Two Tours Of Duty, Veteran Faces Homicide Charges After Car Accident?

Reports Say Suspect in Fatal Shooting Was Veteran With PTSD
ASSOCIATED PRESS CLEVELAND
By MARK GILLISPIE
Aug 30, 2016

A man charged with murder for fatally shooting a woman after a traffic accident near Cleveland served two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, records show.

Matthew Desha, 29, of North Ridgeville, is being held on a $1 million bond in Solon, where the slaying occurred. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Bedford Municipal Court.

Solon police said Desha ran a red light at an intersection on Saturday morning and struck a car driven by 53-year-old Deborah Pearl, of Twinsburg, who was headed to work. The impact caused Desha's sport utility vehicle to roll over several times. Police said Desha fired multiple rounds at Pearl with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

A witness who saw the crash said Pearl's arms were raised when she was shot. A Solon police lieutenant said there are no indications that Pearl and Desha knew each other.

Desha's court-appointed attorney didn't return telephone messages on Tuesday.

A minister from Pearl's church attended Desha's initial court appearance on Monday and spoke for her family.

"We're baffled that something as basic as a car crash could turn into a homicide," Pastor Mel Kendall McCray told Cleveland.com after the hearing. "It's just beyond our comprehension."
read more here

Marine Corps Reserve turned 100 years old

Hundreds gather to celebrate Marine Corps Reserve’s centennial
Stars and Stripes
August 30, 2016

The Marine Corps Reserve turned 100 years old Monday, and hundreds of active-duty, former and future Marines celebrated with a mass gathering in New York City’s Times Square.

“This gathering is a reminder to all Marines who ever served that you are still a member of the Corps.” Lt. Gen. Rex McMillian
read more here

The Marine Corps Reserve turned 100 years old Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, and hundreds of active-duty, former and future Marines celebrated with a mass gathering in New York City’s Times Square.

OEF OIF 3 Tour Veteran Lost Leg Then Right to Ride At Amusement Park?

Why is this news? Read the headline, got upset, then I read the article.  Now I wonder why this turned into a news report......Never mind, just got my answer. It made me go to the link and watch the video.

3-time war Veteran says he was mistreated at Darien Lake Amusement Park
By News 4 Staff
Published: August 30, 2016

In the guidelines for “Shipwreck,” the park says guests wearing prosthetics may not ride and could be asked to remove their prosthesis if they want to get on.

DARIEN, N.Y. (WIVB) – A local Veteran says he is being discriminated against for having a prosthetic leg. David Cross from Amherst has served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He went to Darien Lake Amusement Park with his family Sunday, and says he wasn’t allowed on a water ride. He says injured vets need to know their rights at the park.

He was asked to remove his prosthetic leg if he wanted to go on “Shipwreck” a water ride at the park.

On his last tour serving in Iraq, Cross was hit by a large IED and got shrapnel in his leg. Since then it has been a struggle.

He said, “I went six years with chronic pain and I had heard about elective amputation.” He decided removing his leg electively was his best shot at a pain-free life.
read more here

Colin Kaepernick Can Sit On It!

Ok, so a guy gets millions to toss around a football but refused to stand up during the National Anthem.

Colin Kaepernick Sits During National Anthem Before Packers vs. 49ers
CNN
By Adam Wells
Featured Columnist
Aug 27, 2016

I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.

That must have made sense to him anyway.

Well if that is what he chooses to focus on, then ya the country, in his mind, would suck.  Bet it sucks that he's been so oppressed to have to be able to hire someone to go to the bank for him. But hey, he doesn't want to be selfish, so I bet he's donating all his millions to communities around the country. After all, he's got plenty of it.

Colin Kaepernick signed a 6 year, $114,000,000 contract with the San Francisco 49ers, including a $12,328,766 signing bonus, $61,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $19,000,000. In 2016, Kaepernick will earn a base salary of $11,900,000, a roster bonus of $2,000,000 and a workout bonus of $400,000. Kaepernick has a cap hit of $15,890,753 while his dead money value is $19,697,260.

So since those things mattered so much to him, he decided to make that much money? Did he join any community centers to make lives better or volunteer for any of the charities out there trying to make a difference everyday?

See that's the biggest problem. Some people would rather sit back, complain and then refuse to do anything to make anything better.

There are men and women risking their lives everyday while they are either hated or ignored until someone needs them to show up. They still do it for a lot less money. Here is just one of them.

Once an NFL running back, now he's on the Army Ranger School staff

Spec. Glen Coffee works in the boat house at Army Ranger School's installation at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. He joined the Amy after starring as a football running back at Alabama and playing for the San Francisco 49ers. DAN LAMOTHE/THE WASHINGTON POST

Vietnam: Medal of Honor quest for Maj. George Quamo

A breakthrough in Medal of Honor quest for Maj. George Quamo
Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
By Paul Nelson
Published: August 29, 2016

ALBANY, N.Y. (Tribune News Service) — Friends and family of George Quamo hope two more testimonials — one from a former military medic and another penned by one of his fellow special service members — will bolster the case that the Green Beret from Averill Park deserves a Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Vietnam War.

Maj. George Quamo VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FUND

Two notarized letters — from William Harris of North Carolina and Richard Mullowney Jr. of Alaska — bring to three the supporting documents that supporters will be submitting to the Defense Department requesting that Quamo be posthumously awarded the nation's highest military honor.

The Army Major who graduated from Averill Park High School in 1958 was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for leading a dangerous helicopter mission in 1968 that rescued 14 Green Berets and dozens of others who were invaded by two North Vietnamese battalions and were pleading for help at the Lang Vei Special Forces Camp in central Vietnam.

Quamo (pronounced Cuomo) died in a plane crash on April 14, 1968.
read more here

VA Reports Attempted Suicides Went Up Too

Before more people decide to raise awareness without reading the report like they did the last time, here is the link to the VA Suicide Report.

Veteran Suicide Facts and Data

But while we're talking about it, notice a few facts. Notice the number of attempted suicides and then notice the numbers in the charts below along with seeing how not much has changed. How about you make folks aware of that fact?

A history of non-fatal suicide attempts is recognized to be among the most robust risk factors for suicide.

Among VHA patients, reports of suicide attempt can be identified through review of external injury codes associated with health services (i.e., obtained from medical records) or from the Suicide Prevention applications Network (SPAN), VHA’s internal suicide event case management and tracking system. As shown in Figure 5, monthly reports of non-fatal suicide attempts based on SPAN data increased between 2012 and 2014, ranging from just over 600 reported attempts in May 2012 to almost 900 in August 2014.

VHA’s health care system includes an increasing number of patients with factors, such as a history of suicide attempts, associated with risk for suicide

Teenager's Life Cut Short By Accident, Soldier's Life Extended By Love

Teen who died following ladder fall donates kidney to veteran
KOMO
by Suzanne Phan
August 26th 2016

SILVERDALE, Wash. (KOMO) - A Kitsap family is preparing to bury their beloved teenage daughter on Saturday, but they find hope and promise that a part of her lives on.

Sixteen-year-old Emily Ramm was a bold, daring, and outspoken teen with big dreams and a lot of ambition, according to her family. Her life was cut short after she fell from a ladder at a construction site at Silverdale Elementary School on Aug. 13.

Loved ones say she was climbing to find higher ground and a better place to watch the meteor shower that night with friends.

KOMO News has heard from a military veteran who received Emily's kidney right after she passed.

"There's no words to describe how grateful I am. For the family, the loss is huge. I can't say thank you enough,” said Daniel Mendoza from his home.
read more here

No Evidence Navy Veteran Entered VA Before Suicide?

No Evidence Help Denied to Vet before Suicide: VA Director
NBC 4 News New York
August 27, 2016

Surveillance video shows that the 76-year-old veteran never entered the medical center before committing suicide in the parking lot, the facility's director says

"While at this time, it appears that the individual did not seek any medical attention we will continue to review additional surveillance cameras near the entrance of our emergency room, and all of our telephone records to see if the individual contacted our facility within the last week," he wrote.

There is no evidence that a former Navy gunner who killed himself earlier this week outside a veterans medical center on Long Island was denied treatment that day, says the facility's director.

Philip Moschitta, director of the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, states in an Aug. 26 letter to Congressman Lee Zeldin that the facility's preliminary review of the incident uncovered no indication that Peter Kaisen had entered the center before his body was found last Sunday in the parking lot.

"It appears the details of the tragic incident may have been misrepresented in the media coverage," he wrote.
read more here

Idle Gossip Is Not Helping Any Veteran

PTSD Suicide Awareness or Gossip?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 28, 2016

Last night I had the strangest dream, to borrow a line from Simon and Garfunkel. I was at an event for veterans when I came upon a table with a sign saying PTSD Awareness and a picture of a veteran with his head in his hands.

I stopped to talk to the man behind the table and asked him what his goal was. He looked at me and said "I'm raising awareness that veterans have PTSD."  I asked him if he was a veteran, he said we was not.  I asked him if he was the parent of a veteran but again, he said he was not. Then I asked if he was a mental health professional? Minister? Trained in any other way? He said he was not to all of them as well.

Puzzled and perturbed, I proceeded to try to get some type of clarification of whatever possessed him to think he would be making any kind of difference for our veteran. Turned out he didn't think much at all about any of it other than he wanted my money.

This is exactly what the problem continues to be.

Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act of is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip has been researched in terms of its evolutionary psychology origins.

Gossip has been researched in terms of its evolutionary psychology origins. This has found gossip to be an important means by which people can monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity. Indirect reciprocity is a social interaction in which one actor helps another and is then benefited by a third party. Gossip has also been identified by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary biologist, as aiding social bonding in large groups.

Social media has also provided a much faster way to share gossip. In only a matter of minutes, harmful gossip and rumors can spread online from one place in the world to another.

The term is sometimes used to specifically refer to the spreading of "dirt" and misinformation, as (for example) through excited discussion of scandals.

All this PTSD Awareness is nothing more than idle gossip.  Keep talking about the problem is only raising awareness that something is happening. Veterans and families already know all about it.

Good place to start maybe to stop talking about their problems unless you are offering solutions!

Military suicide data is not the same as Veteran suicide data, but some of these ne'er-do-wells blend both of them together using just the number of what they think are all there is.

Over the past decade the military has been using unproven training in "resilience" and "prevention" which produced a rise in the number of non-deployed forces. The prevalence of suicides among the non-deployed the DOD continue to focus on should have been a clue the training was worthless. If it did not help the non-deployed, how did they think it would help any of those with multiple deployments?

Finding a solution to Military Suicides cannot be accomplished until they stop doing what has not worked. 

In 2008 the Department of Defense Military Health System launched a website that was supposed to help clear things up. 

"More than 1.5 million troops have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.  The DOD estimates that up to 15-20 percent of returning troops have problems returning home. Irritability, depression, increased stress and relationship difficulties are typical concerns faced by service members and their families following deployment."

Too bad it didn't work.
This came out in 2009 several years after "prevention" started to make news reports.

In past years, the Army, which consists of 1.1 million active and reserve troops, has been just below or on par with the national suicide rate, Geren said.

But this year, with 128 confirmed and 15 pending, an estimated 20.2 suicides occurred per 100,000 soldiers, the highest since the Army began recording the figure in 1980. The figure is higher than the national suicide rate, which is less than 20 victims per 100,000 people.

It turned out they should have been worried because following that piece of news, the Army reported a 25% increase in the number of suicides from 2007 to 2008. By September the problem was so bad the DOD set up a task force to "prevent" suicides. It also turned out that as the number of enlisted went down, it also meant the percentage of suicides went up. 

While the Army thought the record had been surpassed in 2006 at 99 soldiers, along with 948 attempted suicides, the percentage was 17.3 out of 100,000. In June of 2016, USA Today reported that experts were concerned the high military suicide rate was the "new normal" and then added this. "The Army's suicide rate for active-duty soldiers averaged nearly 11-per-100-000 from Sept. 11, 2001, until shortly after the Iraq invasion in 2004. It more than doubled over the next five years, and, with the exception of a spike in 2012, has remained largely constant at 24-to-25-per-100,000, roughly 20% to 25% higher than a civilian population of the same age and gender makeup as the military."

As for our veterans it suicides have gone up 30% since 2001.

The study found that between 2001 and 2014, veteran suicides increased by 32 percent, while civilian suicides increased by 23 percent in the same time period. After controlling for factors like age and gender, this meant veterans faced a 21 percent greater risk for suicide than those who had not served in the armed forces.

So for all the money spent, years of excuses and awareness raising, we seem to be doing a lot more burying and a lot less healing. Maybe tonight I'll have a dream that we'll stop grieving as soon as everyone stops talking and starts doing something about all this!

Message From Veteran's Mom After Funeral "Don't give up on them"

Family lays loved one to rest, hopes to spread awareness of addiction
Your Erie
By Jaclyn Seymour
Published 08/27 2016

"There are many people struggling and it's a vicious cycle. And they need help, they all need help. And I would advise families to not give up on them because no one hates themselves more than the addict does." Diane Robinson

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and drug addition affects millions of men, women and soldiers every day.

One family buried their loved one Saturday - Justin Hoffman Robinson - who lost his life due to both.

Escorted by the Patriot Guard riders, 31-year-old Robinson was laid to rest Saturday at the Erie Cemetary by his military brothers.

Robinson passed away from an accidental overdose on heroin.

Robinson joined the U.S. Army National Guard after graduating high school.

He volunteered to serve two tours in Iraq, and almost a third, after 9/11.

Staff Sergeant Troy Lallemand says, "He always had the values set first honor, loyalty both to his country, his community and his friends and family."

But when he returned home, the battle wasn't over.

Robinson suffered severe PTSD and addiction to heroin, but his mother says he just recently completed a PTSD program and made great progress.
read more here

Fallen Air Force Sgt. John Chapman Possible Medal of Honor

Air Force Seeks Medal Of Honor For CT Native Who Died In Afghanistan, NY Times Reports
Hartford Courant
Kristin Stoller
August 27, 2016

Valerie Chapman holds a photograph of her husband, Air Force

Tech Sgt. John Chapman. Chapman was killed on March 4, 2002

during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. (Tracy Wilcox / Hartford Courant)

The secretary of the Air Force is pushing to award a Medal of Honor to the first Connecticut native to die in the war in Afghanistan, based on new evidence 14 years after his death, the New York Times reported.

Sgt. John Chapman, 36, a standout athlete and 1983 graduate of Windsor Locks High School, was killed in combat after military action began in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He died on March 4, 2002, while attempting to retrieve the body of a Navy SEAL who had fallen from a helicopter during an attack by al Qaida and Taliban fighters, according to previous Courant reports.

But new evidence unearthed by the Air Force about Chapman's final hours suggests that a senior chief petty officer may have been incorrect when he declared Chapman dead during the attack, the New York Times reported.

Instead, the Air Force said, Chapman lived for an hour after his teammates had retreated, fighting enemy troops alone, according to the newspaper report. New technology used in an examination of videos from aircraft flying overhead indicate that Chapman killed two Al Qaida fighters before "dying in an attempt to protect arriving reinforcements," the newspaper reported.
read more here

Combat Stress Forced To Make Cuts Over Donor Fatigue?

Veterans left in cold by ‘donor fatigue’
Sunday Times UK
Andrew Gilligan
August 28, 2016

Thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other problems are to be “abandoned” by Britain’s main mental health charity for ex-service personnel.

Military veterans say that Combat Stress provides a unique service

Combat Stress is to close its welfare service and make its welfare officers redundant in a move affecting up to 3,000 traumatised veterans. The charity says the cuts have been forced on it by “donor fatigue” and falling income.

Welfare officers at Combat Stress say they are the only regular point of contact for many mentally ill veterans, visiting, talking to and helping them access non-medical services such as housing, benefits and work.
read more here


Gee this makes sense,,,not. In the last decade all the new charities are getting all the attention, and money, for the new generation, but it is the older ones taking care of all generations of veterans being left behind.

Combat Stress History
We were founded in May 1919, just after the First World War. Our original name was the Ex-Servicemen's Welfare Society and we opened our first "recuperative home" in 1920 on Putney Hill in South West London.

Police Officer's Body Camera Captures Saving Man from Burning Car

Video: Hero Athens cop risks life to save man from burning vehicle
Online Athens
Joe Johnson
August 26, 2016

Braving intense heat from a roaring fire, Senior Police Officer Daniel Whitney would not be deterred from rescuing a man who was trapped inside an SUV that had crashed and was burning.

Athens-Clarke County Senior Police Officer Daniel Whitney

The Athens-Clarke County police officer pulled and pulled on the vehicle’s stuck door, even as an explosion from under the hood rocked the SUV and knocked off his hat. When Whitney finally got the man out and brought him to safety, it wasn’t a moment too soon. Within minutes the back of the vehicle where the man had been was gutted. Without the officer’s quick actions the victim would have suffered the same fate as the 20-year-old driver, who perished.

Whitney, 36, is a native of Athens who graduated from Cedar Shoals High School. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army who served with the 101st Airborne Division. He joined the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in 2002, and is a member of the department’s Strategic Response Unit.
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101st Airborne Soldier in Custody After Opening Fire At Fort Campbell

UPDATE

Officials ID Soldier Accused Of Firing Shots At Ft. Campbell

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Officials have identified the soldier who allegedly fired shots at Fort Campbell.

The soldier was identified as 23-year old Spc. Bryan Castillo, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter repairer. He arrived at the post in September, 2013.

According to a release, Castillo allegedly entered Hangar 8 on the airfield at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and fired two shots.
read more here

Soldier Arrested After Active Shooter Incident At Fort Campbell
News Channel 5
August 25, 2016

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - A soldier with the 101st Airborne Division has been arrested after an active shooter incident occurred at Fort Campbell. No injuries were reported.

Authorities confirmed the incident happened Thursday afternoon. The post was placed on lockdown; however, the situation ended and the post was made secure.

Base officials said the shooter entered Hangar 8 on the airfield at around 11:30 a.m. and fired two shots.

Law enforcement was notified and immediately responded. Police chased the soldier after they fled the hangar in his personal vehicle.

During the chase, the soldier hit another vehicle, but then tried to get away on foot once the soldier got to his on-base residence.

That's when police took the soldier into custody. They also found additional weapons and ammunition.
read more here

Death is Not the Answer Film on PTSD and Suicides

It is heartwarming to some when you think of all the people out there trying to make a difference in the lives of others. It is depressing as hell to know wanting to do good and doing it are two totally different things.

I'm not going to rehash the numbers not changing on the suicide reports since 1999.  (You can look them up for yourself if you haven't already read them here.)

There are things that do work. Trauma hits all of you. Your eyes, ears, nose, throat, heart, nerves, organs and especially your mind. It strikes the part of your brain holding your memories and emotions. All of what makes you "you" is changed in an instant.

Healing requires all of "you" to be treated properly.  You need trauma expert doctors to care for your mind and help you put it back in balance again.  You need help on an emotional/spiritual level to help you heal, which all too often is left out of treatment.  You also need physical help because your body needs help to calm down again.

When you live through the thing it isn't just "it" but it is also the fear of it happening again. That is why there are higher numbers of veterans with PTSD after multiple deployments. The Army figured that out in 2006 when they studied the effect of redeployments discovering it raised the risk by 50% for each time being sent back.

Reading an article on physical efforts there is a stunning reminder for anyone thinking any of this is new. Veterans share stories of depression, suicide for film is a great example of veterans doing physical "therapy" to keep them going. 

Recently, Gaudet was one of many veterans who joined the Visionalist Entertainment Production crew as they filmed a portion of their documentary, "Death is NOT the Answer,"

Also in the article there is a Vietnam veteran participating as he has every day since 1982.

Vietnam War veteran Michael Bowen, who ran the track with the students while carrying a prisoners-of-war flag. Bowen, known as “Flag Man,” runs 5 miles to 8 miles almost every day since 1982 to spread awareness about how veterans are affected by suicide.

Yep, 1982. Over three decades because there were many folks working on PTSD by then. I know because I learned from those out there before me so that I could help my own husband. Experts knew back then that help had to involve the whole part of the veteran so they could change again after trauma but this time, for the better.

"Death is not the answer" after war any more than it was the answer during it. How do they do everything humanly possible to survive during combat but find it is more difficult to ask for help afterwards? Doesn't make sense at all.  

In combat, you ask for everything you can get when you need it because lives are depending on all the support you can get. After combat, your life depends on all the help you can get to heal so that you can help others defeat their own demons and their lives depend on someone being there for them.

So what are you thinking? If you leave this earth because of your own actions, how many lives could you have changed fighting for them instead of giving up on yourself?

Pearl Jam Raising Veterans Voices

Pearl Jam to help fund ‘Veterans’ Voices’ project
The Recorder
Diane Broncaccio
Recorder Staff
August 26, 2016

“The Veterans’ Voices program takes participants out of the broken places, the darkness, the hopelessness.” Robin Lane

SHELBURNE FALLS — For 15 years, rock musician/singer-songwriter Robin Lane of Shelburne Falls has been using music to help people recover emotionally from sexual assault, child abuse or domestic violence. Through her nonprofit, Songbird Sings, Lane has also worked with military veterans, using music to help soldiers reconnect to feelings that have been numbed by war trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and mental health problems.

This summer, “Veterans’ Voices” will get extra help from the proceeds of two Pearl Jam concerts held this summer in Boston’s Fenway Park.

Veterans’ Voices is one of four local programs picked by Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation to receive $1 for every ticket sold for the Fenway Park concerts held on Aug. 5 and 7. The Pearl Jam donation is to be followed by another contribution to be made by “The Foundation to be Named Later,” (FTBNL), which provides ongoing support to Songbird programs.

According to Vitalogy, the Fenway baseball park concerts broke attendance records with 72,722 tickets sold over two nights. That means Songbird Sings will receive $18,180.

“The funding provided … will be used to create songwriting workshops for veterans with PTSD and will allow Songbird Sings to expand programming and reach more survivors, in order to ease suffering caused by PTSD,” Lane said, in a news release. “A huge thanks to Pearl Jam and FTBNL for their support. We couldn’t be more grateful.”
read more here

Man Charged After Attack on PTSD Veteran and Dog!

Wilton man accused of assaulting family member, veteran with PTSD
Central Maine
Lauren Abbate
Staff Writer
August 26, 2016

WILTON — A Wilton man was arrested twice this week for allegedly assaulting two elderly men who lived with him, including a family member and a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Wilton Police Chief Heidi Wilcox said in published reports Thursday that both victims are dependent on care and have limited resources. She told the Lewiston Sun-Journal the veteran was been taken to a shelter.

She said that police were told the veteran’s dog was kicked across a room. She said the dog has been removed from the home until housing can be found for the owner.
read more here

317 Florida Veterans Get Medals in Bradenton

Governor presents awards to 317 veterans in Bradenton
Bradenton Herald
James A Jones Jr.
August 25, 2016

William Thompson, 91, and Ned Teves, 82, came through the award line together. Thompson served in the South Pacific during World War II, while Teves served as an Army doctor in a military hospital in Japan during the Vietnam War.

Teves said he had been a recent immigrant from the Philippines and not yet a citizen when he was drafted into the Army.

He called his draft notice a “love letter” from the U.S. government.

Teves, like other vets from the Vietnam War era, welcomed the appreciation expressed for their service in recent years.

BRADENTON
Rick Scott had already presented Governor’s Veterans Service Awards to more than 300 veterans on Thursday when he spotted Jackson Carson, 86, sitting at the back of the room.

The Bradenton National Guard Armory had just about emptied out, and Carson seemed unable to come forward to be recognized.

The governor walked back to Carson with Major Gen. Michael Calhoun, Florida’s adjutant general, at his side. Scott placed the award around Carson’s neck, thanked him for his service and asked him when he served.
read more here

Community Refuses To Give Up On Blind, Homeless Vet

Grace In Action: Community Refuses To Give Up On Blind, Homeless Vet
CBS News
By Robbie Owens
August 25, 2016

DALLAS (CBS11) – With hugs and smiles all around, Willie Curtis King, Jr. is enjoying a homecoming of sorts.

“I had thought there weren’t no more really good people in the world,” said King. “I was so down on my luck. But, every day, I woke up. Every day I woke up, these people helped me.”

His visit to the MLK Community Center Thursday was made even more special when you consider that this time last year, King had no home. He was a card-carrying member of the angry, hard-to-help homeless, existing on the kindness of those at the center.

“I didn’t have to be outside that dumpster,” said King. “I was just belligerent… out of control.”

Those at the MLK Center would be inclined to agree.

“I reached out to his brother,” said Officer Terry Brookins. “He cursed his brother out. Everybody tried to help him; but, he refused.”

But, Officer Brookins was patient… and he was persistent, telling CBS11 that it was “heartbreaking” to see the veteran “digging in the trash cans, trying to find food to eat.”
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WWII Navy Photographer Shares Images From USS Astoria

Navy photographer wanted his work to be shared
USA TODAY NETWORK
Jay Levin, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record
August 25, 2016

Fewer than 700,000 of the nearly 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive today, according to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. More than 400 veterans of that era die every day, almost 160,000 this year.

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Herman Schnipper, a mild-mannered Navy photographer who chronicled the danger and drudgery of war while on board the light cruiser USS Astoria, died Wednesday at his home here, where his vast trove of World War II images is stored.

He was 92.

Herman Schnipper of Hackensack, N.J., was a Navy photographer aboard the USS Astoria during World War II, shown Dec. 9, 2014. He made copies of every picture he took and categorized them.

(Photo: Mitsu Yasukawa, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record)

“I don’t want them to be put in a box and forgotten. I want to show people the war,” Schnipper told The Record in 2014, referring to the black-and-white prints he has held on to since his military discharge a few months after the war’s end.

At the time of the interview, Schnipper was in declining health and his family felt an urgency to decide what to do with the photographs, which they want to be accessible to the public.
read more here