Memorial Day has become too happy

by Chaplain Kathie

Rolling Thunder:
Sarah Palin not invited
By Andrea Mitchell and Lauren Stephenson, NBC News
WASHINGTON — One day after Sarah Palin announced her bus tour, a group sponsoring a Memorial Day weekend event she plans to attend said they never invited her.
"She wasn't invited. We heard yesterday she came out with a press release she was coming to Rolling Thunder," Ted Shpak, national legislative director of Rolling Thunder, told "Andrea Mitchell Reports." Shpak is one of three members of Rolling Thunder's current leadership who says he had no idea Palin was coming until it was posted on her website.

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When Palin was interviewed about riding on the back of someone else's bike, she said she was there to support the veterans. Memorial Day is not about veterans but it is about the men and women who died. She didn't talk about the missing or the fallen, which is the mission of Rolling Thunder. She used the men and women riding in Rolling Thunder for her own sake.

If she believed in what they stood for, then why didn't she join or ever do this ride before?

1. Membership in Rolling Thunder® Constitution is open to anyone with an interest in educating the public regarding the POW-MIA (Prisoner of War-Missing In Action) issue regardless of race, color, creed or sex. All persons must be 18 years of age or older.

This was all about her, for her and while she did bring extra coverage of what Rolling Thunder does every year, she did not bring anything with her. Did she even make a donation?

Rolling Thunder Riders Praise Sarah Palin's Participation in Rally

“I certainly welcome any positive publicity surrounding our cause, anything to bring attention to POWs and MIAs,” said Jeffrey Stewart, who leads a Rolling Thunder chapter in New Hampshire, a state that will be crucial to Palin if she runs in 2012. “Whether it’s a celebrity or a politician-celebrity -- I’m not exactly sure what she is right now -- having Sarah Palin there means more people will be paying attention to our cause.”

While it is true that leaders of Rolling Thunder would not have been interviewed otherwise, all the talk was about Palin and not about how many people traveled at their own expense from across the country to be there to honor the fallen an bring attention to the missing.


This is what Memorial Day is all about,



But right below this video on the CNN main page, this video link was there.

For Memorial Day, all about grilling

NBC began this morning, Memorial Day with Sarah Palin for heaven's sake!

TV ads tell you to go shopping for a big sale and buy stuff. Most stores are open for business. Go into them and you'll find party supplies like red, white and blue lights to put up for your enjoyment making it all about you celebrating and having fun. Celebrate the 4th of July but no one should be celebrating Memorial Day. Veterans Day is all about veterans. Want to actually honor and do something for veterans? Then take care of them when they come home all the days of the year. Say thank you to them and their families.

Memorial Day comes as troops fight in Afghanistan
(AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan paused Monday to remember the fallen in Memorial Day services, as a war nearly a decade old trudges on.
Some prayed and held flag-raising ceremonies at dawn to recognize the more than 1,400 killed in combat here since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that triggered the war.
"We reflect on those who have gone before us. We reflect on their service and their sacrifice on behalf of our great nation," said Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Craparotta, who commands a Marine division in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. "We should also remember those serving today who embody that same commitment of service and sacrifice. They are committed to something greater than themselves and they muster the physical and moral courage to accomplish extraordinary feats in battle."
In Iraq, an estimated 46,000 U.S. troops remain stationed there though officials say combat operations are over in a nation that saw more than 4,400 American troops die in combat. Under an agreement between Washington and Baghdad, the troops still in Iraq must leave by Dec. 31.
Black Hawk helicopters churned through the night sky Sunday as a strong wind coming over Kabul's surrounding mountains blew against the flickering candles that cast an orange glow on those gathered for a remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' headquarters.
Earlier in the day, those working there enjoyed one of their five days off a year from building police stations, dams and other projects in a nation torn by decades of war. Col. Thomas Magness, 47, of Los Angeles, California urged the more than 100 corps employees and U.S. troops gathered there to remember the meaning of Memorial Day — advice that could carry home to America.
"While we were playing volleyball today, no doubt some soldier gave the ultimate sacrifice," the corps commander said.
read more here
Memorial Day comes as troops fight in Afghanistan

Challenges facing veterans

May 29, 2011
Panelists weigh in on the No. 1 burden on our veterans once they return home from war?

Why the Mind-Body Approach to Psychological Trauma Is Not 'Alternative'

Why the Mind-Body Approach to Psychological Trauma Is Not 'Alternative'

James S. Gordon
Founder and director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C.

On a recent trip to London, The Guardian interviewed me during Depression Awareness Week about the UK release of my book "Unstuck". The reporter was particularly interested in Center for Mind-Body Medicine's Global Trauma Relief program and our work to bring population-wide psychological healing to places around the world that are afflicted by war and natural disaster.

I'm certainly pleased that the author recognizes CMBM's groundbreaking efforts to teach and support hundreds of thousands of people in Kosovo, Israel, Gaza, Haiti, Southern Louisiana, and U.S. military bases where soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan. It's a shame, however, that his tone is so dismissive of integrative medicine and that he fails to recognize the fundamental importance of self-care for psychological and physical healing.

Please note that as of this writing, corrections are being made online for several factual errors, including the following:

In Gaza, we trained 90 clinicians initially; only a few of these were "educators" (as the article states).
CMBM now has 160 groups meeting in Gaza each week, not 48, as reported.

Beyond factual errors, though, I'm disappointed with the tone of the article. I want to emphasize that our approach to psychological trauma relief is not about "belief," as the article repeatedly implies. It is based on hard evidence that is just as rigorous -- actually more so -- than most of that provided by the drug companies he seems to accept as the standard.
read more here
Why the Mind-Body Approach to Psychological Trauma Is Not 'Alternative'

Children of fallen troops turn to each other

We can list the number of the fallen but then we don't think much about their families. For them, for the spouse and the kids, they end up without someone they love and the lifestyle they have known.

Children of fallen troops turn to each other
(AP)
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — After Brooke Nyren's dad died in Iraq, she sat alone at recess because her classmates didn't know what to say. One of Alexis Wright's fellow kindergarteners questioned if she was telling the truth about her dad's death in the war, while others told her it was too confusing to understand why she didn't have a father.

More than 4,300 children of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are growing up, forging their own paths while keeping the connection to their mom or dad alive in ways ranging from annual backyard barbeques on the anniversary of the parent's death to keeping a music box of his favorite song.

They've endured awkward conversations with people unsure how to respond when they describe how their parent — typically their father — died in the war and unkind remarks from friends at school. Many of them lost not just a parent but their home, too, because they had to move off a military base. As painful as their memories are, those interviewed at a camp for children of the fallen say the experience has made them more compassionate.

The kids interviewed describe the annual "good grief" camp organized by the nonprofit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors every Memorial Day weekend as one outlet that's allowed them to learn to work through their feelings, and many attend every year.
read more here
Children of fallen troops turn to each other

Family seeks answers in death of diver trainee

Family seeks answers in death of diver trainee
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday May 29, 2011 10:02:24 EDT

MARCUS YAM Damien Gennino and Denise Carter, are shown at home in Elmont, N.Y., with a photo of Capt. Juan Lightfoot, a former Marine, who died after he lost consciousness during dive training.

Elmont, N.Y. — It was the third day of Special Forces pre-scuba training and Capt. Juan E. Lightfoot was exhausted.

He gripped the edge of the pool and refused to let go. But an instructor peeled his hands from the edge of the pool and another dragged him away from the wall.

Lightfoot went limp and sank to the bottom of the 11-foot, 6-inch-deep pool. Despite efforts to revive him, Lightfoot never woke up.

Four days later, his family had him removed from life support.

The armed forces medical examiner ruled Lightfoot’s death a homicide.
read more here
Family seeks answers in death of diver trainee

VA infection issues lead to 13,000 veterans' tests

VA infection issues lead to 13,000 veterans' tests
Improper hygiene may have exposed patients to HIV, hepatitis or other blood-borne disease

By DAN SEWELL

DAYTON, Ohio — Herman Williams came home safely after fighting in the jungles of Vietnam as a Marine. He was shocked to learn four decades later that his military service had again placed him in jeopardy — this time, because he got a tooth pulled.

Williams is among 13,000 U.S. veterans who have been warned in the last two years that their blood should be tested for potentially fatal infections after possible exposures by improper hygiene practices at five VA hospitals in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee. This Memorial Day finds the Department of Veterans Affairs under political fire and numerous veterans upset after enduring fear and uncertainty over their health.

"I was scared to death," Williams said.

One afternoon this winter, Williams received a letter warning that he could have been infected during tooth extraction and other procedures in the dental clinic at the Dayton VA Medical Center. A VA investigation found that a dentist who practiced there for decades repeatedly violated safety measures such as failing to sterilize equipment or change soiled latex gloves, potentially exposing patients to HIV, hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases.
read more here
VA infection issues lead to 13,000 veterans' tests

When 'Johnny' came marching home

When 'Johnny' came marching home
Experiences among veterans vary; emotional wounds run deep
By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: May 29, 2011

SEBRING - Monday is Memorial Day and a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

Highlands Today interviewed three veterans on how life was when they returned home. Here are their stories.

World War II

There was no brass band to greet then-Staff Sgt. Robert B. Gleisner when he returned home in 1945 after World War II ended. He was one of about 16 million Americans who served, and one of millions to come back. More than 996,000 American men and women died fighting in the war.

When Gleisner, now 90, took off from Guam to fly 35 bombing missions over Japan in a B-29, he left behind his 2-month-old daughter, his wife, Dorothy, and his dream of piloting planes.

Gleisner was 23 when he was drafted in 1943. He had enjoyed a couple of deferments, but they eventually ended.

He went to basic training and entered flight school as a cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps. A supervisor told him he had lots of potential, but an edict from President Franklin D. Roosevelt ended his dream of becoming a military flier.

"All cadets who had been drafted are eliminated from the program," he remembered, his voice quivering, as if reliving the disappointment in his mind. "All cadets who had volunteered stayed in; I was drafted."
read more here
When 'Johnny' came marching home

When Johnny Comes Marching Home(sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again") is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.

Lyrics
The original lyrics as written by Gilmore, are:

When Johnny comes marching home again
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior's heart,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

Fort Carson soldier killed by hit and run driver

Police warn of motorcycles on the road
Posted: May 28, 2011 10:34 PM by John Romero

Two motorcyclists are dead after separate accidents in less than 24 hours. The first happened around 8 on Friday night. State Patrol says a man riding his motorcycle veered off the road on I-25 near South Academy. He hit a guard rail and was killed

The second happened just two hours later on Rangewood Drive in Colorado Springs. A car turned in front of two motorcycles, hitting them both. One of the men hit, a Fort Carson soldier, died. The driver of the car drove off from the scene.
read more here
Police warn of motorcycles on the road

After Combat, the Unexpected Perils of Coming Home

After Combat, the Unexpected Perils of Coming Home
JAMES DAO
Published: Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 5:10 a.m.

Pvt. Johnnie Stevenson cleaned his truck one last time, scraping off the barnacle-like mud and pulling crushed water bottles from under seats. But deployment to Afghanistan was almost over, and his thoughts drifted elsewhere. Was his pregnant fiancée ready to be a mother? Facebook provided so few clues. Nor could it answer him this: Was he ready to be a father?

Capt. Adrian Bonenberger made plans for his final patrol to Imam Sahib. But inside, he was sweating the details of a different mission: going home. Which soldiers would drive drunk, get into fights or struggle with emotional demons, he wondered. What would it take to keep them safe in America?

Sgt. Brian Keith boarded the plane home feeling a strange dread. His wife wanted a divorce and had moved away, taking their son and most of their bank account with her. At the end of his flight lay an empty apartment and the blank slate of a new life.

“A lot of people were excited about coming home,” Sergeant Keith said. “Me, I just sat there and I wondered: What am I coming back to?”

For a year, they had navigated minefields and ducked bullets, endured tedium inside barbed-wired outposts and stitched together the frayed seams of long-distance relationships. One would think that going home would be the easiest thing troops could do.

But it is not so simple. The final weeks in a war zone are often the most dangerous, as weary troops get sloppy or unfocused. Once they arrive home, alcohol abuse, traffic accidents and other measures of mayhem typically rise as they blow off steam.

Weeks later, as the joy of return subsides, deep-seated emotional or psychological problems can begin to show. The sleeplessness, anxiety and irritability of post-traumatic stress disorder, for instance, often take months to emerge as combat veterans confront the tensions of home and the recurring memories of war.
read more here
After Combat, the Unexpected Perils of Coming Home

I urge you to read the whole article.

How can anyone in their right mind expect them to just come home and go back to the way they were before?

(from the above article)

Three weeks later, Specialist Jeremiah Pulaski, who had returned from Afghanistan in February, was shot and killed by a police officer after he shot and wounded a man outside a bar in Arizona. He was 24.

Specialist Pulaski was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor for dashing across an open field during an ambush in December, drawing enemy fire away from his platoon. Later that same day, he killed several insurgents as they were trying to ambush his unit near a village called Haruti.

Captain Bonenberger, Specialist Pulaski’s company commander, said the soldier saved his life twice that day — and it gnawed at him that he had been unable to return the favor.

“When he was in trouble, he was alone,” Captain Bonenberger said. “When we were in trouble, he was there for us. I know it’s not rational or reasonable. There’s nothing logical about it. But I feel responsible.”

We read the end of his story, but we didn't know all of his story.

Monday, March 28, 2011


Another PTSD Veteran killed by police after shootout
Friends: Man Killed by Police Officer Struggled With PTSD
Suspect shot man outside of bar

Published : Sunday, 27 Mar 2011

A man killed in a shootout with a Glendale police officer in the west valley early Saturday morning was apparently struggling with post traumatic stress disorder.

Jeremiah Wilson Pulaski, 24, of Glendale was shot to death after several rounds were exchanged between him and the officer.

FOX 10 has learned that Pulaski was a military veteran who returned to the U.S. in January, and he was having a difficult time dealing with the stress from his deployment and return.

Police said Pulaski had been involved in another shooting outside a Glendale restaurant just moments before he was stopped by the officer.(click link for more of this)

How many people read about the end of his life and thought he must have deserved it? Honestly? Had I not been so involved in tracking all of these reports for this long, I may have thought the same thing because it is so much easier to just figure this guy was a criminal and the world is better off without him walking around terrorizing civilians. But I know too many of their stories to ever think that way again.

PD: Suspect opens fire on Glendale officer, shot and killed

A criminal hardly ever enters the military unless there is a lack of troops and a judge cuts them a deal. They are just too selfish to think of it on their own. A bad kid won't go unless he is forced to by his parents. Pulaski, well, as we can see by what happened while he was deployed, he was no coward and he sure as hell was not selfish. He wouldn't have been able to do all he did to receive the Bronze Star for Valor and a lot of his buddies made it back home because of him. When his life ended, especially the way it did, how many in his community treated him like the hero he was when he was laid to rest?

His family and friends, all the people he served with, are left to mourn the loss but beyond that loss, the way his life ended.

The officer, Sgt. April Arredondo, was not the only one left to cope after this.

Mother-in-law on ride-along during Glendale police shooting

by Lisa Halverstadt - Mar. 29, 2011 04:02 PM
The Arizona Republic
A Glendale police sergeant who fatally shot and killed an Afghanistan War veteran early Saturday was accompanied by her mother-in-law.

Patty Bird, 52, rode with Sgt. April Arredondo over the weekend because she wanted to better understand her daughter-in-law's job, Glendale police said.

Just after 1:30 a.m., Arredondo stopped Jeremiah Pulaski, a 24-year-old Army veteran who police said shot another man outside a Glendale bar near 59th Avenue and Greenway Road.

Read more: Mother-in-law on ride-along during Glendale police shooting

So what if we finally made sure none of them came home without everything they needed to heal from where they've been and what they've done? Do we spend a lot of money to train them to go? Training them to use their weapons and strengthen their bodies? So why don't we feel the same need to spend whatever it takes to help them come back home all the way?

Troubled Veterans and Early Deaths After Iraq

Thank you Aaron Glantz for pointing this very important fact out.

"The V.A. database does not include veterans who never applied for benefits or who were not receiving benefits at the time of their death, according to the agency. The V.A. said it also did not keep track of the cause of death."

Most people read about suicides in the Marines, but forget about the fact the Army has their own figures. We can understand that 18 veterans a day commit suicide but still find it shocking. Our minds are just unable to put all the figures together. What we keep missing in all of this is that if they are discharge from service, they are not counted by the DOD and if they do not have a VA rating for their claim, they are not counted by them. No one seems to want to count them, that is, except their families.

Troubled Veterans and Early Deaths After Iraq

By AARON GLANTZ
Published: May 28, 2011

This month, the Department of Veterans Affairs informed the parents of William Hamilton, an Iraq war veteran, that it was not responsible for his death.

Mr. Hamilton had been admitted nine times to a V.A. psychiatric ward in Palo Alto. He saw demon women and talked to a man he had killed in Iraq. His parents allege that the V.A. illegally turned away Mr. Hamilton — three days before he stepped in front of train on May 16, 2010, at the age of 26.

The agency denied the wrongful-death claim in a one-page letter: “The VA did not breach a legal duty,” wrote Suzanne C. Will, the agency’s regional counsel in San Francisco.
read more here
Troubled Veterans and Early Deaths After Iraq

Glantz did a great job on this as you can clearly see from just these few lines. Think about it. William Hamilton was admitted 9 times but still he ended up surviving combat but couldn't survive being back home with what came home inside of him.