Iraq Veteran-National Guardsman Died Saving Family During Tornado

Tornado Victims Were Dads and Daughters, Brothers and Sons
NBC News
BY ELIZABETH CHUCK AND CARLO DELLAVERSON

The victims include an Iraq veteran and two young brothers. A widow and a father and two of his daughters.

The deadly tornadoes buffeting the South since Sunday have killed 34 people across six states. The storms may still bring more devastation, leaving behind not just a trail of destruction, but entire communities grieving.

Here is what we know about some of the victims:

Daniel Wassom, 31, Vilonia, Ark.

Wassom, a father of two daughters — Lorelei, 5, and Sydney, 7 — died Sunday sheltering his family from the tornado. The man who everybody called "Bud" was with his wife, Suzanne, and his girls in a hallway in the center of their home when a large beam came toward him, crushing him to death.

Wassom, who served in the Arkansas Air National Guard as a load master moving cargo in and out of planes and had been deployed to Iraq, died shielding Lorelei from the beam.
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Fort Carson Soldier Found Dead in Canyon Park

Hiker found dead in Cheyenne Canyon Park was Fort Carson soldier
Gazette.com
Lisa Walton
April 29, 2014

A body found by hikers in Cheyenne Canyon Park Saturday evening is that of a soldier, Fort Carson officials confirmed Monday. First Lt. Bao Huy Vo, 24 may have died after falling 200 feet, Colorado Springs police said.

Vo, with 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, had arrived in Colorado Springs in May 2013. While stationed at the Mountain Post, he deployed to Kuwait for four months before returning to Colorado Springs in November 2013, Fort Carson officials said.
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Shooter found dead at FedEx facility, 6 wounded

FedEx Facility Shooting Prompts Massive Response, Shooter Found Dead
NBC News
4 hours ago

A package handler with a shot gun and bullets strapped to his chest “like Rambo” wounded six people at a Georgia FedEx facility early Tuesday before he was found dead of an apparent suicide, authorities and witnesses said.

The male suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the workplace shooting in Kennesaw, north of Atlanta, and was found inside the FedEx facility's loading dock, reported NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.

The six victims range from ages 19 to 52, and three remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon, said Dr. Michael Nitzken, of Wellstar Kennestone Hospital. One of them required advance life support.

Those with critical injuries suffered multiple gunshot wounds, while others had “peripheral damage,” Nitzken said. One person was released.

Cobb County police spokesman Mike Bowman said officers were “sweeping” the area around the building Tuesday morning for any “secondary devices.” No explosives were found. The suspect was identified only as a male employee of FedEx.
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Iraq Veteran's Mom Suffers After Son Died In VA Miami Rehab

A Mother’s Guilt And A Veteran’s Unexpected Death
CBS Miami
Jim DeFede
April 28, 2014

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Early one morning last year, Mary Zielinski received a call from the VA hospital in Miami telling her that her son was dead.

“I was in such shock that I gave him the phone,” she recounts motioning toward her boyfriend, Agim Banushi. “And he was like, `Who is it?’ And I said, `It’s the VA calling. They’re telling me that Nick’s passed away.’”

Nicholas Cutter survived fourteen months in Iraq, yet he couldn’t survive the rehab center designed to help him. No one told her at the time, but Cutter died of a cocaine overdose.

Zielinski had pushed for Cutter to go to the residential rehab program. When he came back from Iraq in 2010, Cutter was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He had trouble being around people; was angry and easily agitated.

He had been attending counseling sessions at the VA center near his home in West Palm Beach, where the doctors had him on more than 20 different medications, according Zielinski and Banushi.

“He was taking upwards of 50 pills a day,” Banushi said.

“These are some of his medications,” Zielinski said, flipping through a large binder.

The pills, however, weren’t helping. His nightmares grew. Afraid to sleep he began using cocaine to stay awake at night. His doctors in West Palm suggested he come here to the residential drug program in Miami – it was supposed to be one of the best. But he didn’t want to go and leave his mother behind.

Zielinski recalled how she talked him into going.

“I specifically told him, `Do you trust me honey?’ And he said, `Yes mom I trust you.’ And I said. `This program will help you.
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People lining up to fight for Iraq Veteran

Dozens, including veterans and Republicans, urge Scott Walker to issue pardon
Wisconsin State Journal
By Dee J. Hall
11 hours ago

Doug Zwank considers the fate of Eric Pizer and thinks, “That could have been me.”

Like Pizer, Zwank is a combat veteran and former corporal in the Marine Corps. And like Pizer, he narrowly escaped death while serving his country overseas.

After returning from Vietnam, Zwank started what would become a long career in law enforcement, first as a special agent for the state Department of Justice, then later training fellow officers at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia. He also worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and served as mayor of Middleton for four years.

But in 1968, when he returned from combat to attend UW-Madison, Zwank was just another angry veteran, traumatized by the deaths of his friends and comrades and trying to unlearn the instincts that had kept him alive at war. He got into fights, Zwank said, but was never arrested.

Pizer is looking for relief from the felony conviction after he broke a man’s nose in a fight in Boscobel just days after he returned from Iraq in 2004. Pizer said the punch was a reflex that occurred after the victim came at him from the side — one he deeply regrets.

In the 10 years since he came home, Pizer has earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice with hopes of becoming a police officer. But as a felon, Pizer is prohibited from carrying a gun. He can’t be a cop. That goal is on hold while Pizer works as a piano mover and at Menards to support himself and his preschool son, Xander.
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Oklahoma Army National Guard heading to Afghanistan

Oklahoma soldiers deploying to Afghanistan
Associated Press
April 28, 2014

LAWTON, Okla. — Members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard took part in a ceremony at Fort Sill on Saturday ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan.

The unit deploying is Battery B, 1st Battalion, 158th Field Artillery, 45th Fires Brigade. Some soldiers with the 171st Target Acquisition Battery and the 120th Forward Support Company are deploying in a support role.
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Over 100 Army Reserve MPs heading to Afghanistan

Ocala-based Army Reserve unit heading to Afghanistan
Ocala Star Banner
By Bill Thompson
Staff writer
Published: Monday, April 28, 2014

As the U.S. mission in Afghanistan winds down, more than 100 soldiers from the Ocala-based 351st Military Police Company are gearing up for another tour.

Capt. Douglas Worstell said he will be leading the unit on a deployment to an area near Bagram as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Worstell said he could not reveal many details about the Army Reserve unit's mission during its yearlong stint on active duty, which begins on May 8, when the troops are expected to report to Ocala.

They will leave soon afterward for Fort Bliss, Texas, for additional training prior to being shipped to Afghanistan, Worstell said.

A community ceremony marking the unit's return to duty will be held on May 10.

The event is set for 10 a.m. at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park, 2601 E. Fort King St., Ocala.
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Tennessee Venue Told Iraq Veterans Yes Then No

Tennessee Wedding Venue Approves Then Denies Gay Couple
BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF
PUBLISHED: APRIL 28, 2014

Just days after a wedding venue in Tennessee told a gay couple that they could hold their commitment ceremony there, the venue reversed course, citing the state's ban on gay marriage.

According to NBC affiliate WSMV, Iraq war veterans Anthony Wilfert and Brian Blas fell in love nine years ago while serving at Fort Campbell.

The men thought they had found the perfect venue for their ceremony after taking a tour of Mint Springs Farm.
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Quiet Boston Marathon Hero Receives Soldier's Medal

Boston Marathon hero awarded Soldier's Medal
US Army Corps of Engineers
By Bernard Tate
Headquarters
Posted 4/28/2014

BOSTON-- Many Americans have seen the shaky photos and videos taken when the bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Among the many people who went to the aid of the injured, there are glimpses of runners who stripped off their shirts to tie tourniquets around the shattered limbs of bomb victims.

One of those unknown runners was Col. Everett Spain, an Army engineer who is earning a doctorate in management at the Harvard Business School. On April 18, in a ceremony on the school's Baker Lawn, Spain received the Soldier's Medal, the Army's highest award for valor in a non-combat situation.

But Spain has shunned any publicity, avoided interviews with the civilian news media.

"First and foremost, I was brought up to believe that military officers should never seek praise for themselves," Spain said. "Our purpose is to serve others through character and leadership."


Despite Spain's modesty, his actions are a matter of public record in images taken during the Boston Marathon attack. He was only about 100 yards from the finish line when the bombs exploded.
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Soldier's Medal for Training Day Heroic Deed

Soldier presented medal for heroic act
When Staff Sgt. Issac Diaz threw a Soldier out of a live-grenade-training bay and protected him with his body from the blast, he said he was just doing what any of his training range cadre would do — put the Soldier's welfare before their own.
Waynesville Daily
By Mike Bowers
Special to the Daily Guide
Posted Apr. 28, 2014

When Staff Sgt. Issac Diaz threw a Soldier out of a live-grenade-training bay and protected him with his body from the blast, he said he was just doing what any of his training range cadre would do — put the Soldier's welfare before their own.

Little did Diaz know that his heroic deed would earn him the Soldier's Medal, and that he would receive it from the sergeant major of the Army.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler presented Diaz with the medal during his visit to Fort Leonard Wood's Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, today.

"I'll bet it was a little bit of a surprise when you saw that grenade. Well done," said Chandler, as he pinned on the medal and shook hands with Diaz.

Diaz, assigned to the Combat Training Company, 43rd Adjutant General Battalion, recalled what began as a normal training day on Nov. 12, 2013.
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