Soldier Who Lost Family In Crash Busted For High Speed Motorcycle Chases

Soldier Who Lost Family In Crash Busted For High Speed Chases
WIBW.com
By: Lindsey Rogers
Jul 25, 2013

GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) -- Nearly a year after losing his wife and children in a head-on collision, a Fort Riley soldier has been arrested in connection with several dangerous high speed motorcycle chases.

Bryan Alfred, 22, of Junction City, was the only member of his family who survived an accident last August in Marion County. He was arrested Wednesday, July 24, 2013 in connection with a series of pursuits by members of local and state law enforcement agencies in Geary County.

Alfred was taken into custody at the Fort Riley Provost Marshall’s Office on a Geary County District Court warrant charging him with Fleeing and Eluding While Engaging in Reckless Driving, and another count of Reckless Driving.

His wife, 20-year-old Amber Alfred, was killed in the crash along with the couple’s 2-year-old son, Josiah Alfred. Sources say Amber Alfred was also a Fort Riley soldier who worked as an x-ray technician at Irwin Army Community Hospital on post.

Another child, six-year-old Keith Johnson, who police also identified as the couple’s son (Bryan Alfred's stepson), was airlifted to Saint Francis Hospital in Wichita and was listed in critical condition in the days following the accident. He passed away from his injuries six days after the crash on August 16th, 2012.
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Project Aims To Help Veterans Heal, Tell Their Story

Project Aims To Help Veterans Heal, Tell Their Story
ABC News 36
Reported by: Amanda Stevenson
July 23, 2013

Many who live through war never stop fighting. Wars aren't just fought on battlefields--they're fought in offices and homes.

They're fought in the minds of veterans.

"Surprising, you think eventually it goes away...but it doesn't," said Gerald Belcher, a veteran army sergeant. He fought in Vietnam--he said he was shot five times, and stabbed once with a bayonet.

He also has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

"Years don't make it go away," he said.

A project in Lexington is aimed to help with it--'A Veteran's Legacy Journal.' It's a journal with prompts and pictures in it, all aimed at allowing veterans to write memories on lines away from the front lines.

"The journal is designed for a veteran to put their story in their own words," said Jay McChord, who created and authored the book. He said, "It actually helps accomplish on both sides of the equation. One is we could give a place--a safe place--to capture the story. And at the same time, it's a healing agent."

Inside the book is a picture of The Vietnam War's Belcher.

Outside of it is a man healing day by day.

"I noticed the more I wrote, the more it seemed to come out of me onto the piece of paper. Which...what I mean by that is it was a healing process," said the veteran.

Between 18 and 22 veterans die every day in the United States by suicide, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Veteran's PTSD service dog missing, cops called in against him?

Sign ban hampers search
WWLP.com
Elisa Hahn
Thursday, 25 Jul 2013

MARYSVILLE, Wash. (KING) - A Marysville man who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder says his service dog, Nanna, is missing. When police contacted him, he hoped for good news. Instead he was threatened with a citation, a fine, and possible jail time.

Shawn Slater, 34, took a number of medications for his anxiety and seizures until he got Nanna. The 3-year-old Rottweiler is a certified medical alert and therapy dog.

"With Nanna, I didn't take any medication at all," said Slater. "I was two years clean off all those drugs. I didn't have problems. I didn't even have to take her everywhere I went. I'm finally employed again."

But just before the 4th of July, fireworks in the neighborhood frightened the dog. She forced her way through a hole in the fence and escaped. Even worse, she ripped off her dog tags in the process.
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Vietnam vet recalls life as Combat Tracker

Air Cav Vietnam vet recalls life as Combat Tracker
Fort Hood Sentinel
By Sgt. Christopher Calvert
1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
JULY 25, 2013

Growing up with World War II veterans as close friends and a Battle of Manila hero as a father, John Dupla had little doubt what he wanted to do when he grew up. It was his turn to give back as a Soldier like those who sacrificed so much before him.

Surrounded by a rich military history, Dupla said hearing war stories of the past from friends and family inclined him to volunteer for enlistment in 1966, despite the ongoing Vietnam War.

“I grew up influenced by men who parachuted into Normandy with the 101st Airborne,” Dupla said. “Hearing of their valor, as well as of my dad’s in the Philippines as an (Military Police), really made me feel like it was my turn to serve. They had done their share, and it was just natural for me to do mine.”

Upon graduating initial entry training and the U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. as an airborne infantryman, Dupla was immediately deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 9th Cavalry Regiment.

No sooner than Dupla hit the ground, he was given the opportunity to volunteer for a new and upcoming program that was being developed and about which he knew little.
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Families want names added to Vietnam Memorial Wall

Listing on Vietnam Wall sought for troops killed in 1962 plane crash
Stars and Stripes
By Matthew M. Burke
Published: July 24, 2013

Before departing for Vietnam 51 years ago, Army Sgt. 1st Class Raymond “Bill” Myers left behind his ID, dog tags and a gold ring he had never taken off before. He told his brother-in-law that he had a bad feeling about the mission and didn’t think he would be coming home. He asked him to watch over his wife and children after he was gone.

Myers then boarded a military-chartered Flying Tiger Airline Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft at Travis Air Force Base in California. After several stops, the plane disappeared over the Pacific and the 93 American soldiers, three South Vietnamese military men and 11 crewmembers onboard were never heard from again. They were declared dead less than two months later.

Myers’ son, Tommy Joe — like the families of the other lost Americans — has no answers about his father’s fate. Adding to that pain is how his father and the others have been forgotten. Their names are not on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and no government agencies — Army, Air Force, Defense Department, National Archives, State Department, CIA — admit to possessing records related to the soldiers and their mission. None could provide Stars and Stripes with a list of the deceased, although they are mentioned in a Civil Aeronautics Board crash report from 1962.
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Vietnam Veteran shot by police had six bullets hit his back

Man’s family charges ‘overkill’ in cop shooting
ABQ Journal
By Patrick Lohmann
Journal Staff Writer
Jul 25, 2013

Man brandishing large knives suffered nine gunshot wounds

A 66-year-old man shot and killed by Albuquerque police earlier this month suffered nine gunshot wounds, with as many as six of the bullets going through the back of his body, according to the autopsy report provided by his family.

The number and location of gunshot wounds that medical investigators found in Vincent Wood’s body have prompted the Vietnam veteran’s family to accuse the police of “overkill,” and they wonder why officers didn’t wait just a little while longer for the arrival of an officer trained in de-escalation techniques.

Wood, who his family said was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, was shot July 5 by two Albuquerque Police Department officers while brandishing two large knives at them in a gas station parking lot in the Northeast part of the city.

“It’s a lot worse than I could have imagined,” said Michael Allen, Wood’s half brother, about reading the autopsy report. “To me, it sounds like overkill.”

The autopsy report, which was completed July 18 by the state Office of the Medical Investigator and will likely be released publicly today, details the nine gunshot wounds that Wood suffered when he was killed at the parking lot.

Woods suffered gunshot wounds to his upper right chest, lower left chest, left stomach, penis, lower back, left buttock and upper left arm, in addition to two to his left forearm.

Six of the bullets’ trajectories are listed as “back to front,” according to the autopsy report. Those include the wounds to his lower left chest, lower back, buttock and the arm wounds.
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Father of Orlando police officer who was shot speaks out

Father of Orlando police officer who was shot speaks out
Click Orlando.com
Author: Evan Lambert, Reporter
Published On: Jul 24 2013

ORLANDO, Fla.
As the father of a police officer, Michael Hajek says he always expects an untimely knock at the door with bad news, but hopes it never comes. Tuesday it did.

"As a parent, spouse, family member of a law enforcement member you know what that call means," Michael Hajek said.

His 24-year-old son Jason Hajek, who had just recently completed his rookie training in the Orlando Police Department, had been shot during a routine traffic stop. Police say the bullet, rattled off by 23-year-old Demetrius Patterson, struck just below his vest--piercing his bladder and exiting through his hip.
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Camp Pendleton Marine sets powerlifting world records

Lexington Marine sets powerlifting world records
DVIDS
1st Marine Division
Story by Cpl. Robert Reeves
July 24, 2013

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Marines know the benefit of a solid physical fitness program.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Reep, the assault chief for Division Schools, 1st Marine Division, adjusts the bar on a weightlifting bench at the Camp Margarita gym here, July 17, 2013. Reep, a native of Lexington, S.C., currently holds the world record for bench press in his weight class

Staff Sgt. Matthew Reep, the assault chief of Division Schools, 1st Marine Division, knows he has the capabilities to go further than most with determination, drive and humility. He set world records in a powerlifting competition in Las Vegas, July 12 through 14.

Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three lifting attempts at the most weight an athlete can manage in bench press, deadlifting and squatting. Currently, the records for a 165-pound person are set by Reep at 391 pounds on the bench press and 556 pounds on the deadlift. He also set the world record for combined weight of bench press, deadlift and squats at 1,396 pounds.
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Marine with PTSD "escaped Naval hospital" beginning chain of events

Navy Hospital Sued for Bizarre Accident
Courthouse News Service
By DAN MCCUE
July 25, 2013

BEAUFORT, S.C. (CN) - A U.S. Naval Hospital in South Carolina allowed a Marine with post-traumatic stress disorder to escape, get naked and steal a city fire engine, with which he seriously injured another driver, the hurt man claims in court.

Plaintiff Jonas Armstrong claims that Kalvin Hunt, the former Marine corporal who caused the accident, was drummed out of the service in April 2011 after a court-martial in which he was found guilty of assault, communicating a threat, resisting arrest, and other charges.

Armstrong sued Case Pro Inc.; the U.S. Naval Hospital in Beaufort, S.C.; the United States, and the South Carolina Division of Veterans Affairs, in Federal Court. Kalvin Hunt is not a defendant.

According to the lawsuit, on Feb. 24, 2012, Hunt's grandmother called Beaufort County Veterans Affairs Officer Edward Ray to report that her grandson was acting erratically and making threats.

"As the Veterans Affairs officer in Beaufort, Edward Ray was familiar with Kalvin Hunt's disability, prior history of threats and conditions, and based on this information of renewed threats, arranged to meet his grandmother and Kalvin Hunt to evaluate his condition and determine the level of hospitalization required," Armstrong says in the lawsuit.
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Here is more of the story

Motorist struck by stolen fire truck sues Beaufort, Port Royal
Beaufort Gazette
By PATRICK DONOHUE
Published: May 26, 2012

A Beaufort resident injured in a crash in February with a stolen Port Royal firetruck is suing the city and the town of Port Royal, alleging firefighters acted improperly when they left the truck running and unattended while responding to a medical call.

An attorney for Beaufort, however, says responsibility for the wreck ultimately lies with officials at Naval Hospital Beaufort for allowing Kalvin Hunt, a Marine accused of stealing the truck, to flee from the facility.

Jonas Armstrong of Beaufort filed a lawsuit in March against Beaufort, Port Royal, the Beaufort fire department and Hunt. Armstrong's leg was badly injured and his 1998 Dodge SUV was totaled when it was hit Feb. 24 by the firetruck as Hunt made an illegal U-turn on Ribaut Road, the filing said.

Hunt struck six vehicles and killed a pedestrian after stealing the truck from firefighters working at Laurel Bay apartments, according to authorities.
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Camp Lejeune videographer receives MOH Vietnam Combat Photographer William T. Perkins, Jr.

Lejeune videographer to receive coveted award
JD News
By THOMAS BRENNAN
Published: Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Albert Carls was told he had won a coveted award before anyone mentioned he was even nominated.

“I’m still in awe about winning,” said Carls, a 31-year old Marine sergeant from Sacramento, Calif. “It really hasn’t hit me yet.”

Carls will receive the Cpl. William T. Perkins award today on July 24at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for his video-journalism work done in Afghanistan from April to May of 2012. His video, Going Forward in Helmand, featured Marines from 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, conducting combat operations during Operation Enduring Freedom.

The award is in memory of the corporal who jumped on top of an enemy grenade during Vietnam and became the only combat photographer to ever be awarded the Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest award for valor.
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Cpl William T Perkins, Jr

WILLIAM T. PERKINS, JR., USMC (DECEASED)

Medal of Honor Citation

William T. Perkins, Jr., who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam in 1967, was born 10 August 1947 in Rochester, New York. In elementary school he moved with his family to California and graduated from James Monroe High School, Sepulveda, California, in 1965.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve 27 April 1966 and was discharged to enlist in the Regular Marine Corps 6 July 1966.

Upon completion of recruit training with the 2d Recruit Training Battalion Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California, he was promoted to private first class 22 September 1966. Transferred to the Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California, he underwent individual combat training with the 3d Battalion, 2d Infantry Training Regiment.

From October 1966 to January 1967, he served as a photographer with Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Supply Center, Barstow, California. He was promoted to lance corporal 1 January 1967. For the next four months, LCpl Perkins was a student at the Motion Picture Photography, U.S. Army Signal Center and School, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. In May 1967, he was transferred back to Headquarters Battalion, Barstow, California.

In July 1967, LCpl Perkins served as a photographer with Service Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3d Marine Division and was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam. He was promoted to corporal 1 August 1967. While serving as a combat photographer with Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division during Operation Medina, he was killed in action on 12 October 1967.

A complete list of his medals and decorations include: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze star, the Vietnamese Military Merit Medal, the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.