Service Dog Charity Remembers Vietnam Veterans Have PTSD Too

SLO Vietnam War vet gets service dog from nonprofit
San Luis Obispo News
Nick Wilson
April 1, 2016

Hulin, 67, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has had difficulty doing daily tasks since his right leg was amputated a year and a half ago. Hulin said doctors believe the herbicide Agent Orange, which he was exposed to in Vietnam, contributed to health complications that led to the loss of his leg.

Bruce Hulin’s dog, Nichols, comforts him and helps him pick up dropped items and open doors

The San Luis Obispo-based nonprofit, Paws for a Cause, has raised $40,000 to help train dogs for war veterans

It takes one to two years of intense work to train a service dog

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. Dogs also can save lives, according to a local nonprofit group that connects dogs with veterans.

Cayucos-based Paws for a Cause has raised $40,000 and partnered with the San Luis Obispo-based nonprofit New Life K9s to provide service dogs to veterans — and, as a result, help prevent suicide, improve their relationships with those in the community, offer assistance and emotional support, and reduce homelessness.

The organization says dogs are the perfect buddies for those who have been hurt — physically or emotionally — by war because their loyalty and friendship is unconditional.

San Luis Obispo resident Bruce Hulin, a Vietnam War veteran and amputee, officially was awarded his new service dog, a yellow lab named Nichols, in an emotional ceremony at a Los Osos Rotary Club meeting Friday at La Palapa restaurant in Los Osos. Hulin is the fourth veteran to receive a service dog from Paws for a Cause.
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Medal of Honor Day To Remember Unknown Courage

GALLERY | Medal of Honor recipients gather for wreath-laying ceremony
Stars and Stripes
By Meredith Tibbetts
Published: April 1, 2016

Medal of Honor recipients watch the Changing of the Guard at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery during 

Medal of Honor Day, March 25, 2016.

MEREDITH TIBBETTS/STARS AND STRIPES

ARLINGTON, Va. — Medal of Honor recipients gathered in the Washington, D.C., area last Friday to honor the bravery and courage of citizens who faced down danger – or stepped up to the plate to help others.

The awards ceremony was held on Medal of Honor Day, a day dedicated to pay tribute to all MOH recipients, who, in turn, have set it apart to honor others.
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Police Officer Killed in Virginia Was Also A Veteran

Officer killed at Va. bus terminal was Marine veteran; Police ID gunman
Associated Press
By Alanna Durkin Richer and Alan Suderman
April 1, 2016

Police say the slain trooper, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and Marine veteran who had served on the force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.

Chad Dermyer stands beside his bride Michelle Dermyer in November 2000. The Marine veteran was fatally shot Thursday, March 31, 2016, at a bus terminal in Virginia. FACEBOOK

RICHMOND, Va. — A 34-year-old Illinois man fatally shot a Virginia state trooper at a busy bus terminal before the gunman was killed by other troopers, authorities said Friday.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller identified the shooter as James Brown III, of Aurora, Ill. Police did not give a motive for the shooting.

Brown shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, multiple times Thursday in Richmond before he was killed by two other troopers, police said. Dermyer had been participating with about a dozen other troopers in a training exercise at the bus station when a brief encounter with the gunman quickly turned violent, police said.
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Red Bull Raised For Carlos Puente-Morales, Police Officer and Veteran

Red Bull raised to honor fallen Des Moines officer
The Des Moines Register
MacKenzie Elmer
April 1, 2016

Senior police officer Jason Hays wanted to do something to commemorate fellow Des Moines officer Carlos Puente-Morales' service as a soldier. The fallen officer, who died Saturday in a crash on Interstate 80, served under Hays in the military and then alongside him as his brother in blue.

Photo: Des Moines Police Department

Hays requested a second flag be added at half-staff to the pole outside the Des Moines police station Thursday afternoon. The Red Bull, a symbol worn by the 34th Infantry Division of the National Guard since World War I, now flies just below the American flag.

"To us, it has a lot of significance," Hays said. "We painted red bulls all over Afghanistan. It's a patch we wear on our shoulders."

Puente-Morales was deployed twice overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan for the Iowa Army National Guard. Hays was his captain, but said Puente-Morales stood out among the hundred or so soldiers under his command.
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Intrepid Spirit Center at Fort Bragg Opens At Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg facility to address soldiers’ PTSD, depression, brain injuries
WNCN News
By Nate Rodgers
Published: April 1, 2016

The 25,000-square-foot facility is considered state of the art with a gymnasium, several conference rooms and various multi-purpose spaces. The 11-million dollar project was funded through the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, traumatic brain injury are all among the wounds soldiers are carrying home. Fort Bragg has opened a place to tackle these demons of war.

The Intrepid Spirit Center at Fort Bragg, which expects to service nearly 1,700 soldiers annually, is the fifth of nine centers of its kind built around the country.

It’s a house for hope and healing, officials say.

The center is a one-stop shop specifically geared to help service members with traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and behavior health.

“There are psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, something that I never took advantage of during my military career,” said Col. Paul Rounsaville, who served for more than 28 years.

Last year, Col. Rounsaville was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Until receiving treatment, he’d go 3-5 days without sleep. He says his brain just wouldn’t shut down.
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