Tacoma native awarded Silver Star in Afghanistan
MIKE ARCHBOLD; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: 12/25/10
It was a typical morning in Afghanistan and Spc. Nicholas Robinson was just about finished with a six-hour guard duty shift at an Afghan police compound near his combat outpost.
Then all hell broke loose.
A mortar round landed roughly 20 meters in front of his guard tower.
“It knocked me back and when I got up I saw an explosion like nothing I had ever seen before going off,” the Tacoma native told a public affairs writer with the 101st Airborne Division’s Task Force Leader Rakkasan. “Then gunfire erupted from every possible side you could imagine.”
Over the next seven minutes in the first combat action he had seen, Robinson killed one insurgent carrying a rocket launcher and then held off 15 to 20 insurgents, killing two of them. One of them was a suicide bomber who got to within 50 feet of Robinson.
For his heroism and bravery, Army Chief of Staff George Casey presented Robinson Thursday with a Silver Star, the Army’s third highest award for valor in combat.
Read more: Tacoma native awarded Silver Star in Afghanistan
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A military hospital's all-encompassing mission
A military hospital's all-encompassing mission
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 26, 2010
AT KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN Most of the time, this war-theater hospital crackles with danger and expertise, its staff members working to keep alive people who would be dead if they ended up almost anywhere else in the world.
But some of the time, often in the morning, it's quiet and almost empty, except for a few recuperating Afghans stoically watched over by family members and, today, a young girl in a pink robe exploring the corridor outside her room in a wheelchair.
The hospital, which opened in May and is owned by NATO, is an odd mix of urgency and relaxation. It features patients whose stays inside its $40 million walls are both shorter and longer than any in contemporary U.S. hospitals.
American soldiers critically injured on the battlefield spend only a day or two here, many unconscious and on ventilators, before being sent to Bagram air base, then to a hospital in Germany and on to the United States.
At the other end of the continuum are the Afghans who make up about half the patients.
read more here
A military hospital all encompassing mission
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 26, 2010
AT KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN Most of the time, this war-theater hospital crackles with danger and expertise, its staff members working to keep alive people who would be dead if they ended up almost anywhere else in the world.
But some of the time, often in the morning, it's quiet and almost empty, except for a few recuperating Afghans stoically watched over by family members and, today, a young girl in a pink robe exploring the corridor outside her room in a wheelchair.
The hospital, which opened in May and is owned by NATO, is an odd mix of urgency and relaxation. It features patients whose stays inside its $40 million walls are both shorter and longer than any in contemporary U.S. hospitals.
American soldiers critically injured on the battlefield spend only a day or two here, many unconscious and on ventilators, before being sent to Bagram air base, then to a hospital in Germany and on to the United States.
At the other end of the continuum are the Afghans who make up about half the patients.
read more here
A military hospital all encompassing mission
Firefighters, Santa bring Somersworth Marine home for Christmas
Firefighters, Santa bring Somersworth Marine home for Christmas
BY AIMEE LOCKHARDT
alockhardt@fosters.com
Sunday, December 26, 2010
SOMERSWORTH — Four-year-old Anthony Griffin's eyes lit up when he saw the fire engine climb the hill toward his apartment on Winter Street.
Then suddenly a grin stretched across his face when he noticed who was inside. Right in the front was Santa Claus, waving at him.
As Santa stepped from the engine, Anthony rushed over and into his arms, and that's when he noticed the figure who had followed Santa out of the fire engine. The man knelt on the ground, trying to hold back tears, as Anthony then flew into his arms.
This would be the first Christmas he'd spend with his uncle since 2008.
The Somersworth Fire Department, with help from Santa and an elf, made a special trip on Christmas Eve day to deliver 22-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Sanborn home after he was away for two and a half years.
"I'm supposed to be the toughest of the tough, and I'm about to cry," Sanborn said about seeing his family again.
A couple of weeks ago, firefighter James Drakopoulos was on duty when he received a phone call from Sanborn asking for help surprising his nephew with his homecoming.
"A lot of the guys (on the fire department) are veterans," Drakopoulos said, adding that he didn't hesitate to assist. "And we usually try to help whoever we can with what they need ... Everyone was willing to do whatever they could. These guys are serving our country."
Sanford spent his first year away from home in training, and then during his second year, he was deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He spent time in Haiti after the earthquake hit, and then wen to Djibouti, Africa, and Jordan. He returned to the states in August, where he was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
"Not a day goes by when I don't think about them or what they're doing," the lance corporal said.
read more here
Firefighters, Santa bring Somersworth Marine home for Christmas
BY AIMEE LOCKHARDT
alockhardt@fosters.com
Sunday, December 26, 2010
SOMERSWORTH — Four-year-old Anthony Griffin's eyes lit up when he saw the fire engine climb the hill toward his apartment on Winter Street.
Then suddenly a grin stretched across his face when he noticed who was inside. Right in the front was Santa Claus, waving at him.
As Santa stepped from the engine, Anthony rushed over and into his arms, and that's when he noticed the figure who had followed Santa out of the fire engine. The man knelt on the ground, trying to hold back tears, as Anthony then flew into his arms.
This would be the first Christmas he'd spend with his uncle since 2008.
The Somersworth Fire Department, with help from Santa and an elf, made a special trip on Christmas Eve day to deliver 22-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Sanborn home after he was away for two and a half years.
"I'm supposed to be the toughest of the tough, and I'm about to cry," Sanborn said about seeing his family again.
A couple of weeks ago, firefighter James Drakopoulos was on duty when he received a phone call from Sanborn asking for help surprising his nephew with his homecoming.
"A lot of the guys (on the fire department) are veterans," Drakopoulos said, adding that he didn't hesitate to assist. "And we usually try to help whoever we can with what they need ... Everyone was willing to do whatever they could. These guys are serving our country."
Sanford spent his first year away from home in training, and then during his second year, he was deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He spent time in Haiti after the earthquake hit, and then wen to Djibouti, Africa, and Jordan. He returned to the states in August, where he was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
"Not a day goes by when I don't think about them or what they're doing," the lance corporal said.
read more here
Firefighters, Santa bring Somersworth Marine home for Christmas
Soldier committed suicide outside Fayetteville PD
Soldier committed suicide outside Fayetteville PD
December 26, 2010 posted by Chaplain Kathie ·
read more here
Soldier committed suicide outside Fayetteville PD
Sword of Damocles
December 26, 2010 posted by Chaplain Kathie ·
There is a hidden war going on in this country that few are talking about. While news reports finally spread the growing crisis of veterans returning home with PTSD, seeing their lives fall apart, these cases are usually attributed to combat operations. A few days ago Dana Morgan, President of Point Man Ministries, and I were talking about this other hidden crisis. The soldiers sent for humanitarian relief operations are more affected by what they witness."The value of the sword is not that it falls, but rather, that it hangs."
Soldier committed suicide outside Fayetteville PDThis happens. What they see is not something they can fight against. There is no battle plan to defeat a natural disaster. They also see death on a massive scale followed by suffering survivors waiting for help.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A man who shot himself Thursday outside the Fayetteville Police Administrative Building was a Fort Bragg soldier, according to the post.
Spc. Freddy J. Hook, 20, of Maurice, La., was a healthcare specialist with Company C, 407th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He had been stationed at Fort Bragg since Sept. 2009. His most recent deployment was for earthquake relief in Haiti in January.
Hook shot himself on Hay Street shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday. He died at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center on Saturday, police said.
read more here
Soldier committed suicide outside Fayetteville PD
Sword of Damocles
Saturday, December 25, 2010
A simple casket with an American flag for Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright
There are many post I think about often but at this time of year a post I did back in March seems to fit very well with what Christmas is supposed to be. It is supposed to be a day of making others feel loved and that is exactly what a church did for a homeless Vietnam Vet and he returned the love to them. He passed away in March but his life touched so many that I wanted to post this story again.
A few days ago I received an email from Chaplain Lyle Schmeiser, DAV Chapter 16, asking for people to attend a funeral for a homeless Vietnam veteran. After posting about funerals for the forgotten for many years across the country, I felt compelled to attend.
As I drove to the Carey Hand Colonial Funeral Home, I imagined an empty room knowing how few people would show up for a funeral like this. All the other homeless veteran stories flooded my thoughts and this, I thought, would be just one more of them.
When I arrived, I discovered the funeral home was paying for the funeral. Pastor Joel Reif, of First United Church of Christ asked them if they could help out to bury this veteran and they did. They put together a beautiful service with Honor Guard and a 21 gun salute by the VFW post.
I asked a man there what he knew about Andrew and his eyes filled. He smiled and then told me how Andrew wouldn't drink the water from the tap. He'd send this man for bottled water, always insisting on paying for it. When the water was on sale, he'd buy Andrew an extra case of water but Andrew was upset because the man didn't use the extra money for gas.
Then Pastor Joel filled in more of Andrew's life. Andrew got back from Vietnam, got married and had children. His wife passed away and Andrew remarried. For some reason the marriage didn't work out. Soon the state came to take his children away. Andrew did all he could to get his children back, but after years of trying, he gave up and lost hope.
A few years ago, after going to the church for help from the food pantry, for himself and his cats, Andrew lost what little he had left. The tent he was living in was bulldozed down in an attempt to clear out homeless people from Orlando. Nothing was left and he couldn't find his cats.
Andrew ended up talking to Pastor Joel after his bike was stolen again, he'd been beaten up and ended up sleeping on church grounds in the doorway. Pastor Joel offered him the shed in the back of the church to sleep in so that he wouldn't have to face more attacks.
The shed had electricity and they put in a TV set, a frying pan and a coffee maker. They wanted to give Andrew more but he said they had already given him enough.
Pastor Joel told of how Andrew gave him a Christmas card with some money in it one year. Pastor Joel didn't want to take money from someone with so little, but Andrew begged him to take it saying "Please, don't take this away from me" because it was all he had to give and it meant a lot to give it to the Pastor. Much like the widow with two cents gave all she had in the Bible, Andrew was truly grateful for what little he had been given from the church.
What was soon made clear is that Pastor Joel gave him even more than he imagined. Andrew took it on himself to be the church watchman. While services were going on after Andrew greeted the parishioners, he would travel around the parking lot to make sure the cars were safe. At night he made sure any guests of the church were equally watched over. Pastor Joel not only gave him a roof over his head and food, he gave him something to make him feel needed.
More and more people came to the service and there was a lot of weeping as Pastor Joel spoke. What was very clear this day is that Andrew was called a homeless veteran but he was not homeless. He found one at the church. He lost his family and his children, but he found a family at the church.
From what was said about Andrew, he was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD and he wanted no help from the VA. Too many of them feel the same way and they live on the streets, depending on the kindness of strangers to help them out. Andrew wasn't one of the panhandlers we see in Orlando. He refused to beg for money and he wanted to work for whatever he was given. His health got worse but he still did what he could. Right up until March 16, 2010 when Andrew passed away, no matter what happened to him during his life, Andrew proved that this veteran was not hopeless, not helpless because he found the fulfillment of hope in the arms of strangers who took him in and he found help as he asked as well as gave.
The legacy of this homeless veteran is that he touched the lives of so many hearts and will never be forgotten.
A simple casket with an American flag for Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright.
A simple bouquet of flowers was placed with a simple photo a church member snapped.
By all accounts, Andrew was a simple man with simple needs but what was evident today is that Andrew was anything but a "simple" man.
A few days ago I received an email from Chaplain Lyle Schmeiser, DAV Chapter 16, asking for people to attend a funeral for a homeless Vietnam veteran. After posting about funerals for the forgotten for many years across the country, I felt compelled to attend.
As I drove to the Carey Hand Colonial Funeral Home, I imagined an empty room knowing how few people would show up for a funeral like this. All the other homeless veteran stories flooded my thoughts and this, I thought, would be just one more of them.
When I arrived, I discovered the funeral home was paying for the funeral. Pastor Joel Reif, of First United Church of Christ asked them if they could help out to bury this veteran and they did. They put together a beautiful service with Honor Guard and a 21 gun salute by the VFW post.
I asked a man there what he knew about Andrew and his eyes filled. He smiled and then told me how Andrew wouldn't drink the water from the tap. He'd send this man for bottled water, always insisting on paying for it. When the water was on sale, he'd buy Andrew an extra case of water but Andrew was upset because the man didn't use the extra money for gas.
Then Pastor Joel filled in more of Andrew's life. Andrew got back from Vietnam, got married and had children. His wife passed away and Andrew remarried. For some reason the marriage didn't work out. Soon the state came to take his children away. Andrew did all he could to get his children back, but after years of trying, he gave up and lost hope.
A few years ago, after going to the church for help from the food pantry, for himself and his cats, Andrew lost what little he had left. The tent he was living in was bulldozed down in an attempt to clear out homeless people from Orlando. Nothing was left and he couldn't find his cats.
Andrew ended up talking to Pastor Joel after his bike was stolen again, he'd been beaten up and ended up sleeping on church grounds in the doorway. Pastor Joel offered him the shed in the back of the church to sleep in so that he wouldn't have to face more attacks.
The shed had electricity and they put in a TV set, a frying pan and a coffee maker. They wanted to give Andrew more but he said they had already given him enough.
Pastor Joel told of how Andrew gave him a Christmas card with some money in it one year. Pastor Joel didn't want to take money from someone with so little, but Andrew begged him to take it saying "Please, don't take this away from me" because it was all he had to give and it meant a lot to give it to the Pastor. Much like the widow with two cents gave all she had in the Bible, Andrew was truly grateful for what little he had been given from the church.
What was soon made clear is that Pastor Joel gave him even more than he imagined. Andrew took it on himself to be the church watchman. While services were going on after Andrew greeted the parishioners, he would travel around the parking lot to make sure the cars were safe. At night he made sure any guests of the church were equally watched over. Pastor Joel not only gave him a roof over his head and food, he gave him something to make him feel needed.
More and more people came to the service and there was a lot of weeping as Pastor Joel spoke. What was very clear this day is that Andrew was called a homeless veteran but he was not homeless. He found one at the church. He lost his family and his children, but he found a family at the church.
From what was said about Andrew, he was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD and he wanted no help from the VA. Too many of them feel the same way and they live on the streets, depending on the kindness of strangers to help them out. Andrew wasn't one of the panhandlers we see in Orlando. He refused to beg for money and he wanted to work for whatever he was given. His health got worse but he still did what he could. Right up until March 16, 2010 when Andrew passed away, no matter what happened to him during his life, Andrew proved that this veteran was not hopeless, not helpless because he found the fulfillment of hope in the arms of strangers who took him in and he found help as he asked as well as gave.
The legacy of this homeless veteran is that he touched the lives of so many hearts and will never be forgotten.
Behind this church, in a tiny shed, Andew spent his last hours on this earth. Born in Riverside Park NJ on November 5, 1938 he returned to God on March 16, 2010.
John 14:2-3
In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Matthew 25
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
After shooting, officials work to prevent lasting trauma
If you can understand the need for something like this after one event, then maybe you can understand a soldier coming home needing help after a year's worth of events when their lives were on on the line.
After shooting, officials work to prevent lasting trauma
December 25, 2010 02:17:00 PM
S. BRADY CALHOUN / News Herald Writer
PANAMA CITY — Everyone involved in the hostage crisis at the Bay District Board room has a buddy.
It was one of the first things Superintendent Bill Husfelt ordered, along with time with a counselor for all the board members shortly after Clay Duke pulled out a gun during a Dec. 14 board meeting and ultimately opened fire on the board. The 56-year-old was shot by Mike Jones, the district’s chief of safety, security and police. Duke fell to the ground, returned fire and then turned his gun on himself.
No one besides Duke was physically hurt but officials are concerned that the emotional and psychological scars could linger.
“We set up a buddy system so we can look out for one another,” Husfelt said. “Especially over the holidays.”
Those who survive a traumatic event sometimes suffer from acute stress disorder, said Omar Howard, a psychiatrist with Life Management Center in Panama City.
“They have intense fear, feelings of helplessness or horror,” Howard said, adding that victims often have nightmares, problems sleeping, anger issues. They may also avoid the source of the trauma and if the incident was videotaped, like the hostage situation, they may avoid watching the video.
read more here
After shooting, officials work to prevent lasting trauma
U.S. soldiers home for Christmas at Fort Levenworth
U.S. soldiers home for Christmas — at the Army’s disciplinary barracks at Ft. Leavenworth
By Earl Glynn On December 24, 2010
LEAVENWORTH, KAN. — Her prayer went unanswered.
At a September rally in Leavenworth, Vicki Behenna from Edmond, Okl., gave details about her son’s court martial, conviction and appeal.
“We’re praying that Michael’s conviction will be reversed and he will join us home,” she said. “We’re praying for a decision by Christmas.”
The Behenna family was disappointed Wednesday to learn their son’s Dec. 2 appeal to the Army Clemency and Parole Board was denied. They had hoped for a suspended sentence and immediate parole in time for Christmas.
Letters of support from the Governor of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Attorney General, and the entire Oklahoma Congressional Delegation had no effect. Three letters offering immediate employment upon his release had no effect.
A decision from the Army Court of Criminal Appeals from a hearing on Dec. 9 may not be known for 3 to 15 months. Michael’s family and a courtroom of supporters drove many hours to attend that hearing in Arlington, Va.
Vicki Behenna and her husband Scott travel to Leavenworth most weekends and are spending as much time as allowed with their son on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
read more here
U.S. soldiers home for Christmas
By Earl Glynn On December 24, 2010
LEAVENWORTH, KAN. — Her prayer went unanswered.
At a September rally in Leavenworth, Vicki Behenna from Edmond, Okl., gave details about her son’s court martial, conviction and appeal.
“We’re praying that Michael’s conviction will be reversed and he will join us home,” she said. “We’re praying for a decision by Christmas.”
The Behenna family was disappointed Wednesday to learn their son’s Dec. 2 appeal to the Army Clemency and Parole Board was denied. They had hoped for a suspended sentence and immediate parole in time for Christmas.
Letters of support from the Governor of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Attorney General, and the entire Oklahoma Congressional Delegation had no effect. Three letters offering immediate employment upon his release had no effect.
A decision from the Army Court of Criminal Appeals from a hearing on Dec. 9 may not be known for 3 to 15 months. Michael’s family and a courtroom of supporters drove many hours to attend that hearing in Arlington, Va.
Vicki Behenna and her husband Scott travel to Leavenworth most weekends and are spending as much time as allowed with their son on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
read more here
U.S. soldiers home for Christmas
Grandfather of 16, paralyzed veteran murdered
Prayer Vigil Held For Slain Veteran
Posted: 2:23 pm EST December 24, 2010
Updated: 10:02 am EST December 25, 2010
DAYTON, Ohio -- Family and friends of a paralyzed Air Force veterans, brutally killed, visited the site where his body was found on Wednesday.
William Boykin, 66, was found slain inside his own van that was parked in an alley off Ferguson Ave..
Today, family members continued voicing their hope that those responsive will come forward.
At an afternoon prayer vigil, the victim's brother spoke out. He said Boykin was paralyzed from the waist down after back surgery so he was defenseless.
Paul Boykin said, "I kinda wish I could have been with him, then they would have found two in the van instead of one. I would have been back to back with him. i feel like my brother was that way. If it was one of us, he would have stayed with us through thick and thin."
Family members believe Boykin was murdered over money that he had saved to give his 16 grandchildren for Christmas.
"We just hope this thing doesn't happen anymore. We have to start caring for one another instead of destroying one another," said Paul Boykin.
read more here
Prayer Vigil Held For Slain Veteran
Posted: 2:23 pm EST December 24, 2010
Updated: 10:02 am EST December 25, 2010
DAYTON, Ohio -- Family and friends of a paralyzed Air Force veterans, brutally killed, visited the site where his body was found on Wednesday.
William Boykin, 66, was found slain inside his own van that was parked in an alley off Ferguson Ave..
Today, family members continued voicing their hope that those responsive will come forward.
At an afternoon prayer vigil, the victim's brother spoke out. He said Boykin was paralyzed from the waist down after back surgery so he was defenseless.
Paul Boykin said, "I kinda wish I could have been with him, then they would have found two in the van instead of one. I would have been back to back with him. i feel like my brother was that way. If it was one of us, he would have stayed with us through thick and thin."
Family members believe Boykin was murdered over money that he had saved to give his 16 grandchildren for Christmas.
"We just hope this thing doesn't happen anymore. We have to start caring for one another instead of destroying one another," said Paul Boykin.
read more here
Prayer Vigil Held For Slain Veteran
Dying Vietnam vet gives away home to veteran without one
Veteran gives home to fellow vet for Christmas
By KATHIE BASSETT
The (Alton) Telegraph
ROSEWOOD HEIGHTS, Ill. — A Vietnam veteran is spending Christmas in the first home he ever has owned, thanks to the generosity of a fellow soldier from that war.
Retired Army Sgt. First Class Frederick Evanik, who is dying from lung cancer, decided to deed his trailer home to another veteran of the conflict, Steve Brown, who had been renting a room in a nearby trailer at Oak Ridge Trailer Park for several years.
Serving in Vietnam from 1968 until 1971, Brown had been a specialist in the Army; he drove fuel trucks. Although Evanik and Brown served in both Vietnam and Germany, they did not meet one another until about four years ago.
"It's amazing that he would do this for me," Brown said. "I was fixing to be in the streets once Gary (Paulding), the owner of the trailer I had been living in, put his up for sale this spring."
read more here
Veteran gives home to fellow vet for Christmas
By KATHIE BASSETT
The (Alton) Telegraph
ROSEWOOD HEIGHTS, Ill. — A Vietnam veteran is spending Christmas in the first home he ever has owned, thanks to the generosity of a fellow soldier from that war.
Retired Army Sgt. First Class Frederick Evanik, who is dying from lung cancer, decided to deed his trailer home to another veteran of the conflict, Steve Brown, who had been renting a room in a nearby trailer at Oak Ridge Trailer Park for several years.
Serving in Vietnam from 1968 until 1971, Brown had been a specialist in the Army; he drove fuel trucks. Although Evanik and Brown served in both Vietnam and Germany, they did not meet one another until about four years ago.
"It's amazing that he would do this for me," Brown said. "I was fixing to be in the streets once Gary (Paulding), the owner of the trailer I had been living in, put his up for sale this spring."
read more here
Veteran gives home to fellow vet for Christmas
Where was God?
How can love live within their hearts while they are surrounded by death? It is because God is there when they are able to feel compassion, shed a tear, say a prayer and when they are still able to grieve over a fallen friend.
He is there when they risk their lives to save someone else. He was there when simple men fought to save others after they were wounded and we call they heroes presenting them with a Medal of Honor or to the families of the fallen who paid the price so that others may live.
God was there when a hand reached out to help, to comfort and when a knee was bent in prayer.
He was there when a family back home stood near a flag draped coffin and they were surrounded by love.
For Christians around the world today, Christmas Day, it is not a holiday but a holy day when the birth of Christ is celebrated but for the rest of the year we forget about one of the last things Christ did was to forgive the hands that nailed Him to the cross. God was there that day too. So many believe things they have done in their lives, especially during war, are unforgivable. The horrific memories grow stronger over the years and the tender moments when the love they felt was all that mattered are forgotten. They cannot believe God could ever care about them again, yet He does now just as He did then.
Christ made the dead live again, but they killed. He made the lame walk again but they made some lame. He made the blind see again, but they made some blind. He took care of the poor and needy but they took away homes with bombs, made widows and orphans. These thoughts take over the reason they were there in the first place. They went to fight the enemy trying to kill the people they went to save. They went in the place of the President and Congress deciding it had to be done. They went to serve the country they loved and to fight next to their brothers so that more of them would come home when it was over. They forget what was in their hearts but God did not forget that it was not out of hatred, but out of love they were willing to lay down their lives so that others may live.
John 15 The Vine and the Branches
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
During the foreign soil wars they were sent to save lives in other countries. They were willing to die in order to do it. There was no evil inside of them in what began their journey but when they came home they began to feel as if they were. They return feeling forsaken by God, not understood by family and friends and then forsaken by the rest of the country when they have a need to be taken care of. Being forsaken becomes a part of them and love is pushed away until they find that God was there all the time right by their side when love lived on no matter what they had to do and what they had to go through.
Medic in famous photo dies after PTSD struggle
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 8, 2008 6:35:20 EDT
During the first week of the war in Iraq, a Military Times photographer captured the arresting image of Army Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer as he raced through a battle zone clutching a tiny Iraqi boy named Ali.
The photo was hailed as a portrait of the heart behind the U.S. military machine, and Doc Dwyer’s concerned face graced the pages of newspapers across the country.
But rather than going on to enjoy the public affection for his act of heroism, he was consumed by the demons of combat stress he could not exorcise. For the medic who cared for the wounds of his combat buddies as they pushed toward Baghdad, the battle for his own health proved too much to bear.
On June 28, Dwyer, 31, died of an accidental overdose in his home in Pinehurst, N.C., after years of struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. During that time, his marriage fell apart as he spiraled into substance abuse and depression. He found himself constantly struggling with the law, even as friends, Veterans Affairs personnel and the Army tried to help him.
“Of course he was looked on as a hero here,” said Capt. Floyd Thomas of the Pinehurst Police Department. Still, “we’ve been dealing with him for over a year.”
The day he died, Dwyer apparently took pills and inhaled the fumes of an aerosol can in an act known as “huffing.” Thomas said Dwyer then called a taxi company for a ride to the hospital. When the driver arrived, “they had a conversation through the door [of Dwyer’s home],” Thomas said, but Dwyer could not let the driver in. The driver asked Dwyer if he should call the police. Dwyer said yes. When the police arrived, they asked him if they should break down the door. He again said yes.
“It was down in one kick,” Thomas said. “They loaded him up onto a gurney, and that’s when he went code.”
Dwyer served in Iraq with 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment as the unit headed into Baghdad at the beginning of the war. As they pushed forward for 21 days in March 2003, only four of those days lacked gunfire, he later told Newsday. The day before Warren Zinn snapped his photo for Military Times, Dwyer’s Humvee had been hit by a rocket.
About 500 Iraqis were killed during those days, and Dwyer watched as Ali’s family near the village of al Faysaliyah was caught in the crossfire. he grabbed the 4-year-old boy from his father and sprinted with him to safety. Zinn grabbed the moment on his camera. The image went nationwide and Dwyer found himself hailed as a hero.
Medic in famous photo dies after PTSD struggle
When love lives on, God is there. When they can find the ability to still care, God is there. Until the day comes when there is peace on this earth, there will be men and women stepping up out of love willing to lay down their lives for others. Pray for those we send until that day comes when man shall kill man no more.
New Jersey helps veterans get counseling
If you want to assume veterans are treated by the VA for free, think again. Until there is a service connected rating, they are charged for treatment unless their income is too low. For too many veterans they will hear from a VA doctor they are suffering because of their service but until their claim is approved, they are not covered. The other factor is that private insurance companies will turn down claims for mental health as soon as there is a diagnosis linking it to service.
How do I know this? My husband's claim took six years to become service-connected, years after a VA doctor said it was and even more years after a private psychologist said it was. The VA charged for his care because his claim was not approved yet. Our insurance company said they would no longer cover mental healthcare for him because it was the responsibility of the government to treat him. This all ended up leading the VA to take our tax refund to cover what we couldn't pay for. Once his claim was approved, we got back most of the money but the stress and heartache of getting from admitting he needed help to having the need covered was a nightmare.
What New Jersey legislators want to do is very much needed!
How do I know this? My husband's claim took six years to become service-connected, years after a VA doctor said it was and even more years after a private psychologist said it was. The VA charged for his care because his claim was not approved yet. Our insurance company said they would no longer cover mental healthcare for him because it was the responsibility of the government to treat him. This all ended up leading the VA to take our tax refund to cover what we couldn't pay for. Once his claim was approved, we got back most of the money but the stress and heartache of getting from admitting he needed help to having the need covered was a nightmare.
What New Jersey legislators want to do is very much needed!
NJ Senate Passes Tax Credit For Veterans In Need Of Post-War Counseling
Thursday, December 23, 2010
TRENTON — Legislation to provide an income tax credit to veterans who require psychological counseling and treatment upon returning home from war has been passed by the state Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono said her bill would help prevent suicides by returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Under the measure (S-1026), returning veterans would be eligible for a direct state income tax credit up to $10,000 of unreimbursed psychiatric treatment — counseling that is not covered by insurance
Read more:
NJ Senate Passes Tax Credit For Veterans
Friday, December 24, 2010
Fort Carson sees progress in mental health battle as suicides drop
Fort Carson sees progress in mental health battle as suicides drop
Better screening, less stigma credited
December 24, 2010 2:23 PM
DAVE PHILIPPS
The Gazette
The murder rate for Fort Carson troops is dropping. The suicide rate is too. So is the rate of soldiers locked in the local mental hospital for suicidal or homicidal thoughts.
Army officials say it is because changes made in the last few years are finally taking hold.
And when Army brass come to tour Fort Carson looking for the keys to the success, they often stop in the office of a friendly, young psychologist named Captain Katie Kopp.
Kopp, 29, is the behavioral health officer for the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team — basically a combat shrink. When the brigade spent 12 months in the remote mountains of southeastern Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, she was there with them, helicoptering through war-torn valleys to tend to soldiers at outposts. In areas too dangerous for helicopters, she jumped supply convoys that often attracted rifle fire and rocket attacks.
“It gives me street cred with the Joes,” she said recently with a slight laugh. But seriously, she added, spending a year in the those valleys enables her to relate to the men she is now counseling for post-traumatic stress and other psychological wounds.
If a patient mentions he was in a certain company, she said, “I know exactly who the guys killed in that company were. I know the dates of those anniversaries, and I know the people who are probably going to need to talk about those anniversaries.”
Deploying a shrink with a brigade is nothing new. What’s new is that Kopp is still with them. In the past, most psychologists showed up just before the deployment and left days after the brigade got home. They weren’t there to help with the often turbulent months after soldiers return.
Kopp will stay with the brigade until it deploys again, and perhaps longer.
That change, and many like it, are designed to address the problems that kept soldiers who needed help from being identified, and kept soldiers who identified themselves from getting help.
At the start of the Iraq war in 2003, Fort Carson had little recent experience dealing with soldiers returning from combat and few mental health professionals. A third of mental health staff positions were unfilled.
As the war escalated, so did the amount of cases. By 2007, the number of soldiers being treated for post-traumatic stress at Fort Carson had jumped more than 700 percent.
Soldiers waited weeks to see a therapist, often only to be handed a drug prescription. Soldiers caught for drug and alcohol abuse and sent for treatment usually never got it. At the same time, countless soldiers never were identified as needing help at all. Many saw post-traumatic stress disorder as a weakness, or worse, a made-up excuse for cowards. Some soldiers were berated or punished by their sergeants for trying to seek help.
Read more: Fort Carson sees progress in mental health battle as suicides drop
Better screening, less stigma credited
December 24, 2010 2:23 PM
DAVE PHILIPPS
The Gazette
The murder rate for Fort Carson troops is dropping. The suicide rate is too. So is the rate of soldiers locked in the local mental hospital for suicidal or homicidal thoughts.
Army officials say it is because changes made in the last few years are finally taking hold.
And when Army brass come to tour Fort Carson looking for the keys to the success, they often stop in the office of a friendly, young psychologist named Captain Katie Kopp.
Kopp, 29, is the behavioral health officer for the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team — basically a combat shrink. When the brigade spent 12 months in the remote mountains of southeastern Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, she was there with them, helicoptering through war-torn valleys to tend to soldiers at outposts. In areas too dangerous for helicopters, she jumped supply convoys that often attracted rifle fire and rocket attacks.
“It gives me street cred with the Joes,” she said recently with a slight laugh. But seriously, she added, spending a year in the those valleys enables her to relate to the men she is now counseling for post-traumatic stress and other psychological wounds.
If a patient mentions he was in a certain company, she said, “I know exactly who the guys killed in that company were. I know the dates of those anniversaries, and I know the people who are probably going to need to talk about those anniversaries.”
Deploying a shrink with a brigade is nothing new. What’s new is that Kopp is still with them. In the past, most psychologists showed up just before the deployment and left days after the brigade got home. They weren’t there to help with the often turbulent months after soldiers return.
Kopp will stay with the brigade until it deploys again, and perhaps longer.
That change, and many like it, are designed to address the problems that kept soldiers who needed help from being identified, and kept soldiers who identified themselves from getting help.
At the start of the Iraq war in 2003, Fort Carson had little recent experience dealing with soldiers returning from combat and few mental health professionals. A third of mental health staff positions were unfilled.
As the war escalated, so did the amount of cases. By 2007, the number of soldiers being treated for post-traumatic stress at Fort Carson had jumped more than 700 percent.
Soldiers waited weeks to see a therapist, often only to be handed a drug prescription. Soldiers caught for drug and alcohol abuse and sent for treatment usually never got it. At the same time, countless soldiers never were identified as needing help at all. Many saw post-traumatic stress disorder as a weakness, or worse, a made-up excuse for cowards. Some soldiers were berated or punished by their sergeants for trying to seek help.
Read more: Fort Carson sees progress in mental health battle as suicides drop
Blumenthal Seeks to Leave No Veteran Left Behind
Blumenthal seeks seat on Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer
Published: 07:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tripped up during the campaign by the revelation that he exaggerated his military record, U.S. Sen.-elect Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is seeking a seat on Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Blumenthal, 64, plans to use the clout of his new office, which he will assume on Jan. 3, to champion improvements to the social safety net for veterans.
"The goal is to keep faith with our veterans and keep our promises to them," Blumenthal told Greenwich Time Friday during a wide-ranging interview on his transition from longtime state attorney general to senator.
Blumenthal will call for a comprehensive No Veteran Left Behind program when he fills the seat of fellow Democrat Chris Dodd, who is retiring.
"Essentially, No Veteran Left Behind is a program that I've advanced, along with others, to improve job training, educational opportunities, employment openings and health care for veterans, including aid for homeless veterans," said Blumenthal, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve during the Vietnam War but did not see combat.
Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer
Published: 07:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tripped up during the campaign by the revelation that he exaggerated his military record, U.S. Sen.-elect Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is seeking a seat on Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Blumenthal, 64, plans to use the clout of his new office, which he will assume on Jan. 3, to champion improvements to the social safety net for veterans.
"The goal is to keep faith with our veterans and keep our promises to them," Blumenthal told Greenwich Time Friday during a wide-ranging interview on his transition from longtime state attorney general to senator.
Blumenthal will call for a comprehensive No Veteran Left Behind program when he fills the seat of fellow Democrat Chris Dodd, who is retiring.
"Essentially, No Veteran Left Behind is a program that I've advanced, along with others, to improve job training, educational opportunities, employment openings and health care for veterans, including aid for homeless veterans," said Blumenthal, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve during the Vietnam War but did not see combat.
Jimmy Sparrow, 63, a veterans' advocate from Stamford who was a Marine Corps rifleman in Vietnam, said Blumenthal wholeheartedly deserves to be on the committee.
"He's always, always been a friend of the veterans," Sparrow said. "I think he would be an excellent choice. This thing that happened, clearly he misspoke, and they're making a big deal about it."
Read more: Blumenthal seeks seat on Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
'God is' billboard replaces controversial Lincoln Tunnel atheist billboard
'God is' billboard replaces controversial Lincoln Tunnel atheist billboard
By Emanuella Grinberg and Nicole Saidi, CNN
An atheist billboard on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel that declared Christmas a "myth" has been replaced by a pro-Christian billboard.
The old billboard, put up in late November by the American Atheists organization, said "You know it's a myth. This season, celebrate reason."
The sign stirred controversy among Christian organizations, prompting the Catholic League to erect its own pro-Christmas billboard on the New York side of the tunnel that read, "You Know It's Real: This Season Celebrate Jesus."
The new sign, which was posted by the Manhattan-based Times Square Church, reads "God is," and includes a word cloud of religious themes.
read more here
'God is' billboard replaces controversial Lincoln Tunnel atheist billboard
Top colleges reconsider ROTC after DADT repeal
Top colleges reconsider ROTC after DADT repeal
By Eric Gorski - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Dec 23, 2010 15:08:19 EST
Three days a week, Yale sophomore James Campbell rises at 5 a.m. for ROTC drills on a college campus that isn’t his own.
He would gladly do push-ups and run circles on Yale’s campus.
But even if that were an option, he wouldn’t have much company. Campbell is Yale’s only Army ROTC cadet.
Like other ROTC members who attend colleges that do not host the program, Campbell trains at another school — in this case, the neighboring University of New Haven. Because Yale does not fully recognize ROTC, he does not earn any academic credit toward his Yale degree for the military science course he must take at New Haven for his commission.
Forty years ago, ROTC units disappeared from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford and other elite schools, casualties of Vietnam-era tension and academic power struggles. Now, those same schools are moving toward welcoming ROTC units back thanks to the imminent demise of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
read more here
Top colleges reconsider ROTC after DADT repeal
By Eric Gorski - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Dec 23, 2010 15:08:19 EST
Three days a week, Yale sophomore James Campbell rises at 5 a.m. for ROTC drills on a college campus that isn’t his own.
He would gladly do push-ups and run circles on Yale’s campus.
But even if that were an option, he wouldn’t have much company. Campbell is Yale’s only Army ROTC cadet.
Like other ROTC members who attend colleges that do not host the program, Campbell trains at another school — in this case, the neighboring University of New Haven. Because Yale does not fully recognize ROTC, he does not earn any academic credit toward his Yale degree for the military science course he must take at New Haven for his commission.
Forty years ago, ROTC units disappeared from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford and other elite schools, casualties of Vietnam-era tension and academic power struggles. Now, those same schools are moving toward welcoming ROTC units back thanks to the imminent demise of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
read more here
Top colleges reconsider ROTC after DADT repeal
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