Audie Murphy Biography Explores WWII Hero’s PTSD

Baylor historian’s Audie Murphy biography explores WWII hero’s PTSD struggle
Waco Trib.com
Regina Dennis
June 6, 2015

"We want our heroes to be pristine, and we want our wars to be clean. Sometimes we have the wrong idea on how difficult war is on those who fight it.”

Heroic and handsome, his face plastered all over movies and magazines, Audie Murphy’s transition from fearless World War II soldier to famous Western movie star captivated millions across the country.

But a new biography about the renowned soldier, written by a Baylor University senior history lecturer, notes that the same combat experiences that grew Murphy’s stature and wealth would forever mark him, creating a private war he would battle until his tragic death at age 45.

“One the one hand, he wins all of these medals, he wins every award for valor the Army can give, he becomes a celebrity, he becomes nationally known and he becomes a movie star,” said David Smith, author of “The Price of Valor: The Life of Audie Murphy, America’s Most Decorated Hero of World War II.”

“That’s what his war-time experience did for him. But the flip side of that is his wartime experience scarred him for life with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he had to live out the rest of his life as this Hollywood movie star, a really popular one in the ’50s, all the while he was bearing these psychological scars of his combat.”
read more here

Iraq Veteran Says Vietnam Veterans Support Saved His LIfe

PTSD campaigner Aaron Gray contemplated suicide many times 
Sydney Morning Herald
David Ellery Reporter for The Canberra Times
June 7, 2015

The support of the Vietnam veterans from my local RSL sub-branch (at Woonoona-Bulli in Wollongong) saved my life.

Veteran: Aaron Gray rode shotgun on top of an ASLAV in Iraq.

Aaron Gray, the founder and director of the Australian Veterans' Suicide Register, has first hand knowledge of the dark thoughts that plague many Post Traumatic Stress Disorder sufferers.

Aaron Gray, founder and director of the Australian Veterans' Suicide Register

A veteran of the war in Iraq who rode shotgun on top of an ASLAV with the triggers to a 25 millimetre chain gun and a 7.62mm machine gun at his fingertips, he still carries the scars from one unsuccessful suicide attempt.

"The support of the Vietnam veterans from my local RSL sub-branch [at Woonoona-Bulli in Wollongong] saved my life," he said.

The Nowra resident can't handle large crowds and enclosed spaces such as shopping malls.

"When I began developing symptoms [of PTSD] I decided to leave the army of my own accord," he said. "I didn't want the stigma of a medical discharge; I was told you are treated like a leper [while the medical discharge comes through].

"It took me five years to obtain a TPI pension and that was with the assistance of an advocate."
read more here

The Silent War

When War Comes Home
By Scott Hannaford
IT WAS around midnight when Nicholas Hodge stepped into the middle of the road, lay down on the white line and placed his identity card on his chest. A passing taxi driver was the first to spot him and pulled over. The driver picked up the card on Hodge's chest, reached for his phone and began dialling.

Soon, a police patrol arrived and two officers made their way towards to the large, powerfully built figure lying face-up on the bitumen. One of the officers recognised Hodge: a factor, he says now, that – combined with the way ACT Policing handled him that night – probably saved his life. Under the gaze of nearby diners in the trendy Canberra restaurant district of Kingston, Hodge begins to sob. "I was hoping a car would run me over," he explains. "I just started bawling my eyes out, saying, 'I need help, I need help'."

'Alarming' rise in suicide deaths by former military personnel

Do They Think About Price Paid Generations Before Them?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 7, 2015

I think it is wonderful that so many spouses are talking about what happens when veterans come home from war afflicted by PTSD however I think it is horrible they decided to not listen when we said it all before and very loudly.

Every generation came home from war with what has been known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since the late 70's. That's right the 70's. It was not until the 1980 that the Department of Veterans Affairs started to call it that. It happened because Vietnam veterans decided to fight for it and stop suffering in silence. They got loud!

They also knew that they were not just fighting for their own generation but for their Dads and Granddads as well as their own kids and Grandchildren.

If you are guessing I am sort of ticked off after reading yet another copy and paste of our lives, you're right but you may be off on the reason.

They seem to think that it only happened to them. They forget about us and what we tried to prepare them for. The term "new normal" came from our generation and what was seen as abnormal to the rest of the country. We didn't settle for "just get over it" and move on.

If you want to know why there are Crisis Intervention Teams and trauma specialist all around the world, it is because Vietnam veterans came back and fought for it. They changed the entire world so that survivors of trauma could be treated instead of shunned into silence.

Say it out loud
Army spouse tells her own story to help military couples work through reintegration and other stress
Stars and Stripes
By Terri Barnes
Published: June 6, 2015

“It was a new normal,” Corie said. “We had to start over in a new way. We had to repurpose and re-envision who we are as a couple. We both had changed. … It changed our marriage. We don’t regret that. We’re better for it, and we use our story in our marriage retreats to normalize and validate what other families go through."

In the most difficult days of her marriage, Corie Weathers practiced a principle she learned as a licensed professional counselor: Say out loud the things that are hard to say out loud.

Like many military couples, Corie and her husband, Matt, an Army chaplain, experienced their toughest trial after Matt’s first deployment. During that deployment, several of Matt’s fellow soldiers were killed, and many were injured.

“My husband came home definitely with combat stress, on the line between combat stress and (post-traumatic stress disorder),” Corie said. “There was a lot of his experience that I couldn’t relate to, because I wasn’t there, and I didn’t share those experiences with him.”

On the homefront during that deployment, Corie was using her own expertise, counseling and supporting the spouses of the killed and injured and others, as well as being the sole caregiver of the couple’s two young sons.

“I had my own experiences that [Matt] didn’t know how to process,” she said. “We now call them sacred moments. There’s no way for each of us to understand what the other went through; because we can’t understand it fully, we have to respect those spaces.”

Reaching that understanding required Corie and Matt to learn how to communicate their feelings to one another.

“There’s so much power in saying it out loud,” she said. “For me to verbalize how mad I was that I was so tired, and when my husband came home, I couldn’t just jump back into dual parenting immediately. That was a difficult transition.”
read more here

In 2003 For The Love of Jack, His War/My Battle was published.

18 years of a couple's life should not have been so hard. But they were. Kathie takes you through all the heartache of watching her husband suffer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She opens her heart and shows her faith as she fights her husband to get help and fights the government to make sure he gets the help needed to heal. To Kathie it was a commitment to try her best to stay by his side when he wanted to escape. She showed that there is healing and help for people like her beloved Jack and hope for all.

It was republished in 2013.

"Although we communicated while we were living apart, we couldn’t actually have a conversation any more. It was small talk. It was as if he had forgotten how to give and take in a normal conversation. Most of the time it was as if he wasn’t there although he was in the same room. I could tell by looking at him that his mind was too far away to reach. I would end up yelling at him to snap him back into the moment."

"They need to know that they can have a normal life again and that society has finally come to terms with these illnesses instead of speaking about them with whispers."

Does this generation ever think of where all the resources they have came from? Do they think about the price paid by the generations before them? Do they ever once consider what it was like for our generation to step up after being betrayed by the entire nation? Or what it was like to fight for all generations after the older generations wanted nothing to do with us?

When they finally use that fabulous gadget called a cellphone in their hands and actually do some research on all of this, then maybe they'd be able to save more lives than are lost everyday. After all, everything our generation did was done before the Internet, Facebook and the only tweets we heard came from Looney Toons.

In The Living Years
Mike and the Mechanics
Every generation blames the one before.
And all of their frustrations come beating on your door.
I know that I'm a prisoner to all my father held so dear.
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defense
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

I just uploaded a video I made back in 2006 on living with PTSD.

Wounded Minds
Jun 7, 2015 In 2006 I created Wounded Minds video so that others could learn the easy way after my generation learned the hard way. We found what worked for us living with PTSD after combat. While so many seem to think PTSD is new, it isn't and that is what causes the most harm. None of this is new. Our generation is living proof that PTSD can be defeated even though it cannot be cured. If you think the term "Wounded Minds" is new, it isn't and it is time folks stopped taking work that belonged to someone else as their own. This video as up on YouTube in 2006.

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Pablo A. Ruiz Remembered at Florida Tech

Soldier's service draws several hundred to Florida Tech
FLORIDA TODAY
Chris Bonanno
June 6, 2015

People sign the guest book during a memorial service for
Master Sgt. Pablo A. Ruiz at Florida Tech's Gleason Auditorium.

(Photo: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)

A near-capacity crowd packed Gleason Auditorium at Florida Tech in Melbourne on Friday to pay respects to U.S. Army Master Sgt. Pablo A. Ruiz, who died in Afghanistan in May.

"He's a fallen comrade," said Allison Givens, who serves in the Army National Guard. "I consider him a brother-in-arms and I wanted to pay my respects."

The service for the 37-year-old included a three-volley military salute and the presentation of three American flags to members of Ruiz's family before the playing of Taps. The Department of Defense is investigating his non-combat death.

"Men as young and as full of life as Pablo aren't supposed to die," said Chaplain John Scott, who presided over the service.

The service also included speeches given by four members of the military who were among the closest to Ruiz.

"He was my best friend and undoubtedly irreplaceable," said Sgt. 1st Class John Ashe to the crowd.
read more here

Internet Left Four Generations of Veterans Forgotten About

There are five generations of war veterans alive in this country today.

In 2011, there were six.

Last American WWI Veteran
Feb 28, 2011
Frank Buckles was repeatedly rejected by military recruiters and got into uniform at 16 after lying about his age. He would later become the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I. (Feb. 28)

When we think about veterans in this country, far too many forget there are a lot more of the other 4 generations.

Take a look at the publication from the Department of Veterans Affairs on pre-Internet veterans.

These are their numbers up to 1991 as of May 2015

Living War Veteran 16,962,000
Living Veterans (Periods of War and Peace) 23,234,000

WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War veterans still alive but as far as the press is concerned, the only ones worthy of reporting on are Post Internet veterans.

War on Terror, Afghanistan and Iraq

War on Terror 2001–present 294,043,000

When you look at these numbers maybe you can explain to all the other veterans why they no longer matter. After all, when you consider all the donations going to the Post-Internet generation, all the hearings and bills passed by congress and all the news reports focused on them, it shows the other four generations of veterans have been forgotten about.

They experienced all the same wounds. They waited longer for those wounds to be treated by the VA for decades while most citizens have been deluded into thinking all the issues War on Terror veterans go through are new.

The other generations are the majority of the veterans living on the streets.

23% of homeless population are veterans
33% of male homeless population are veterans
47% Vietnam Era
17% post-Vietnam
15% pre-Vietnam
67% served three or more years
33% stationed in war zone
25% have used VA Homeless Services
85% completed high school/GED, compared to 56% of non-veterans
89% received Honorable Discharge
79% reside in central cities
16% reside in suburban areas
5% reside in rural areas
76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
46% white males compared to 34% non-veterans
46% age 45 or older compared to 20% non-veterans

They are the majority of veterans within the VA claim backlog. They are the majority of veterans committing suicide. They are the minority of news reports.

While the veterans organizations fighting for their care began generations ago, those same organizations are struggling to find financial support while billions a year are donated to others with huge Internet PR exposures.

Until all veterans from all generations are treated equally we will continue to see one generation being more important than all others. If veterans continue to be the project of a few instead of the priority of a grateful nation, then they will never received what they deserve. All of them deserved better from all of us.

Fallen Marine's Children Receive Flags and Extended Family

Marine's children receive American flags in honor of fallen father 
Fallen Marine's three youngest children presented with Stars and Stripes in honor of their dad
Sun Herald
BY JAMES SKRMETTA
June 5, 2015

"I never have to go through anything alone," she said. "For that, I am forever grateful."

Because of a mix-up at U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Robby Mathews' funeral, his children didn't receive flags honoring their dad's military service.

Four Marines made sure the children got their flags Friday morning in Biloxi. Mathews, 28, was killed serving his country.

His wife, Aaron Mathews, said the Marine Corps has been there for them ever since. "I didn't know what was going to happen after Robby died," she said.

"The Marines really stepped up and were there for our family in the most important of times."

Smart in their dress blues, four Marines approached the house Friday morning with three American flags folded in their arms as the children poured out of the house. Noah, 5, Emily, 3, and Elisabeth, 2, watched as each of the Marines dropped to one knee and presented a flag in remembrance of their father. read more here

Chaos Followed Call to Help Suicidal Veteran

Dashcam video shows Marine veteran pulled from car window after police chase
MLIVE.com
Molly Young
June 5, 2015

SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MI -- A man facing charges stemming from a carjacking and attempted abduction in March is a Marine veteran who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, his attorney says.

A video The Flint Journal obtained from Michigan State Police through the Freedom of Information Act shows the police chase that ensued, and the man's arrest after police dragged him out of a car window.

Events began to unfold when a woman called 911 saying her son was suicidal, highly intoxicated and suffering from PTSD, according to Michigan State Police Lt. David Kaiser.

The call put local police on the lookout for Michael Siminski, a 30-year-old Marine veteran from Owosso driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck.
read more here

Air Force Academy Cadet, Mother Committed Suicide

Coroner: Air Force Academy Cadet, Mother Committed Suicide
The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.
by Billie Stanton Anleu
Jun 04, 2015

Alexandre Quiros, an academically decorated Air Force Academy cadet, stabbed himself to death, the El Paso County Coroner's Office announced Wednesday. His mother, Ksenia Quiros, ingested deadly levels of antihistamine and hiked into remote open space to kill herself 13 days later.

Alex Quiros shared this photo of he and his mother

Ksenia Quiros, on Facebook in August.

(Facebook photo)

The autopsy report for Alexandre, a decorated astronautics senior, details 28 wounds, from incisions to stabbings, of his neck, forehead, scalp, eyelid, chin, left leg, chest and upper abdomen.
The stab wounds, particularly in the right and left carotid arteries and jugular veins, "resulted in massive blood loss and his subsequent death," the report says.

The 21-year-old cadet had taken Oxycodone for dental surgery earlier April 2, and his body had traces of Benzodiazepine, a classification of anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax or Valium, says the report by pathologist Daniel Lingamfelter. The report made no link between the drugs and suicide, citing only a "history of recent personal stressors." Nor did it make note of the dental surgery or whether Quiros underwent general anesthesia.
read more here

Marine Survived Afghanistan and 177 Police Bullets in Texas

Despite attempt at ‘suicide by cop,’ only one of 177 police bullets hit Marine veteran 
MySanAntonio
BY ZEKE MACCORMACK
JUNE 4, 2015

A jury Thursday sentenced him to 10 years in prison despite testimony from three men who served with him in Afghanistan that he deserved a second chance. Valdez himself took the stand, apologized to police and his family and said he had intended to hurt nobody but himself.

BOERNE — A troubled war vet who fired shots during a confrontation with police while robbing a Fredericksburg convenience store — he later called it an attempted suicide by cop — admitted guilt and is asking a jury here to assess his punishment.

Officers fired 177 bullets during the melee, but Victor A. Valdez, 25, escaped the Dec. 18, 2013 incident with a minor buttock wound, according to testimony this week.

Police unleashed the firepower when Valdez, a former Marine lance corporal with post traumatic stress disorder from his service in Afghanistan, fired through the store’s front window after more than two hours of telephone negotiations broke down. read more here

EMT Saving Lives And Paying Price With PTSD

Paying the Price for Saving Lives- Part 2
Local EMT opens up about her struggles with PTSD
News8000.com
Author: Mike Thompson
Published On: Jun 03 2015

"I'm with people at the worst moment of their life, most of the time."

CAMP DOUGLAS, Wis. (WKBT)
A walk through the woods with camera in hand, takes Stephanie Forrer Harbridge to a place of peace and quiet.

It takes her away from the noise that often clouds her thoughts.

"Some days I feel like I take 5 steps ahead and sometimes I feel like I take 20 steps back."

She uses photography as an escape that helps replace the haunting images of her day job with those of nature's beauty. "Just to go to someplace else," says Stephanie.

"It's like I've got an actual tangible thing that I can picture in my head when I start to think about stuff I don't want to think about."

When she's not snapping photos, Stephanie is saving lives as an EMT with Camp Douglas Rescue. "I'm with people at the worst moment of their life, most of the time."

"I've had some, a couple of really bad calls, one that's affected me quite a bit. I'll never forget it."

It was the week before Christmas a few years back and there was a terrible snow storm and glare ice on the interstate.

Two kids heading home for the holidays were involved in a horrific crash. Stephanie remembers her patient like it was yesterday.

"I had to hold her face together and she was the same age as my daughter was at the time. They told them she had passed and I heard her mom scream on the phone, I never want to hear that again."
read more here

Go here for Paying the Price for Saving Lives Part 1