do live on even in the atmosphere of brutality. People don’t just die in war. They are shot. They are blown up. Even in the midst of this there are still moments when the human spirit rises above it all.
read more here
Commonality of pain
If you think we can't change the way they come home, just think that we can reach around the world and here's some proof of that.
This is from Google stats on this blog for Oct 12 to Nov 12
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PTSD book review turns into sharing moment for reporter
'Lethal Warriors': When PTSD Makes Soldiers Self-Destruct
LEAH CARROLL
Leah Carroll has written book reviews for Publishers Weekly and TheRumpus and has been published in the New York Times.NOV 11 2010, 11:00
In the summer of 1997 I drove with my father from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C. to visit the Vietnam memorial. We left in the middle of the night. I dangled my feet out the passenger side window. My father gave off fumes of whiskey as he drove. We arrived just as the sun was rising over the Capitol and made our way to the Wall.
We stayed for about an hour. Around us, men in motorcycle jackets pressed paper to the wall and delicately traced the names of friends who had not survived the conflict. Standing behind us was a man in an impeccable suit. He wept behind mirrored Ray-Bans.
"Is it an anniversary or something?" I asked.
My father shook his head, disappointed with me. "It never goes away for us, Leah."
On our way back to the car we came across a homeless man. "Anything you got," he said, folding up his cardboard sign to hold out a cup. My father reached into his pockets, digging out a fistful of change. The homeless man looked more closely, wrinkled his forehead, and said, "Kevin?"
My father looked up. "Hey man," he said and held out his hand. They locked fingers for a moment before letting go.
"Who was that?" I asked as we walked away.
"A guy I was in Vietnam with," said my father.
"Seriously?" I asked. It seemed too staged, too unreal.
He fixed that disappointed look on me again. "There but for the grace of God, go I," he said.
My father died a little more than a year later. He was proud of his service, but in his suicide note he listed Vietnam as one of the things that had "ruined his mind." I have thought about this moment in Washington, D.C. many times over the years, particularly when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Would one of those soldiers one day panhandle from a former Army buddy? Might one of them one day leave a suicide note for his or her daughter?
read more here
When PTSD Makes Soldiers Self-Destruct
Happy Veterans Day, you're under arrest
You can judge him and tell yourself he had a duty to this country to serve out his time but then you would be ignoring the duty that the military had to him to take care of his wounds.
November 11, 2010 5:09 PM
AWOL Soldier Suffering from PTSD Turns Himself In
Posted by Armen Keteyian
.(Credit: CBS/Pia Malbran)
AWOL Army Specialist Jeff Hanks turns himself in at Ft. Campbell, KY November 11, 2010
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.
Less than 24 hours after interviewing AWOL Army specialist Jeff Hanks in the living room of his temporary home in White Lake, North Carolina, I was waiting for him to turn himself in at Gate 4 of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In that brief time, Hanks had become something of a symbol.
He was a soldier struggling with what he said was war-induced stress, anger, panic - all PTSD-like symptoms.
He was fighting the military for help to the point where he walked away from the Army last month after a superior ordered him to return to Afghanistan just days before an on-base mental health assessment.
read more here
AWOL Army Specialist Jeff Hanks turns himself in
Once we were Warriors Original Veteran's Day 2010 Military Tribute
Striking video on the Vietnam Memorial Wall!
"Once we were warriors, now we're names here on the wall."
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Vietnam vets betrayed again
First Vietnam vets were told they just were not good enough to hang out with "real" veterans of WWI WWII and Korea. They were told they were not good enough to hire them when they went looking for jobs. All these years later, all their history leading up to the Vietnam Wall itself showing cracks seems to offer a reflection of the lack of support these men and women really get from this country. Now one more betrayal heading their way just when they thought it was safe to trust again after all that has happened for them over the last couple of years. PTSD claims easier to have approved, Agent Orange linked to more illnesses, Veterans Courts, more PTSD research than ever before, homeless veterans programs, substance abuse programs, you name it but when we let something like this happen, it sets them back years in healing and forgiving the rest of us for how we treated them.
ROBBINS: Vietnam vets betrayed again
Pentagon bureaucrat wants to abridge 50th-anniversary ceremonies
By Jim Robbins-The Washington Times
5:28 p.m., Wednesday, November 10, 2010
he 50th-anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War should be a time of reflection and redemption, when a grateful country pays a long-standing debt to veterans who nobly fought in the conflict but came home to scorn and spit. But if a Pentagon bureaucrat has his way, the Viet vets will be denied their rightful honors once again.
In 2008, Congress authorized the secretary of defense to "conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War" to "thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War," "pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front," highlight technological advances during the war and "recognize the contributions and sacrifices" of U.S. allies. The Defense Department also was charged with coordinating, supporting and facilitating "other programs and activities of the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other persons and organizations in commemoration of the Vietnam War." The proposed budget for the commemorations was $100 million, which was less than the amount spent on the World War II and Korean War commemoration efforts. For example, the 1984 commemoration of the Normandy landings alone cost $38 million.
The commission charged with executing this mission sought a commemoration that would be in keeping with the spirit of the intent of Congress. The idea was to have a series of commemorations that would begin in 2009, 50 years after the July 8, 1959, Viet Cong attack at Bien Hoa killed Army Maj. Dale R. Buis and Master Sgt. Chester M. Ovnand, the first two names on the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The commemorations were slated to continue until 2025 and the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.
According to a source familiar with the workings of the commission, it proposed a series of events to take place at various locations around the country to maximize opportunities for aging Vietnam vets to attend them. The events were designed to combine symbolism with substance and were chosen carefully, with input from an interagency group of historians. One planned event was to take place in the fall of 2011 to commemorate the 1965 battle in the la Drang Valley, dramatized in the film "We Were Soldiers." The event was to be held in Auburn, Ala., home of retired Army Lt. Gen. Harold G. "Hal" Moore, who commanded the troops in the fight. Gen. Moore is emblematic of the veteran population in more ways than one; he is in poor health, and members of the commission fear he may not be available to attend the event. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 300 Vietnam vets are dying every day, and as our source asked, "Why are we waiting to get this started?"
read more here
Vietnam vets betrayed again
Vietnam medic still battling post-traumatic stress disorder
Vietnam medic still battling post-traumatic stress disorder
Vet feels bad for guys who are doing three or four tours, ‘this is going to tear them up.’
By Tom Stafford, Staff Writer
10:51 PM Wednesday, November 10, 2010
“The closest thing I can relate it to,” said Randy Ark, “is like when your blood sugar gets low. There’s that nervousness, that edge.”
Moments before, a longtime friend had sneaked up behind the Army combat veteran in the basement of the Vineyard Church, covered his eyes, and shouted, “hey.”
A seed of anxiety and dread “started to multiply,” said Ark, who had been a medic in Vietnam. An episode in the life of a person with post-traumatic stress disorder was beginning to unfold.
“I kind of knew it was coming. I almost could feel it coming,” he said.
Although Ark’s wife was there, as were other friends, he asked for his friend Rick, who’d also been in Vietnam.
“I thought maybe he could help me a little bit.”
But Rick was across the room at the dessert table.
“I couldn’t see him because of the people milling around and walking around,” Ark said.
So he planned a retreat.
No, he told his wife, nothing was wrong.
He just needed to get to the bathroom.
There, alone, in a space where the hard surfaces make for echoes, he turned around a couple of times, took hold of the center stall divider and put his head down, waiting for what always comes.
“I just started sobbing and shaking,” he said. “When something scares you like that, it just brings back that emotion of a sudden occurrence where you don’t know what’s happening, but it could be bad.”
read more here
Vietnam medic still battling post-traumatic stress disorder
Vet feels bad for guys who are doing three or four tours, ‘this is going to tear them up.’
By Tom Stafford, Staff Writer
10:51 PM Wednesday, November 10, 2010
“The closest thing I can relate it to,” said Randy Ark, “is like when your blood sugar gets low. There’s that nervousness, that edge.”
Moments before, a longtime friend had sneaked up behind the Army combat veteran in the basement of the Vineyard Church, covered his eyes, and shouted, “hey.”
A seed of anxiety and dread “started to multiply,” said Ark, who had been a medic in Vietnam. An episode in the life of a person with post-traumatic stress disorder was beginning to unfold.
“I kind of knew it was coming. I almost could feel it coming,” he said.
Although Ark’s wife was there, as were other friends, he asked for his friend Rick, who’d also been in Vietnam.
“I thought maybe he could help me a little bit.”
But Rick was across the room at the dessert table.
“I couldn’t see him because of the people milling around and walking around,” Ark said.
So he planned a retreat.
No, he told his wife, nothing was wrong.
He just needed to get to the bathroom.
There, alone, in a space where the hard surfaces make for echoes, he turned around a couple of times, took hold of the center stall divider and put his head down, waiting for what always comes.
“I just started sobbing and shaking,” he said. “When something scares you like that, it just brings back that emotion of a sudden occurrence where you don’t know what’s happening, but it could be bad.”
read more here
Vietnam medic still battling post-traumatic stress disorder
On Veterans Day, wounded Afghanistan vet has unbroken spirit
On Veterans Day, honoring a Marine who lost his limbs, but not his spirit, in Afghanistan
By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 11, 2010; 12:43 AM
The morning that Marine Cpl. Todd A. Nicely received his medal for valor, he and his wife, Crystal, paused in a restroom at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to pull the trousers of his uniform over his artificial legs.
Crystal maneuvered his pants past the carbon fiber feet. Then they fitted the prostheses onto the stumps of Todd's legs.
He put on his tan utility shirt, which she buttoned, attached his artificial left arm and slipped his metal pole crutch onto the stump of his right arm. When he donned his camouflage Marine Corps hat "low on the brow," he was ready.
It was the first time in six months that he had been back in his "cammies" - since the day in March when he had stepped on the explosive device in Afghanistan that tore off his hands and lower legs.
The blast broke his jaw, punctured his ear drums and left him, according to the latest statistics, one of only three men - a soldier and two Marines - from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive an attack as a quadruple amputee.
read more here
On Veterans Day
By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 11, 2010; 12:43 AM
The morning that Marine Cpl. Todd A. Nicely received his medal for valor, he and his wife, Crystal, paused in a restroom at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to pull the trousers of his uniform over his artificial legs.
Crystal maneuvered his pants past the carbon fiber feet. Then they fitted the prostheses onto the stumps of Todd's legs.
He put on his tan utility shirt, which she buttoned, attached his artificial left arm and slipped his metal pole crutch onto the stump of his right arm. When he donned his camouflage Marine Corps hat "low on the brow," he was ready.
It was the first time in six months that he had been back in his "cammies" - since the day in March when he had stepped on the explosive device in Afghanistan that tore off his hands and lower legs.
The blast broke his jaw, punctured his ear drums and left him, according to the latest statistics, one of only three men - a soldier and two Marines - from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive an attack as a quadruple amputee.
read more here
On Veterans Day
Wartorn: PTSD has been called, it's been called nothing at all
'Wartorn'
James Gandolfini TV special shows war veterans are often 'Wartorn' and their PTSD is brushed aside
DAVID HINCKLEY
Thursday, November 11th 2010, 4:00 AM
"Wartorn," a compelling examination of how combat can cripple the lives of those who survive physically intact, will trouble some viewers. It should.
What we today call posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), executive producer James Gandolfini explains, is really just a more formal medical-sounding term for what over the last 150 years has been called shell shock, combat fatigue or just hysteria.
More often, "Wartorn" points out, it's been called nothing at all. It's been ignored - buried inside by those who suffer from it and brushed aside by those who find the subject uncomfortable.
America, particularly male America, has always been a "buck up and shake it off" kind of culture. The idea that some intangible set of experiences or memories could disrupt a person's subsequent life can make that person seem weak or undisciplined.
"Wartorn" firmly rejects this notion, suggesting denial over time may only compound the debilitation.
Almost everyone knows vets from World War II, Korea, Vietnam or the Gulf who don't want to talk about it. Those on the outside usually take this as admirable stoicism, a sign of doing what had to be done and moving on.
"Wartorn" argues, convincingly, that some veterans can't do that. Whatever they did or saw has changed their lives, perhaps crippled them.
The manifestation can be physical, like screaming nightmares. Equally insidious, it can affect trust and relationships.
"Wartorn" starts with the Civil War, which wasn't the beginning of the problem, but gives us a riveting example through a series of letters written by a Pennsylvania soldier named Angelo Cropsey.
Read more: Wartorn
James Gandolfini TV special shows war veterans are often 'Wartorn' and their PTSD is brushed aside
DAVID HINCKLEY
Thursday, November 11th 2010, 4:00 AM
"Wartorn," a compelling examination of how combat can cripple the lives of those who survive physically intact, will trouble some viewers. It should.
What we today call posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), executive producer James Gandolfini explains, is really just a more formal medical-sounding term for what over the last 150 years has been called shell shock, combat fatigue or just hysteria.
More often, "Wartorn" points out, it's been called nothing at all. It's been ignored - buried inside by those who suffer from it and brushed aside by those who find the subject uncomfortable.
America, particularly male America, has always been a "buck up and shake it off" kind of culture. The idea that some intangible set of experiences or memories could disrupt a person's subsequent life can make that person seem weak or undisciplined.
"Wartorn" firmly rejects this notion, suggesting denial over time may only compound the debilitation.
Almost everyone knows vets from World War II, Korea, Vietnam or the Gulf who don't want to talk about it. Those on the outside usually take this as admirable stoicism, a sign of doing what had to be done and moving on.
"Wartorn" argues, convincingly, that some veterans can't do that. Whatever they did or saw has changed their lives, perhaps crippled them.
The manifestation can be physical, like screaming nightmares. Equally insidious, it can affect trust and relationships.
"Wartorn" starts with the Civil War, which wasn't the beginning of the problem, but gives us a riveting example through a series of letters written by a Pennsylvania soldier named Angelo Cropsey.
Read more: Wartorn
This Veterans Day, 18 will die by their own hands
This Veterans Day, 18 will die by their own hands
by
Chaplain Kathie
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Man requests restraining order against Tim Tebow, Obama, Jesus
Man requests restraining order against Tim Tebow, Obama, Jesus
Requests for restraining order dismissed
By Rachel George, Orlando Sentinel
4:32 p.m. EST, November 9, 2010
GAINESVILLE – It might not be unusual to hear the names of Tim Tebow and Jesus Christ uttered in the same sentence. The former Gator quarterback is open about his beliefs, after all.
But throw in President Barack Obama, and now it gets interesting.
What do the three share?
One man, John D. Gilliand, asked for restraining orders against each of them last week.
Gilliand explained in Alachua County court records that he felt threatened by Tebow, Obama and Jesus.
read more here
Tim Tebow, Obama, Jesus
Requests for restraining order dismissed
By Rachel George, Orlando Sentinel
4:32 p.m. EST, November 9, 2010
GAINESVILLE – It might not be unusual to hear the names of Tim Tebow and Jesus Christ uttered in the same sentence. The former Gator quarterback is open about his beliefs, after all.
But throw in President Barack Obama, and now it gets interesting.
What do the three share?
One man, John D. Gilliand, asked for restraining orders against each of them last week.
Gilliand explained in Alachua County court records that he felt threatened by Tebow, Obama and Jesus.
read more here
Tim Tebow, Obama, Jesus
Mental battle scars still haunt Vietnam vets
Mental battle scars still haunt Vietnam vets
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette
"It was then that mentally I died."
-- Andrew Williams, Apollo
Dennis Hughes has to sit with his back against the wall, so fearful is he of being attacked.
Jim Davis plans an "escape route" whenever he's driving.
Gary Vinka sometimes springs out of bed in the middle of the night, thinking he's being attacked.
They and four other men shared such stories during a recent group therapy session in Highland Park for combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The mutual support brings solace for the invisible wounds of war they bear.
Their mental battle scars aren't fresh like those suffered by veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Their feelings of anger, hyper-vigilance, emotional numbness and guilt have endured for 40 years -- since their service in Vietnam.
Largely from the advocacy efforts of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War, PTSD is now recognized in the mental health field as an anxiety disorder.
Read more: Mental battle scars still haunt Vietnam vets
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette
Vietnam vets John Knorr, left, and Ken Seybold discuss their lives with PTSD during a group therapy session."We were sent way back out in the jungle, and on the way out there all I could see were dead bodies along the road.
"It was then that mentally I died."
-- Andrew Williams, Apollo
Dennis Hughes has to sit with his back against the wall, so fearful is he of being attacked.
Jim Davis plans an "escape route" whenever he's driving.
Gary Vinka sometimes springs out of bed in the middle of the night, thinking he's being attacked.
They and four other men shared such stories during a recent group therapy session in Highland Park for combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The mutual support brings solace for the invisible wounds of war they bear.
Their mental battle scars aren't fresh like those suffered by veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Their feelings of anger, hyper-vigilance, emotional numbness and guilt have endured for 40 years -- since their service in Vietnam.
Largely from the advocacy efforts of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War, PTSD is now recognized in the mental health field as an anxiety disorder.
Read more: Mental battle scars still haunt Vietnam vets
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Beyond the Courtroom
When you think about the staggering numbers of veterans with PTSD and then notice how few of them end up getting into trouble with the law, it is obvious that only some end up making the headlines. Wouldn't it be a wonderful day in this country when they all get help before it ever gets to the point of domestic violence, stand offs with police, crimes, drunk driving or any other trouble they can get into because they are not thinking clearly? That's the biggest problem in all of this. They don't get what they need to heal from what they had to go through. More veterans attempt suicide than commit crimes. That shows how they are suffering more than taking it out on someone else.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Beyond the Courtroom
One psychotherapist said it is rare that PTSD sufferers exhibit violence.
By ALISON FLOWERS
Published: November 09, 2010
Harold McRae is known as "Doc" to the veterans in the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, recovery group he leads. McRae is not a doctor, but rather a psychotherapist with 30 years of experience with combat veterans.
McRae tells News 3 a major misconception about PTSD is that it leads to violence.
"The guys that I have worked with, I have found them no more dangerous than the civilian men I work with," McRae said. "A lot of people have trouble dealing with their anger, but they don't go out there beating people, hitting people and breaking the law."
One Army veteran McRae works with talked to News 3 about his PTSD diagnosis. He chose not to be identified for the sake of his children's privacy. He said he has a hard time backing down from a high state of alert.
go here for more and for video
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Beyond the Courtroom
Calverton National Cemetery honors veterans whose funerals no one attended
November 8, 2010
Calverton National Cemetery honors veterans whose funerals no one attended. CNN's Deborah Brunswick was there.
Calverton National Cemetery honors veterans whose funerals no one attended. CNN's Deborah Brunswick was there.
Veteran Suffering From PTSD Faces Jail Time for 911 Call
Veteran Suffering From PTSD Faces Jail Time for 911 Call
Rob Low, edited by Meagan Kelleher
9:46 PM CST, November 8, 2010
PLATTE CITY, MO - What an Air Force veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder calls a cry for help, Platte County prosecutors call a crime and want the Iraq war veteran to serve a year in jail for causing a stand-off with police.
Zachary Hershley says he suffered a flashback episode caused by post-traumatic stress disorder on April 23, 2010. Hershley admits he was drunk when he dialed 911 at 2 a.m., telling a dispatcher, "I'm the guy with the gun...I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because I killed a f----ing bunch of god d--n kids."
Hershley was armed with a gun while he was on the phone with dispatchers. At times, during the 911 call he implies he needs his gun to protect himself from enemy forces in Iraq, telling a Swat Team negotiator, "I'm going to kill somebody that tries to kill me."
When the negotiator asked Hershley why somebody would want to kill him, Hershley responded "cause they're f---ing after my ass because I killed their cousins."
Hershley's wife Elizabeth also called 911 that night. Elizabeth told dispatchers that her husband thought his father was an Iraqi enemy soldier.
"Hi, my husband just called in there," she can be heard on the tapes. "My husband, he's got PTSD and he's kind of on a rampage, he doesn't, he thinks he's in Iraq right now."
She can be heard on the 911 tapes telling her husband, "Zac it's me, it's Liz. You need to go to the hospital. Yes, you do!"
Hershley's father Roy said his own son didn't recognize him that night. Hershley eventually gave up that night and was taken to a hospital for psychiatric treatment. Hershley says he doesn't remember calling 911, but after hearing the tapes, he says it was clearly a psychotic flashback.
"I know I'm slipping and that was basically my last cry out for help," he said.
Veteran Suffering From PTSD Faces Jail Time for 911 Call
Rob Low, edited by Meagan Kelleher
9:46 PM CST, November 8, 2010
"He didn't commit a crime," Elizabeth Hershley said. "You go to jail when you commit a crime, he called for help."
PLATTE CITY, MO - What an Air Force veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder calls a cry for help, Platte County prosecutors call a crime and want the Iraq war veteran to serve a year in jail for causing a stand-off with police.
Zachary Hershley says he suffered a flashback episode caused by post-traumatic stress disorder on April 23, 2010. Hershley admits he was drunk when he dialed 911 at 2 a.m., telling a dispatcher, "I'm the guy with the gun...I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because I killed a f----ing bunch of god d--n kids."
Hershley was armed with a gun while he was on the phone with dispatchers. At times, during the 911 call he implies he needs his gun to protect himself from enemy forces in Iraq, telling a Swat Team negotiator, "I'm going to kill somebody that tries to kill me."
When the negotiator asked Hershley why somebody would want to kill him, Hershley responded "cause they're f---ing after my ass because I killed their cousins."
Hershley's wife Elizabeth also called 911 that night. Elizabeth told dispatchers that her husband thought his father was an Iraqi enemy soldier.
"Hi, my husband just called in there," she can be heard on the tapes. "My husband, he's got PTSD and he's kind of on a rampage, he doesn't, he thinks he's in Iraq right now."
She can be heard on the 911 tapes telling her husband, "Zac it's me, it's Liz. You need to go to the hospital. Yes, you do!"
Hershley's father Roy said his own son didn't recognize him that night. Hershley eventually gave up that night and was taken to a hospital for psychiatric treatment. Hershley says he doesn't remember calling 911, but after hearing the tapes, he says it was clearly a psychotic flashback.
"I know I'm slipping and that was basically my last cry out for help," he said.
Veteran Suffering From PTSD Faces Jail Time for 911 Call
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Man hit by taser and died was Vietnam veteran
Man hit by Taser was Vietnam veteran
Family mystified by death of 61-year-old
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Nov 08, 2010 21:04
Harvestview S
A man who died Saturday after scuffling with police and being hit by a Taser was a Vietnam veteran who was haunted by his memories of the war, family members and a friend said Monday.
He also was a widower, a father of three grown children and a grandfather of nine.
Family and neighbors are waiting to hear more about the circumstances leading to the struggle that ended with the death of Robert Neill, 61, of Mount Joy Borough.
The incident began with a call to police by Neill, who said he was being harassed, police said.
But when police arrived at Harvestview South apartments early Saturday morning to talk to Neill, they said he became combative and aggressive. After he moved aggressively toward an officer and did not listen to their commands, police used a Taser, a gun that delivers an electric shock, on Neill.
Police used the gun again a short time later, as well as Mace, or pepper spray, when the struggle continued.
Mount Joy Borough police responded first and Susquehanna Regional Police and Pennsylvania State Police assisted them.
Read more: Man hit by Taser was Vietnam veteran
Family mystified by death of 61-year-old
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Nov 08, 2010 21:04
Harvestview S
His family was mystified Monday about what had happened to Neill. They did not know what precipitated the struggle, saying that Neill was a gentle man who wrestled with demons left from his service in Vietnam, where he served as an ambulance driver for the Marines.
A man who died Saturday after scuffling with police and being hit by a Taser was a Vietnam veteran who was haunted by his memories of the war, family members and a friend said Monday.
He also was a widower, a father of three grown children and a grandfather of nine.
Family and neighbors are waiting to hear more about the circumstances leading to the struggle that ended with the death of Robert Neill, 61, of Mount Joy Borough.
The incident began with a call to police by Neill, who said he was being harassed, police said.
But when police arrived at Harvestview South apartments early Saturday morning to talk to Neill, they said he became combative and aggressive. After he moved aggressively toward an officer and did not listen to their commands, police used a Taser, a gun that delivers an electric shock, on Neill.
Police used the gun again a short time later, as well as Mace, or pepper spray, when the struggle continued.
Mount Joy Borough police responded first and Susquehanna Regional Police and Pennsylvania State Police assisted them.
Read more: Man hit by Taser was Vietnam veteran
Former Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer nominated for Medal of Honor
Ambush survivor up for Medal of Honor
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Nov 9, 2010 8:40:53 EST
The Marine Corps has recommended that a former corporal receive the Medal of Honor for braving a hail of enemy fire in September 2009 to pull the bodies of four U.S. troops from a kill zone in eastern Afghanistan, Marine Corps Times has learned.
Dakota Meyer, 22, of Greensburg, Ky., was recommended for the nation’s highest award for valor, according to a source with knowledge of the process, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Meyer could become the first living Marine recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Only one Marine, Cpl. Jason Dunham, has received the award for actions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he was honored posthumously after throwing himself on a grenade in Karabilah, Iraq, in 2004 to save the lives of fellow Marines.
read more here
Ambush survivor up for Medal of Honor
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Nov 9, 2010 8:40:53 EST
The Marine Corps has recommended that a former corporal receive the Medal of Honor for braving a hail of enemy fire in September 2009 to pull the bodies of four U.S. troops from a kill zone in eastern Afghanistan, Marine Corps Times has learned.
Dakota Meyer, 22, of Greensburg, Ky., was recommended for the nation’s highest award for valor, according to a source with knowledge of the process, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Meyer could become the first living Marine recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Only one Marine, Cpl. Jason Dunham, has received the award for actions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he was honored posthumously after throwing himself on a grenade in Karabilah, Iraq, in 2004 to save the lives of fellow Marines.
read more here
Ambush survivor up for Medal of Honor
Florida house fire kills five children
Marion house fire kills five children
Three other victims are at a local hospital.
By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
6:32 a.m. EST, November 9, 2010
Five children died in a house fire overnight in north Marion County, officials said.
The three boys and two girls, ages 6 to 15, lived with other family members in the 1700 block of N.E. 182nd Place in Citra.
read more here
Marion house fire kills five children
Three other victims are at a local hospital.
By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
6:32 a.m. EST, November 9, 2010
Five children died in a house fire overnight in north Marion County, officials said.
The three boys and two girls, ages 6 to 15, lived with other family members in the 1700 block of N.E. 182nd Place in Citra.
read more here
Marion house fire kills five children
VA Celebrates National Family Caregiver Month
VA Celebrates National Family Caregiver Month
WASHINGTON (Nov. 8, 2010)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is marking National Family Caregiver Month by honoring the service of family members and friends who have dedicated their lives to caring for chronically ill, injured, or disabled Veterans.
"Caregivers are the family members and loved ones who take care of the severely injured Veterans who need assistance on a daily basis," said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "These mothers, wives, fathers, husbands and other loved ones make tremendous sacrifices to be there every day for the Veterans who served this Nation. They are our partners in Veteran
health care and they deserve our support."
November is National Family Caregivers Month, and VA medical centers nationwide will offer locally sponsored events for caregivers. Because caregivers often experience stress, burnout, or feel overwhelmed by the caregiving experience, planned activities will provide useful
information about VA and community resources that offer support and assistance to caregivers and Veterans.
Caregivers provide a valuable service to Veterans by assisting them beyond the walls of VA medical facilities with support such as accessing the health care system, providing emotional and physical support, and allowing injured Veterans to stay in their homes rather than living
their lives in an institutional setting.
Caregivers help Veterans maintain a better quality of life and gain more independence. As the Veteran population ages and continues to increase, the role of caregivers as partners in supporting Veterans is even more prevalent. The Veteran population aged 65 and older is expected to increase from 37.4 percent to 44.8 percent by the year 2020. VA is also
treating a new era of younger, severely injured Servicemembers. Many Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will need lifetime care. VA recognizes the support of their caregivers is vital for these Veterans.
On May 5, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. Passed by Congress, this law will allow VA to care for those who provide supplemental help to family caregivers of the most severely wounded veterans returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan. VA has been consulting with Veterans organizations, as well as individual Veterans and their family members, to ensure these new programs are implemented to provide the best possible support for those who have sacrificed so much.
These benefits will add to the wide range of compassionate and practical
programs for Veteran caregivers that are already available from VA:
o In-Home and Community Based Care: This includes skilled home
health care, homemaker home health aide services, community adult day
health care and home based primary care.
o Respite care: Designed to temporarily relieve the family
caregiver from caring for a chronically ill, injured or disabled Veteran
at home, respite services can include in-home care, a short stay in a VA
community living center or other institutional setting or adult day
health care.
o Caregiver education and training programs: VA provides
multiple training opportunities which include pre-discharge care
instruction and specialized caregiver programs such as polytrauma and
traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury/disorders, and blind
rehabilitation. VA has a caregiver assistance healthy living center Web
page on My HealtheVet, www.myhealth.va.gov, as well as caregiver
information on the VA's main Web page health site; both Websites include
information on VA and community resources and caregiver health and
wellness.
o Family support services: These support services can be face to
face or on the telephone. They include family counseling, spiritual and
pastoral care. Polytrauma Centers also offer family leisure and
recreational activities and temporary lodging in Fisher Houses.
o Other benefits: VA provides durable medical equipment and
prosthetic and sensory aides to improve function, financial assistance
with home modification to improve access and mobility, and
transportation assistance for some Veterans to and from medical
appointments.
Caregivers should contact their nearest VA medical center for caregiver
activities in the local area. Facility locators and contact information
can be found at www.va.gov.
WASHINGTON (Nov. 8, 2010)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is marking National Family Caregiver Month by honoring the service of family members and friends who have dedicated their lives to caring for chronically ill, injured, or disabled Veterans.
"Caregivers are the family members and loved ones who take care of the severely injured Veterans who need assistance on a daily basis," said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "These mothers, wives, fathers, husbands and other loved ones make tremendous sacrifices to be there every day for the Veterans who served this Nation. They are our partners in Veteran
health care and they deserve our support."
November is National Family Caregivers Month, and VA medical centers nationwide will offer locally sponsored events for caregivers. Because caregivers often experience stress, burnout, or feel overwhelmed by the caregiving experience, planned activities will provide useful
information about VA and community resources that offer support and assistance to caregivers and Veterans.
Caregivers provide a valuable service to Veterans by assisting them beyond the walls of VA medical facilities with support such as accessing the health care system, providing emotional and physical support, and allowing injured Veterans to stay in their homes rather than living
their lives in an institutional setting.
Caregivers help Veterans maintain a better quality of life and gain more independence. As the Veteran population ages and continues to increase, the role of caregivers as partners in supporting Veterans is even more prevalent. The Veteran population aged 65 and older is expected to increase from 37.4 percent to 44.8 percent by the year 2020. VA is also
treating a new era of younger, severely injured Servicemembers. Many Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will need lifetime care. VA recognizes the support of their caregivers is vital for these Veterans.
On May 5, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. Passed by Congress, this law will allow VA to care for those who provide supplemental help to family caregivers of the most severely wounded veterans returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan. VA has been consulting with Veterans organizations, as well as individual Veterans and their family members, to ensure these new programs are implemented to provide the best possible support for those who have sacrificed so much.
These benefits will add to the wide range of compassionate and practical
programs for Veteran caregivers that are already available from VA:
o In-Home and Community Based Care: This includes skilled home
health care, homemaker home health aide services, community adult day
health care and home based primary care.
o Respite care: Designed to temporarily relieve the family
caregiver from caring for a chronically ill, injured or disabled Veteran
at home, respite services can include in-home care, a short stay in a VA
community living center or other institutional setting or adult day
health care.
o Caregiver education and training programs: VA provides
multiple training opportunities which include pre-discharge care
instruction and specialized caregiver programs such as polytrauma and
traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury/disorders, and blind
rehabilitation. VA has a caregiver assistance healthy living center Web
page on My HealtheVet, www.myhealth.va.gov, as well as caregiver
information on the VA's main Web page health site; both Websites include
information on VA and community resources and caregiver health and
wellness.
o Family support services: These support services can be face to
face or on the telephone. They include family counseling, spiritual and
pastoral care. Polytrauma Centers also offer family leisure and
recreational activities and temporary lodging in Fisher Houses.
o Other benefits: VA provides durable medical equipment and
prosthetic and sensory aides to improve function, financial assistance
with home modification to improve access and mobility, and
transportation assistance for some Veterans to and from medical
appointments.
Caregivers should contact their nearest VA medical center for caregiver
activities in the local area. Facility locators and contact information
can be found at www.va.gov.
We Call Them Heroes, documentary on Vietnam Veterans
Debut draws crowds, tears
'... We call them heroes'
BY STACY TEMPLE • STEMPLE@THENEWSSTAR.COM • NOVEMBER 5, 2010
The tragedy and horror local Vietnam veterans experienced in the war were magnified on the big screen Thursday night.
The vivid recollections from the veterans featured in the documentary "Some Call Them Baby Killers "» We Call Them Heroes" by R-Squared Productions were funny at times and emotional at others. Twenty Vietnam veterans from northeastern Louisiana were featured in the film and recalled the horror they saw in combat, the smell of the country and what it felt like to lose fellow soldiers in a split second.
Executive Producer Rodney Ray said it was important that he preserve and tell the stories of our vets before the stories were lost.
"It is so humbling, and it is very honoring to be a part of what we hope is the healing process for these vets," Ray said. "It is very powerful and very moving. The reason I do movies is to change people's lives, and I believe this one will."
read more here
Debut draws crowds tears
I thought they are heroes too!
'... We call them heroes'
BY STACY TEMPLE • STEMPLE@THENEWSSTAR.COM • NOVEMBER 5, 2010
The tragedy and horror local Vietnam veterans experienced in the war were magnified on the big screen Thursday night.
The vivid recollections from the veterans featured in the documentary "Some Call Them Baby Killers "» We Call Them Heroes" by R-Squared Productions were funny at times and emotional at others. Twenty Vietnam veterans from northeastern Louisiana were featured in the film and recalled the horror they saw in combat, the smell of the country and what it felt like to lose fellow soldiers in a split second.
Executive Producer Rodney Ray said it was important that he preserve and tell the stories of our vets before the stories were lost.
"It is so humbling, and it is very honoring to be a part of what we hope is the healing process for these vets," Ray said. "It is very powerful and very moving. The reason I do movies is to change people's lives, and I believe this one will."
read more here
Debut draws crowds tears
I thought they are heroes too!
Monday, November 8, 2010
What would Rockwell paint today?
What would Rockwell paint about the country right now?
Norman Rockwell
by
Chaplain Kathie
Normal Rockwell wanted to find a way to help other people see the country thru his eyes. Where there was something wrong, he wanted them to see what was possible. Where there was someone in distress, he wanted others to see them so they could do something to help. He thought about the "better angels" living in all of us.
I wonder what he would paint about us now?
A couple of his paintings were about soldiers coming home from war. What would he paint today when they come home from Iraq and Afghanistan while some Americans think the troops have all come home from Iraq on top of forgetting they are in Afghanistan?
What would he paint when they come home with metal replacements of legs and arms? Waiting in line at the VA? Sleeping in the woods, in line at soup kitchens, standing in the streets or begging for spare change? Finding it so hard to be a veteran, they don't want to live one more day of being one and take their own lives?
Would he remind people that after they return from war, the danger to them is far from over?
Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear, but would he make it five if he were alive today? It seems that our veterans do not enjoy any of these freedoms today.
We say they have a right to say what they want but when they say they need help to recover, we don't really hear them. When they say they are for or against the wars being fought today, they get shouted down by other veterans and other citizens.
Religion? No they come home after having one branch of Christianity being forced on them according to recent reports.
From want? Well considering there are so many suffering from not being able to work but find their claims denied or tied up, there is no income for them between wound and check, or the fact that while they are deployed, some of their families are on food stamps especially when they are citizen soldiers depending on their civilian jobs to live off of.
Freedom from fear? Well, sorry but not that one either. They have to fear getting wounded because there are so many problems with getting what this nation promised them when they left these cities and towns to fight our battles.
The country needs another Rockwell so we can see it thru his eyes and then maybe, just maybe we'd do something to make sure no veteran comes home neglected or having to fear being home as much as they did in combat.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Caring for the invisible wounds that warriors bring home
Caring for the invisible wounds that warriors bring home
'A SOLDIER'S HEART': DAY ONE OF A PG SPECIAL SERIES
Sunday, November 07, 2010
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WELLS TANNERY, Pa. -- Derrick Earley steers a four-wheeler up the gravel driveway to his father's hand-built stone home and climbs off. Fit and goateed, the 23-year-old is wearing a cutoff T-shirt, camouflage shorts and cap as he shyly greets visitors, not quite making eye contact, not quite avoiding it, either.
He is surrounded by his father's 300-acre farm amid the grandeur of Fulton County. So breathtaking is this area about 10 miles northeast of Breezewood it is difficult to absorb -- rolling hills, valleys peppered with lush forests, well-groomed hay fields, and, miles away, majestic Sideling Hill, part of the Allegheny Mountains
Read more: Caring for the invisible wounds that warriors bring home
'A SOLDIER'S HEART': DAY ONE OF A PG SPECIAL SERIES
Sunday, November 07, 2010
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WELLS TANNERY, Pa. -- Derrick Earley steers a four-wheeler up the gravel driveway to his father's hand-built stone home and climbs off. Fit and goateed, the 23-year-old is wearing a cutoff T-shirt, camouflage shorts and cap as he shyly greets visitors, not quite making eye contact, not quite avoiding it, either.
He is surrounded by his father's 300-acre farm amid the grandeur of Fulton County. So breathtaking is this area about 10 miles northeast of Breezewood it is difficult to absorb -- rolling hills, valleys peppered with lush forests, well-groomed hay fields, and, miles away, majestic Sideling Hill, part of the Allegheny Mountains
Read more: Caring for the invisible wounds that warriors bring home
Veterans of Korea and Vietnam get special focus during Veterans Day Parade
Veterans Day Parade in Auburn stirs pride for a soldier mom
Despite the rain, thousands thronged the sidewalks of Auburn's Main Street to watch the 200 military units, more than two dozen high-school marching bands, Army tankers, drill teams and bagpipers pass by. The event is billed by the city as one of the largest in the country honoring veterans.
By Sonia Krishnan
Seattle Times staff reporter
It still feels a little surreal.
Sgt. Lyn Kibler can actually hold her 3-year-old son now. And when he wants to hear her voice, he doesn't have to listen to a recording she sent to him from Iraq. He just says "Mom," and there she is.
Kibler, 25, returned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in March after a yearlong deployment. On Saturday, she wore fatigues and walked with her son, Azrael, in the 45th annual Veterans Day Parade in Auburn.
Despite the rain, thousands thronged the sidewalks of Main Street to watch the 200 military units, more than two dozen high-school marching bands, Army tankers, drill teams and bagpipers pass by. The event is billed by the city as one of the largest in the country honoring veterans.
Some brought children decked out in red, white and blue, while others brought dogs, such as one golden retriever with an American flag around its neck. Everywhere, people beamed with pride.
read more here
Veterans Day Parade in Auburn
Despite the rain, thousands thronged the sidewalks of Auburn's Main Street to watch the 200 military units, more than two dozen high-school marching bands, Army tankers, drill teams and bagpipers pass by. The event is billed by the city as one of the largest in the country honoring veterans.
By Sonia Krishnan
Seattle Times staff reporter
This year, the parade paid special tribute to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Dozens who fought in Korea and Vietnam received cheers and praise as they walked the one-mile route.
"Welcome home!" shouted Gary Knutson to a tanker filled with Vietnam vets.
"It's a brotherhood," explained Knutson, who served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1966. "Whether you know (the vets) or not," it's like family when you see one another, he said.
It still feels a little surreal.
Sgt. Lyn Kibler can actually hold her 3-year-old son now. And when he wants to hear her voice, he doesn't have to listen to a recording she sent to him from Iraq. He just says "Mom," and there she is.
Kibler, 25, returned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in March after a yearlong deployment. On Saturday, she wore fatigues and walked with her son, Azrael, in the 45th annual Veterans Day Parade in Auburn.
Despite the rain, thousands thronged the sidewalks of Main Street to watch the 200 military units, more than two dozen high-school marching bands, Army tankers, drill teams and bagpipers pass by. The event is billed by the city as one of the largest in the country honoring veterans.
Some brought children decked out in red, white and blue, while others brought dogs, such as one golden retriever with an American flag around its neck. Everywhere, people beamed with pride.
read more here
Veterans Day Parade in Auburn
Don't forget the wounded, they are veterans too!
While parades are nice for Veterans Day, we need to remember all the veterans in hospitals trying to recover from the wounds they received. This is about a program to get themn out of the hospital, even if it is just for a little while and let them just be men/women again. They are veterans everday, but for them they are also wounded veterans.
Program lets wounded vets experience W.Va. hunts
By John McCoy - The Charleston Gazette via AP
Posted : Sunday Nov 7, 2010 12:00:18 EST
FRANKLIN, W.Va. — With a quick squeeze of a crossbow's trigger, James Raffetto proved that it would take more than an insurgent's bomb to keep him from enjoying life.
"I never thought I'd be able to do something like this," Raffetto said, as he sat forward in his wheelchair and gestured to the deer lying dead nearby. "When you get hit, you think your life is over. This is proof that it isn't."
For Raffetto and a growing roster of servicemen wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Potomac Highlands Wounded Warrior Outreach has been an avenue back toward an active lifestyle. Founded last January by a retired West Virginia conservation officer and a handful of friends, the outreach brings wounded soldiers, Marines and sailors to West Virginia to hunt, to fish and to enjoy a few days of life outside a hospital's walls.
"We work with the people at Walter Reed (Army Hospital) and Bethesda (Naval Hospital) to bring these fellows here," said group founder Bill Armstrong. "The idea is to get them into the outdoors for a day or two so they can relax. Some of these guys have literally been in the hospital for years, and they need some time away from the hospital routine."
read more here
Program lets wounded vets experience W.Va. hunts
Nam Knights Orlando Ride to Salute Veterans
This is how I spent yesterday. On a ride with the Nam Knights out of Orlando and a lot of other groups to salute veterans. It was really cold! But we all had a great time.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Daughter Shops for Bigger Knife To Kill Her Mother
Report: Daughter Shops for Bigger Knife To Kill Her Mother
Catherine Eisley says she simply had enough. Her mother had to die.
Reporter: Scott Howard
Email Address: scott.howard@kolotv.com
SPARKS - Catherine Eisley says she simply had enough. Her mother had to die.
After decades of suppressing anger that she says her mom caused, the 48-year-old Sparks woman told investigators that she decided to do something. When it was all over, 70-year-old Cherry Clasen lay dead in her daughter's home, beaten with a bat and stabbed Wednesday night.
According to a police report, Eisley told investigators that her mother caused her to have post Traumatic Stress Disorder, explaining she witnessed, as a young girl, her mother and 15-year old brother committing incest. By 1995, Eisley said she was forced to take special medication to help level out her depression.
read more here
Daughter Shops for Bigger Knife To Kill Her Mother
Catherine Eisley says she simply had enough. Her mother had to die.
Reporter: Scott Howard
Email Address: scott.howard@kolotv.com
SPARKS - Catherine Eisley says she simply had enough. Her mother had to die.
After decades of suppressing anger that she says her mom caused, the 48-year-old Sparks woman told investigators that she decided to do something. When it was all over, 70-year-old Cherry Clasen lay dead in her daughter's home, beaten with a bat and stabbed Wednesday night.
According to a police report, Eisley told investigators that her mother caused her to have post Traumatic Stress Disorder, explaining she witnessed, as a young girl, her mother and 15-year old brother committing incest. By 1995, Eisley said she was forced to take special medication to help level out her depression.
read more here
Daughter Shops for Bigger Knife To Kill Her Mother
Building free homes for wounded vets
Building free homes for wounded vets
By Kathleen Toner, CNN
March 11, 2010 4:08 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Dan Wallrath's organization built four houses for wounded vets in Texas
Retired homebuilder started program after meeting father of wounded Marine
Wallrath's team remodeled house for free to make it handicapped-accessible
Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes
Houston, Texas (CNN) -- Alexander Reyes' boyhood dream of a military career ended when he was hit by an improvised explosive device during a patrol two years ago in Baghdad.
"Laying in that hospital bed ... sometimes I felt I'd rather [have] died," Reyes said. "My life came to a complete halt."
Reyes sustained severe blast injuries that led to his medical discharge; he's on 100 percent medical disability. Like many soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, Reyes, now 24, found the transition to civilian life difficult.
But he and a handful of other injured veterans are getting help from what may seem an unlikely source: a custom home builder in Houston, Texas.
Dan Wallrath recently presented Reyes and his wife with an unexpected gift: a home built especially for them, mortgage-free.
Building free homes for wounded vets
By Kathleen Toner, CNN
March 11, 2010 4:08 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Dan Wallrath's organization built four houses for wounded vets in Texas
Retired homebuilder started program after meeting father of wounded Marine
Wallrath's team remodeled house for free to make it handicapped-accessible
Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2010 CNN Heroes
Houston, Texas (CNN) -- Alexander Reyes' boyhood dream of a military career ended when he was hit by an improvised explosive device during a patrol two years ago in Baghdad.
"Laying in that hospital bed ... sometimes I felt I'd rather [have] died," Reyes said. "My life came to a complete halt."
Reyes sustained severe blast injuries that led to his medical discharge; he's on 100 percent medical disability. Like many soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, Reyes, now 24, found the transition to civilian life difficult.
But he and a handful of other injured veterans are getting help from what may seem an unlikely source: a custom home builder in Houston, Texas.
Dan Wallrath recently presented Reyes and his wife with an unexpected gift: a home built especially for them, mortgage-free.
Building free homes for wounded vets
Flag Still Stands for Freedom Campaign
Online telethon to raise funds for veterans
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 5, 2010 19:03:14 EDT
A retired Navy senior chief has organized a 24-hour virtual telethon for veterans, beginning at midnight Friday, as a way to share information about veterans programs and raise a little money for support organizations.
Laura Kennedy, a New York consultant on business startups, has put together an around-the-clock webcast of entertainers, authors and veterans advocates as part of an effort that evolved out of her view that the American flag wasn’t being displayed enough in everyday life.
She first had a radio show, “Red, White and Blue,” that talked about patriotic themes; that morphed into what she now calls the Flag Still Stands for Freedom Campaign.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/11/military-veterans-day-virtual-telethon-110510w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 5, 2010 19:03:14 EDT
A retired Navy senior chief has organized a 24-hour virtual telethon for veterans, beginning at midnight Friday, as a way to share information about veterans programs and raise a little money for support organizations.
Laura Kennedy, a New York consultant on business startups, has put together an around-the-clock webcast of entertainers, authors and veterans advocates as part of an effort that evolved out of her view that the American flag wasn’t being displayed enough in everyday life.
She first had a radio show, “Red, White and Blue,” that talked about patriotic themes; that morphed into what she now calls the Flag Still Stands for Freedom Campaign.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/11/military-veterans-day-virtual-telethon-110510w/
Afghan soldier may have killed 2 troops
Afghan soldier may have killed 2 troops
By Katharine Houreld - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Nov 6, 2010 9:47:58 EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan— NATO said Saturday it is investigating whether an Afghan National Army soldier killed two coalition service members in southern Afghanistan, where joint forces are pushing into insurgent strongholds.
NATO said the coalition and the Afghan government were jointly investigating how the two service members died Friday evening in Sangin, a dangerous district of Helmand province.
An insurgent attack killed another NATO service member Saturday in the south, NATO said, without giving details or providing a nationality.
The Taliban issued a statement on the deaths in Sangin district saying an Afghan soldier shot and killed the service members on their base and then defected to the insurgency. The Taliban said the dead coalition members were Americans and put the number killed at three, but often exaggerates casualty figures in announcing its attacks.
read more here
Afghan soldier may have killed 2 troops
By Katharine Houreld - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Nov 6, 2010 9:47:58 EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan— NATO said Saturday it is investigating whether an Afghan National Army soldier killed two coalition service members in southern Afghanistan, where joint forces are pushing into insurgent strongholds.
NATO said the coalition and the Afghan government were jointly investigating how the two service members died Friday evening in Sangin, a dangerous district of Helmand province.
An insurgent attack killed another NATO service member Saturday in the south, NATO said, without giving details or providing a nationality.
The Taliban issued a statement on the deaths in Sangin district saying an Afghan soldier shot and killed the service members on their base and then defected to the insurgency. The Taliban said the dead coalition members were Americans and put the number killed at three, but often exaggerates casualty figures in announcing its attacks.
read more here
Afghan soldier may have killed 2 troops
Vietnam vet says "I’m doing pretty good for a dead guy," after the VA told him he was dead
Local veteran mistakenly considered dead by VA's office
by Brad Woodard / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on November 5, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Updated yesterday at 6:55 PM
SAN LEON, Texas—A veteran who depends on his benefits to survive is thought to be dead by the Veterans Administration.
Rogers Mills, Jr., of San Leon, said his steps are more measured these days. His casting arm isn’t what it used to be, but for a man in his condition, he gets around better than you might expect.
"I’m doing pretty good for a dead guy," said Mills.
At least in the eyes of the Veterans Administration.
"They killed me on paper," said Mills, "and that’s pretty dead."
A Vietnam-era veteran, Mills is disabled and receives benefits. But this month, the check wasn’t in the mail.
"Nothing. Bubkiss. Zero," said Mills.
Mills says he decided to pay a visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Houston, where he learned his status had been changed to deceased.
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Local veteran mistakenly considered dead
by Brad Woodard / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on November 5, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Updated yesterday at 6:55 PM
SAN LEON, Texas—A veteran who depends on his benefits to survive is thought to be dead by the Veterans Administration.
Rogers Mills, Jr., of San Leon, said his steps are more measured these days. His casting arm isn’t what it used to be, but for a man in his condition, he gets around better than you might expect.
"I’m doing pretty good for a dead guy," said Mills.
At least in the eyes of the Veterans Administration.
"They killed me on paper," said Mills, "and that’s pretty dead."
A Vietnam-era veteran, Mills is disabled and receives benefits. But this month, the check wasn’t in the mail.
"Nothing. Bubkiss. Zero," said Mills.
Mills says he decided to pay a visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Houston, where he learned his status had been changed to deceased.
read more here
Local veteran mistakenly considered dead
Fort Hood marks a somber anniversary
Fort Hood marks a somber anniversary
By Ann Gerhart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 5, 2010
Until Friday, there was only one outward symbol at Fort Hood of the chaos and carnage that erupted there on Nov. 5, 2009. The wreaths of ribbons and flowers hung on a fence surrounding Building 42003 at the massive Army post in Texas. They were placed there by a wife who became a widow that day.
Now there is a 6-foot-tall granite memorial, unveiled at a ceremony on the one-year anniversary of the massacre, the worst at a U.S. military installation. Inscribed with the names of the 13 slain when a soldier opened fire as they waited to do paperwork before a deployment, the marker has taken its place near the post's memorials to those killed in war - more than 500 in the past five years.
"Our home was attacked . . . not in a distant battlefield but right here . . . and American heroes sacrificed their lives," Gen. William Grimsley, Fort Hood's commanding general, told about 1,000 people gathered Friday morning for the ceremony, according to the Associated Press.
read more here
Fort Hood marks a somber anniversary
By Ann Gerhart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 5, 2010
Until Friday, there was only one outward symbol at Fort Hood of the chaos and carnage that erupted there on Nov. 5, 2009. The wreaths of ribbons and flowers hung on a fence surrounding Building 42003 at the massive Army post in Texas. They were placed there by a wife who became a widow that day.
Now there is a 6-foot-tall granite memorial, unveiled at a ceremony on the one-year anniversary of the massacre, the worst at a U.S. military installation. Inscribed with the names of the 13 slain when a soldier opened fire as they waited to do paperwork before a deployment, the marker has taken its place near the post's memorials to those killed in war - more than 500 in the past five years.
"Our home was attacked . . . not in a distant battlefield but right here . . . and American heroes sacrificed their lives," Gen. William Grimsley, Fort Hood's commanding general, told about 1,000 people gathered Friday morning for the ceremony, according to the Associated Press.
read more here
Fort Hood marks a somber anniversary
Camp Pendleton, 19 year old Marine loses leg after freeway crash
Marine loses leg after freeway crash
By ALEJANDRA MOLINA
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A 19-year-old Marine lost his left leg after he crashed into a guardrail Thursday on the southbound I-5 as he was headed to Camp Pendleton for his morning assignment.
It was about 5:07 a.m. on Thursday when Lance Cpl. Jordon Sickinger veered to the right, crashed into a metal guardrail and rolled over near El Toro Road, the California Highway Patrol said.
A passenger, who is also a Marine, pulled Sickinger out of the car and administered first aid to his wounds, said Donya Larson, who is Sickinger's mom.
read more here
Marine loses leg after freeway crash
By ALEJANDRA MOLINA
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A 19-year-old Marine lost his left leg after he crashed into a guardrail Thursday on the southbound I-5 as he was headed to Camp Pendleton for his morning assignment.
It was about 5:07 a.m. on Thursday when Lance Cpl. Jordon Sickinger veered to the right, crashed into a metal guardrail and rolled over near El Toro Road, the California Highway Patrol said.
A passenger, who is also a Marine, pulled Sickinger out of the car and administered first aid to his wounds, said Donya Larson, who is Sickinger's mom.
read more here
Marine loses leg after freeway crash
Friday, November 5, 2010
AWOL Soldier Refusing Deployment Because of Severe PTSD
AWOL Soldier Refusing Deployment Because of Severe PTSD
Friday 05 November 2010
by: Sarah Lazare, t r u t h o u t | Report
(Photo: RDECOM / Flickr)
"I am just trying to get help," insisted Jeff Hanks, active duty US Army infantryman, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "My goal in this situation is to simply heal. And they wonder why there are so many suicides." Jeff spoke rapidly over the phone from Virginia, where he, his wife and his two young daughters are staying while he is AWOL from the military. Days earlier, Jeff had walked out of an airport, refusing to board a plane headed for Kuwait, which was to be his first stop on his way back to Afghanistan.
During his mid-September leave from his second combat tour with the 101st Airborne Division, Jeff sought help from Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell military doctors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and physical wounds sustained in battle. Yet, just as his treatment was getting started, his command interfered, insisting that his military health care providers grant him clearance for immediate deployment. His providers acquiesced, even though they had not completed preliminary testing.
Jeff, who has trouble being in large crowds of people and difficulty controlling his anger, says he is in no state to deploy back to the war from which he is still struggling to heal. The 30 year-old soldier decided that his only choice was to go AWOL. Jeff plans to turn himself into his command at Fort Campbell on Veterans Day, November 11.
read more here
AWOL Soldier Refusing Deployment Because of Severe PTSD
Friday 05 November 2010
by: Sarah Lazare, t r u t h o u t | Report
(Photo: RDECOM / Flickr)
"I am just trying to get help," insisted Jeff Hanks, active duty US Army infantryman, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "My goal in this situation is to simply heal. And they wonder why there are so many suicides." Jeff spoke rapidly over the phone from Virginia, where he, his wife and his two young daughters are staying while he is AWOL from the military. Days earlier, Jeff had walked out of an airport, refusing to board a plane headed for Kuwait, which was to be his first stop on his way back to Afghanistan.
During his mid-September leave from his second combat tour with the 101st Airborne Division, Jeff sought help from Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell military doctors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and physical wounds sustained in battle. Yet, just as his treatment was getting started, his command interfered, insisting that his military health care providers grant him clearance for immediate deployment. His providers acquiesced, even though they had not completed preliminary testing.
Jeff, who has trouble being in large crowds of people and difficulty controlling his anger, says he is in no state to deploy back to the war from which he is still struggling to heal. The 30 year-old soldier decided that his only choice was to go AWOL. Jeff plans to turn himself into his command at Fort Campbell on Veterans Day, November 11.
read more here
AWOL Soldier Refusing Deployment Because of Severe PTSD
Another Adversary To Defeat
This is my first post as a staff writer for Veteran's Today. When I think that having PTSD does not make anything hopeless, it is vital that we dedicate everything we have into defeating it with just as much dedication as we do going after enemies we can see.
Another Adversary To Defeat
by Chaplain Kathie
Coming Home Returning from Hell Military Men and Women Just Want to Get Back to Their Normal Lives
When the men and women leave their bases, they head into combat with weapons they were trained to use. Imagine if they were sent without weapons. Imagine if they were sent with weapons but left alone to figure out how to use them. The military is great at drilling, training and even manipulating the thinking process of the soldiers they send, but not so good on the returning process. They've never been trained with as much sense of urgency on how to come home.
Read More
Another Adversary To Defeat
National Guard Try To Stop Suicides Among Veterans
National Guard Try To Stop Suicides Among Veterans
Military Suicide Rates Double National Average
By MIKE BOWERSOCK
Published: November 04, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Inside a classroom near Beightler Armory Thursday, a group of mostly Ohio National guardsmen learned how to better diagnose their fellow soldiers who may be on the brink of committing suicide.
"Historically the suicide rate in the military, in the Army has been lower than the national average. But about two years ago, we started to go above the national average," said Ohio National Guard Capt. Nick Chou.
The suicide rate in the general public is about 11 people per 100,000, but among veterans it's 20 per 100,000.
The reason? It seems veterans, reserve, guard, and active military have come into a perfect storm of stress
Suicides Among Veterans
Military Suicide Rates Double National Average
By MIKE BOWERSOCK
Published: November 04, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Inside a classroom near Beightler Armory Thursday, a group of mostly Ohio National guardsmen learned how to better diagnose their fellow soldiers who may be on the brink of committing suicide.
"Historically the suicide rate in the military, in the Army has been lower than the national average. But about two years ago, we started to go above the national average," said Ohio National Guard Capt. Nick Chou.
The suicide rate in the general public is about 11 people per 100,000, but among veterans it's 20 per 100,000.
The reason? It seems veterans, reserve, guard, and active military have come into a perfect storm of stress
Suicides Among Veterans
Soldier's mother says military let her son down
Soldier's mother says military let her son down
Goldstream Gazette
Two and a half years after her son’s suicide, a Victoria woman’s struggles with the Department of National Defence have finally been acknowledged at the highest level.
A long-awaited apology came only after Sheila Fynes made a trip to Ottawa to share her story with the national media.
Backed by Victoria MP Denise Savoie, Fynes spoke out about the military’s handling of her son’s post-traumatic stress disorder (a psychological condition sometimes seen in soldiers who have served in a battle zone) and subsequent mistreatment of the family.
“We believe that there has been a concerted effort on the part of the Department (of National Defence) to tarnish our son’s reputation and memory to absolve it of any responsibility,” Fynes said. “Our hope is that never again should a soldier or soldier’s family suffer as ours has.”
On March 15, 2008, Cpl. Stuart Langridge, then 28, hanged himself in his barracks at CFB Edmonton.
He had served tours of duty in Bosnia and Afghanistan starting in 2002 and had an outstanding military record until 2006.
Troubles started in 2007.
According to files compiled by Savoie’s office, Langridge was medicated for an anxiety-related issue in March. Until his death a year later, he struggled with substance abuse and attempted suicide six times.
read more here
Soldier's mother says military let her son down
Goldstream Gazette
Two and a half years after her son’s suicide, a Victoria woman’s struggles with the Department of National Defence have finally been acknowledged at the highest level.
A long-awaited apology came only after Sheila Fynes made a trip to Ottawa to share her story with the national media.
Backed by Victoria MP Denise Savoie, Fynes spoke out about the military’s handling of her son’s post-traumatic stress disorder (a psychological condition sometimes seen in soldiers who have served in a battle zone) and subsequent mistreatment of the family.
“We believe that there has been a concerted effort on the part of the Department (of National Defence) to tarnish our son’s reputation and memory to absolve it of any responsibility,” Fynes said. “Our hope is that never again should a soldier or soldier’s family suffer as ours has.”
On March 15, 2008, Cpl. Stuart Langridge, then 28, hanged himself in his barracks at CFB Edmonton.
He had served tours of duty in Bosnia and Afghanistan starting in 2002 and had an outstanding military record until 2006.
Troubles started in 2007.
According to files compiled by Savoie’s office, Langridge was medicated for an anxiety-related issue in March. Until his death a year later, he struggled with substance abuse and attempted suicide six times.
read more here
Soldier's mother says military let her son down
Shreveport soldier Sgt. Derrick Smith to get Soldier's Medal for Fort Hood action
Local soldier tapped for heroic actions
BY JOHN ANDREW PRIME • JPRIME@GANNETT.COM • NOVEMBER 5, 2010
One year ago, Shreveport soldier Sgt. Derrick Smith waited to get paperwork done in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center on the sprawling Army city of Fort Hood, Texas, when hell broke loose.
An officer whose motivations are the subject of Army court hearings started firing rounds from two guns at fellow soldiers and civilians, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Smith and his commanding officer rendered aid to the wounded and advanced on the officer accused of the rampage, Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Halik Hasan.
Hasan was finally felled by shots fired by civilian police officers Kimberly Munley, who was wounded several times, and Mark Todd.
One of the four heroic actions Smith performed was to save Munley's life.
For that and other actions, the now-retired Louisiana Army National Guard soldier will be among 70 soldiers and civilians honored in a ceremony today at Fort Hood, with Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Secretary John McHugh presiding.
Smith will receive the Soldier's Medal, the highest award given for heroism not involving combat with an armed enemy.
read more here
Local soldier tapped for heroic actions
BY JOHN ANDREW PRIME • JPRIME@GANNETT.COM • NOVEMBER 5, 2010
One year ago, Shreveport soldier Sgt. Derrick Smith waited to get paperwork done in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center on the sprawling Army city of Fort Hood, Texas, when hell broke loose.
An officer whose motivations are the subject of Army court hearings started firing rounds from two guns at fellow soldiers and civilians, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Smith and his commanding officer rendered aid to the wounded and advanced on the officer accused of the rampage, Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Halik Hasan.
Hasan was finally felled by shots fired by civilian police officers Kimberly Munley, who was wounded several times, and Mark Todd.
One of the four heroic actions Smith performed was to save Munley's life.
For that and other actions, the now-retired Louisiana Army National Guard soldier will be among 70 soldiers and civilians honored in a ceremony today at Fort Hood, with Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Secretary John McHugh presiding.
Smith will receive the Soldier's Medal, the highest award given for heroism not involving combat with an armed enemy.
read more here
Local soldier tapped for heroic actions
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