Scars and Stripes: Vietnam veteran spreads inspirational message to Oakwood student WDTN 2 News Kelly King October 19, 2017
Roever admits there were times he thought of taking his own life, but he shared a message of hope.“I’m here to tell you today suicide is not the solution,” stressed Roever.
OAKWOOD, Ohio (WDTN) — A Vietnam veteran burned beyond recognition fighting for our country is making it his mission to tell his story of survival and inspire others.
Dave Roever was at Oakwood High School Thursday speaking to an auditorium full of students.
“Never let a good scar go to waste,” Roever told the crowd.
His story tugged at heartstrings as he recounted the day he left his wife for the war.
“She said are you coming back? That’s when I made that promise I couldn’t keep. I said ‘I’ll be back without a scar.'” read more here
Firefighters Battle Blaze Within Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos October 18, 2017 Note to firefighters: If people did not want your help, you'd be out of a job. Think about that for a second. They do not just have to need help, but want it enough to call for you to come and help them.
When I was at the Point Man Conference at the Adam's Mark hotel in Buffalo over the weekend, there was a Firefighters Ball at the same hotel.
During a break a firefighter noticed the patch I was wearing and we talked. I told the firefighter who we were, how long we've been working on PTSD and that help is out there. All they have to do is ask for it.
He said it isn't that they don't need it, they don't want to ask for it. That shows how little they understand about what PTSD is. If they knew, then they'd never waste another second without getting help to be the best they can be for their families, other firefighters and the community they serve.
I had to get back to the conference and he had to go to the ball. Had we had more time, I would have explained that they won't ask for help because they blame themselves for having PTSD. Somehow, somewhere along the line, they, like veterans, got it into their heads there was a weakness within them.
Ya, I know but that is what they think. I guess no one ever told them that it wasn't weakness that was causing them pain. It was the strength of their emotional core that made them feel it so much stronger than others.
The very thing that allows them to rush into burning buildings while everyone else is running away, trying to do whatever they can to save someone else, prevents them from being able to save themselves.
If they understood it properly, they'd know that PTSD only comes from trauma. They'd didn't cause it but they were hit by it.
They'd know that the word "trauma" is actually Greek for "wound" and thus, be able to accept the reality it happened to them.
They'd know that if they looked at it properly, they'd understand that the people they risk their lives for, not only need their help, they want it. They are unashamed to admit they cannot save themselves.
They'd acknowledge that they do not look down on the strangers they help, but find their lives so valuable, they will do anything to save them.
So, then why don't they see, that their own life is valuable too and trust those they serve with enough to talk about what they need from them?
Here's a video I did several years ago. I did it for National Guardsmen to help them heal PTSD and understand it better. I found out at another conference Chaplains were using it with police officers and firefighters and it worked.
Wedding party gives back to community by volunteering at food bank KTHV
Meredith Mitchell
October 13, 2017
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - A lot of wedding weekends begin with a bridal luncheon, maybe a trip to the spa, but one Little Rock couple wanted to do something a little different.
The beautiful path to marriage is getting more and more elaborate these days, but before Patricia Minor walks down the aisle, she and her groom-to-be wanted to spend time with their wedding party.
But the group went for something a little unconventional. The group decided to give back to their community by volunteering their time at the Arkansas Food Bank.
"I thought this would be a great opportunity for us to have some bonding time and some fun times," Minor said.
The groom, Will Ewings, and all of his groomsmen are either retired or active duty military. The man were wearing their favorite team's jersey as they stacked cans of food and helped in any way they could. Minor said service is nothing new to them. read more here
2 US sailors die of apparent drug overdoses in same week at Submarine Base Kings Bay
By Michael Callahan, CNN
October 18, 2017
Washington (CNN)Two US sailors based at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia have died of apparent drug overdoses in the last week, according to a US Navy public affairs officer.
Petty Officer First Class Brian Jerrell, a sailor assigned to the Trident Training Facility, was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in his off base residence on October 12, Navy Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler said. Four days later, Jerrell's roommate, Petty Officer Second Class Ty Bell, a sailor assigned to the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Wyoming was found dead of an apparent overdose as well, according to Self-Kyler. A Navy official said the overdoses were a result of cocaine, but cautioned there is a toxicology report pending.
read more here
Missing Army Veteran Julia Jacobson Now Believed Dead, Ex-Husband Arrested NBC News by BIANCA HILLIER October 17, 2017
A San Diego Army veteran who disappeared last month is now believed to be dead, according to local officials.
Julia Jacobson, 37, has been missing since September 2, 2017. She was last seen on security video at a store in Ontario, California with her Wheaten Terrier, Boogie. According to a press release from the Ontario Police Department on October 16, “detectives now have reason to believe” Julia and Boogie are both deceased.
While Julia and Boogie’s remains have not yet been located, on Friday October 13, police arrested Julia’s ex-husband on suspicion of her murder.
According to the press release, through a coordinated effort with the Phoenix Police Department and the FBI’s Arizona Violent Crimes Task Force unit, Dalen Larry Ware was arrested at his home in Laveen, Arizona. He was then transferred to the San Bernardino County West Valley Detention Center and is awaiting booking. read more here
A U.S. Air Force veteran who vanished while on active duty was discovered 40 years later living a double life in Florida.
Jeffrey Michels, 64, went missing from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota in July 1977 — only to be found last week using an alias with a wife and kids in Sanford, Florida.
Authorities said that Michels had gone by the name Jeffrey Lantz, which he used to get a license for construction company in 1998, news station WFTV reported.
Live coverage: Solemn escort for Officer Craig Lehner Buffalo News By Aaron Besecker, Lou Michel, Maki Becker Published 2:16 p.m. October 17, 2017 Updated Less than a minute ago
They vowed to bring their brother home.
And after five long days of searching the relentless Niagara River, the body of missing Buffalo Police diver Craig Lehner has been finally found. The police made the official announcement just after 3 p.m.
A procession is about to begin to bring his body to Erie County Medical Center. Already, police and firefighters have begun lining the route to pay their respects.
Here is the route the procession will take: Niagara Thruway (I-190) North to the Scajaquada Corridor (198) East. Then the Kensington Expressway (33) East to the Grider Street exit and on to ECMC to the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office. go here
For the second quarter of 2017, the military services reported the following:
• 56 deaths by suicide in the Active Component
• 27 deaths by suicide in the Reserves
• 36 deaths by suicide in the National Guard
First half of 2017 Totals
Active 130
Reserves 48
National Guard 68
🔃
Total 246
UPDATE
I thought about this all day and kept asking how anyone could find any of this acceptable or dismissible?
If they do not change what they are doing, then they must find the result acceptable. If the awareness raisers running around using slogan like "22" or "20" a day, dismiss these men and women serving the country, who will stop them?
It is not bad enough that the majority of the veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50 but are ignored.
Not bad enough that folks keep ignoring the fact that not all states have military service on death certificates and their veterans were not counted.
Not bad enough that while the number of enlisted service members went down during the last decade of the DoD doing "prevention training" the number of suicides were not reduced accordingly.
Not bad enough that they noticed that training was not good enough to prevent non-deployed from committing suicide or notice they needed to change to take care of those with multiple deployments.
No, none of that was bad enough for anyone getting all the attention and money to do a damn thing differently.
So please tell me when the fuck this is going to get bad enough for someone to find none of this acceptable and actually do something to change what this deadly decade has produced!
Sean Kirst: A photographer captures lasting image of Officer Craig Lehner
Buffalo Police Officer Craig Lehner with his dog Shield at the K-9 training area on Louisiana Street. (Photo courtesy of Shannon Davis)
Lehner, 34, a nine-year veteran of the police department, has been missing since he vanished Friday during a training session for Buffalo police divers in the Niagara River. For the past four days, multiple local, state, federal and Canadian agencies have joined forces in a furious and difficult search. Zoll introduced Davis to Lehner, who joined the K-9 unit about a year ago. Lehner told Davis about his dog Shield, a 4-year-old German shepherd purchased by the Buffalo police from a training center near Rochester. As they spoke, Davis said, the dog – intent and preoccupied – wandered in circles in the training area, nose down, sniffing the ground.
"He never stopped working," Davis said of Shield.
Lehner served in both Iraq and Guantanamo Bay with the Army National Guard. Davis photographed him with Shield, then spontaneously asked if she could take one portrait of Lehner, alone. Looking back on it, she is grateful for both images.
Editing videos and trying to play catchup, but wanted to share these stories I read earlier today. So many people think that there are no good news stories, but this should prove that if they don't find them, they must not be looking for them.
"The monument in the heart of Green Cove Springs will ensure that the memories of people like Coleman will live forever. The $82,000 sculpture was built with money raised from individuals and charitable organizations with no financial assistance from the government."
"The truth is Bauders, 25, killed himself at Al Asad Air Base less than a month after arriving for his first tour in Iraq. Horton believes the way he was memorialized, and the way his death was investigated, reveal that while the military has put an emphasis on combating veteran suicides, it's still struggling to change the cultural stigma around mental health for active soldiers."
"Norwood Thomas set a record Sunday while skydiving. Two days after his 95th birthday, Thomas became the oldest person to jump out of a plane at Skydive Suffolk." #inspirational
"Now, they’ve set goals for its expansion. They’re acquiring new watercraft for the rental fleet, including pontoon boats, canoes and stand-up paddleboards. They hope to add a playground for children and resources for ice fishing, and eventually open a waterfront restaurant. They’ve also renovated the front office and begun stocking it with concessions such as beer, wine and custom-roasted coffee, as well as a bigger array of fishing tackle." #inspirational
Ten years ago in combat in Iraq, Vaughn came incredibly close to dying, but didn’t. As remarkable as his survival and recovery were, his Army buddies weren't surprised. "If anybody's going to get shot in the face and live to tell about it, it's going to be Chance ... Vaughn," said Cody Chandler, of Kaufman, Texas, a former comrade in arms who attended the party." #inspirational
"There was no race in foxholes, he tells me, only brotherhood. 'When you in combat, it doesn't make any difference if the man beside you is black, white, Hispanic or what. You better have his back and you better have his back. And that's all there is to it.'" #inspirational
"John Henderson Sr. paused, then kissed the index finger on his right hand before running the finger across the name, starting with the “Jr.” at the end and working right to left." "It was like he was going backward — a mental and emotional rewind after more than a dozen years of pain."
