MISSING VETERAN ALERT CALIFORNIA

Iraq veteran with PTSD missing from Carson
Daily Breeze
May 22, 2016

An Army veteran who fought in Iraq and might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder has gone missing in Carson, authorities said Sunday.

Benjamin “Ben’’ Vogt, 38, was last seen at 9:50 p.m. Saturday in Carson, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

He left in his 1999 blue Dodge Durango and stated that he was heading to a rest stop, possibly along a highway, deputies said.

His license plate number is 4TWB526.

Vogt served two tours in Iraq and appears to suffer from PTSD and depression.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran Gets Dying Wish To See His Horses One Last Time

UPDATE
Texas veteran dies after getting visit from beloved horses

Dying Vietnam veteran’s final wish granted
By NBC4 Staff
Published: May 23, 2016

SAN ANTONIO, TX (WCMH) – A dying Vietnam veteran’s dying wish was granted on Saturday when he was able to go outside and see his horses one last time.

Roberto Gonzales was wounded in battle on May 21, 1970.

Gonzales was paralyzed as a result of his injury, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a horse trainer.

“My husband was one of the only handicapped or paralyzed licensed horse trainers in Texas,” Rosario Gonzales told KABB.

When things took a turn for the worse during a recent hospitalization, Roberto’s dying wish was to see his horses Sugar and Ringo one last time. That wish was granted on the anniversary of his injury.
read more here

Homeless Vietnam Veteran Shown Compassion by Orange County Judge

Orange County judge shows compassion for homeless veteran accused of shoplifting
WFTV ABC News 9
Updated: May 20, 2016

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.
A homeless man who fought in Vietnam asked an Orange County judge to lock him up and throw away the key.

The man was accused of shoplifting, but the judge showed the man some compassion.

“We owe these guys. I mean, they’re veterans,” sad Judge Jerry Brewer. “They did that No. 1 thing that the majority of people haven’t done.”

Lawrence Clark started by claiming he was guilty, something people rarely do in their first court appearance.

Police said he rode his wheelchair into a downtown Orlando Publix last week where he grabbed a 12-pack of beer.

When Clark went in front of a judge, his wheelchair hidden by a tall desk, he told his story to Brewer.

“I’m homeless. A disabled Vietnam veteran, and the VA is screwing me around. Social Security is doing the same thing,” Clark said.

Brewer said he was only mildly surprised by what happened after he told Clark he would appoint him a public defender.

“No, no your honor, I just want to plead guilty and ask you to sentence me to the maximum sentence,” said Brewer.
read more here

Results Prove Good Doers Doing More Harm

Plague Of Want-to-Be Good Doers
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 22, 2016

Every week more folks are stepping up attempting to do something about making lives better for our veterans.  While that may sound like a really wonderful thing, it is far from it. The desire to help is one thing yet gaining the knowledge to do it seems to be last on their to do list. The results prove they have been doing more harm than good.

Last night I had a long conversation about someone starting another charity. The usual claim about being different fell flat.  Awareness boiled down to whatever the latest headline summarized but that wasn't the worst part.  The person did not find any of this important enough to have taken the time to actually learn what they needed to know.  So how important is it to them?

How can anyone be so egotistical they think that they have the answers when they didn't even bother to put in the time to learn what the questions are?


Do Veterans deserve the support or does the charity? It is a question all of us should be asking before we promote any charity.  Think of it this way.  Efforts to address combat PTSD began four decades ago when, as with all other generations, Vietnam veterans came home suffering and decided to fight for this war wound to be treated.  It was not a new affliction. It just had a new name for it and research proved some wounds strike beneath the skin.

We seem all too aware of the problems veterans and families face, not that it was ever a secret for families.  Civilians didn't know what our veterans came home with. That is one thing all these good doers seem to understand because it was easy for them.  All they had to do was read a headline, get on social media and contact a report with the same limited interest in the subject.

If you doubt how many just jumped on the "I'm doing something" wagon, this should clear that up.

A Donor's Guide to Serving the Needs of Veterans and the Military "Donors who want to make contributions towards charitable programs that serve the military and veterans face an almost overwhelming volume of choices with, by some accounts, the existence of over 40,000 nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving the military and veterans and an estimated 400,000 service organizations that in some way touch veterans or service members."

"Even the 2013/2014 Directory of Veterans and Military Service Organizations published by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as an informational service for veterans seeking support lists over 140 national nonprofit organizations. Additionally, the number of new veterans charities has increased relatively rapidly over the past five years or so, growing by 41% since 2008 compared with 19% for charities in general, according to The Urban Institute as reported in a December 2013 The NonProfit Times article."

With all these charities popping up you'd think things would get better, but they have actually gotten worse. The truth is, veterans are still committing suicide double the civilian rate.  For veterans over the age of 50, they are 78% of those in the VA data base.  Younger veterans trained in "resilience" are triple their peer rate which is stunning since these veterans had been trained by the DOD in prevention since 2007.

All of them managed to survive in combat, found life so important they were willing to die to save others, yet too many cannot find a reason to live one more day.  Pretty repulsive when you think about it that way.

So what can we do to actually make a difference? Stop supporting the want-to-be-good-doers and start actually making veterans aware they can heal and do not have to suffer the rest of their lives.  Give them a reason to want to stay alive when the battle is about their own lives.

Learn the truth.  

Start asking question before you give anyone with a charity any type of support. 

Do they actually have something different to offer? 

Do they know what they are talking about? 

What is their background and training? 

What are they actually planning on doing with the money?

Do they have resources to actually do it like experts and advisors? 

How much time are they putting into the effort?

How long have they been involved with veterans?

Think of everything you would want to know before you sent someone you loved to them for help.  

If you would not trust them to take care of your family member then why trust them with your money? Do you trust them to do good instead of cause more harm? So far most seem to be doing it for themselves and not for the veterans they claim to be taking care of. If they were not interested in putting in the time before they decided to "do something" then plan on more harm than good being done and these heartbreaking out comes.

Rhode Island State Senate Passes PTSD Medical Marijuana Bill

RI Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill for PTSD Patients
WLNE ABC News
By: Kainani Stevens
May 20, 2016

PROVIDENCE (WLNE)----Medical marijuana for patients suffering from post traumatic stress disorder is one step closer to happening in Rhode Island. The State Senate unanimously passing the bill that would add PTSD to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify a patient to use medical marijuana

"PTSD has so much to do with anxiety that medical marijuana is a great treatment,"said Patrick Rimoshytus, a Care Coordinator at Green Cross RI. "There are so many different strains at this point, they all give different effect. It's almost like wine."

A significant portion of PTSD patients are military veterans, making the timing of this local bill even more relevant. Nationally, Congress voted to allow V.A. doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to their patients. Senator Jack Reed, a combat veteran, voiced his support of any safe and viable medical treatment for PTSD patients.
read more here
ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

Iraq Veteran Got Reason to Change in Indiana Veterans Court Program

Veterans Treatment Court saves 'tornado of self destruction'
Northwest Indiana Times
Joyce Russell
May 21, 2016

“I was a tornado of self-destruction,” Israel Toledo

PORTAGE — For the first time in a long time Israel Toledo cares — about himself, his family and their future.

“I never saw my drinking, my anger, my aggressiveness as an issue,” said Toledo, 33, of Merrillville.

He didn’t care about being arrested for driving under the influence. Toledo said he had about six arrests under his belt and knew he’d end up with a slap on the wrist. He didn’t care, at the time, about how those arrests and his behavior affected his family.

“I was a tornado of self-destruction,” said Toledo, a U.S. Army veteran who participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

That was until his last arrest, in Porter County.

“I understood I had a problem, but I didn’t feel I had the tools to deal with the problem. They talk to you and get to the bottom of the BS,” said Toledo, adding the program also holds the participants accountable.

Now, he says, he can look himself and his parents in the eye, thanks to the court giving him a chance to start over clean and sober.

“It gives you a reason to change,” said Toledo. “I discovered me.”
read more here

Donald Trump Won't Account for Money He Promised Veterans Charities

Trump said he raised $6 million for veterans. Now his campaign says it was less.
Washington Post
By David A. Fahrenthold
May 21, 2016

One night in January, Donald Trump skipped a GOP debate and instead held his own televised fundraiser for veterans. At the end of the night, Trump proclaimed it a huge success: “We just cracked $6 million, right? Six million.”

Donald Trump speaks to supporters on the Drake University campus at a fundraiser on Jan. 28, 2016, to benefit veterans after skipping the Fox News GOP debate in Des Moines that night. (Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency)

Now, Trump’s campaign says that number is incorrect.

Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the fundraiser actually netted about $4.5 million, or 75 percent of the total that Trump announced.

Lewandowski blamed the shortfall on Trump’s own wealthy acquaintances. He said some of them had promised big donations that Trump was counting on when he said he had raised $6 million. But Lewandowski said those donors backed out and gave nothing.

In recent weeks, Trump and his campaign repeatedly declined to give new details about how much they have given away.

“Why should I give you records?” Trump said in an interview with The Post this month. “I don’t have to give you records.”

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Trump’s refusal to divulge how much of the money he had distributed raised questions about whether the candidate intended the fundraiser primarily as a public-relations effort for himself.

“That’s just shady. Right? No matter how you cut it, that’s just shady,” Rieckhoff said. “If he was going to make it right, a couple of weeks before Memorial Day would be a good time to do it. It behooves him, not just politically but ethically, to come forward and account for this money.” read more here

USS Frank E. Evans Families and Survivors Remember

Family of RI sailor lost in Vietnam War fights to have his name listed on wall
Providence Journal
By Donita Naylor
Journal Staff Writer
Posted May. 20, 2016

The dead were not counted as casualties of the Vietnam War, and thus not listed on the wall, because the maneuvers were 127 miles outside the combat zone.

CUMBERLAND, R.I. — A memorial stone was unveiled and a tree dedicated Friday to honor a 20-year-old Cumberland sailor who was among 74 lost at sea in a naval accident in the Vietnam War.

Part of a nationwide effort to get the 74 names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., the stone was placed by veterans, survivors and relatives of the men aboard the USS Frank E. Evans.

The destroyer was cut in half by an Australian aircraft carrier after a series of navigational mistakes in the South China Sea at about 3 a.m. on June 3, 1969. The front half of the ship sank in less than four minutes, and everyone sleeping in the forward section was lost.
read more here
Linked from Stars and Stripes

Armed Forces Day: 14 facts you may not know about the U.S. military

Armed Forces Day: 14 facts you may not know about the U.S. military
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Debbie Lord
May 21, 2016

On August 31, 1949, the Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson, had an announcement to make.

Following World War II, the U.S. military hierarchy was being reorganized and redundancies, at least some of them, were being eliminated. The departments of War and of the Navy had been combined in 1947 and called the National Military Establishment. In 1949, the name was changed to the Department of Defense.

To build morale and to put a new focus on the combined forces, Johnson would announce the creation of a single-day celebration to honor all the members of the military no matter the branch. It was known as Armed Forces Day.
read some very fascinating facts here

Widow Fights After War That Followed Joshua Beal Home

Marine who took his life to be awarded degree
KHOU
Siobhan McAndrew, Reno Gazette-Journal
May 20, 2016

(Justeen Beal) is now active in veterans support groups and speaks on suicide. She counsels other veterans, stopping them when she hears it said that loved ones would be better off without them. “Don’t ever say that,” she said. “Josh was my best friend. I am not better off without Josh. I hurt every day.”

RENO — Joshua Beal will graduate from college Friday, a year after the U.S. Marine Corps sniper, warfare leader and paratrooper killed himself.

Beal, 28, who joined the Marines when he was 17, will receive the first posthumous degree ever awarded from Truckee Meadows Community College.

Justeen Beal, his wife of four years, will accept his diploma.

Beal was just six credits shy of graduating from the college when he shot himself June 6, 2015. He started college after being discharged from the military after a traumatic brain injury during his last deployment.

Beal survived four tours, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, but couldn’t survive the demons that followed him home from war, his wife said.

“When you are married to someone in the military, you know that when they come back they aren’t going to be the same person,” said Beal. She said her husband was in pain and took dozens of pills a day. He went to doctors and counselors for depression.

“He said some of what he had to do were against his morals. He struggled to get back to himself,” she said.

But Beal said she never saw signs that he would kill himself.

The day he died, she was working at her family’s restaurant when she read an unusual post from her husband on Facebook.

“Just another statistic,” he wrote.
read more here


I am torn right now, pulled between anguish and profound anger. I will never, ever, understand how so many veterans find it so acceptable to ask for help to fight during combat yet surrender their lives because they cannot ask for help after it. So why is Justeen Beal suffering after losing her husband?

Sure, they have excuses if they finally understand they need for help, look for it, then get frustrated when they don't have instantaneous relief from the pain they feel, but that does not explain why they give up fighting to heal. 

Do they even know they can heal? If they did, if they knew that most veterans heal even though they cannot be "cured" then they make think twice about giving up.

After over 30 years of witnessing healing along with all the tragedies that did not have to happen, my heart breaks for all the families like Beal's because he did not have to die and they did not have to suffer.  You'd never know that if all you pay attention to is the big lie of reducing the number of veterans committing suicide down to the false claim of "22 a day" giving up.

It is inexcusable for anyone to still be quoting a number they do not even begin to understand because it is an easy number for them to remember. I can assure you it is the "1" number families have a hard time living with is the 1 they lost.

Why should any of this be easy for anyone claiming to be serious about keeping them alive when they cannot even bother to read the damn report that started all this awareness? It isn't as if it was not happening before they paid attention to this. It isn't as if the numbers are just from OEF and OIF veterans when in fact the majority of the suicides involve veterans over the age of 50.

"The VA study found that the percentage of older veterans with a history of VA healthcare who committed suicide actually was higher than that of veterans not associated with VA care. Veterans over the age of 50 who had entered the VA healthcare system made up about 78 percent of the total number of veterans who committed suicide - 9 percentage points higher than the general pool."
Older Vets Committing Suicide at Alarming Rate

That is exceptionally hard to take since every effort made to help these veterans heal began with that generation, yet they have been forgotten about with all the new veterans charities popping up all over the country actually doing more harm than good. The numbers prove that but as we have all noticed, claiming to care and actually knowing how to help produce two vastly different outcomes.

Over half my life has been dedicated to defeating PTSD because my own life depended on understanding every aspect of the enemy trying to claim my husband's life and destroy mine.  He will never be cured and will be in therapy for the rest of his life but it is a life worth living because he asked for help and kept trying until he understood this is just one more fight he could not fight alone.

I saw the worst that PTSD can do but see the results of what healing can do everyday we spend together and we're heading into year 32 of a marriage that most folks thought should have ended decades ago. That is what makes me more angry than anything else! Yes, our success makes me angry because too many families have absolutely no clue how to defeat PTSD.

Maybe it is because they have too much of the wrong awareness and too little of the facts?  I didn't have any awareness of anything even though I grew up surrounded by Veterans.  It was not until my Korean War veteran Dad met my Vietnam veteran husband that I heard the term "shell-shock" and knew I had to learn what I was getting into. If I could't understand the guy I just fell in love with, then how could I be sure it would work out?

I had to learn reading clinical books at the library, so all I knew were facts. No false claims, no hype, no competing charities claiming they had the only answer and no nonsense from social media groups with a huge following but little substance. My generation did it the hard way just like all the other generations before us, so why the hell is it harder on this generation when they have the ability to learn from their own home?

They want it easy. Easy answers to trivialized tragedies summarized by a headline grabbed from a report they didn't bother to even read. 

If we ever expect anything to change then we need to start with the one thing that never, ever changed about them. They were willing to die for each other and asked for all the help they could get to do it. They are still willing to do that for other veterans and need to be willing to stay alive now.

Justeen is on the right track because she does not want another family to suffer and opened herself up to sharing a lot of pain out of hope that she can help a veteran find that will to fight within them again. She doesn't want them to leave someone behind wondering what they got wrong when loving them was only right.