As veterans die while waiting for organ transplants, Texans lead fight to fix VA policy Dallas Morning News Camille Caldera July 6, 2017
The Nelsons decided to pay for the surgery with Medicare and assistance from the hospital, which donated some services. Later, the VA apologized and agreed to cover the deductibles from the operation.
Tamara, left, Charles, and Coty Nelson pose for a photograph at their Leander, Texas home Sunday, July 2, 2017.
(Ryan Michalesko/Staff Photographer)
WASHINGTON — When Charles Nelson — a disabled Army veteran from Leander — learned he would need a kidney transplant, his son volunteered. Coty Nelson, 28, was a perfect match. And the Nelsons qualified for a program called Veterans Choice that let them receive care at a local facility instead of traveling out of state to a Veterans Affairs transplant center. But Coty isn't a veteran — so that means they couldn't get coverage under the program. Other veterans seeking transplants from civilians also have been affected, and Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, has introduced a bill in Congress to allow coverage for civilian-to-veteran transplants. read more here
Vietnam War Veteran Provides Grieving Military Families Comfort by Sketching Fallen Soldiers PEOPLE BY DIANE HERBST POSTED ON JULY 6, 2017
Michael Reagan was a Marine during the Vietnam War and weeks away from coming home in 1968 when he and his unit were attacked with rockets. The strike hit a close friend, whom Mike cradled in his arms as he was dying.
Michael Reagan and some of the celebrity portraits he drew
COURTESY MICHAEL REAGAN
“At the last second he looked at me and said, ‘Mike I just want to go home’ and he died,” recalls Reagan of that heartbreaking moment. “I see his face every day.”
When Reagan returned home grateful to be alive, “I knew I had a debt,” he tells PEOPLE.
Reagan, an artist who worked for the University of Washington, found a way to begin repaying that debt. He drew signed portraits of the biggest celebrities in the world that were auctioned off at charity events benefitting children and cancer research, raising over $10 million dollars for the nonprofits. read more here
Vietnam Veteran meets fallen soldier’s family Port Lavaca Wave By MELONY OVERTON Jul 5, 2017
Holmes’ fellow soldier and friend Sgt. Johnnie Mitchell Wahl was shot in the neck and died in Holmes’ arms.
It was Thanksgiving Day 1969. Weldon Holmes and his platoon were in Quang Tri Province in Vietnam not too far from the demilitarized zone.
“We were sitting around arguing over who was going to get the peaches and the pound cake out of the C-rations that went along with the turkey and dressing. The lieutenant came and said, ‘Why don’t you all load up,’” into armored personnel carriers, Holmes said.
Leading up to that fateful day, Holmes had facilitated seven days of R and R (rest and recuperation) to Sydney Australia to celebrate his 21st birthday Nov. 20.
“I really didn’t want to come back, but I couldn’t see leaving friends and brothers that…you get real close when you have to depend on somebody to protect your life 24/7. I got back to my unit on Nov. 23,” he said.
The platoon watched as jets 3,000 meters away flew their missions.
“You could still feel the ground shake. We got off (out of the carriers) to pick up bodies (of the enemy). We tried to do the right thing by leaving them for their families because the Viet Cong came from that area,” he said. “Arms were here. A leg was there next to a torso mutilated from explosions.”
“I was the only one to call them about Johnnie. They were told his whole company had been wiped out and that the ones who died were missing in action, but that made me mad because he (Johnnie) was never missing in action. We didn’t leave them behind because their bodies would have been mutilated so badly if we did,” Holmes said.read more here
Vietnam Veteran Larry Hester tells the story of fighting on Hill 861 ABC News Channel 9 Josh Roe July 5, 2017
WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — The walls in Larry Hester's office will tell you a lot about the man. A plaque hangs behind his desk that reads Walker County Veteran of the year 2007. It's right next to his 2014 Charles Coolidge veteran of the year.
There's a shadow box with a Purple Heart, and many other decorations from eleven months, and twenty days in country in Vietnam. These things that hang on these walls tell a story, but it's not the whole story. "Easter Sunday is the worst day of my life," Vietnam Veteran Larry Hester said. It was Easter 1967. The fighting there has been called the First Battle of Khe Sanh or the Hill Fights. Larry Hester was with the 9th Marines. read more here
Man found dead by creek ID’d as Fort Hood soldier Killeen Daily Herald By Josh Sullivan and Jacob Brooks Herald staff writers July 5, 2017
The man found dead along Nolan Creek in Killeen on Monday evening was identified as Anthony Ray Lovell, a 40-year-old staff sergeant at Fort Hood, officials and family members confirmed.
His death was ruled an accident by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences at Dallas. Cause of death is multiple blunt force injuries.
Killeen police were called just after 8 p.m. after the body was reportedly found behind the Brookfield Mobile Home Park near Bishop Street, police spokeswoman Ofelia Miramontez said.
read more here
In 1993 my husband was tested for Agent Orange. We'll never forget the words the doctor uses after the test was done, "No adverse health effects yet." Yes, those words "yet" have haunted us ever since, knowing that one day, there would be and there was. I thank God everyday that we have not heard the words "cancer" but it hangs over us all the time. If you think for a second we have lost all we had to lose by those who fought the Vietnam War, you are not even close to knowing that price yes yet to be paid in full. Now add in, cholangiocarcinoma.
Vietnam War veterans diagnosed with cancer linked to service being denied care by Veterans Affairs ABC 7 News New York By Kristin Thorne July 05, 2017
"If Jerry, God forbid, doesn't beat this thing, his wife Edie would lose the benefit that her husband earned," Schumer said.
VALLEY STREAM, Long Island (WABC) -- They put their lives on the line for our country - in a conflict that bitterly divided the nation.
Now, some Vietnam veterans are being diagnosed with cancer that may be linked to their service, but they're being denied care by the Veterans Affairs.
Jerry Chiano was only 19-years-old when he went off to fight in the Vietnam War. Years later, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and then more recently, bile duct cancer.
"Most people get no symptoms. They turn yellow. They get a little pain. It's already stage 4," Chiano said.
It's a rare cancer that many believe stems from parasites in Southeast Asia's waterways, but the Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize it as a service connected illness.
New York Senator Charles Schumer is stepping up to make care available for Vietnam veterans.
"Jerry, who served our country, should not have to fight a second war to gather scientific facts about bile duct cancer," Schumer said.
Schumer called on the National Academy of Sciences to launch a study examining the correlation between bile duct cancer and parasites that veterans may have been exposed to in Vietnam. read more here
A lot of requests to review books and videos come in. Most of the time, they are not worth sharing or even taking the time to slam. This morning I opened a link to something that I found, not only powerful footage of life for Marines in combat, but what it is like for them to come home and fight a battle they were never prepared to win.
From War to Wisdom Vision Films
The most decorated Battalion in Marine Corps history, Veterans of Fox 2/5, discuss the psychological injuries of war—and the unexpected trauma of returning to civilian life after the accolades of their successful battles have ended.
A banjo plays while troops walk slowly in front of the flame of an explosion.
Footage honors the veterans of the pre-9-11 wars as the veterans of FOX speak of their high regard for them.
And then things changed. Film from Marines waiting on the boarder of Iraq, playing cards, reading and chilling out with gas masks on until they heard "all clear" and could take them off. Formation in the sand. Training in the heat. And then joining together for a talent show. They waited until the orders came to go and create destruction of enemy forces knowing they may never return home again. From facing the unknown of war to wisdom living with what it produced within them, From War to Wisdom film will resonate with all generations of combat veterans. "The last time I ever got to see him..." "The war became real."
"Marines don't fight for an administration or country or flag. Marines fight for Marines." "Mission accomplished" was declared in 2003. And then they went back home without warning of what it all cost them.
"We had this identity of Black Hearts and that's who we had to live up to." Then they went back to Iraq. Everything had changed from the time they liberated Kuwait and were thanked for freeing the Iraqi people from the brutality of a dictator. They were targets. According to ICasualties.org in 2003 the US lost 486 service members. In 2004, it was 849, then 846, 832, 904 and 314 in 2008.
"But after a couple of days of being home it was... like fucking now what?" The only part of this film I had a problem with is this.
This is the latest number released by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It follows how many OEF and OIF veterans came home. The previous study of 2012 with the number of "22 a day" had the chart.
The problem is, the number of 20 is the exact number the same report had for 1999. In other words, the majority of the veterans committing suicide are not OEF and OIF, but as the report states, 65% of the veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50. The other problem is, there were over 5 million more veterans living in this country in 1999.
"65% of all Veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older.
Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This is a decrease from 22% in 2010.
Since 2001, U.S. adult civilian suicides increased 23%, while Veteran suicides increased 32% in the same time period. After controlling
for age and gender, this makes the risk of suicide 21% greater for Veterans.
Since 2001, the rate of suicide among US Veterans who use VA services increased by 8.8%, while the rate of suicide among Veterans
who do not use VA services increased by 38.6%.
In the same time period, the rate of suicide among male Veterans who use VA services increased 11%, while the rate of suicide
increased 35% among male Veterans who do not use VA services.
In the same time period, the rate of suicide among female Veterans who use VA services increased 4.6%, while the rate of suicide
increased 98% among female Veterans who do not use VA services."
After 35 years of watching them suffer in silence, families like mine trying to make sense of a war that became our battle to fight, this film is a powerful weapon to help us help them live after war.
Maybe that is the most important part of the wisdom we can gain from all of this. It is a war for us to fight for them. We cannot win it without understanding what this enemy does. We cannot defeat it with bumper sticker slogans or fictions of numbers instead of remembering each one had a family, friends and another military family they served with.
Knowing that these men and women had survived combat, returned to us, but then battled to stay with us in what was supposed to be the peace at home. Talking about the saddest casualty of all, is not changing the outcome. They need to know they do have the power to heal. We just have to give them the training to do it.
Florida Matters: The Impact Of Veteran Suicide Part 2 WUSF News By STEPHANIE COLOMBINI and ROBIN SUSSINGHAM July 4, 2017
The U.S. has seen an increased rate of suicide among its veterans, and those deaths can change the lives of family and friends forever. This week on Florida Matters, our special two-part program on veteran suicide and the impact it can have on comrades and loved ones continues.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has expressed concerns about the increased rate of veteran suicide and is pouring resources into combating the problem. The most recent change will be effective July 5, when the VA begins expanding emergency mental health care to former service members with other-than-honorable discharges, a group of vets that isn't always eligible for military benefits.
Florida Matters spent the first half of our special two-part program on veteran suicide trying to better understand the issue – what factors could lead a veteran to die by suicide and how does the social stigma surrounding suicide impact how families grieve? read more here
This is a veteran who found something worth risking his life for in the Marines and then found something worth living for as a veteran...hope to help others!
Veteran planning War on Terror memorial in Angel Fire KOB 4 News Morgan Aguilar July 05, 2017
At his wellness and healing center, Howe wants to create a space for veterans with PTSD along with programs for vets who have experienced sexual trauma while in the military. He'd like to eventually offer programs for first responders too.
ANGEL FIRE, N.M. -- It looks like New Mexico will have a War on Terror memorial long before Washington, D.C. A Vietnam veteran living in Angel Fire is spending his retirement turning a northern New Mexico property into a place for veterans from all over the country.
Chuck Howe has big plans for the site, an 18-acre plot right across from the Vietnam veteran's memorial. He said he plans to build the War on Terror memorial, a wellness and healing center for veterans and a hotel.
"One of the things that we always talk about with any war memorial or museum is how do you keep it relevant in the future? So many of our Vietnam vets are going to be gone, so what's going to keep people coming here?" Howe said.
read more here
Local veterans embark on Fourth of July honor flight to DC Spectrum News By Reena Diamante Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Before they took flight, the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans, could not help but to reflect on their years of service.
AUSTIN, Texas — Each day, there are fewer and fewer veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
For those who are still here, many have yet to see the memorials built in their honor at our nation's capital.
One local group is honoring them with a flight full of thanks.
There was a grand gesture of gratitude on Tuesday at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Hundreds of people lined the gates inside the departure terminal to show their support for the men and women who risked their lives for America.
“It means everything to me. I can’t believe this is happening.” said Frank Serpas, a World War II veteran. “It makes me feel so good to know that so many people respect the veterans.”
“It brought tears to my eyes,” said Jack Green, another WWII vet. “It’s been a long time.”
More than two dozen veterans took part in an Independence Day Honor Flight to visit the national memorials in Washington, D.C. and watch fireworks. For many, the experience is a trip of a lifetime. read more here
