Police: Vehicle, bodies found in search for missing Cobb couple
WXIA
11
Alive Staff,
January 26, 2015
ELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. -- Police say two bodies have been found in the search for a Cobb County couple missing since last Thursday.
Family members tell 11Alive News 69-year-old Elrey "Bud" Runion placed a Craigslist ad searching for vintage 1966 Mustang. He got a response from an individual in McRae, Ga., saying he had one to sell.
The couple was planning a trip to McRae, in Telfair County, to purchase the vehicle from the ad and was planning to return the same evening. They did not return home and they have not been able to make contact with them by phone, according to family members. Family members insist they were not traveling with cash.
read more here
Monday, January 26, 2015
New to PTSD? You May Be But It Isn't.
It seems as if everyone is shocked to read how ancient people suffered from what we call PTSD but they suffered even without having any name to give it. Sure we changed the term given generation to generation but nothing about it has changed much. That really sucks when you consider there has never been more done to treat it yet we have more reports on bad outcomes.
It is actually in the Bible too and many other ancient accounts of war.
King David
How dare they use a Spartan for "resilience" training?
Veterans were suffering nonetheless when no one noticed other than their families.
Ancient Assyrian Soldiers Were Haunted by War, Too
A new study finds evidence of trauma experienced by soldiers returning home from combat over 3,000 years ago
Smithsonian
By Laura Clark
January 26, 2015
In his account of battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus recorded the story of a man that went inexplicably blind after witnessing the death of one of his comrades. Until recently, this was believed to be earliest-known record of what modern medicine calls post-traumatic stress disorder.
But now, as BBC News reports, a team of researchers says they’ve found references to PTSD-related symptoms in much earlier writings, dating from the Assyrian Dynasty in Mesopotamia, between 1300 B.C. and 609 B.C. They published their findings in the journal Early Science and Medicine with an article poetically titled “Nothing New Under the Sun.”
Soldiers in ancient Assyria (located in present-day Iraq) were tied to a grueling three-year cycle, the BBC notes. They typically spent one year being “toughened up by building roads, bridges and other projects, before spending a year at war and then returning to their families for a year before starting the cycle again.”
By studying translations of known texts, the historians were able to see just how familiar symptoms of PTSD might have been to Assyrian soldiers. Co-author of the study and director of the Anglia Ruskin University’s Veterans and Families Institute, Professor Jamie Hacker Hughs told BBC News:
read more here
It is actually in the Bible too and many other ancient accounts of war.
King David
His life is conventionally dated to c. 1040–970 BC, his reign over Judah c. 1010–1002 BC, and his reign over the United Kingdoms of Israel c. 1002–970 BC.[1]Goliath Challenges the Israelites
17 The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. 3 So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. 4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet[a] tall! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.[b] 6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds.[c] His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield. 8 Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! 9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.Fighting and Military Career
And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines, and killed them with a great slaughter. And they fled from him. (1Samuel 19:8)Psalm 144 Of David.
1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. 2 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. 3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? 4 They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. 5 Part your heavens, Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. 6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them. 7 Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners 8 whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.God the Sovereign Savior but there is also Psalm 23
A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.And there is the mighty Achilles.
Veterans were suffering nonetheless when no one noticed other than their families.
Black Hawk Down Chris Faris Retiring After 31 Years
Top MacDill enlisted leader, veteran of Mogadishu's 'Black Hawk Down' battle, to retire
Tampa Bay Times
William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Faris is command sergeant major — the top enlisted leader — of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, and has earned seven Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart in his 31 years in the Army. He will retire at the end of February. That, Faris said, is enough.
read more here
Tampa Bay Times
William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Chris Faris, command sergeant major of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base,is retiring at the end of February after 31 years in the military. He is also a co-grand marshal of Gasparilla 2015. Photo courtesy Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
He acknowledged the battle that cost the lives of 18 U.S. troops and left 73 others wounded is never far from his mind. "I probably think about it two million times a day, every day," Faris said. "You don't go to war without being changed."TAMPA — Chris Faris was wounded in Mogadishu in 1993 as a member of the elite Delta Force during the battle made famous in the book and film Black Hawk Down. And he has spent nearly six years deployed overseas since 2002, often while on secret missions in the world's most-dangerous places. But the work one of the grand marshals of the 2015 Gasparilla celebration wants to be remembered for is his effort to encourage soldiers to seek the help they might need after returning from war.
Faris is command sergeant major — the top enlisted leader — of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, and has earned seven Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart in his 31 years in the Army. He will retire at the end of February. That, Faris said, is enough.
read more here
Suspect in Missing Georgia Couple Case Turns Himself Into Sheriff
Suspect Wanted in Connection With Disappearance of Elderly Couple in Custody
NBC News
January 26, 2015
A suspect wanted in connection with the disappearance of an elderly Georgia couple that went missing after planning a day trip to buy a car they found on Craigslist turned himself in Monday, according to police.
Suspect Ronnie "Jay" Towns, 28, was in custody at the Telfair County Sheriff's office, Sheriff Chris Steverson told NBC News.
Towns was sought on suspicion of making false statements to investigators and criminal intent to commit theft by deception after Elrey "Bud" Runion, 69, and his wife, June Runion, 66, vanished Thursday, according to the Telfair County Sheriff's Office.
read more here
BREAKING: Missing Marietta couple found dead
NBC News
January 26, 2015
Suspect Ronnie "Jay" Towns, 28, was in custody at the Telfair County Sheriff's office, Sheriff Chris Steverson told NBC News.
Towns was sought on suspicion of making false statements to investigators and criminal intent to commit theft by deception after Elrey "Bud" Runion, 69, and his wife, June Runion, 66, vanished Thursday, according to the Telfair County Sheriff's Office.
read more here
BREAKING: Missing Marietta couple found dead
Fatal Motorcycle Accident Claims Camp Lejeune Marine's Life
WCTI 12 News
Leland Pinder
Jan 25 2015
The NC Highway Patrol confirmed a Camp Lejeune Marine died in a motorcycle wreck early Sunday morning.
Officials said Philip Woodson, 21, died on impact when he was thrown from his motorcycle on Highway 258 near Blue Creek Road. They said Woodson was driving at about 120 mph in a 45 mph zone.
His motorcycle veered off the road then hit a guard rail. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to Trooper M. Kirk, troopers responded to the scene shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday.
He said investigators spent five hours at the scene.
read more here
Training Accident Claims Lives of Two Marines
2 Marines identified in deadly California helo crash
The Associated Press
January 25, 2015
Capt. Elizabeth Kealey and 1st Lt. Adam Satterfield died from injuries in the crash Friday at the Twentynine Palms Marine base.
They were the only two Marines aboard the UH-1Y Huey helicopter.
read more here
The Associated Press
January 25, 2015
Capt. Elizabeth Kealey, left, and 1st Lt. Adam Satterfield, right, were killed when their UH-1Y Venom helicopter crashed during a training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., on Friday. The Marines and the aircraft were based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. (Photo: Marine Corps)TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Two Marine Corps officers killed when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise in the Southern California desert were remembered Sunday as talented pilots.
Capt. Elizabeth Kealey and 1st Lt. Adam Satterfield died from injuries in the crash Friday at the Twentynine Palms Marine base.
They were the only two Marines aboard the UH-1Y Huey helicopter.
read more here
American Sniper More About What They Do For Each Other
'American Sniper' shocks criticsThis is a huge shock to them as well
Time Gazette
Brian Mosely
Sunday, January 25, 2015
It's about soldiers looking out for and taking care of each other, long after the battle is done.
American Sniper surprised box-office watchers by pulling in a huge haul over the four-day weekend -- taking over $105 million during its first weekend of wide release.
The film is up for several Oscars this year, including one for star Bradley Cooper, who bulked up 30 pounds and learned how to speak Texan for the role of Navy Seal Chris Kyle.
But the movie isn't about the 160 kills Kyle reportedly made. It's about the impact that war has on our soldiers and the long road back to their loved ones.
There really hasn't been a film that tackled the topic since the 1946 film "The Best Years of Our Lives," about three returning World War II vets and challenges they encountered returning to "normal life."
What they suffered from wasn't called PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) back then -- instead you'd hear phrases like "shell-shock" or "combat fatigue."
For a great many vets, it wasn't called anything at all -- they just suffered silently, but their families knew.
Unfortunately, over the years, there's also been plenty of the "crazed solider returns from war and then does something terrible" movies.
Ask a vet sometime what they think about them.
In American Sniper, Cooper and director Clint Eastwood show the impact that combat has on the mind of our troops.
The blank stare when it's obvious Chris Kyle is reliving the horror. A sudden noise that rackets up the heart rate. Even a typical drive in traffic can generate reminders of combat.
It's about soldiers looking out for and taking care of each other, long after the battle is done.
But as usual, there has been the typical belly-aching from those who see our military as nothing but ruthless killers, pointing out that Cooper and the rest of the cast are constantly calling the enemy "savages" in the movie.
read more here
'American Sniper' hauls in $200 million at box office
CNN
Brian Steler
January 25, 2015
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"American Sniper" is on track to make $200 million in its first ten days of nationwide release, a feat matched by only a few R-rated films in Hollywood history.
The Oscar-nominated Iraq War movie, starring Bradley Cooper as the legendary sniper Chris Kyle, may go on to beat 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," which currently ranks as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
read more here
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Nam Knights Memorial Service for Frenchie
There was a Pastor a while back talking to the mourners at a memorial service. Everyone seemed to be asking why the veteran died. He told them to shut their eyes for a second. Each of them had been given the power of life or death. Eyes popped open! He asked them how they would decide who lives and who dies. After all, it seemed to be the natural question given the fact so many were searching for why God let it happen. The Pastor let the thought of having that power sink in for a bit. Then he smiled. He told them they already had that power. When they forgot about someone, it was as if they were never here, thus, they died. Yet when they are remembered, when they leave a piece of them with us, they never die.
Yesterday was one more of those days when people wanted to know why Frenchie left us. After all, he served in the Air Force and then the Army. He worked the rest of his life as you'll hear in the video below. He was a family man of many different families and Frenchie left a piece of him with everyone he came in contact with.
The thing I'll remember most about him, aside from the fact he was always there when anyone needed him, was the nickname he gave me of "chicken lady." I am a hugger. So was he. One day I was out at the Orlando Nam Knights Club house eating a chicken wing and he tried to hug me. I said "get away from my chicken" and we laughed so hard he turned red. Every time after that, he made sure I didn't have anything in my hands other than my camera.
Listen to the video and people talking about his life.
If yesterday was any indication, Frenchie will never really die for any of us. The Nam Knights Green Swamp Chapter reminded us how much of an impact he had on many lives.
Yesterday was one more of those days when people wanted to know why Frenchie left us. After all, he served in the Air Force and then the Army. He worked the rest of his life as you'll hear in the video below. He was a family man of many different families and Frenchie left a piece of him with everyone he came in contact with.
The thing I'll remember most about him, aside from the fact he was always there when anyone needed him, was the nickname he gave me of "chicken lady." I am a hugger. So was he. One day I was out at the Orlando Nam Knights Club house eating a chicken wing and he tried to hug me. I said "get away from my chicken" and we laughed so hard he turned red. Every time after that, he made sure I didn't have anything in my hands other than my camera.
Listen to the video and people talking about his life.
If yesterday was any indication, Frenchie will never really die for any of us. The Nam Knights Green Swamp Chapter reminded us how much of an impact he had on many lives.
PTSD: Resilient Does Not Mean Impervious
War Icons We Fail To Remember
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 25, 2015
When a veteran looks at a young person enlisting in the military they are torn. They remember their own decision to serve and the pride they had stepping up to put everything they had on the line "up to and including their own life" at the same time they remember what it felt like to awaken to the simple fact they would never, ever be a civilian again.
How do they warn them? How do you tell a teenager fresh out-of high school they will live with this one decision for the rest of their lives? Would they go back in time and do any of it differently?
There are choices in life that define all of us. Terms in the dictionary we hardly ever hear the meaning of while assuming we know it all. When a nation decides to send men and women off to fight wars, we want it all nice and tidy clean. We cheer them as they go and wave flags. We don't want to see what they go through. We don't want to see the horrors they see.
When they return, we want to believe nothing bad happened to them or because of them. We want to believe it all occurred as if Harry Potter gave them all magic wands to cause the enemy to fall. We want the icons.
We want to see the images like George Washington crossing the Delaware Christmas Day 1776 but we don't want to see how the soldiers with him were freezing because they did not have enough supplies or support.
We want the image of raising the flag at Iwo Jima but we don't want to be reminded of what they went through before it or afterwards.
That is what the military thought they could create in soldiers over seven years ago. Soldiers are not manufactured things with no feelings or emotional bonds to others.
Somehow they got the notion that they were no longer humans filled with all the complexities of what makes military folks able to do what they do at all. They are brave. It takes bravery to be face off with an opposing force wanting to kill them and their friends. They were already resilient and proved that simply by getting through military training pushing their bodies and minds past the point of no-return to their civilian youth. They are bonded to their units and pulled from their families just long enough to be sent back to them with the war ingrained on their soul.
If you look up the definition of capacity you'll see what has been happening when they come home. "The ability to hold or contain people or things: the largest amount or number that can be held or contained: the ability to do something : a mental, emotional, or physical ability." For all they do, all they are willing to do in service no one thinks of their capacity to accomplish the task has limits.
The solider trained in this theory believed it meant they were to become Impervious "not capable of being damaged or harmed."
It seems the military had the same misunderstanding of what this research project they bought into would accomplish especially when Generals tried to pin the suicides to what these soldiers lacked when they were afflicted by PTSD and no matter how much training they had, could no longer live with the pain.
That thought must have excluded Medal of Honor icons like Dakota Meyer suffering from his memories so much so he pulled over to the side of the road one day, removed the gun from his glove compartment, put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger not knowing the bullets had already been removed. Omitted remembering all the other Medal of Honor recipients openly discussing their own struggles.
Today there is another icon capturing the attention of the nation, Chris Kyle, "American Sniper" and subject of the mega hit movie. The bravado statements he made in his book were only part of his story just as what he did after he came home from war for the last time but could not find peace. Even today, after death to him was up close through the scope and personal because he could see the eyes of his target as well as what happened when his bullet ripped flesh and bone some dared call him a coward. Some use his service as a call to hate but most view his suffering as a call to help heal.
When more left the military entering into the civilian world again, Americans were shocked to learn there were 22 of them committing suicide every day but the shock wore off. They didn't understand that these veterans were still only human after all. They didn't want to be reminded of the fact they were sent because Americans wanted them to go as long as they didn't have to subjected to any of the horrors or be held responsible for the aftermath.
They didn't want to know that as shocking as those numbers were, they were only a fraction of what was really happening. Only 7% of the population yet veterans are double the suicide numbers of civilians and the most stunning number is that young veterans survived combat yet their rate of suicide is triple their peer rate.
These veterans were trained to fight in combat but that training prevented them from surviving home.
Seeking help was not an option when they all received the same convoluted message of being trained to "return to an original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc."
Right now we are faced with a growing number of combat veterans after troops have been removed from Afghanistan and Iraq. These veterans are no longer counted by the military. After washing their hands from the defiling of yet one more generation of warfighters, we were suffering from the delusion of them being cared for and about by those leaders. We search for other reasons when the facts have been slamming us in the face for years.
Parent after parent stands at the grave of a veteran shattered by all that was done to them piled on top of what they had to do. They wonder why it happened then they wonder what they can do to prevent another family from suffering the same deadly end. They get their story into the newspaper and their community becomes aware for a time. Then they go back to reality TV shows. They get the attention of a politician willing to hear their story. They are promised something will be done while what was already done and failed far too many before is never mentioned.
They get a Congressional Bill produced with the same name ingrained on the tombstone and the family goes back home joining the ranks of the other families led to believe fairy tales only to pick up the newspaper years later discovering nothing changed and more died by their own hand.
They blame themselves wondering what they did wrong. Friends blame themselves for not seeing warning signs. Communities show up and hold candlelight memorials when the real memories they should have held were about the promises they heard before.
Older veterans however remember. They remember the time when they came home and no one noticed the burden in their minds. When they stood and fought the government to "bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle." As these veterans watch younger folks join, they remember it all up to and including the fact that just because they come home from war, the war was not left behind.
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 25, 2015
When a veteran looks at a young person enlisting in the military they are torn. They remember their own decision to serve and the pride they had stepping up to put everything they had on the line "up to and including their own life" at the same time they remember what it felt like to awaken to the simple fact they would never, ever be a civilian again.
How do they warn them? How do you tell a teenager fresh out-of high school they will live with this one decision for the rest of their lives? Would they go back in time and do any of it differently?
There are choices in life that define all of us. Terms in the dictionary we hardly ever hear the meaning of while assuming we know it all. When a nation decides to send men and women off to fight wars, we want it all nice and tidy clean. We cheer them as they go and wave flags. We don't want to see what they go through. We don't want to see the horrors they see.
When they return, we want to believe nothing bad happened to them or because of them. We want to believe it all occurred as if Harry Potter gave them all magic wands to cause the enemy to fall. We want the icons.
We want to see the images like George Washington crossing the Delaware Christmas Day 1776 but we don't want to see how the soldiers with him were freezing because they did not have enough supplies or support.
"The freezing and tired Continental Army assembled on the Jersey shore without any major debacles. Once ready, Washington led his army on the road to Trenton. It was there that he secured the Continental Army's first major military victory of the war. Without the determination, resiliency, and leadership exhibited by Washington while crossing the Delaware River the victory at Trenton would not have been possible."This is the definition of resilient "able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens: able to return to an original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc."
We want the image of raising the flag at Iwo Jima but we don't want to be reminded of what they went through before it or afterwards.
"There are six Flag Raisers on the famous Iwo Jima photo. Four in the front line and two in back. The front four are (left to right) Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael Strank (behind Sousley) and Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley). Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks."
That is what the military thought they could create in soldiers over seven years ago. Soldiers are not manufactured things with no feelings or emotional bonds to others.
Somehow they got the notion that they were no longer humans filled with all the complexities of what makes military folks able to do what they do at all. They are brave. It takes bravery to be face off with an opposing force wanting to kill them and their friends. They were already resilient and proved that simply by getting through military training pushing their bodies and minds past the point of no-return to their civilian youth. They are bonded to their units and pulled from their families just long enough to be sent back to them with the war ingrained on their soul.
If you look up the definition of capacity you'll see what has been happening when they come home. "The ability to hold or contain people or things: the largest amount or number that can be held or contained: the ability to do something : a mental, emotional, or physical ability." For all they do, all they are willing to do in service no one thinks of their capacity to accomplish the task has limits.
The solider trained in this theory believed it meant they were to become Impervious "not capable of being damaged or harmed."
It seems the military had the same misunderstanding of what this research project they bought into would accomplish especially when Generals tried to pin the suicides to what these soldiers lacked when they were afflicted by PTSD and no matter how much training they had, could no longer live with the pain.
"Some of it is just personal make-up. Intestinal fortitude. Mental toughness that ensures that people are able to deal with stressful situations." General Raymond Odierno
That thought must have excluded Medal of Honor icons like Dakota Meyer suffering from his memories so much so he pulled over to the side of the road one day, removed the gun from his glove compartment, put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger not knowing the bullets had already been removed. Omitted remembering all the other Medal of Honor recipients openly discussing their own struggles.
Today there is another icon capturing the attention of the nation, Chris Kyle, "American Sniper" and subject of the mega hit movie. The bravado statements he made in his book were only part of his story just as what he did after he came home from war for the last time but could not find peace. Even today, after death to him was up close through the scope and personal because he could see the eyes of his target as well as what happened when his bullet ripped flesh and bone some dared call him a coward. Some use his service as a call to hate but most view his suffering as a call to help heal.
When more left the military entering into the civilian world again, Americans were shocked to learn there were 22 of them committing suicide every day but the shock wore off. They didn't understand that these veterans were still only human after all. They didn't want to be reminded of the fact they were sent because Americans wanted them to go as long as they didn't have to subjected to any of the horrors or be held responsible for the aftermath.
They didn't want to know that as shocking as those numbers were, they were only a fraction of what was really happening. Only 7% of the population yet veterans are double the suicide numbers of civilians and the most stunning number is that young veterans survived combat yet their rate of suicide is triple their peer rate.
These veterans were trained to fight in combat but that training prevented them from surviving home.
Seeking help was not an option when they all received the same convoluted message of being trained to "return to an original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc."
Right now we are faced with a growing number of combat veterans after troops have been removed from Afghanistan and Iraq. These veterans are no longer counted by the military. After washing their hands from the defiling of yet one more generation of warfighters, we were suffering from the delusion of them being cared for and about by those leaders. We search for other reasons when the facts have been slamming us in the face for years.
Parent after parent stands at the grave of a veteran shattered by all that was done to them piled on top of what they had to do. They wonder why it happened then they wonder what they can do to prevent another family from suffering the same deadly end. They get their story into the newspaper and their community becomes aware for a time. Then they go back to reality TV shows. They get the attention of a politician willing to hear their story. They are promised something will be done while what was already done and failed far too many before is never mentioned.
They get a Congressional Bill produced with the same name ingrained on the tombstone and the family goes back home joining the ranks of the other families led to believe fairy tales only to pick up the newspaper years later discovering nothing changed and more died by their own hand.
They blame themselves wondering what they did wrong. Friends blame themselves for not seeing warning signs. Communities show up and hold candlelight memorials when the real memories they should have held were about the promises they heard before.
Older veterans however remember. They remember the time when they came home and no one noticed the burden in their minds. When they stood and fought the government to "bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle." As these veterans watch younger folks join, they remember it all up to and including the fact that just because they come home from war, the war was not left behind.
Woman Charged Defrauding Vietnam Veterans
Woman charged in scam
Suspect accused in fraud of veteran and vet organization
Durant Democrat.com
By Matt Swearengin
January 24. 2015
A Caddo woman is facing felony charges dealing with defrauding a veteran and using a computer to obtain money from an organization for veterans. Sixty-two-year-old Deborah Sue Lemmones was charged Friday with exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult and computer fraud.
Lemmones came under investigation after Richard Chase, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who is now deceased, spoke to the Bryan County District Attorney’s Office about a woman he said had been defrauding veterans. Before his death on July 26, 2014, Chase was active with the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 986 in Durant.
He contacted authorities after learning of several incidents where Lemmones had allegedly convinced veterans to loan her large sums of money. Chase also had spoken with the Democrat about the allegations and he had prepared an article he planned to release after the suspect was charged.
Chase said one of the victims suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other health problems. He said there was another victim in a nursing home and that individual later died, and also a victim in Madill.
District Attorney Investigator David Cathey then investigated allegations that Lemmones had financially exploited several disabled veterans in southern Oklahoma.
Suspect accused in fraud of veteran and vet organization
Durant Democrat.com
By Matt Swearengin
January 24. 2015
A Caddo woman is facing felony charges dealing with defrauding a veteran and using a computer to obtain money from an organization for veterans. Sixty-two-year-old Deborah Sue Lemmones was charged Friday with exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult and computer fraud.
Lemmones came under investigation after Richard Chase, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who is now deceased, spoke to the Bryan County District Attorney’s Office about a woman he said had been defrauding veterans. Before his death on July 26, 2014, Chase was active with the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 986 in Durant.
He contacted authorities after learning of several incidents where Lemmones had allegedly convinced veterans to loan her large sums of money. Chase also had spoken with the Democrat about the allegations and he had prepared an article he planned to release after the suspect was charged.
Chase said one of the victims suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other health problems. He said there was another victim in a nursing home and that individual later died, and also a victim in Madill.
District Attorney Investigator David Cathey then investigated allegations that Lemmones had financially exploited several disabled veterans in southern Oklahoma.
Local Vietnam Veterans of America Treasurer Paul Blake told Cathey he had identified 20 electronic withdrawals from February 2012 until December 2013 from the VVA bank account at First United Bank, and according to the affidavit, each of the transactions, totaling $7,953.11, was used to pay the phone bill of Walter Lemmones.
“Lemmones believed it was OK to have the VVA pay her phone bill even though she had been ousted from the organization for quite some time because she was still using the phone to help veterans,” Cathey wrote in his affidavit. read more here
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