President Obama Speaks at Memorial Day Service
May 30, 2011 | 15:42 | Public Domain
The President speaks at a Memorial Day Service at Arlington National Cemetery.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day Concert on PBS
Watch the full episode. See more National Memorial Day Concert.
Watch the full episode. See more National Memorial Day Concert.
One of the last songs was I'll Stand By You. Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders wrote it for her children. It is about love and being there no matter what. I used it in the video Hero After War as the first song. When I contacted the Pretenders rep, I was told Chrissie would be honored to have her song used to help the troops coming home.
‘The words they leave to us’
‘The words they leave to us’
Posted : Saturday May 28, 2011 12:34:34 EDT
(The following is a speech given Thursday by Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City where, as Stavridis said, “I humbly accepted this year’s Intrepid Freedom Award. The speech gives some of my thoughts on Memorial Day through letters written by some of the fallen and their families. Please share with me your reflections on this Memorial Day weekend.”)
I want to spend my few minutes tonight with you giving voice to those who cannot be with us. I want to share with you the voices of the fallen and their families.
I want to give voice to the men and women who have given their lives for this nation.
Together, across the years of our nation’s history, they answered the call.
They stood the watch.
They looked neither left nor right.
They did not search for an exit.
They walked steadily and unafraid into mortal danger, knowing all the risks and all the costs.
read more here
‘The words they leave to us’
Posted : Saturday May 28, 2011 12:34:34 EDT
(The following is a speech given Thursday by Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City where, as Stavridis said, “I humbly accepted this year’s Intrepid Freedom Award. The speech gives some of my thoughts on Memorial Day through letters written by some of the fallen and their families. Please share with me your reflections on this Memorial Day weekend.”)
I want to spend my few minutes tonight with you giving voice to those who cannot be with us. I want to share with you the voices of the fallen and their families.
I want to give voice to the men and women who have given their lives for this nation.
Together, across the years of our nation’s history, they answered the call.
They stood the watch.
They looked neither left nor right.
They did not search for an exit.
They walked steadily and unafraid into mortal danger, knowing all the risks and all the costs.
read more here
‘The words they leave to us’
"We never rid ourselves of the smell of death"
Like men, women veterans bring problems home from war
Jane Ann Morrison
Posted: May 30, 2011
Women fought to be treated as the equals of men in the U.S. military, and now some of them find they're equal to men in another way: post-traumatic stress disorder.
Marine Jessica Goodell had one of the most gruesome jobs in Iraq. She picked up body parts of American soldiers to return them home for burial. Sometimes those remains were vaporized mush, she recalled.
"We never rid ourselves of the smell of death," she said.
In 2005, she came home to fight other battles, battles with PTSD, depression and substance abuse. She didn't tell her friends she was a veteran.
When she finally reached out for help, she wrote a journal, that turned into a book, "Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq."
But there are differences between how men and women cope when coming home from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and not much is known about those differences.
read more here
Like men, women veterans bring problems home from war
Jane Ann Morrison
Posted: May 30, 2011
Women fought to be treated as the equals of men in the U.S. military, and now some of them find they're equal to men in another way: post-traumatic stress disorder.
Marine Jessica Goodell had one of the most gruesome jobs in Iraq. She picked up body parts of American soldiers to return them home for burial. Sometimes those remains were vaporized mush, she recalled.
"We never rid ourselves of the smell of death," she said.
In 2005, she came home to fight other battles, battles with PTSD, depression and substance abuse. She didn't tell her friends she was a veteran.
When she finally reached out for help, she wrote a journal, that turned into a book, "Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq."
But there are differences between how men and women cope when coming home from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and not much is known about those differences.
read more here
Like men, women veterans bring problems home from war
When A Soldier Brings War Back Home
When A Soldier Brings War Back Home
by MARA ZEPEDA
May 30, 2011
This Memorial Day, we remember our fallen soldiers. Many have died in combat, but increasingly, for off-duty members of the National Guard and Army Reserves, soldiers are dying by their own hands. Nationally, the number of those who've committed suicide has nearly doubled from 80 in 2009 to 145 last year.
On the track team of Philadelphia's Thomas Edison High School, Jadira Angulo was fast. But not as fast as Ivan Lopez, her teammate.
"I was always right behind him; [I'd] never catch up," she says. "One day I was weightlifting, and I just started looking at him and this attraction just came over me."
She flips through a scrapbook that records the couple's romance: prom, graduation, marriage and the birth of their first child, Maya.
In December 2007, Lopez deployed to Afghanistan. Sgt. Jose Matos says even there, his best friend kept running.
"We're running on this asphalt, and it's probably like 102 or 103 degrees. So he would finish his run, come get the other soldiers and bring 'em back in. He'd be like, 'Come on stay with me! You can do it! You can do it!' That's the type of soldier he was," he says.
read more here
When A Soldier Brings War Back Home
by MARA ZEPEDA
May 30, 2011
This Memorial Day, we remember our fallen soldiers. Many have died in combat, but increasingly, for off-duty members of the National Guard and Army Reserves, soldiers are dying by their own hands. Nationally, the number of those who've committed suicide has nearly doubled from 80 in 2009 to 145 last year.
On the track team of Philadelphia's Thomas Edison High School, Jadira Angulo was fast. But not as fast as Ivan Lopez, her teammate.
"I was always right behind him; [I'd] never catch up," she says. "One day I was weightlifting, and I just started looking at him and this attraction just came over me."
She flips through a scrapbook that records the couple's romance: prom, graduation, marriage and the birth of their first child, Maya.
In December 2007, Lopez deployed to Afghanistan. Sgt. Jose Matos says even there, his best friend kept running.
"We're running on this asphalt, and it's probably like 102 or 103 degrees. So he would finish his run, come get the other soldiers and bring 'em back in. He'd be like, 'Come on stay with me! You can do it! You can do it!' That's the type of soldier he was," he says.
read more here
When A Soldier Brings War Back Home
Memorial Day has become too happy
by Chaplain Kathie
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?
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?
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.
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.
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
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Challenges facing veterans
May 29, 2011
Panelists weigh in on the No. 1 burden on our veterans once they return home from war?
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:
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'
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
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
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
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.
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
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