Man Meets Vietnam Veteran POW Bracelet Worn 50 Years Ago

'Bond between strangers': Vietnam POW bracelet to unite pair after decades
FOX News
By Cristina Corbin
Published April 04, 2015

Raymond Schrump is seen here as a POW in Vietnam.

The former U.S. Army major was held captive from 1968 to 1971.

(WRAL.com)

Harold Flowers was 13 when his parents gave him a POW bracelet during the Vietnam War in 1968 – a metal band bearing the name of a U.S. soldier captured by the North Vietnamese.

Nearly 50 years later, Flowers, of Angier, N.C., tracked down the man whose name he wore around his wrist: 83-year-old former U.S. Army Major Raymond Schrump, a Purple Heart recipient who spent nearly five years in an enemy prison camp.

On Saturday, the two will meet for the first time, and Flowers will give Schrump the bracelet he has kept all these years – a bracelet Schrump said represents a "bond between strangers."

"I feel like I've known this man all my life and I haven't met him yet," Schrump told FoxNews.com Thursday.

Schrump, severely malnourished, weighed just 86 pounds at the time of his rescue on Feb. 12, 1971, when he and 27 other American prisoners were flown by U.S. helicopters to Saigon. He was then taken to a U.S. base in the Philippines and, after recovering from a bout with malaria, flown to California and then eventually Fort Bragg, where he was reunited with his family at a nearby hospital.
read more here

Lincoln Veterans Memorial Rolling From Phoenix to DC

New Lincoln Memorial emerges in Phoenix from VA crisis 
AZ Central
Chad Bricks
12 News
April 3, 2015

"There is a lot of finger pointing going on. The truth is the VA is not getting adequate funding. That's the bottom line."

This 1976 Lincoln Bicentennial Town Car is the ‘New Lincoln Veteran’s Memorial’. It will soon be on the road to D.C. in an ultimate road trip stopping at VA’s around the country before it arrives in Washington D.C. Photo by Chad Bricks.
(Photo: 12 News)

Phoenix is recognized as the starting point to the national crisis at the Veteran's Administration. One veteran has made it his mission to make it the beginning of the solution as well.

"Phoenix is where the hurricane happened," said Neil Bernstein.

Bernstein is the commander of the 'New Lincoln Vets Memorial'. It is a moving memorial made from a 1976 Lincoln Bicentennial Town Car. It is signed by veterans who have served and is designed to catch the attention of lawmakers.

"This is what's happening to our vets who have honorably served," Bernstein said as he racked the handles of the white coffin that sits atop of the Lincoln. He calls it "preposterous' for Vets to return home stateside only to die from complicated or inadequate health care.
read more here

Fort Bliss Army Captain Died After Vehicle Ran Over Him

Army officer dies in tragic training accident
Army Times
By Kevin Lilley, Staff writer
April 2, 2015

Capt. Jonathan F. Wynkoop, 27

died Tuesday during an exercise

at Fort Bliss, Texas.

(Photo: Army)

A 1st Armored Division officer died early Tuesday during a training exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, after a mine-resistant vehicle allegedly rolled over him in his cot while he slept, the base announced in a Wednesday news release.

Capt. Jonathan F. Wynkoop, 27, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Division Artillery, and was participating in Iron Focus 2015, a two-week, division-level training exercise that began March 23.

A mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicle, or M-ATV, allegedly backed over the cot around 5 a.m., according to the release.

Wynkoop was pronounced dead about an hour later; the incident is under investigation.
read more here

Ted Nugent Talked to Soldiers After Suicide?

WOW! Breaking news! It seems that Ted talks to the dead.

Ted Nugent Unravels Veteran Suicide Epidemic: Obama Did It
Wonkette
by Doktor Zoom
Apr 02, 2015

He told the crowd that military veterans are committing suicide because of President Obama: “Here’s your job, Republican Party. Twenty to 25 of those guys kill themselves every day, and they haven’t told you why and they haven’t told anybody else why but they told me why: because the commander-in-chief is the enemy.”

Listen to the words right out of his mouth.

They told him? They told him why they killed themselves?  Better tell Congress, the VA and the DOD they've been wasting money and time since he knows exactly why.

Considering the reasons go back generations, pretty doubtful he was hearing from them instead of Jack Daniels. But what can we expect from someone who never knew what price was being paid for his right to say whatever foolish nonsense he wants?


It would be a safe bet that if they had anything to say to him at all, it would something like,

"Because people like you were too busy talking about us to actually learn anything about us."

After all, they don't play politics when they risk their lives side by side others who may not share their same political views or beliefs. Plus when you actually know that the majority of the veterans committing suicide are over 50, seems it would really put a damper on his twisted concept of what it is really like for any of them.

Make Peace With Your Past Especially if it Included Combat Service

I just read a quote from an article on The Daily Beast about a book written by a Vietnam veteran and all I could think of was this.

David Rossi: "Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going."

PTSD and the Past That Never Dies

David J. Morris, a U.S. Marine veteran who later embedded as a journalist in Iraq, “disperses” his own experiences in The Evil Hours, an eloquent “biography” of post-traumatic stress disorder. Morris’s style often recaptures the disorienting tone of Dispatches’ stream-of-consciousness approach. But as with Herr, Morris’s excellent book is deceptively controlled and carefully steady.

The past isn't supposed to die. It goes with us everyday and all the subsequent days tag along as well. We cannot undo something or un-say words. We can change what we do from the point of regret onward. We learn by yesterdays snap judgements, gut reactions and angry outbursts as much as we learn from patience, thoughtfulness and compassion.

Wherever you are with PTSD, as a veteran or a spouse, your understanding got you either to point where you have added onto the burden you carry or you are on your way to healing. It all depends on how much you know and if you know the right things or not.

Every scar I have came with a price. I paid it during the event that caused my life to be on the edge of death. I refused to keep paying a debt that I did not agree to. Out of the shadow of death came hope.

I am not a veteran, so don't take my word for it. I am just human with a strange life. You should listen to someone who was there, in Vietnam, talk about what your are supposed to do with your memories. Listen to Sammy Davis, MOH Vietnam!

(No, he isn't crying.  It was hot during this event in Florida.)

Air Force Cadet Died After Being Found in Dormitory

Air Force Academy Cadet Found Injured in Dorm Dies
Colorado Springs Gazette
by Tom Roeder
Apr 03, 2015

Officials released few details Thursday about an Air force Academy cadet who died after he was found in a school dormitory.

The male cadet, whose name has not been released, was found injured in a dorm at about 2 p.m. and died about 3:45 p.m. An official said his death is not an apparent suicide, but declined to release details of the injuries, including whether the cadet had been assaulted.

Academy spokesman John Van Winkle said he did not know the nature of the cadet's injuries, who reported the cadet's condition, or where in the dormitory the cadet was found.

The school canceled evening intramural activities and called a "100 percent accountability" to track the whereabouts of all 4,000 cadets on the campus, he said.

Van Winkle declined to release the cadet's age or year in school.

"I don't want to give out information that could identify the cadet before the notification of the next of kin is done," Van Winkle said. "That would be wrong for the family to find out by CNN versus casualty notification team that is there to support, assist and help."
read more here

Bad Discharges Not Honorable To Far Too Many

Ex-troops with highest suicide risk often don't qualify for mental care 
LA Times
By ALAN ZAREMBO
April 1, 2015

Many vets with 'bad' discharges are cast off to local mental health services, charities despite suicide risk

Of those suicides, 403 were among ex-service members whose discharges were "not honorable" — for a wide range of misconduct, from repeatedly disrespecting officers to felony convictions. An additional 380 occurred among veterans with "uncharacterized" discharges, the designation used for troops who leave in fewer than 180 days for a variety of nondisciplinary reasons.

The largest study to date of recent military and veteran suicides has identified two high-risk groups of former troops who are generally ineligible for the psychiatric care afforded to all others who served: those forced out of the military for misconduct and those who enlisted but were quickly discharged for other problems.

In each of those groups, an average of 46 of every 100,000 former service members committed suicide each year — more than double the rate for veterans with honorable discharges.

The findings are likely to spur debate over whether efforts to stem veteran suicides are targeting the right people and to strengthen calls to expand access to benefits and care — especially for those who blame post-traumatic stress disorder or other war-related problems for their misconduct and subsequent dismissals from the military.

"The problem is much bigger than the veterans we choose to help," said Phillip Carter, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Center for a New American Security who has followed the issue.

Since World War II, the VA has been responsible for determining who is eligible for healthcare and benefits. Ex-service members who were enlisted for less than two years qualify only if they have disabilities related to their service.

Those with dishonorable discharges are not eligible unless they can prove they were insane at the time of their crimes. Former troops with other types of less-than-honorable discharges must apply for veteran status, but fewer than 10% do.

Of those, fewer than a quarter succeed, according to a 2007 study by a congressional commission.

More than 140,000 troops have left the military since 2000 with less-than-honorable discharges, according to the Pentagon.
read more here

Veterans Being Kicked Out of Nursing Home in Florida

Man speaks out as vets are evicted from nursing home 
Residents told they have until April 17
4 JAX News
Author: Francesca Amiker, News4Jax reporter
April 1, 2015

MANDARIN, Fla. - A son spoke Wednesday, out on his father’s behalf, after being told that his father’s nursing home may soon end a contract with Veteran Affairs and his father would be evicted. 

David Wilson said his father, Duane Wilson, has lived at the nursing home for three years and the VA has been footing the bill.

Wilson said his family is now desperate for the senior home to keep the contract for the sake of his 76-year-old father and other veterans.

The home said that all veterans must be out by April 17.

“When I found out that they are seizing the contract with the Veterans Administration because of back pay, it's like that, to me, it’s just so wrong,” David Wilson said.
read more here

After Marine Son's Suicide, Dad Speaks Out

Dad of dead Pa. veteran sounds alarm on 'outrageous' military suicide rates 
TribLive
By John Luciew
April 02, 2015

The father of a 28-year-old Marine Corps veteran who killed himself last month in western Pennsylvania is sounding the alarm on what he called 'outrageous' military suicide rates and raising questions about the side effects of the anti-depressants that the Veterans Administration is prescribing to former service members.

The Iraq war veteran from Brentwood certainly had no history of suicidal tendencies when he took his life about a month after he started taking a powerful antidepressant.

Now, Cranmer, 58, is urging a close look at whether mental health drugs prescribed through the Department of Veterans Affairs contribute to high suicide rates among veterans.

Federal estimates suggest the total among veterans might reach 22 a day, which would account for around 20 percent of suicides nationwide. Veterans make up about 7 percent of the population.

Cranmer called the suicide figures "outrageous."

"I think it warrants looking into," he said Wednesday, two days after another veteran, Michelle Langhorst, 31, of Plum shot herself in a parking lot at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System campus in O'Hara. read more here

VA Women Veterans Committee Has New Members

New Members Appointed to VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans

Committee Makes Recommendation to VA Secretary

WASHINGTON – Four new members have been appointed to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, an expert panel that advises the Secretary on issues and programs affecting women Veterans. Established in 1983, the Committee makes recommendations to the Secretary for administrative and legislative changes.

“Women have made significant contributions to the safety and security of our great Nation. As we seek to enhance services for women Veterans, VA values the Committee’s guidance,” said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. “The Committee’s recommendations help VA to identify and address gaps in service to better meet the needs of women Veterans today and in the future. VA welcomes the newest members of this important Committee.”

Of the approximately 22 million living Veterans, about 2 million are women Veterans. They comprise 9.2 percent of the total Veteran population. VA estimates that by 2040, women Veterans will comprise approximately 16 percent of the total Veteran population.

“VA is committed to offering a full continuum of benefits and health care services and is transforming itself to meet the evolving needs of our women Veterans,” said Elisa Basnight, Director of VA’s Center for Women Veterans, who echoed Secretary McDonald’s sentiments. “This advisory committee plays an integral role in our progress.”

New members of the Committee:

Ms. Octavia Harris, El Cajon, California, a retired Command Master Chief, U.S. Navy; currently serves as a program manager of the Comprehensive Advanced Restorative Effort at the San Diego Naval Medical Center;

Ms. Louisa Long Jaffe, Alexandria, Virginia, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army; currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Technical and Project Engineering, LLC;

Dr. Joyce Johnson, Chevy Chase, Maryland, a retired Rear Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service; currently practices medicine in the specialty of public health/preventive medicine, and serves as a global health/public health and management consultant; and

Ms. Shannon McLaughlin, Sharon, Massachusetts, a Major serving full time in the Massachusetts National Guard, with combat service in Afghanistan.

The new Committee members, who are appointed to two-year terms, join Committee members Dr. Shirley Quarles of Atlanta, Georgia; Ms. Felipe Torres, Helotes, Texas; and Ms. Mary Westmoreland, Bronxville, New York, who were also reappointed for another term.

For more information about women Veterans, visit www.va.gov/womenvet, or contact the Women Veterans Call Center at 1-855-829-6636. The call center is available to address concerns of women Veterans, their families and caregivers Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., ET, and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ET.