Marines in Afghanistan going through puppy love

Marines raise money to bring Afghan puppies home from deployment

FOX 17 News
Rebecca Russell
December 30, 2017

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan-- Some West Michigan Marines deployed overseas will be bringing home a little piece of Afghanistan to Michigan. They found two puppies and with the help of loved ones back home, they raised enough money for vet bills and the long trip back home to Michigan.

Hayden Gort is currently deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan. His team found a puppy going through their garbage a few weeks ago. Another platoon found a different puppy on the side of the road while out on patrol. They've been taking care of them ever since and soon they'll be on a plane back to West Michigan.

It all started three weeks ago.

"Me and my team were taking the trash out in the morning as we do every morning," said Gort. "We saw one of the trash bags moving and was somewhat empty. There was a puppy laying in it trying to dig through the trash to find food."

That's when they found the puppy they would name Sabula.
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Honored Vietnam Veteran Speaker May Have Lied

Vietnam veterans claim of 9 Purple Hearts raises questions
Times Free Press
December 31, 2017

"I've got 57 medals," Holloway proudly proclaimed, remarking that some were pinned to his chest by President Lyndon B. Johnson himself.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Times Free Press in November 2016 published a story that included information about Vietnam veteran Stephen D. Holloway, who was speaking at a Veterans Day event in Pikeville, Tenn., and claimed to be the most-decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. Holloway's public claims were challenged by veterans of Vietnam and other conflicts, and the Times Free Press has spent more than a year investigating his military record. To date, Holloway maintains his claims are accurate, though few of his medals and awards have convincing documentation. This is part 1 of a two-day series.

Silver Star. Bronze Star.

Prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Nine Purple Hearts.

Sounds extraordinary, but that's what 69-year-old Vietnam veteran Stephen Douglas Holloway claims.

For three of those claims, the Hixson resident's DD-214 — the official document every military veteran who serves is given when discharged from duty — backs it up.

One of Holloway's multiple DD-214s, anyway.

If Holloway's Purple Heart claims are true, veterans who study military awards, documents and records say, he would be the most decorated service member to serve in the Vietnam War.

But so far, the Times Free Press has been unable to verify any of those claims through military channels, or through Holloway himself.

A fake Purple Heart claim flies in the face of the people who have legitimately received them. 

"There's only one person that's been awarded nine Purple Hearts. His name was [Albert L.] Ireland. He was a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps. And he has officially been awarded nine Purple Hearts. No one else in history has," said Kendrick, who received the Purple Heart four times and has the documents to prove it. read more here

Most decorated American soldier in US Military history

The title of most decorated American soldier probably goes to Robert Lewis Howard, a US Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam War. Howard was born July 11, 1939 and he died at age 70 on December 23, 2009. Robert L. Howard was wounded 14 times while serving over 54 months of combat. He was awarded 8 Purple Hearts, 4 Bronze Stars, and was nominated for the Medal of Honor in three separate cases.

Robert L. Howard enlisted in the US Army at Montgomery, Alabama and retired in the rank of Colonel. read more here

Ten time a hero, Curry T. Haynes
Having recovered from malaria, he was “good to go” a second time and reported back to his unit. With one Purple Heart to his credit, if Haynes was wounded two more times he would earn a trip back to CONUS, the Continental United States. The rule was: Three Purple Hearts earned a soldier the much-sought-after ticket home on the Freedom Bird. Most likely the architects of the “three-strikes-and-you’re-out of the war” rule had meant the policy should be applied to three separate engagements. Hayes earned nine more Purple Hearts in one engagement.

National Guardsman Died Saving Others from FIre

National Guardsman Rescued Others Before Dying in NYC Fire

Associated Press

December 31, 2017

NEW YORK -- The victims of New York City's deadliest fire in decades include a man who immigrated to the Bronx from Ghana and dreamed of becoming a military policeman.

A relative told The New York Times that Emmanuel Mensah had rescued a number of people before going back into the burning building, where he died of smoke inhalation.

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Massive fire that killed 12 started by child playing with stove, causing 'unprecedented' loss

ABC News

Julia Jacobo and Morgan Winsor

December 29, 2017

A massive apartment fire that killed at least 12 people -- including a 1-year-old girl found with her mother in a bathtub -- was sparked by a small child playing with a stove, city officials said.

When the family fled the first-floor apartment unit, they left the door open, allowing the flames to spread into the stairwell and shoot up the staircase of the five-story residential building.

"It took the fire so quickly upstairs, people had little time to react," New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a press conference Friday morning. "Open stairs act as chimneys."

The burned-out halls of the building are seen in video released by New York fire officials on Friday. Soot and ash cover the hallway and stairwell from floor to ceiling.

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Veterans lost within all the scams and stunts

Hope Eyes Open Before More Close
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 31, 2017

Even in one of the worst years for veterans, there had been some hope within all the scams and stunts. For all the folks out there asking for money do to absolutely nothing to prove they deserved it, people responded. They responded because they do care about our veterans. The problem is they put the spotlight on themselves and left veterans in the darkness where hope could not be found.

I wish I could say I do not judge the universe. I wish I could say that all the do-gooders out there are actually doing some good, but the majority are doing what comes easy for them.

How hard is it to talk about a number when "its an easy number to remember" even if it is not true? How hard is it to talk about a headline when they never even bothered to read the report it came from?

I've been asking that question for years. I am still waiting for an answer. Too many of them have stopped waiting for answers as hope vanished. They found people pretending to care while shutting their eyes to what veterans needed. The result was thousands of veterans shut their eyes for the last time. No one gave them another reason to at least try to stay alive.

They fought for us.
(Yes I am trying to raise some money so that I can at least break even this year but we're talking about a budge of $2,500 a year. What I do is over the phone and online, little overhead but 45 hours a week worth of work. Now think about that as you read the charity frauds below.)

It has been over a decade since raising awareness became more important than doing anything to actually change the outcome. The result was billions going into charities and more veterans going into graves.

Just in this year, here are some of the self serving groups and individuals who were supported while no one thought to ask for any proof for what they claimed.

The Gregory's charities raised $782,434 between 2014-2015. None of the money was ever used for equine therapy, saving horses' lives, or supporting veterans, the lawsuit states. California

Veterans in the area, meanwhile, are disgusted knowing scammers are targeting people who support them. The scammers’ lies are hurting real veterans charities. Jason Parzy, 37, thought he'd walk away with $300 cash as he entered the Cash For Gold store in Wesley Chapel, according to investigators. Florida

Veterans in Need Foundation: In the charity’s most recent IRS filing, it reported collecting $448,000 in donations in the latest year available and almost $2.2 Million over five years. Again, Florida

It was a donation that would change everything. A Gresham man promised to contribute $425,000 to a nonprofit organization that provides gym memberships to veterans. The Beaverton-based charity, Lift For The 22, celebrated the announcement with a check presentation streamed live on its Facebook page. Oregon

After firework tent sales were over on July 8th, the tent closed down, and left. 24 days later, and neither Americans for Independent Living nor the Black Hawk County VA received a single penny in donations from Iowa Fireworks Company, which led KWWL to follow the money. Iowa 

The attorney general said some of Project VetCare’s leaders had diverted money to pay for a range of personal purposes, including a cruise vacation, a heating system for the executive director’s home, and loans and stipends for directors and their relatives.Robert Chambers, co-founder of Project VetCare, was among those named in the report. The investigation found that he used the organization’s fund to pay for a Toyota van and that his daughter had received a stipend payment. New Hampshire

Veterans shelter accused of making profit by making veterans work. North Carolina 

Madigan sued the charity after a 2015 Tribune investigation found that VietNow had raised more than $20 million between 2003 and 2014 but spent 80 percent of those donations on for-profit telemarketers. Most of the remainder went for administrative costs, the Tribune reported, leaving just a fraction of the donations for programs to help military veterans. Illinois

Telemarketers making money instead of veterans all over the country like this one. 

And recently, yet again in Florida, there was this guy.

An Ormond Beach man has been accused of running a sham veterans charity after investigators said he scammed several local businesses that had provided services for a benefit golf tournament headlined by a former NFL player.

Did anyone ask for proof from any of those groups before they wrote checks? Did anyone bother to check to see what all the "awareness raisers" were doing with the money they got? Anyone ask anyone what the result of all this was?

Love On The Rocks? Seems to say most of it. 

First, they say they want you
How they really need you
Suddenly you find you're out there
Walking in a storm
When they know they have you
Then they really have you
Nothing you can do or say
You've got to leave, just get away
We all know the song

Prisoners and puppies changing lives 4 paws at a time

Puppies Raised In Prison Go On To Help Disabled Veterans
WNPR
David Desroches
December 29, 2017

Prisons have actually been training dogs since the 1980s. A Dominican nun is credited with  bringing the first training program to a Washington state prison back in 1981.

Jerrod Chapel working with his dog, Pete, teaching him how to fetch things for a future disabled veteran.DAVID DESROCHES / WNPR 

Inside Enfield Correctional Institution there are all the expected security measures: Huge steel doors. Armed guards. Barbed-wire fences. Locked gates.

But in one area of the prison, there's something a little different.

There's a room with a huge mural painted on the back wall. It shows men and women in army fatigues playing with dogs. One woman is in a wheelchair. Inside this room, there are all sorts of props built to mimic items in a home: a refrigerator; a portion of a wall with a light switch on it; a door -- literally a door to nowhere -- in the middle of the room, with a leash attached to a handle.

This room is where inmates train puppies to be service dogs for veterans.

One of the dogs Santiago got to train was Caspar, a big yellow lab, mixed with a little golden retriever. A few months ago, Caspar found a home with Bob Rapone. He's a Vietnam veteran who's been living with PTSD ever since he came home nearly 50 years ago.

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Las Vegas Shooting Survivors Still Wait for Help

Vegas Strong Fund pays 12 Las Vegas shooting victims — then stops
Las Vegas Review Journal
Nicole Raz
December 29, 2017

P.J. DeMasseo, a survivor of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting, cashed a check for $1,000 Friday from the Vegas Strong Fund.

Survivors of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting--Jennifer Holub (left), Heather Gooze and Stacie Armentrout discuss ways to deliver immediate financial assistance to survivors and families of the 58 who died in the shooting in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. Nicole Raz/Las Vegas Review-Journal

He is one of 12 people who received checks this week from the nonprofit totaling $14,800.

He also could be one of the last.

The checks — ranging in amounts from $200 to $3,900 — mark the first distributions to Oct. 1 victims by a nonprofit established in response to the shooting. But it was unclear Friday whether additional victims would receive money from the fund.

The Vegas Strong Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created by the Nevada resort industry after the shooting. The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has raised more than $22 million for victims of the Strip mass shooting — and gained far more attention than the Vegas Strong Fund — isn’t expected to distribute money until March. Many victims have expressed concern with that timeline because they have immediate financial needs, and others won’t qualify for assistance from the Victims’ Fund at all.

Enter the Vegas Strong Fund. The $14,800 came from more than $12 million in commitments and cash collected so far. Most recipients will not qualify for assistance from the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, which will benefit those who suffered physical injuries and the families of those killed.
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Man Arrested for Fraud After Using Homeless Veterans

Deputies arrest Ormond man in veterans charity fraud

Daytona Beach News Journal

Seth Robbins
December 29, 2017

An Ormond Beach man has been accused of running a sham veterans charity after investigators said he scammed several local businesses that had provided services for a benefit golf tournament headlined by a former NFL player.

Christopher Blake, 46, faces a felony charge of organized scheme to defraud after he received donations and services under the guise of a charity called “Second Chance Veterans Foundation,” Volusia County sheriff’s detectives said.

Blake held a late October golf tournament at DeBary Golf and Country Club where he brought in a friend, retired NFL football player Gerald Riggs, to be the star. But the golf course, a sign maker, a hotel and even Riggs were left empty-handed after Blake paid them with bad checks for their services or tried to skirt payment entirely, according to a charging affidavit.

The website for Blake’s charity, which boasted of a Memorial Day raffle of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that was said to have been donated by Bruce Rossmeyer’s Harley-Davidson, was also investigated. The raffle was to be held at Ace Cafe in Orlando, and the proceeds from it were to go to the area’s homeless veterans. But when Elmazi contacted the motorcycle dealership and the cafe, both owners said that the advertising was false.

read more here 

80% Veterans Complete Veterans Court Succeed

A few things to notice when you watch the video on the link. They start the session with the Pledge of Allegiance. The other is that the entire courtroom is there supporting the veteran who just graduated from the program...including his family!

Top that off with the veteran wants to turn around and help other veterans succeed as well!


Veterans court gives second chance to some struggling vets
WESH 2 News
Greg Fox
December 29, 2017

Judge Bryan Feigenbaum said more than 80 percent of those who graduate do not repeat their crimes.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla.
WESH 2 News has details on a court program that helps veterans, instead of sending them to jail.

WESH 2's Greg Fox met a combat veteran who got a second chance after an armed standoff with police.

The man has been rehabilitated and is hoping to help others.

Kevin Hamilton, like others eligible for the pretrial diversion program, is a veteran with an honorable discharge. He was an Army sergeant and served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hamilton suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and held his family hostage and threatened his own life in an armed standoff in Ormond Beach in 2015 that ended peacefully.

Veterans court gave Hamilton a second chance: counseling, probation and mentoring, or face prison time.
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Mayor/Afghanistan Veteran Said "Yes" to Boyfriend

'He said yes!' South Bend mayor says he and his boyfriend are getting married
Associated Press
December 29, 2017

Buttigieg is a Rhodes scholar who served a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan in 2014 as a Naval Reserve officer.

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced on Facebook Thursday that he and his boyfriend Chasten Glezman are engaged.(Robert Franklin / AP) 

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg says he and his boyfriend are getting married.

The 35-year-old Democrat announced on Facebook Thursday that he and Chasten Glezman are engaged, writing that "He said yes!" The mayor's spokesman confirmed the announcement.

Buttigieg says he's looking forward to spending the rest of his life with Glezman, who is a middle school teacher.

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Vietnam Veterans Fighting Forgotten Battle

This is exactly why I do what I do and why I have done it for over 3 decades.

This is my Vietnam veteran!

By the time September 11th hit, we, as a country had been working on PTSD for decades.

In the 70's, the DAV commissioned a study on PTSD and called it The Forgotten Warrior Project." Guess they figured having done this research, Vietnam veterans would never be forgotten again. After all, it was because of them that the far reaching effects of trauma became more understood. 

Surviving was only part of the residual damage done.

Anyway, having been totally involved in all of this, by 9-11, we were ready for what was to come in Vietnam veterans long before talk of more wars ever made the news. We knew we were already fighting one in our homes and trying to keep our veterans alive!

Strange thing is, I went to New York a month before 9-11 and had already finished my manuscript, For the Love of Jack, His War/My Battle.

Jonathan Shay was kind enough to review it for me and then tried to help me get it published. No one wanted it.

August 10, 2001

Hi Jonathan,
Well I said I would send it by the end of the week and here it is.  I will be in New York/New Jersey until August 16^th.  Maria and I are finally going away to spend some time with my favorite cousin and her family.  We are excited because we are going to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, as well as a few other places.  We want to look up our relatives that came from Greece and Italy.
I hope that I didn’t sound too down with the last email I sent you.  It has just been very hard to keep feeling the pain I was writing about.  I worked so hard to heal with my psychologist, that I kept getting pulled back into the bad memories writing the book.  I often wished I never wrote it but I know it helped me to get over the anger and frustration of living with John.  I hope it will help someone else.
I don’t know what I would have done without all the help, advice and encouragement you gave me.  I admire your work so much that it was an honor that you took the time to help me.  There were so many times that I couldn’t believe that you were actually concerned with someone like me.  I don’t know how writers do it.  
Well it is done and I can get back to just living my life and doing the best I can for us.  I have been so busy at work that I am totally exhausted when I get home, and still have to take care of the house, supper and the dog ect.  It will feel good to have a few moments of free time.  I am sure you will put to good use the time you won’t have to spend on me.
Thank your wife for me.  I know it is a lot to ask.  Let me know what she thinks and what to do with it next.

Warmest regards to you both,

Kathie

A few days after 9-11 we were on the phone talking about what that day was doing to Vietnam veterans. Reporters didn't seem to care much about any of it.

We tried to warn them. Most of us have been trying to raise the alarm bells ever since, but veterans over the age of 50 are 65% of the suicides. The rate of PTSD in them is 1 out of 3. 

Vietnam veterans were forgotten about in all of this but most Americans pretended that all they needed was a pin and parades to make up for the lost decades when they suffered in silence.

By the way, my husband was at the VA the planes hit the towers. Doesn't take much imagination to figure out what that was like for them there.

Vietnam Veterans Suffer from PTSD Many Years Later
NBC Bay Area
By Tom Sinkovitz
Published Dec 28, 2017

"What happened after 9/11? I didn't know. I fell apart," Aldrich said. "I, overnight -- became jittery, angry." Billy Aldrich

It had been the longest year of his life. Billy Aldrich was a door gunner on a huey gunship in Vietnam attached to the Army's 101st Airborne Division, the legendary "Screaming Eagles."

When Aldrich left Vietnam in June 1970, relief was not what he felt.

"Feeling really bad that I survived when guys in my company didn't," Aldrich said. "My helicopter got shot down and everyone got killed while I was on R&R."

The medals he came home with tell the story of a brave soldier. But there was no hero's welcome.

"I came back and left the Oakland Army Depot and took a bus over to the 7th Street bus station in Marin and there was like, protesters, like kids that we grew up (with), same age," Aldrich said. "And right away I realized, 'We're not gonna fit in. We're not cool.'"

So Aldrich did not talk about his experiences, felt ashamed of his role in the Vietnam disaster, and immersed himself in drugs and a career as a barber. Thousands of his colleagues shared his struggles.

"A lot of Vietnam veterans came home, had a terrible reception, were not sure how to feel about their service or felt strongly about their service or weren't around people that reflected their views," said Dr. Jesse Wade, a veteran's therapist. "And it became easier to just clam up and push through."
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