Larry Burrows haunting pictures of Vietnam heal the souls

After growing up surrounded by veterans meeting the man I would spend the rest of my life with didn't seem that odd at first. My Dad was a Korean War veteran and all of my uncles were WWII veterans. I didn't know how much different it would be with Jack. I had no clue what my Dad was talking about when he said "He's a nice guy but he's got shell shock." My Dad tried to explain it as well as he could but I had to learn more.

That was in 1982. No internet to search on, I headed to the library every chance I had. Jack sure wasn't ready to talk about it and tell me what happened. It wasn't the words so much as it was all about the pictures. They pulled me in and grabbed ahold of my heart almost as Jack did.

Most of the ones I saw were taken by Larry Burrows, but I didn't know anything about him. All I knew, all I had to know was those pictures were a part of Jack's life and eventually would become part of mine.

Larry Burrows' Vietnam Photos Still Haunt Us 47 Years Later
Huffington Post
Posted: 11/01/2013

Wounded Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie (center, with bandaged head) reaches toward a stricken comrade after a fierce firefight south of the DMZ, Vietnam, October 1966.
(Larry Burrows—Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images)

In October of 1966, the Vietnam War had already been raging for nearly 11 years. Thousands of troops were still fighting, and in their midst a courageous photographer risked and ultimately lost his life documenting the horrors of one of the longest wars in U.S. history. As LIFE magazine wrote of Larry Burrows in a 1971 issue:

He had been through so much, always coming out magically unscathed, that a myth of invulnerability grew up about him. Friends came to believe he was protected by some invisible armor. But I don’t think he believed that himself. Whenever he went in harm’s way he knew, precisely, what the dangers were and how vulnerable he was.

Burrows had died that same year when his helicopter was shot down over Laos, together with three other photographers. Their tragic deaths are a harrowing reminder of the acute danger war correspondents face in doing their jobs, and of the endless dangers that armed forces and civilians face in the midst of violence.

For those left at home, there is little that conveys the horrors of war as thoroughly as photographs such as Burrows'.
read more here

When you look at the picture of the Marines, what do you see? You see the body wounded but do you see the emotional connection between the wounded Marine and his friend on the ground? Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie didn't care about his own wounds. Someone he cared about was wounded too. That is the way they were and still are.

All these years later you can still see it in their eyes. Spending most of my free time with veterans I see it all the time. They are connected, bonded beyond what any single word could ever come close to expressing. It goes beyond love. They were all willing to die for each other.

A lot of veterans ask me "where was God" when all that was going on and I'll point out some of the pictures like this one. I tell them "He was right there." When they could find that depth of compassion for someone else in the midst of hell, God was there. When they could reach out their arm to comfort, shed a tear, offer a prayer or kneel by the side of their "brother" God was there.

Look at these pictures and know that depth of love is what gave them the courage to do what they had to do. They did it for each other.

These pictures have done more than record history. They have recorded what they all needed to be reminded of. Why they risked their lives was for the sake of someone else and that kind of unselfish love few others know. These pictures heal the soul more than any words I could ever say.

Larry Burrows and the other photographers did not know how healing their pictures would be so many years later.

Ocala veteran recalls World War II

Local veteran recalls World War II
Ocala Star Banner
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Saturday, November 2, 2013

While Ray Baker moved from England across France in the days following D-Day on June 6, 1944, his family back home thought he was lost in action.

"Our barracks were bombed and we had a good number of casualties. My family heard of the attack and thought I was put down. I couldn't contact them," said Baker, who lives with his wife, Jean, in western Marion County.

Although injured and hospitalized with a perforated ear drum, for which he received his first Purple Heart, Baker survived the bombing and rejoined the Allied drive across Europe two days after D-Day.

Baker was injured again while driving a weapons carrier near the front lines in France. The vehicle hit a land mine and threw him over the open top. He lost many of his front upper teeth. He received a second Purple Heart for those injuries.

Baker's son, Steve Dixon, 64, said the account of that explosion was the only episode "dad ever told me about the war."

Dixon himself received the Purple Heart Award during the Vietnam War.
read more here

Five Veterans Administration Officials Left After Orlando VA Conference Waste

Five VA officials left amid conference fallout
Federal Times
By SEAN REILLY
Nov. 3, 2013

An investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Republican staff reveals that five Veterans Affairs Department officials who were recommended for disciplinary action last year over a high-profile conference scandal have all since left the department.

The scandal concerned two training conferences held in Orlando, Fla., in 2011 that cost an estimated $6.1 million. The two events served about 1,800 VA human resource employees. And while they fulfilled valid training needs, there were about $762,000 in unauthorized, unneeded or wasteful expenses, according to an audit last fall by the VA inspector general’s office.

read more here

Warrior without a war faces challenges at home

Warrior without a war faces challenges at home
USA Today
Gregg Zoroya
November 3, 2013

Mike Compton is one of America's most elite warriors. The problem is, he no longer has a war to fight. He is among an estimated 1.2 million service members who will begin transitioning out of the military in the next four years as combat ends and the military is downsized.

CAMP LEJEUNE N.C. -- Mike Compton is one of America's elite warriors, except he no longer has a war.

"It feels great," he says, "almost like a drug you don't want to give up."

"Home for me was Afghanistan in the middle of a firefight," says the 29-year-old married father of two, echoing sentiments of other special "operators" who achieved a hard-earned place at the tip of America's fighting spear.

With American combat over in Iraq and U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan next year, surveys show a war-weary public eager for 12 years of fighting to go away.

But for a core group in uniform who spent their adult lives in endless cycles of training and battle, who -- military psychiatrists say -- are now better adapted emotionally to combat than being at home, re-adjustment to a life of peace will be challenging.

They are among an estimated 1.2 million service members who will begin transitioning out of the military in the next four years as combat ends and the military is downsized.

"It's almost like an existential crisis," says Delight Thompson, a neuropsychologist who treats members of the Marine Special Operations Command here. The unit is where Compton earned respect in 2009 for going back into battle even after suffering a brain-jarring head wound from gunfire in Afghanistan.

"You're having to kind of find yourself again," Thompson says about war winding down for these troops, "develop this new identity. And a key part of that is finding what your new purpose is in life."
read more here

Dozens Sleep in Cars to Support Veterans

Dozens Sleep in Cars to Support Veterans
FOX 29
By: Erin Nichols

The face of homelessness in San Antonio is changing.

Every day, young homeless veterans and their families have no place to go, but there's an area organization working to shed some light on their struggle.

The Alamo Area Mutual Housing Authority sponsored “One night, one hope” Friday night at Woodlawn Lake.

AAMHA is a nonprofit group that works to help get people back on their feet

The event asked participants to walk in someone else’s shoes and spend a night sleeping in the cars or in tents.

AAMHA Executive Director Jennifer Gonzalez says the homeless veteran population in San Antonio is on the rise, and many times the veterans stay under the radar.

Veterans, and sometimes their entire families, are sleeping in their cars at parking lots.

Gonzalez says they get 20-25 calls a day from veterans needing help.
read more here

Veterans waiting years for appeals nothing new

There is so much being reported now but those reporting the stories failed to review some basic facts. For a start, this isn't anything new. It keeps happening simply because we end up looking the other way.

Utahn waits for veteran disability claim for years
KSL Utah
By Peter Rosen
November 1st, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY — The Department of Veterans Affairs set a goal of getting rid of a backlog of disability claims older than four months. At the moment, that backlog represented more than 400,000 veterans, but Iraq War vet, Curtis Thayer, is not one of them and he's been waiting for a decision on claims for years.

In 2010, Thayer of St. George, filed claims for injuries for PTSD, hearing, back, hand and other injuries and received a relatively quick ruling. He appealed a low rating for his back. The claim for his hand injuries was denied and he appealed that as well.

Thayer said he has been waiting on the appeals for three years and expects to wait another year and a half.

There are a 250,000 appeals similar to Thayer's, and they are not considered part of the backlog of claims the VA is currently battling. Veterans who go through the entire appeals process currently wait an average of four and a half years.

Thayer admitted part of his problem is that he didn't seek help when he was first hurt. He said he has repetitive strain injuries left over from his job as a Harrier jet mechanic. At the time he noticed the pain and numbness, but he said he didn't get medical treatment.

"Because I didn't think I needed it," Thayer said. "I've always been a strong-willed person. I'll fix everything myself. I can manage my life on my own."
read more here

The fact is this was worse in 2009 with so many claims tied up that even a lawsuit filed by Veterans for Common Sense couldn't get justice for our veterans. It was bad in the early part of two wars being fought producing more disabled veterans. Bad in the early 90's when Gulf War veterans came home and had to wait and it was bad as the veterans of Vietnam came home and waited.

The ugly truth is, unless the press reminds us, we forget how bad it was and thus guarantee it happening all over again.

UDPATE

Here's something that will remind you about what has been going on.

OCTOBER 19, 2007
VA Service Reps less now than in 2003?
Between 600,000 and 800,000 claims (depending on who you believe) are trapped in a huge backlog of cases and there are less Service Reps now than before the invasion of Iraq?

Four years after the invasion of Iraq and they have less to deal with the wounded they claim are so important to them?

Six years after the invasion of Afghanistan and that occupation now producing more wounded along with more dead, and they didn't increase service reps?

Suicide rates on the rise every year and they have less service reps?

Families falling apart and they have less service reps?

Veterans come back from combat wounded, unable to work, ending up homeless and they have less service reps?

WTF are they out of their minds?

Veterans groups maintain that the backlog amounts to official negligence. Since the launch of the Iraq war more than four years ago, the number of people charged with reviewing and approving veterans' disability claims has actually dropped. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003.

Read this story and then remind yourself of what is really going on. Why are they being allowed to torture our wounded veterans?

POLITICS-US: Homeless Vets Play the Waiting Game
By Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 (IPS)

U.S. Army Specialist James Eggemeyer injured himself before he even set foot in Iraq, jumping out of a C-130 gunship during training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"I jumped out and the jumpmaster who was holding that line that was wrapped around my arm had to cut the line because I was pretty much being dragged behind the airplane," the 25-year-old Florida native told IPS as he drove a donated truck through the streets of his hometown of Port Saint Lucie, a two-hour drive north of Miami, Florida.

"I hit the side of the plane with my Kevlar," he added. "My parachute was twisted up like a cigarette roll and I hit real hard and my ankle and my knee and my back and my shoulder (got hurt). I tore my rotator cuff. I feel like a 50-year-old man."

After the incident, military doctors prescribed Eggemeyer painkillers: the opiate Vocodin, the anti-depressant Percoset, and the steroid hydrocortisone.

Then, in April 2003, they sent him to Iraq. For the next year, he drove a Humvee, running supply convoys to U.S. soldiers stationed all around the country.

His experience in Iraq was rough. His convoys were attacked twice. His worst day occurred early on, when the military truck in front of his Humvee hit a civilian vehicle. Eggemeyer says he slammed on the brakes to avoid adding his vehicle to the pile-up. Then he got out and loaded an entire family of dead Iraqis onto a U.S. helicopter, including a little girl.

After that, Eggemeyer says his condition worsened. The longer he stayed in Iraq, the worse his body felt. He also started to take more of the opiates and the steroids the military had given him. The more he took them, the more he needed to dull the pain.

But violence wasn't the only thing Eggemeyer had to deal with while deployed overseas. While Eggemeyer was in Iraq, he filed for divorce. His mother had called to tell him his wife was cheating on him with a man in a local hotel. Then Eggemeyer checked his bank account and found 7,000 dollars was missing.

So for the duration of Eggemeyer's time in Iraq, James's parents took custody of his son, Justin, who had been born just two months before his deployment.

Returning to Fort Bragg in April 2004, James was quickly discharged from the military. His experience in Iraq had changed his disposition. He started fighting with his captain, and was given "dishonourable discharge under honourable conditions", which allowed him to use services from Veterans Administration but denied him access to college tuition assistance or vocational training.

West Point Hosts First Wedding Between 2 Men At Military Academy

West Point Hosts First Wedding Between 2 Men At Military Academy
Huffington Post
11/02/13

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Two West Point graduates were married Saturday in the military academy's first wedding between two men.

Larry Choate III, class of 2009, married Daniel Lennox, class of 2007, before about 20 guests.

Choate, 27, taught Sunday school at the U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel and said he always thought of it as the place he would get married if he could.

West Point hosted two same-sex weddings of women in late 2012, more than a year after New York legalized gay marriage. But Saturday's wedding was the first time two men wed at West Point.
read more here

American Indian Association of Florida Pow Wow

Today at the Central Florida Fairgrounds it was a real treat to attend this event.

American Indian Association Pow-Wow – Fri, Sat, and Sun Nov 1-3 – Central Florida Fairgrounds at 4603 W. Colonial Dr., Orlando, 32808. This event is free for military members in uniform and has a wonderful history of thanking those who have served (as many Native Americans are veterans.)

This 27th Annual gathering of all tribes features arts and crafts, entertainment, native dancing and clothing, more. Fri 1-10pm; Sat 10am-10pm; Sun 10am – 5pm. Sunday is Girl Scout and Youth Day 10am – 1pm. Grand Entry/parade of nations: Fri 7pm; Sat 1pm and 7pm; Sun 1pm. $6 adults, $3 children and seniors. 407-474-0018


I also had a chance to speak to Roland Dempsey a local artist about his new endeavor, One Nation Art.


UPDATE

DOD Celebrates Native American Heritage Month
American Forces Press Service
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2013 – The Defense Department will celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of Native Americans and Alaska natives during November in observance of Native American Heritage Month.

November was designated such as month by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. In a joint interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel, Joe Sarcinella, DOD's senior advisor and liaison for Native American Affairs, discussed the department's efforts to recognize Native Americans and their contributions to the country dating back to Revolutionary War.

“DOD is really committed to celebrating all sorts of diversity -- race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,” Sarcinella said. “I really feel that they’re leading the charge and November just happens to be that time of the year when we can focus on Native Americans.”

In addition to his senior advisor duties, Sarcinella manages the Native American Lands and Environment Mitigation program, which deals with cleanup of DOD activities on tribal lands and other treaty lands.

“I’m also the lead trainer,” he said. “I’m in charge of managing American Indian Cultural Communication Course and the Native Hawaiian Cultural Communication Course as well where I go … instruct DOD personnel … as how to consult with indigenous people.”

Sarcinella said he also leads outreach for tribal people. “I interface with all of the federal departments and agencies on interagency collaboration and working with Native American governments.”

Native American Heritage Month “is an opportunity for the department to recognize that contribution and the rich cultures that there are,” Sarcinella said. “There are 566 federally recognized tribes throughout the lower 48 [states] and Alaska.” Sarcinella said the theme of this year's observance is: “Guiding Our Destiny with Heritage and Tradition.”

Many people don’t realize that the Indian Wars were fought “all the way through the late 1800s,” he said. “But actually, [some American Indian] tribes were fighting right alongside colonials during the Revolutionary War.”

Many people today, he said, are aware of the important contributions made by the Navaho code talkers’ in the Pacific campaign during World War II, and Sarcinella said he believes Native Americans and Alaskan natives now have the highest per capita rate of military service of any ethnic group throughout the U.S. He noted that Native Americans and Alaska natives make up almost 16,000 members of the active force, and that nearly 160,000 others are veterans.

“In 2008, President [George W.] Bush posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Woodrow Wilson Keeble, who was a Sisseton Wahpeton tribal member from Lake Traverse Sioux, and that was for his valor during the Korean War,” Sarcinella said.
read more here

Camp Zama commander relieved of duty

Camp Zama commander relieved of duty
Stars and Stripes
By Seth Robson
Published: November 1, 2013

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The Army has relieved the commander of its largest base in Japan after an investigation into alleged misconduct, according to a U.S. Army Japan press statement sent late Friday.

The investigation had been ongoing since June 7, when Col. Eric Tilley was suspended from his job as commander of U.S. Army Garrison Japan.

Maj. Gen. James C. Boozer, Sr., commander of U.S. Army Japan and I Corps (Forward), officially relieved Tilley on Friday for “lack of confidence” based on the results of the inquiry, according to the press statement.

The statement provided no other details. Reached via email, U.S. Army Japan spokesman Maj. Kevin Toner said, "…it would be inappropriate to make public the allegations because the investigation did not lead to findings of criminal misconduct."
read more here

Man suspected in murder-attempted suicide was Camp Smith soldier

Man suspected in murder-attempted suicide was Camp Smith soldier
Star Adviser
By Gregg K. Kakesako
Nov 01, 2013

The military today released information on the soldier suspected of killing his 33 year-old wife from Singapore before turning the gun on himself in the couple's Waikiki apartment in an apparent murder-attempted suicide.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office officially confirmed the identity of Monday's apparent murder victim as Tara Insin.

Police have indicated that there is only one suspect after classifying the case as a murder and attempted suicide -- the husband, Leonardo Chavez, of the Dominican Republic.

Chavez is still hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his right cheek. No charges have been filed.

The couple had been married for only two months, but had been together for at least a year, according to friends in Singapore.

Although Chavez is assigned to the Pacific Command's Special Operations Command he is neither a Green Beret or a Navy SEAL, said Lt. Col. Brad Dobsenzenski, Special Operations Command spokesman.

Chavez enlisted in the Army in December 1995 and has been stationed at Camp Smith for the past 19 months.

Doboszenski said Chavez served in Iraq for two months from late November 2009 to early February 2010.
read more here