Veterans outraged by cases of Stolen Valor Vietnam faker

Veterans outraged by cases of Stolen Valor
WOIA News
Reported by: Jaie Avila

SAN ANTONIO - Military veterans call it an outrage that dishonors them and those who died in battle. A kind of deception that's rampant across the country and on the internet: imposters falsely claiming medals and accolades they didn't really earn. News 4 Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila joined forces with a network of internet detectives to uncover cases of stolen valor.

Fernando Herrera is one of the most decorated veterans in San Antonio. Among the medals he received during Vietnam: the Distinguished Service Cross and four bronze stars for rescuing fellow soldiers during a fire fight. Plus, a purple heart for shrapnel wounds he received in battle. A local park was even named after him.

The Fake Warrior project worked with us on the case of this former marine from Pearsall, Albert Bustamante. Pictures show him wearing the bronze star ribbon along with other insignias and badges from the Vietnam War.

The problem is, Bustamante's military record shows him not joining the marines until 1976, after the Vietnam War ended. It doesn't list the medals and citations seen in the pictures.

We tracked down Bustamante at his home in Pearsall, where even his pickup truck is adorned with a Vietnam ribbon.
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Marines Have Six Four-Stars — But Not for Long

Marines Have Six Four-Stars — But Not for Long
Washington Wire
by Julian E. Barnes
April 29, 2013

With its emphasis on its enlisted troops and its creed that every Marine is a rifleman, the Marine Corps is the military service that keeps the smallest ratio of brass to troops. But for a brief moment —actually only until Wednesday—there are, for the first time, six four-star generals in the Corps.

Earlier this month [April 19], the officers gathered at the Home of the Commandants at the Marine Barracks Washington, the only time six active-duty four star generals have gathered together, according to the service. Except for a handful of five-star admirals and generals in American history, four-stars is the highest attainable rank in the military. And for the Marines it is unusual to have four or five, much less six.

The Corps thinks of the gathering as historic. But for the generals, the April get-together was simply a reunion of a group of men who have worked with each other and off for four decades.
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Military Sexual Assaults Cost More Than $872 Million

Military Sexual Assaults Cost More Than $872 Million
By DAVID FRANCIS
The Fiscal Times
April 30, 2013

The Veterans Affairs department spent almost $872 million in 2010 to deal with the health impacts of sexual assaults on former military personnel.

This figure is based on the $10,880 dollars the Veterans Administration spends to treat each sexual assault victim after he or she leaves the service. The $872 million does not include costs for victims still in the military.

In 2011, the last year that information on sexual assaults is available, 3,192 cases were reported to Pentagon brass. Former defense secretary Leon Panetta estimated nearly 20,000 occur each year within the military. According to a 2011 military health survey, one in five soldiers said they had been touched inappropriately since joining.

It’s not clear how much the Pentagon spends dealing with these attacks. But because of the nature of how the military deals with sexual assault allegations, it’s likely that it costs the Pentagon tens of millions of dollars.
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Afghanistan Cargo Plane Crash Kills 7 Crew Members With Florida Ties

Afghanistan Cargo Plane Crash Kills 7 Crew Members
Reuters
Posted: 04/29/2013

KABUL, April 29 (Reuters) - Seven crew members of a U.S.-run cargo plane were killed on Monday when their plane crashed shortly after take off from Bagram air base near the Afghan capital Kabul, the cargo operator told Reuters.

The Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility for the crash, but NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said there were no reports of insurgent activity in or around the base, which is one of the largest in the country and located about 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul.

"We did lose all seven crew members," a spokeswoman for National Air Cargo told Reuters by telephone from Florida, where the company is located. The nationalities of the crew members were not immediately clear.
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Fort Campbell Soldier completes Air Assault School after becoming an amputee

Army amputee completes air assault school
KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press (AP)
Posted April 29, 2013

Sgt. First Class Greg Robinson, 34, of 101st Airborne Division, stands with his 4-year-old daughter, Drew, on Monday, April 29, 2013, at Fort Campbell, Ky., after graduating from air assault school. He lost a lower portion of his right leg in Afghanistan in 2006 and is the first amputee to graduate from the grueling Sabalauski Air Assault School. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Thousands of soldiers are physically and mentally tested every year at the Army's air assault school at Fort Campbell, but Sgt. 1st Class Greg Robinson is the first amputee to complete the grueling 10-day course.
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Teen to raise money for wounded warriors mow lawns

Teen to raise money for wounded warriors
By THOMAS BRENNAN
Daily News Staff
Published: Sunday, April 28, 2013

After tragedy hit close to home, a local teen has decided he was going to make a difference — one lawn at a time.

“My friend Nick lost his father, and then his stepdad stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost his legs,” 16-year-old Gregory Brown III said. “He mentioned he needed a zero-turn mower but couldn’t afford it.”

Brown began Greg’s Lawn and Landscape of Richlands at the age of 11. From May 1 through May 8 he will donate all proceeds to the purchase of zero-turn lawnmowers for wounded veterans. Brown cuts anywhere from five to 11 lawns per week but is hoping to cut upwards of 30 per day during the first week of May.

“Many things are overlooked when it comes to wounded warriors,” Brown said. “Their houses and car are retrofitted but other areas of their lives need to be adapted too. Things like mowers are a necessity for them also, not just houses and cars. Things like this truly help them out with their independence.”
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Two Marines start foundation after 6 friends committed suicide

Local Marines take on a new battle: suicide among veterans
Posted: Apr 25, 2013
by Connie Tran
KSBY News

Two local Marines are taking on a new battle, that is, against suicide.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs says someone can suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after going through a traumatic event like combat, assault, or a disaster.

Veterans Matt Reid and Daniel Pitocco said PTSD is one of the leading factors of high suicide rates among veterans and something needs to be done.

The two, who live in Morro Bay, said after serving multiple tours overseas, coming home wasn't as easy as they'd hoped.

"It's feelings of isolation. You come back and you bottle things up," said Pitocco.

He and Reid said they've lost six comrades, but not from war as one might expect, rather something perhaps much deeper and darker.
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VA West Los Angeles Medical Center evacuated due to a possible grenade

UPDATE
Inert grenade causes scare at LA VA hospital
Published: April 29, 2013
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Authorities say an object that appeared to be a grenade caused a partial evacuation of the Veterans Affairs hospital in West Los Angeles before experts confirmed it wasn't live.

Bomb technicians from the FBI and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went to the hospital around 7 a.m. Monday after a 66-year-old man handed over the object. The man said he found it in a bathroom.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says it was reported to be a practice grenade.
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VA Hospital ER Evacuated Over Possible Grenade
1 hour ago
by Kellan Connor
Web Producer

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — The emergency room at the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center has been evacuated due to a possible grenade.

The facility is located in the 11000 block of Wilshire Boulevard.

Authorities say that, around 8 a.m., an employee reported the discovery of what’s believed to be a hand grenade in the bathroom.
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Homeless veterans legislation aims to get veterans off the streets

When the government does something wrong, I always point it out so when they do something right, it is only fair to praise them. Take a look at what the numbers were in 2002 and you'll know the VA and congress have gotten this right.

Homeless Veterans
April 25, 2013

The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today proposed legislation to help the Department of Veterans Affairs meet its goal to eliminate veteran homelessness by 2015. The Homeless Veterans Prevention Act of 2013 is sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Richard Burr (R-N.C.). While there has been a 17 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans since 2009, there still were more than 62,000 homeless veterans as of the latest count by the VA. “We must continue to invest in the progress that has been made and remove any remaining barriers to housing for veterans,” Sanders said.

“Our veterans served our country with honor and they should not be forgotten when they return home,” Burr said. “Helping homeless veterans get off the street and back on their feet is our obligation, and this legislation is an important step in that direction.” John Driscoll, president and CEO of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, welcomed what he called “the most comprehensive and well-resourced homeless veterans assistance bill ever introduced in Congress.” Driscoll said the bill “provides the support necessary to ensure our nation’s plan to end veteran homelessness succeeds.”
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This is how many were homeless in 2002 when I wrote FOR THE LOVE OF JACK, HIS WAR/MY BATTLE

We ask so much of those who serve this nation and we need to start asking where will we be when they are warriors no more?

FROM THE NATIONAL COALITION OF HOMELESS VETERANS
NATIONAL COALITION FOR HOMELESS VETERANS
STATE FUNDED HOMELESS BEDS
HOMELESS VETERANS

AK 7
350

AL 27
5,275

AR 80
4,389

AZ 219
6,190

CA 2,713
49,250

CO 72
3,457

CT 137
2,900

DC 175
9,403

DE 15
600

FL 492
19,231

GA 81
9,852

HI 118
3,000

IA 17
1,600

ID 10
400

IL 158
19,943

IN 138
1,600

KS 27
1,259

KY 153
2,100

LA 186
4,620

MA 477
2,700

MD 126
2,800

ME 3
1,000

MI 69
5,171

MN 42
1,961

MO 96
13,549

MS 40
1,400

MT 17
320

NC 247
6,805

ND 48
1,100

NE 12
560

NH 72
437

NJ 193
8,300

NM 26
3,600

NV 219
5,500

NY 354
44,700

OH 258
9,697

OK 42
1,750

OR 143
8,450

PA 206
10,166

RI 23
400

SC 50
3,850

SD 16
430

TN 230
2,972

TX 256
19,640

UT 114
575

VA 98
2,450

VT 10
1,200

WA 167
6,850

WI 209
1,132

WV 52
531

WY 31
1,175

PR 0
50

total 8771
316,640

These are men and women just like Jack so when you read our story remember how many of them got to be where they are today. Some do not have PTSD who end up homeless. Most do have it.

The truth is, most of these veterans were Vietnam Veterans.

Justice for Fort Hood Victims

Justice for Fort Hood Victims Apr 18, 2013
Congressman Rooney (FL-17) argues that the decision by the Obama Administration to classify the attacks at Fort Hood as "workplace violence," rather than terrorism, wrongly denies the victims of the attack the Purple Heart and appropriate benefits. During this hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder, held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science and Justice, Rooney questions the involvement of the Department of Justice in the Administration's decision.