DOD, VA to Launch Joint Electronic Health Record System
By Cheryl Pellerin and Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., May 21, 2012 – The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have joined in a unique effort to combine their health records in what will become the world’s largest electronic system by 2017, the secretaries of both departments announced here today.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki briefed reporters after a tour of the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, the nation's first fully integrated DOD-VA medical facility treating service members, veterans, military retirees and dependents.
“Over the past two days, as many of you know, world leaders have gathered in Chicago to affirm our commitment to finishing the job right in Afghanistan,” Panetta said. “This afternoon, Secretary Shinseki and I are coming together to affirm what in many ways is an equally important commitment: to care for and honor those who have protected our nation by serving it in uniform.”
The center -- named for retired Navy captain and former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who was in the audience today -- amounts to a proving ground for the DOD-VA joint operating concept. It incorporates facilities, services and resources from the North Chicago VA Medical Center and the Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes.
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Wounded veterans demand action from VA on 125 days wait
This is what happens when a nation does not go to war with them!
In S.F., wounded veterans demand action from VA
Demian Bulwa
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
More than 200 veterans, from an old man who stormed Normandy to a young man who invaded Baghdad, came together Monday in San Francisco with a common purpose: getting the government to pay for their wounds.
A severe backlog of disability claims, which hit Northern Californians especially hard, prompted Reps. Jackie Speier and Barbara Lee to hold a public forum at the War Memorial Veterans Building, where they demanded better service from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The event was part scolding and part workshop. VA officials stationed claims representatives at seven tables, where they met with some of the more than 200 people who signed up in an attempt to get their cases completed.
As of Monday, 65 percent of all disability claims from veterans nationwide - a total of 566,000 - had been pending for at least 125 days. The delays have been especially long in the Northern California regional office in Oakland, where agency auditors have also found accuracy problems.
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Monday, May 21, 2012
Senators promise answers on VA medication deaths
Senators promise answers on I-Team report
Steve Daniels
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Both of North Carolina's senators promise action after an ABC11 I-Team report on the deaths of U.S. troops blamed on "fatal drug intoxication."
"We will look into this in great detail - work with the military and the VA - to understand better the decisions that were made," said Senator Richard Burr - a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.
The I-Team investigation uncovered cases where troops survived combat only to die at home while undergoing treatment for Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Stan and Shirley White told ABC11 that's how they lost their son Andrew.
"He died because of his PTSD, because of what he saw in the war zone. The medication is what killed him. We consider him as being a casualty of war," offered Stan White.
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Steve Daniels
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Both of North Carolina's senators promise action after an ABC11 I-Team report on the deaths of U.S. troops blamed on "fatal drug intoxication."
"We will look into this in great detail - work with the military and the VA - to understand better the decisions that were made," said Senator Richard Burr - a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.
The I-Team investigation uncovered cases where troops survived combat only to die at home while undergoing treatment for Post-traumatic stress disorder.
Stan and Shirley White told ABC11 that's how they lost their son Andrew.
"He died because of his PTSD, because of what he saw in the war zone. The medication is what killed him. We consider him as being a casualty of war," offered Stan White.
read more here
Another non-combat death for Fort Riley
Riley soldier’s death ruled accidental
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 21, 2012
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Riley County police say a Fort Riley soldier’s death at his Manhattan home apparently was caused by an accidental drug overdose.
Twenty-four-year-old Derek H. Holgersen was found dead at his apartment on Friday.
Riley County police Capt. Kurt Moldrup announced Monday that preliminary autopsy reports indicate Holgersen died from an accidental drug overdose.
Moldrup says another tenant found Holgersen’s body.
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 21, 2012
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Riley County police say a Fort Riley soldier’s death at his Manhattan home apparently was caused by an accidental drug overdose.
Twenty-four-year-old Derek H. Holgersen was found dead at his apartment on Friday.
Riley County police Capt. Kurt Moldrup announced Monday that preliminary autopsy reports indicate Holgersen died from an accidental drug overdose.
Moldrup says another tenant found Holgersen’s body.
Wounded Soldiers from Greater Philadelphia Honored
Wounded Soldiers from Greater Philadelphia Honored at Rose Tree Park
The 5th Annual Walk for the Wounded was held Saturday, May 19.
By Lauren Avellino Turton
Mother Nature delivered the perfect day for the 5th Annual Walk for the Wounded held at Rose Tree Park in Upper Providence Township on Saturday.
Family, friends, and visitors from Haverford Township and the rest of Delaware County and beyond came out by the thousands to recognize the injured soldiers and help raise money for them and their families with personal and financial needs.
There was much to do for all ages. There were several interactive military displays, including a medical tent from the 11th Airborne, and a UH1 helicopter that kids could sit in and pose for photos.
There was an elaborate motorcycle and car show, local veterans groups and vendors from the area, and plenty of activities popular with the kids, like moon bounce and giant slide.
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The 5th Annual Walk for the Wounded was held Saturday, May 19.
By Lauren Avellino Turton
The walk route was lined with flags in honor of the wounded soldiers. Credit: Lauren Avellino Turton
Mother Nature delivered the perfect day for the 5th Annual Walk for the Wounded held at Rose Tree Park in Upper Providence Township on Saturday.
Family, friends, and visitors from Haverford Township and the rest of Delaware County and beyond came out by the thousands to recognize the injured soldiers and help raise money for them and their families with personal and financial needs.
There was much to do for all ages. There were several interactive military displays, including a medical tent from the 11th Airborne, and a UH1 helicopter that kids could sit in and pose for photos.
There was an elaborate motorcycle and car show, local veterans groups and vendors from the area, and plenty of activities popular with the kids, like moon bounce and giant slide.
read more here
Pathfinders' preparedness is tested by deadly IED blasts
Pathfinders' preparedness is tested by deadly IED blasts
By LAURA RAUCH
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 21, 2012
Part one of a two-part Stars and Stripes series, "Devastation and Endurance."
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The soldier knew something was wrong when the Black Hawk and Kiowa helicopters tore sharply into the compound. Their landing, skittish and odd, made Sgt. Jon McMillen’s gut turn.
Several of McMillen’s teammates, all with Team 3 out of Kandahar Airfield, were on a reconnaissance mission in the Shorabak district near the Pakistani border while he and other Pathfinders from the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade were staged as backup at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak.
Upon landing, the crew chief jumped out and waved in McMillen’s platoon leader, 1st Lt. John Runkle. Moments later, Runkle returned to his soldiers and told them to grab their kit and get the [expletive] on the bird. Now he knew there was trouble; Runkle never cussed.
read more here
By LAURA RAUCH
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 21, 2012
Part one of a two-part Stars and Stripes series, "Devastation and Endurance."
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The soldier knew something was wrong when the Black Hawk and Kiowa helicopters tore sharply into the compound. Their landing, skittish and odd, made Sgt. Jon McMillen’s gut turn.
Several of McMillen’s teammates, all with Team 3 out of Kandahar Airfield, were on a reconnaissance mission in the Shorabak district near the Pakistani border while he and other Pathfinders from the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade were staged as backup at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak.
Upon landing, the crew chief jumped out and waved in McMillen’s platoon leader, 1st Lt. John Runkle. Moments later, Runkle returned to his soldiers and told them to grab their kit and get the [expletive] on the bird. Now he knew there was trouble; Runkle never cussed.
read more here
General Odierno cracks down on sex assaults, harassment
Odierno cracks down on sex assaults, harassment
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 21, 2012
In the Army’s fight against sexual assault and harassment, soldiers cannot be bystanders, the Army’s top general said.
“We need to eliminate the bystander mentality,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno said. “It’s intolerable to me that there are people that see sexual harassment, or circumstances that could lead to sexual assault, and choose to turn the other way.”
Odierno spoke May 7 at the 2012 “I. A.M. Strong Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention Summit” in Leesburg, Va.
He called passive bystanders who do not assist or report harassment and assault, or help their fellow soldiers, “part of the problem.”
“Our Army faces many threats and risks. But these specific threats emanate from within our own corps,” he said. “They have a corrosive effect on our unit readiness, team cohesion, command environment, and trust of soldiers and family members. We must make every single effort to take care of and protect each other. That’s what we do, that’s who we are.”
read more here
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 21, 2012
In the Army’s fight against sexual assault and harassment, soldiers cannot be bystanders, the Army’s top general said.
“We need to eliminate the bystander mentality,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno said. “It’s intolerable to me that there are people that see sexual harassment, or circumstances that could lead to sexual assault, and choose to turn the other way.”
Odierno spoke May 7 at the 2012 “I. A.M. Strong Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention Summit” in Leesburg, Va.
He called passive bystanders who do not assist or report harassment and assault, or help their fellow soldiers, “part of the problem.”
“Our Army faces many threats and risks. But these specific threats emanate from within our own corps,” he said. “They have a corrosive effect on our unit readiness, team cohesion, command environment, and trust of soldiers and family members. We must make every single effort to take care of and protect each other. That’s what we do, that’s who we are.”
read more here
Lejeune service members may be at risk for Lyme disease
Lejeune service members may be at risk for Lyme disease
May 20, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF
With the warm weather rolling in, it’s time Camp Lejeune Marines and sailors start taking precautions to protect themselves against vector born illnesses like Lyme disease.
“Ticks are really bad this year,” said Navy Lt. Patrick McGuire, officer in charge, Preventive Medicine Unit, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. “Because of the warmer winter this year, we’re seeing a lot more ticks in the field.”
North Carolina is home to a certain kind of tick, called a deer tick, that carries a bacteria known as borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease, said Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune’s Preventive Medicine experts.
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May 20, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF
With the warm weather rolling in, it’s time Camp Lejeune Marines and sailors start taking precautions to protect themselves against vector born illnesses like Lyme disease.
“Ticks are really bad this year,” said Navy Lt. Patrick McGuire, officer in charge, Preventive Medicine Unit, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. “Because of the warmer winter this year, we’re seeing a lot more ticks in the field.”
North Carolina is home to a certain kind of tick, called a deer tick, that carries a bacteria known as borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease, said Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune’s Preventive Medicine experts.
read more here
Jacksonville one of communities picked for study on deployment impacts
Jacksonville one of communities picked for study on deployment impacts
May 20, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Jacksonville has been selected to be part of a national study on the effects of multiple deployments on communities with large military populations.
Jacksonville, home to the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, joins El Paso, Texas, and Lacey and Lakewood, Wash., in the Congress-mandated study titled, “How Communities with Large Military Populations are Affected by Deployment.”
A Maryland research company hired by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences was in Jacksonville from April 18 – 24 collecting research.
Christine Stencel, media relations officer at the Institute of Medicine, said that researchers wanted to get a sense of what potential effects there have been on the Jacksonville community due to multiple deployments.
As part of the study, the team interviewed the fire and police departments and local business leaders. Stencel was unable to comment on which businesses or departments the research team spoke to while in Jacksonville due to a confidentiality agreement.
Camp Lejeune spokesman 2nd Lt. Philip Kulczewski said there are currently about 5,500 Lejeune Marines deployed directly to Afghanistan, and another 3,900 deployed around the world in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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May 20, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Jacksonville has been selected to be part of a national study on the effects of multiple deployments on communities with large military populations.
Jacksonville, home to the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, joins El Paso, Texas, and Lacey and Lakewood, Wash., in the Congress-mandated study titled, “How Communities with Large Military Populations are Affected by Deployment.”
A Maryland research company hired by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences was in Jacksonville from April 18 – 24 collecting research.
Christine Stencel, media relations officer at the Institute of Medicine, said that researchers wanted to get a sense of what potential effects there have been on the Jacksonville community due to multiple deployments.
As part of the study, the team interviewed the fire and police departments and local business leaders. Stencel was unable to comment on which businesses or departments the research team spoke to while in Jacksonville due to a confidentiality agreement.
Camp Lejeune spokesman 2nd Lt. Philip Kulczewski said there are currently about 5,500 Lejeune Marines deployed directly to Afghanistan, and another 3,900 deployed around the world in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
read more here
Gary Sinise played at Fort Carson
Gary Sinise plays show in Parker
May 20, 2012
Written by
Raquel Villanueva
PARKER - Actor Gary Sinise played a benefit concert Sunday at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker.
On Saturday, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed at Fort Carson for the troops and their families.
Sinise says the band doesn't perform to make money, but rather to raise it.
His foundation helps support wounded veterans all over the country.
The band travels the country performing for vets and inspiring others to support them.
"I'm lucky that I've been able to make a living doing something that I've loved since high school, I started acting in high school in my first plays and I was playing in bands in high school and now I get to do them both," he said. "And music is a fun thing and the fact that I can use the music to do something positive for folks is a very good thing."
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May 20, 2012
Written by
Raquel Villanueva
PARKER - Actor Gary Sinise played a benefit concert Sunday at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker.
On Saturday, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed at Fort Carson for the troops and their families.
Sinise says the band doesn't perform to make money, but rather to raise it.
His foundation helps support wounded veterans all over the country.
The band travels the country performing for vets and inspiring others to support them.
"I'm lucky that I've been able to make a living doing something that I've loved since high school, I started acting in high school in my first plays and I was playing in bands in high school and now I get to do them both," he said. "And music is a fun thing and the fact that I can use the music to do something positive for folks is a very good thing."
read more here
Anonymous donor funds D.C. visit for 50 Brevard veterans
Anonymous donor funds D.C. visit for 50 Brevard veterans
May. 21, 2012
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE — Air Force Lt. Jack Wilson, 25, listened intently as World War II veteran Ralph White shared stories about his service in the Navy.
Young airmen from Patrick Air Force Base joined World War II veterans, most in their 80s and 90s, for Honor Flight, which takes the veterans to visit and reflect at the monuments built in their honor.
“I’ve seen many of the monuments except for some of the memorials,” said White, 93, of Titusville, as he prepared for the start of the trip early Saturday morning.
“I’ve wanted to do this for years,” Wilson said. “I got the email about this and I literally replied in 30 seconds.”
The 25 World War II veterans (including three women), 24 airmen and one soldier made the trip courtesy of an anonymous donor of $40,000, enough to cover the cost of two trips.
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May. 21, 2012
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE — Air Force Lt. Jack Wilson, 25, listened intently as World War II veteran Ralph White shared stories about his service in the Navy.
Young airmen from Patrick Air Force Base joined World War II veterans, most in their 80s and 90s, for Honor Flight, which takes the veterans to visit and reflect at the monuments built in their honor.
“I’ve seen many of the monuments except for some of the memorials,” said White, 93, of Titusville, as he prepared for the start of the trip early Saturday morning.
“I’ve wanted to do this for years,” Wilson said. “I got the email about this and I literally replied in 30 seconds.”
The 25 World War II veterans (including three women), 24 airmen and one soldier made the trip courtesy of an anonymous donor of $40,000, enough to cover the cost of two trips.
read more here
VA fiduciary program disabled veteran fleeced
Disabled veterans in Texas fleeced by VA-appointed money managers
By Lise Olsen and Lindsay Wise
Monday, May 21, 2012
Already a convicted petty thief, Mildred Fedd had pressing bills to pay: parking tickets, a faulty sewage system, house payments and the impound lot holding her truck hostage. So she turned to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and promised - for a small fee - to watch over an 82-year-old disabled veteran.
With his $5,000, she agreed to buy him a burial plot. Instead, the Houston caregiver paid her own bills - and got caught only after she had spent all his money and went back for more, Harris County records show.
The Veterans Affairs' Inspector General has repeatedly warned about a plague of fraud and theft in a national program that appoints family members and VA-approved fiduciaries to protect a whopping $3 billion in assets belonging to veterans the government considers too disabled to manage their own money.
read more here
By Lise Olsen and Lindsay Wise
Monday, May 21, 2012
Already a convicted petty thief, Mildred Fedd had pressing bills to pay: parking tickets, a faulty sewage system, house payments and the impound lot holding her truck hostage. So she turned to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and promised - for a small fee - to watch over an 82-year-old disabled veteran.
With his $5,000, she agreed to buy him a burial plot. Instead, the Houston caregiver paid her own bills - and got caught only after she had spent all his money and went back for more, Harris County records show.
The Veterans Affairs' Inspector General has repeatedly warned about a plague of fraud and theft in a national program that appoints family members and VA-approved fiduciaries to protect a whopping $3 billion in assets belonging to veterans the government considers too disabled to manage their own money.
read more here
WVU student invents device to help amputees
WVU student invents device to help amputees
May 21, 2012
By David Templeton
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
She went to Walter Reed Hospital. She saw a medical mystery. She developed a treatment.
In an "I came, I saw, I conquered" scenario, Katherine Bomkamp, daughter of an Air Force lieutenant colonel, has invented the Pain Free Socket -- a heating device to be incorporated into prosthetic limbs to treat phantom pain, which a high percentage of people with amputations experience in their nonexistent limbs.
Her well-documented saga began five years ago when she was just 15. Because her father worked at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., she went to the military hospital for medical appointments. There she encountered young soldiers who'd returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with amputated limbs.
"That really affected me," she said. "I would talk to them, and they would tell me about their experience with phantom pain."
Seeing soldiers with amputations "started a train of thought."
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May 21, 2012
By David Templeton
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
She went to Walter Reed Hospital. She saw a medical mystery. She developed a treatment.
In an "I came, I saw, I conquered" scenario, Katherine Bomkamp, daughter of an Air Force lieutenant colonel, has invented the Pain Free Socket -- a heating device to be incorporated into prosthetic limbs to treat phantom pain, which a high percentage of people with amputations experience in their nonexistent limbs.
Her well-documented saga began five years ago when she was just 15. Because her father worked at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., she went to the military hospital for medical appointments. There she encountered young soldiers who'd returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with amputated limbs.
"That really affected me," she said. "I would talk to them, and they would tell me about their experience with phantom pain."
Seeing soldiers with amputations "started a train of thought."
read more here
Runner half-way through bid to run 100 marathons
Runner half-way through bid to run 100 marathons
8:36am Monday 21st May 2012 in News
By Kate Liptrot
A FORMER York resident who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder is nearly half-way through a bid to run 100 marathons in 100 weeks.
Simon Buckden, 40, was diagnosed with PTSD after the horrific atrocities he witnessed in Bosnia left him suicidal and drinking heavily.
He is taking part in the challenge to raise awareness of the condition and to raise money for Help For Heroes – an ambition made all the more remarkable as he was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year and is currently undergoing radiotherapy.
Mr Buckden, who works as a motivational speaker and ambassador for the Leeds and York NHS Partnership, said: “I call PTSD a narrowing of your life, I became a shell of a person. It cuts down the things you can do because you don’t want to be in certain places. It reduces your quality of life.
read more here
8:36am Monday 21st May 2012 in News
By Kate Liptrot
A FORMER York resident who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder is nearly half-way through a bid to run 100 marathons in 100 weeks.
Simon Buckden, 40, was diagnosed with PTSD after the horrific atrocities he witnessed in Bosnia left him suicidal and drinking heavily.
He is taking part in the challenge to raise awareness of the condition and to raise money for Help For Heroes – an ambition made all the more remarkable as he was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year and is currently undergoing radiotherapy.
Mr Buckden, who works as a motivational speaker and ambassador for the Leeds and York NHS Partnership, said: “I call PTSD a narrowing of your life, I became a shell of a person. It cuts down the things you can do because you don’t want to be in certain places. It reduces your quality of life.
read more here
Corpsmen rescue wounded Marine during firefight in Afghanistan
Corpsmen rescue wounded Marine during firefight
Story by Kenneth Jasik
MUSA QA’LEH DISTRICT, Afghanistan – When the Marines reached the hilltop, they knew it was going to be a rough day.
They had already taken fire, and they were patrolling in an area that coalition forces had rarely been since the decade-long war began.
At the top of the hill, the Marines took fire from insurgents when one of their brothers was wounded.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Eduardo D. Estrada, corpsman, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, along with two other corpsmen, helped save the life of 1st Lt. Michael Rhoads, a forward observer, who was shot in the torso, April 15.
The Marine was wounded during Operation Lariat, a mission to cut off insurgent supply routes. The Marines were going to investigate suspicious compounds, but started taking fire when they got near the village.
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Cpl. Kenneth Jasik
Petty Officer 3rd Class Eduardo D. Estrada, corpsman, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, along with two other corpsmen, helped save the life of 1st Lt. Michael Rhoads, a forward observer, who was shot in the torso, April 15, 2012. Estrada, 24, from Tucson, Ariz., stuck three needles into Rhoads to empty blocked space in his chest cavity, helping save his life.
Story by Kenneth Jasik
MUSA QA’LEH DISTRICT, Afghanistan – When the Marines reached the hilltop, they knew it was going to be a rough day.
They had already taken fire, and they were patrolling in an area that coalition forces had rarely been since the decade-long war began.
At the top of the hill, the Marines took fire from insurgents when one of their brothers was wounded.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Eduardo D. Estrada, corpsman, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, along with two other corpsmen, helped save the life of 1st Lt. Michael Rhoads, a forward observer, who was shot in the torso, April 15.
The Marine was wounded during Operation Lariat, a mission to cut off insurgent supply routes. The Marines were going to investigate suspicious compounds, but started taking fire when they got near the village.
read more here
Veteran jogs to aid injured comrades
Veteran jogs to aid injured comrades
By David Rattigan
Globe Correspondent
May 20, 2012
When Nahant’s Tara Butler crosses home plate at Fenway Park on Sunday, her home town can take credit for doing a good thing for area veterans.
Butler plans to be one of 2,000 participants in today’s Run-Walk to Home Base, a fund-raising run/walk to benefit the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program.
Funds raised will provide clinical care and support services for returning veterans with combat stress or traumatic brain injury and their families. They will also go to research into improving treatments and prevention, and community education. In two years, it has raised approximately $5 million.
Butler is being sponsored by the town, which promoted her cause on its municipal website, mentioned it at public meetings and in the press, and has had residents contribute via fund-raising cans placed around town.
Participants are required to raise a minimum of $1,000, but with town support (and matching funds from her mother’s employer, Verizon), Butler has raised $2,170.
Organizers say that she is the only participant to be town-sponsored.
read more here
By David Rattigan
Globe Correspondent
May 20, 2012
When Nahant’s Tara Butler crosses home plate at Fenway Park on Sunday, her home town can take credit for doing a good thing for area veterans.
Butler plans to be one of 2,000 participants in today’s Run-Walk to Home Base, a fund-raising run/walk to benefit the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program.
Funds raised will provide clinical care and support services for returning veterans with combat stress or traumatic brain injury and their families. They will also go to research into improving treatments and prevention, and community education. In two years, it has raised approximately $5 million.
Butler is being sponsored by the town, which promoted her cause on its municipal website, mentioned it at public meetings and in the press, and has had residents contribute via fund-raising cans placed around town.
Participants are required to raise a minimum of $1,000, but with town support (and matching funds from her mother’s employer, Verizon), Butler has raised $2,170.
Organizers say that she is the only participant to be town-sponsored.
read more here
Service held for Army nurse who died during Skype chat
Service held for nurse who died during Skype chat
Updated 10:08 p.m., Saturday, May 19, 2012
ADDISON, Mich. (AP) — More than 400 people attended a Michigan memorial service Saturday for a U.S. Army nurse who died suddenly in Afghanistan while video chatting with his wife.
Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark's family and friends gathered in the Addison Middle School gym and shared memories of the 43-year-old. They described him as a devoted husband and father, and as a loyal friend who dedicated his life to public service.
The Daily Telegram in Adrian reported (http://bit.ly/KC818k ) the service started with a silent tribute from uniformed fire department and military veterans. They paused at a display in Clark's honor as they marched in.
Clark was a native of Addison and former member of the Addison Fire Department.
read more here
original story
Wife watches husband die in Afghanistan
Updated 10:08 p.m., Saturday, May 19, 2012
The family of U.S. Army Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark receive American flags Saturday, May 19, 2012, during a memorial service for him in Addison, Mich. More than 400 people attended the service Saturday. Clark died suddenly in Afghanistan while video chatting with his wife on April 30.
Photo: The Daily Telegram, David Panian / AP
ADDISON, Mich. (AP) — More than 400 people attended a Michigan memorial service Saturday for a U.S. Army nurse who died suddenly in Afghanistan while video chatting with his wife.
Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark's family and friends gathered in the Addison Middle School gym and shared memories of the 43-year-old. They described him as a devoted husband and father, and as a loyal friend who dedicated his life to public service.
The Daily Telegram in Adrian reported (http://bit.ly/KC818k ) the service started with a silent tribute from uniformed fire department and military veterans. They paused at a display in Clark's honor as they marched in.
Clark was a native of Addison and former member of the Addison Fire Department.
read more here
original story
Wife watches husband die in Afghanistan
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Don't let congress forget about women like me.
Don't let congress forget about women like me.
by Chaplain Kathie
I wanted to put it all behind me because I have a different life now. I have a wonderful husband now and we got married in 1984. Hard to believe that just over a year before I met this husband, I was almost killed by my first husband. Yes, he tried to kill me one night when he got home from work. I don't know if he was high on something or what happened, but all of a sudden during a small argument, he snapped and punched me in the face. A second later, I was fighting for my life. Our landlady called the police. He was arrested. I did what I was supposed to do afterwards. I filed charges, got a restraining order and packed his stuff up. I knew a great lawyer and he filed the divorce papers the next day.
A few days later, I was able to go back to work when the swelling went down. I didn't want to answer any questions from coworkers. He showed up and I went into a full panic. I called the police but he had left by then. They told me there was nothing they could do unless he was still there.
I kept doing what I was supposed to do. I called the police when he showed up. Went to court every time he broke the restraining order and ended up losing my job. They said it was because I was taking so much time off but the truth was, they didn't want any trouble.
He stalked me after that because I moved back home with my parents. I stopped calling the police because it didn't do any good.
One night I was out with friends on a blind date. We were at a club and I was sitting there talking to this poor guy when my ex-husband walked over and threatened him. We walked out, he followed us and I told the other guy to just go. He didn't. My ex-husband came after me. I picked up a 2x4 and swung. That, I thought ended his notion that he could do whatever he wanted. I was wrong again.
He followed me, ran my car off the road. I called his Mom and told her that if she didn't want to see him in jail she had better get him to leave me alone.
We got divorced and I thought it was over until I got engaged. He had been following me all that time.
Domestic violence is not always what you read in the paper. It happens in secret but the suffering is the same. It stays with you. Every time I heard a muscle car, it all came back and I had to look out the window to see if it was him or not. That stopped a couple of years ago when my cousin read in the newspaper he passed away. The crazy thing is, I moved down to Florida and still got upset when I heard a car like his.
Most of you know my story after I married Jack. We've been together for thirty years, so take some hope in that if domestic violence is happening to you. They want you to think no one will love you and you don't deserve to be happy. What I'm telling you is you don't deserve to be treated the way you are. Don't give them another chance to hurt you more and don't tell me it isn't as easy as it sounds because I already did it. It was hard but I was worth fighting for!
Think about that when you watch this video report. Know what I've done with my life since those horrible years of abuse from someone that was supposed to love me. He tried to destroy me and in a way, he came close to doing it. How many other women does this have to happen to before it is treated like a crime? If any member of congress is against protecting women like me either they don't know what is going on or they agree with it. Either way, they don't deserve to be representing women at all!
by Chaplain Kathie
I wanted to put it all behind me because I have a different life now. I have a wonderful husband now and we got married in 1984. Hard to believe that just over a year before I met this husband, I was almost killed by my first husband. Yes, he tried to kill me one night when he got home from work. I don't know if he was high on something or what happened, but all of a sudden during a small argument, he snapped and punched me in the face. A second later, I was fighting for my life. Our landlady called the police. He was arrested. I did what I was supposed to do afterwards. I filed charges, got a restraining order and packed his stuff up. I knew a great lawyer and he filed the divorce papers the next day.
A few days later, I was able to go back to work when the swelling went down. I didn't want to answer any questions from coworkers. He showed up and I went into a full panic. I called the police but he had left by then. They told me there was nothing they could do unless he was still there.
I kept doing what I was supposed to do. I called the police when he showed up. Went to court every time he broke the restraining order and ended up losing my job. They said it was because I was taking so much time off but the truth was, they didn't want any trouble.
He stalked me after that because I moved back home with my parents. I stopped calling the police because it didn't do any good.
One night I was out with friends on a blind date. We were at a club and I was sitting there talking to this poor guy when my ex-husband walked over and threatened him. We walked out, he followed us and I told the other guy to just go. He didn't. My ex-husband came after me. I picked up a 2x4 and swung. That, I thought ended his notion that he could do whatever he wanted. I was wrong again.
He followed me, ran my car off the road. I called his Mom and told her that if she didn't want to see him in jail she had better get him to leave me alone.
We got divorced and I thought it was over until I got engaged. He had been following me all that time.
Domestic violence is not always what you read in the paper. It happens in secret but the suffering is the same. It stays with you. Every time I heard a muscle car, it all came back and I had to look out the window to see if it was him or not. That stopped a couple of years ago when my cousin read in the newspaper he passed away. The crazy thing is, I moved down to Florida and still got upset when I heard a car like his.
Most of you know my story after I married Jack. We've been together for thirty years, so take some hope in that if domestic violence is happening to you. They want you to think no one will love you and you don't deserve to be happy. What I'm telling you is you don't deserve to be treated the way you are. Don't give them another chance to hurt you more and don't tell me it isn't as easy as it sounds because I already did it. It was hard but I was worth fighting for!
Think about that when you watch this video report. Know what I've done with my life since those horrible years of abuse from someone that was supposed to love me. He tried to destroy me and in a way, he came close to doing it. How many other women does this have to happen to before it is treated like a crime? If any member of congress is against protecting women like me either they don't know what is going on or they agree with it. Either way, they don't deserve to be representing women at all!
Violence Against Women Act in jeopardy
May 18, 2012 4:56 PM
The Violence Against Women Act has provided funding to help women who have been victims of abuse, and to go after their abusers. Nancy Cordes reports an impasse in Congress has the act's future in jeopardy.
Bikers ride 101 miles to benefit 101st Airborne Association
Red, white, blue and chrome
Bikers ride 101 miles to benefit 101st Airborne Association
7:22 PM, May. 19, 2012
Written by
Philip Grey
Leaf-Chronicle
HOPKINSVILLE, KY. — Riders representing Rolling Thunder, The Patriot Guard, Crusaders Set Free Church and other organizations made a 101-mile Freedom Ride from Evansville, Ind., to Western Kentucky Veterans Cemetery on Armed Forces Day. The purpose was to raise money on behalf of the 101st Airborne Division Association and its soldier support programs.
The National Armed Forces Freedom Rides take place in 32 states, with each state organization using proceeds to benefit different military charities. The organizer of Saturday’s event, Rodney Bond, said that the Indiana and Kentucky Freedom Ride organizations chose the 101st Airborne Division Association, which over the years has given out over one million dollars in scholarships, grants, programs and help for individual soldiers in need, according to Association Executive Secretary Wayne St. Louis.
read more here
Bikers ride 101 miles to benefit 101st Airborne Association
7:22 PM, May. 19, 2012
Written by
Philip Grey
Leaf-Chronicle
HOPKINSVILLE, KY. — Riders representing Rolling Thunder, The Patriot Guard, Crusaders Set Free Church and other organizations made a 101-mile Freedom Ride from Evansville, Ind., to Western Kentucky Veterans Cemetery on Armed Forces Day. The purpose was to raise money on behalf of the 101st Airborne Division Association and its soldier support programs.
The National Armed Forces Freedom Rides take place in 32 states, with each state organization using proceeds to benefit different military charities. The organizer of Saturday’s event, Rodney Bond, said that the Indiana and Kentucky Freedom Ride organizations chose the 101st Airborne Division Association, which over the years has given out over one million dollars in scholarships, grants, programs and help for individual soldiers in need, according to Association Executive Secretary Wayne St. Louis.
read more here
Patriot Guard's Ride to Remember honors fallen soldiers
Patriot Guard's Ride to Remember honors fallen soldiers
Continues today through Southern Indiana
By Jared Council
Posted May 19, 2012
EVANSVILLE — As the engines of some 33 motorcycles revved early Saturday on the parking lot of Atlas Van Lines, Southwest Indiana Patriot Guard Rider Pete Smith looked back at his comrades and said, "Let's go."
With fallen American military men and women in mind, local Riders have been revving and going for the past five years. Saturday's ride continued the tradition of their "Ride to Remember: Never Forget."
"We made a promise that we would never forget," Senior Ride Captain Rick Williams told the crowd of about 50 riders before event, "and this is just a continuation and fulfillment of our promise."
Saturday was the first day of the two-day annual ride. American flags fluttered from the motorcycles or accompanying cars, as the riders trekked to cemeteries from Evansville to Poseyville to honor eight soldiers.
read more here
Continues today through Southern Indiana
By Jared Council
Posted May 19, 2012
EVANSVILLE — As the engines of some 33 motorcycles revved early Saturday on the parking lot of Atlas Van Lines, Southwest Indiana Patriot Guard Rider Pete Smith looked back at his comrades and said, "Let's go."
With fallen American military men and women in mind, local Riders have been revving and going for the past five years. Saturday's ride continued the tradition of their "Ride to Remember: Never Forget."
"We made a promise that we would never forget," Senior Ride Captain Rick Williams told the crowd of about 50 riders before event, "and this is just a continuation and fulfillment of our promise."
Saturday was the first day of the two-day annual ride. American flags fluttered from the motorcycles or accompanying cars, as the riders trekked to cemeteries from Evansville to Poseyville to honor eight soldiers.
read more here
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