J.R. Martinez, girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones welcome baby girl Lauryn Anabelle Martinez
The Iraq war vet says his daughter has 'a full head of hair and the cutest little lips'
BY CRISTINA EVERETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, May 3, 2012
J.R. Martinez has a new little lady in his life.
The Iraq war veteran and “Dancing with the Stars” champ became a father Wednesday night when he and girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones welcomed their first child together.
Baby girl Lauryn Anabelle Martinez, born in Los Angeles, weighed in at 7 lbs., 13 oz. and is 21 inches long.
“She’s already got a nickname – Belle,” Martinez, 28, told People of his daughter.
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Thursday, May 3, 2012
Deadly infection claims San Francisco VA lab worker
Deadly infection claims San Francisco VA lab worker
By Matt O'Brien
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/03/2012
State and federal health officials are investigating how a rare and virulent bacteria strain appears to have killed a young researcher at a VA hospital's infectious diseases lab in San Francisco, setting off alarms that the man's friends and fellow researchers may have also been exposed.
The 25-year-old laboratory researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday morning shortly after asking friends to take him to the hospital. For the week and months before his death, he had been handling a bacteria linked to deadly bloodstream infections at the VA hospital's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, said Peter Melton, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The man, whose name has not been released, was working with fellow researchers to develop a vaccine for a bacterial strain that causes septicemia and meningitis. Hours after he left work, however, the germ that he was studying took his own life.
"He left the lab around 5 p.m." Friday, said Harry Lampiris, chief of the VA hospital's infectious diseases division. "He had no symptoms at all."
read more here
By Matt O'Brien
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/03/2012
State and federal health officials are investigating how a rare and virulent bacteria strain appears to have killed a young researcher at a VA hospital's infectious diseases lab in San Francisco, setting off alarms that the man's friends and fellow researchers may have also been exposed.
The 25-year-old laboratory researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday morning shortly after asking friends to take him to the hospital. For the week and months before his death, he had been handling a bacteria linked to deadly bloodstream infections at the VA hospital's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, said Peter Melton, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The man, whose name has not been released, was working with fellow researchers to develop a vaccine for a bacterial strain that causes septicemia and meningitis. Hours after he left work, however, the germ that he was studying took his own life.
"He left the lab around 5 p.m." Friday, said Harry Lampiris, chief of the VA hospital's infectious diseases division. "He had no symptoms at all."
read more here
Wounded Warrior opens family ranch: free to all veterans
Wounded Warrior opens family ranch: free to all veterans
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Mark Cloutier
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Disabled combat veteran Bill Campbell and his wife, Domenica, opened their 14-acre farm in December, free to all military service veterans and their families. Nestled into the thick, green Capitol Forest, just off State Road 8 about 30 miles south of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the peaceful respite known to many as Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Bill said the ranch is a place where veterans and their families can simply drop in for a time of peace and solitude and drop out of life’s rat race at the same time - a place where regimentation and schedules are checked at the door.
“Our mission is to honor and serve our nation’s veterans and their families with gratitude and appreciation through personal experience,” Domenica said. “We want people to rest and to relax and to feel as though they are at home when they’re here.”
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5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Mark Cloutier
Courtesy Photo
Bill Campbell, owner of Wounded Warrior Ranch in Olympia, leads a developmentally disabled guest through a paddock on Maisey, one of the ranch's horses. WWR is free to all military service veterans and their families.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Disabled combat veteran Bill Campbell and his wife, Domenica, opened their 14-acre farm in December, free to all military service veterans and their families. Nestled into the thick, green Capitol Forest, just off State Road 8 about 30 miles south of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the peaceful respite known to many as Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Bill said the ranch is a place where veterans and their families can simply drop in for a time of peace and solitude and drop out of life’s rat race at the same time - a place where regimentation and schedules are checked at the door.
“Our mission is to honor and serve our nation’s veterans and their families with gratitude and appreciation through personal experience,” Domenica said. “We want people to rest and to relax and to feel as though they are at home when they’re here.”
Read more
Top aviators are refusing to fly F-22 Raptor
Some pilots refuse to fly F-22 Raptor fighter jet
By W.J. HENNIGAN
Los Angeles Times
Published: May 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES
Some of the nation's top aviators are refusing to fly the radar-evading F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet with ongoing problems with the oxygen systems that have plagued the fleet for four years.
At the risk of significant reprimand - or even discharge from the Air Force - fighter pilots are turning down the opportunity to climb into the cockpit of the F-22, the world's most expensive fighter jet.
The Air Force did not reveal how many of its 200 F-22 pilots, who are stationed at seven military bases across the country, declined their assignment orders. But current and former Air Force officials say it's an extremely rare occurrence.
"It's shocking to me as a fighter pilot and former commander of Air Combat Command that a pilot would decline to get into that airplane," said retired four-star Gen. Richard E. Hawley, a former F-15 fighter pilot and air combat commander at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.
He said he couldn't remember one specific incident in his 35-year career in which a fighter pilot declined his assignment.
Concern about the safety of the F-22 has grown in recent months as reports about problems with its oxygen systems have offered no clear explanations why pilots are reporting hypoxia-like symptoms in the air. Hypoxia is a condition that can bring on nausea, headaches, fatigue or blackouts when the body is deprived of oxygen.
read more here
By W.J. HENNIGAN
Los Angeles Times
Published: May 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES
Some of the nation's top aviators are refusing to fly the radar-evading F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet with ongoing problems with the oxygen systems that have plagued the fleet for four years.
At the risk of significant reprimand - or even discharge from the Air Force - fighter pilots are turning down the opportunity to climb into the cockpit of the F-22, the world's most expensive fighter jet.
The Air Force did not reveal how many of its 200 F-22 pilots, who are stationed at seven military bases across the country, declined their assignment orders. But current and former Air Force officials say it's an extremely rare occurrence.
"It's shocking to me as a fighter pilot and former commander of Air Combat Command that a pilot would decline to get into that airplane," said retired four-star Gen. Richard E. Hawley, a former F-15 fighter pilot and air combat commander at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.
He said he couldn't remember one specific incident in his 35-year career in which a fighter pilot declined his assignment.
Concern about the safety of the F-22 has grown in recent months as reports about problems with its oxygen systems have offered no clear explanations why pilots are reporting hypoxia-like symptoms in the air. Hypoxia is a condition that can bring on nausea, headaches, fatigue or blackouts when the body is deprived of oxygen.
read more here
Ex-soldier charged in standoff wants VA help
Ex-soldier charged in standoff wants VA help
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former Army soldier facing charges in a 2010 hostage standoff in southeast Georgia wants a federal judge to grant him bond so that he can get treatment from the Veterans Administration.
Robert Anthony Quinones had a hearing scheduled Thursday morning. He’s accused of taking three hostages at gunpoint at the Army hospital on Fort Stewart and demanding treatment.
read more here
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former Army soldier facing charges in a 2010 hostage standoff in southeast Georgia wants a federal judge to grant him bond so that he can get treatment from the Veterans Administration.
Robert Anthony Quinones had a hearing scheduled Thursday morning. He’s accused of taking three hostages at gunpoint at the Army hospital on Fort Stewart and demanding treatment.
read more here
Police still have named no suspect in disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux
Missing soldier’s mom, husband ‘keeping hope alive’
Police still have named no suspect in disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux, 23
By Scott Stump
TODAY.com contributor
updated 5/2/2012
More than two weeks since the disappearance of 23-year-old Army combat medic Kelli Bordeaux, police have not named any suspects or produced any concrete leads — but her mother is still holding out hope for her safe return.
Johnna Henson, the mother of Pfc. Bordeaux, spoke with TODAY Wednesday along with the missing soldier’s husband, Mike, as the search for Kelli continues. She was last seen April 14 at Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville, N.C., and was reported missing on April 16 when she did not report for duty at nearby Fort Bragg.
“Until I know differently from Detective Locklear or the Fayetteville Police Department, I am definitely keeping hope alive,’’ Henson told Savannah Guthrie, referring to Fayetteville detective Jeff Locklear. “She’s a wonderful young lady, and she needs to be with her family.’’
read more here
Police still have named no suspect in disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux, 23
By Scott Stump
TODAY.com contributor
updated 5/2/2012
More than two weeks since the disappearance of 23-year-old Army combat medic Kelli Bordeaux, police have not named any suspects or produced any concrete leads — but her mother is still holding out hope for her safe return.
Johnna Henson, the mother of Pfc. Bordeaux, spoke with TODAY Wednesday along with the missing soldier’s husband, Mike, as the search for Kelli continues. She was last seen April 14 at Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville, N.C., and was reported missing on April 16 when she did not report for duty at nearby Fort Bragg.
“Until I know differently from Detective Locklear or the Fayetteville Police Department, I am definitely keeping hope alive,’’ Henson told Savannah Guthrie, referring to Fayetteville detective Jeff Locklear. “She’s a wonderful young lady, and she needs to be with her family.’’
read more here
Soldiers’ Bibles American religious history come alive
My Dad's bible is on my desk. My husband's bible and his Dad's bible are in my office as well. The spiritual needs of soldiers during combat has been known since the beginning of time. It has reached the point of importance so much so that atheists now want their own chaplains. This is baffling since the DOD has yet to really understand the power of spiritual healing.
Soldiers’ Bibles exhibit a walk through American history
By Chris Herlinger
Religion News Service
Published: May 2
NEW YORK — The simplicity of the exhibit — copies of the Bible resting in glass cases — can be deceptive.
But the Museum of Biblical Art’s exhibition, “Finding Comfort in Difficult Times: A Selection of Soldiers’ Bibles,” is American religious history come alive.
The exhibit showcases three dozen copies of Scriptures published for members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the Civil War onward, from leather-bound, 19th-century copies to contemporary Bibles clothed in camouflage.
But more than the Bibles themselves — on long-term loan from the American Bible Society — the exhibit tells the stories of the men and women who read them, their struggles with hardship, and the place of religion in their lives.
Given the personal histories they contain, “every scripture in the Rare Bible Collection at MOBIA has its own unique story,” said the New York museum’s executive director, Ena Heller.
Efforts to supply Bibles to American troops began in the waning years of the American Revolution. Decades later, in 1817, the one-year-old American Bible Society began supplying Bibles to the crew of the frigate USS John Adams.
During World War I, General John J. Pershing and President Woodrow Wilson penned messages that accompanied a 1917 copy of the New Testament. In his preface, Wilson, a Presbyterian elder, declared that “the Bible is the word of life” and urged soldiers to read the Scriptures and “find this out for yourselves.”
read more here
Fort Hood recalls all Vietnam vets
Fort Hood recalls all Vietnam vets
Welcome Home Ceremony planned
Wednesday, 02 May 2012
FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - The III Corps commanding general asks all Vietnam veterans to join Fort Hood in a Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony May 21 as part of the Corps' Phantom Warrior Week.
During the ceremony, Vietnam veterans will receive the same fanfare present-day soldiers receive when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans will parade onto Sadowski Field in front of hundreds, perhaps thousands of supporters who appreciate the sacrifices they made 50 years ago.
read more here
Welcome Home Ceremony planned
Wednesday, 02 May 2012
FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - The III Corps commanding general asks all Vietnam veterans to join Fort Hood in a Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony May 21 as part of the Corps' Phantom Warrior Week.
During the ceremony, Vietnam veterans will receive the same fanfare present-day soldiers receive when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans will parade onto Sadowski Field in front of hundreds, perhaps thousands of supporters who appreciate the sacrifices they made 50 years ago.
read more here
PTSD and Gambling: New Combat Vets Plagued by Troubling Addiction
Gambling: New Combat Vets Plagued by Troubling Addiction
By John H. Tucker
Thursday, May 3 2012
In 2007, having served with distinction during two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force firefighter John Brownfield Jr. took a job as a correctional officer at the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Ten months later, prison officials caught the former senior airman smuggling tobacco to at least seven inmates at the facility and accepting at least $3,500 in payoffs. The U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado charged the 22-year-old combat veteran with bribery by a public official. Brownfield pleaded guilty.
Two years later, Sgt. Dreux Perkins returned home from a combat stint in Baghdad — his second overseas tour of duty with the U.S. Army — received his honorable discharge and went to work as a correctional officer at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Ill., 50 miles east of St. Louis on Interstate 70. In May 2011 the Federal Bureau of Investigation confronted Perkins with evidence that he'd accepted at least $2,600 in payoffs for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois indicted the 23-year-old decorated war veteran for bribery by a federal official, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement to a federal law officer. Perkins pleaded guilty.
read more here
By John H. Tucker
Thursday, May 3 2012
In 2007, having served with distinction during two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force firefighter John Brownfield Jr. took a job as a correctional officer at the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Ten months later, prison officials caught the former senior airman smuggling tobacco to at least seven inmates at the facility and accepting at least $3,500 in payoffs. The U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado charged the 22-year-old combat veteran with bribery by a public official. Brownfield pleaded guilty.
Two years later, Sgt. Dreux Perkins returned home from a combat stint in Baghdad — his second overseas tour of duty with the U.S. Army — received his honorable discharge and went to work as a correctional officer at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Ill., 50 miles east of St. Louis on Interstate 70. In May 2011 the Federal Bureau of Investigation confronted Perkins with evidence that he'd accepted at least $2,600 in payoffs for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois indicted the 23-year-old decorated war veteran for bribery by a federal official, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement to a federal law officer. Perkins pleaded guilty.
read more here
As of March 590,000 VA claims over 125 days old
Troops returning home to strained veterans-affairs system
By Rebecca Ruiz
President Obama may face challenges to deliver on his promise that the U.S. will look after troops and their families as combat operations in Afghanistan come to an end.
Fulfilling the president's promise will require the cooperation of a system that is already strained by current demand for veterans’ services and benefits.
Of the 91,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, 23,000 will return to the U.S. by the end of the summer; the remaining 68,000 will gradually come home through December 2014. Many of these veterans will immediately require mental health, disability, education, employment and medical services, but these resources are under varying degrees of strain.
read more here
By Rebecca Ruiz
President Obama may face challenges to deliver on his promise that the U.S. will look after troops and their families as combat operations in Afghanistan come to an end.
As of March 31, the VA was considering 897,556 claims for disability benefits; nearly 590,000 of those had been pending for more than 125 days.“When you get home, we are going to be there for you when you’re in uniform and we will stay there for you when you’re out of uniform, because you’ve earned it,” he told troops at Bagram Air Base on Tuesday.
Fulfilling the president's promise will require the cooperation of a system that is already strained by current demand for veterans’ services and benefits.
Of the 91,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, 23,000 will return to the U.S. by the end of the summer; the remaining 68,000 will gradually come home through December 2014. Many of these veterans will immediately require mental health, disability, education, employment and medical services, but these resources are under varying degrees of strain.
read more here
US Marshals arrest man in $100 million veteran charity scam
Major GOP donor arrested in $100 million veteran charity scam
By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.
Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.
read more here
By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.
Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.
read more here
Horses give vets High Hopes for recovery
Horses give vets High Hopes for recovery
By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: The Day
Published 05/03/2012
Therapeutic riding in Old Lyme helps former soldiers cope
Old Lyme - After she rode a horse at a fast gait for the first time, Katye Zwiefka cried.
She threw her arms in the air and said, "I did it!" Zwiefka compared it to the joy she felt as a child on Christmas morning.
"It had been such a long time since I had that feeling or anything like it - just that excitement and that thrill, that joy that's untainted by the world," she said of her experience cantering last summer.
Zwiefka, who served in the Marine Corps, belongs to a women's riding group at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she turned to the center two years ago. She and another veteran in the group, Khaylan Widener, said bonding with the horses and the other equestrians has helped them cope with the anxiety and isolation they have felt since leaving the military.
"It's hard to make connections with people," said Zwiefka, a 30-year-old who lives in Norwich. "It's hard to feel comfortable in my skin and my surroundings and to really just enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Being here, I'm really able to do that," she said of High Hopes. "It's beautiful out here and I'm able to enjoy every moment."
Zwiefka and Widener, an Army veteran, met in counseling at the Norwich Vet Center, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With her new friend's encouragement, Widener began riding at the center.
read more here
By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: The Day
Published 05/03/2012
Therapeutic riding in Old Lyme helps former soldiers cope
Old Lyme - After she rode a horse at a fast gait for the first time, Katye Zwiefka cried.
She threw her arms in the air and said, "I did it!" Zwiefka compared it to the joy she felt as a child on Christmas morning.
"It had been such a long time since I had that feeling or anything like it - just that excitement and that thrill, that joy that's untainted by the world," she said of her experience cantering last summer.
Zwiefka, who served in the Marine Corps, belongs to a women's riding group at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she turned to the center two years ago. She and another veteran in the group, Khaylan Widener, said bonding with the horses and the other equestrians has helped them cope with the anxiety and isolation they have felt since leaving the military.
"It's hard to make connections with people," said Zwiefka, a 30-year-old who lives in Norwich. "It's hard to feel comfortable in my skin and my surroundings and to really just enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Being here, I'm really able to do that," she said of High Hopes. "It's beautiful out here and I'm able to enjoy every moment."
Zwiefka and Widener, an Army veteran, met in counseling at the Norwich Vet Center, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With her new friend's encouragement, Widener began riding at the center.
read more here
Iraq Veteran stabbed stopping robber
Iraq war veteran Shawn Cox stabbed in the neck while trying to stop robber
By: Rochelle Ritchie
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- A Port St. Lucie man and Iraq war veteran is being hailed a hero after trying to help a woman being robbed at knife-point in a store parking lot Tuesday night.
For his efforts, Shawn Cox ended up with a stab wound to the neck. But the two victims are thankful to be alive and are hoping justice is soon served.
Marie Whitely was able to thank the man who came to her rescue.
"I just wanted to come say thank you, I couldn't do it last night I was so overwhelmed," Whitely told him.
This surveillance video shows Whitely loading groceries in her car in the parking lot of Walmart on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
That's when you see a woman sneaking up behind her.
read more here
By: Rochelle Ritchie
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- A Port St. Lucie man and Iraq war veteran is being hailed a hero after trying to help a woman being robbed at knife-point in a store parking lot Tuesday night.
For his efforts, Shawn Cox ended up with a stab wound to the neck. But the two victims are thankful to be alive and are hoping justice is soon served.
Marie Whitely was able to thank the man who came to her rescue.
"I just wanted to come say thank you, I couldn't do it last night I was so overwhelmed," Whitely told him.
This surveillance video shows Whitely loading groceries in her car in the parking lot of Walmart on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
That's when you see a woman sneaking up behind her.
read more here
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Erin Brockovich Talks 'Last Call At The Oasis'
Erin Brockovich Talks 'Last Call At The Oasis' And Water Contamination Issues
The Huffington Post
By Joanna Zelman
Posted: 05/1/2012
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich recently held a roundtable discussion at The Huffington Post's offices to address water contamination challenges, the upcoming documentary "Last Call At The Oasis," and her newest endeavor to combat health concerns around the world.
"Last Call At The Oasis" focuses on the growing global water crisis, from the drying up of Lake Mead to the fight to keep herbicides from tainting drinking water. The film highlights Brockovich's newest project, mapping disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google.
Brockovich told HuffPost that this "pet project" began as she was receiving up to 50,000 emails per month from people reporting health issues in their communities, writing concerns such as: "We think it's odd that we have 18 people on our street with Hodgkins; We think it's odd that we have 15 kids on our street with leukemia; We think it's odd that we have 20 people in the community with glioblastoma brain tumors."
read more here
The Huffington Post
By Joanna Zelman
Posted: 05/1/2012
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich recently held a roundtable discussion at The Huffington Post's offices to address water contamination challenges, the upcoming documentary "Last Call At The Oasis," and her newest endeavor to combat health concerns around the world.
"Last Call At The Oasis" focuses on the growing global water crisis, from the drying up of Lake Mead to the fight to keep herbicides from tainting drinking water. The film highlights Brockovich's newest project, mapping disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google.
Brockovich told HuffPost that this "pet project" began as she was receiving up to 50,000 emails per month from people reporting health issues in their communities, writing concerns such as: "We think it's odd that we have 18 people on our street with Hodgkins; We think it's odd that we have 15 kids on our street with leukemia; We think it's odd that we have 20 people in the community with glioblastoma brain tumors."
read more here
Spirit Airlines didn't care Vietnam Vet dying and can't fly
UPDATE
Facebook users heap baggage on Spirit Airlines after dying vet refused refund
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 03, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Facebook campaign calling for a boycott of Spirit Airlines has taken off with jet-like propulsion since the carrier's denial of a refund to a dying former Marine made headlines.
The “Boycott Spirit Airlines” Facebook page has seen its number of "likes" soar in recent days, rising from roughly 700 earlier this week to more than 17,000 as of early Thursday.
The social network support has come as Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran with terminal esophageal cancer, raised a fuss when the Florida-based airline nixed his request for a $197 refund. Meekins was going to fly to New Jersey for his daughter's surgery, but his doctor told him not to fly, citing his deteriorating health. The Facebook page blasting the much-complained-about airline already existed, but Meekins' plight has sent furious fellow veterans and concerned citizens flocking to it.
"This is a despicable act on their part," one post read. "They should have quietly returned the airfare and they could have avoided this. I will never fly this airline."
read more here
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 03, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Facebook campaign calling for a boycott of Spirit Airlines has taken off with jet-like propulsion since the carrier's denial of a refund to a dying former Marine made headlines.
The “Boycott Spirit Airlines” Facebook page has seen its number of "likes" soar in recent days, rising from roughly 700 earlier this week to more than 17,000 as of early Thursday.
The social network support has come as Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran with terminal esophageal cancer, raised a fuss when the Florida-based airline nixed his request for a $197 refund. Meekins was going to fly to New Jersey for his daughter's surgery, but his doctor told him not to fly, citing his deteriorating health. The Facebook page blasting the much-complained-about airline already existed, but Meekins' plight has sent furious fellow veterans and concerned citizens flocking to it.
"This is a despicable act on their part," one post read. "They should have quietly returned the airfare and they could have avoided this. I will never fly this airline."
read more here
Spirit Airlines' refusal to refund vet's ticket earns it an 'F' in Public Relations
By Fraser Seitel
FoxNews.com
Published May 01, 2012
Ever shake your head, ruefully, and wonder why those Occupy Wall Street rabble rousers despise corporations so virulently?
Here’s the answer: Spirit Airlines.
And here’s a better answer: Lawyers.
Spirit, of course, is the airline that has been blistered in the media for refusing a dying Vietnam veteran a $197 ticket refund, because his doctor forbade him to fly. The 76-year-old esophageal cancer sufferer, Jerry Meekins, bought a ticket on Spirit to fly from Clearwater, Fla. to visit his daughter in Atlantic City – perhaps for the last time.
But then his doctor nixed the trip. And Spirit nixed the refund.
read more here
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