Community Shows Love on Valentine's Day Military Funeral

Community gathers for funerals of veterans who had no family
Caller Times
Meagan Falcon
February 14, 2018

Silence filled the air Wednesday at Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of strangers as they honored and remembered two veterans, who had no other family.

Although their families could not be found, over two hundred people visited Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery to attend the funerals of retired Army Cpl. Howard Mason Lyman and retired Navy Hospital Corpsman, First Class Randy Glade Shultz.

"We may have not known the veterans, but it is important to have the public remember what these men sacrificed when they served our country," said Eric Brown, deputy director for the Texas State Veterans Cemetery. "They did not know us, but that didn't stop them from from raising their right hand to defend us."
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SWAT and Police Standoff With Army Veteran

UPDATE: Not Army veteran but Navy SEAL

Police Wound Standoff Suspect Barricaded In Churchill Home
CBS News
By Amy Wadas
February 14, 2018


CHURCHILL (KDKA) — A man is in the hospital following a lengthy standoff and officer-involved shooting in Churchill Wednesday evening.

The incident began around 4:15 p.m. at a home in the 2200 block of Harmain Road.

The sound of gunfire was in the air as SWAT officers tried to get the 50-year-old man inside of the home to surrender.“He is a Navy SEAL war veteran. They said he had high-powered weapons in his home,: said neighbor Tami Warfield. read more here

Police, SWAT Team Surround Army Veteran’s Home In Churchill
CBS Pittsburg
February 14, 2018 at 6:32 pm

CHURCHILL (KDKA) — Police and the SWAT team have surrounded the home of an Army veteran in Churchill.

The incident began around 4:15 p.m. at a home in the 2200 block of Harmain Road.

Officials were reportedly called to the scene by neighbors who claim the man was fighting with his wife. He then refused to come out of the home.

There are numerous police agencies on the scene.

PennDOT was forced to shut down the Parkway East in both directions near the Greensburg Pike exit as a result of the standoff. The highway was closed from Wilkinsburg to Churchill, but has since reopened.

Traffic was expected to be backed up for a while as a result.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.

Other-Than-Honorable Discharge Attributable To 'Invisible Wounds'...Yep!

Advocates Seek Benefits For Vets With Other-Than-Honorable Discharge Attributable To 'Invisible Wounds'
Hartford Courant
Sandra Gomez-Aceves
February 14, 2018

At 20 years old, Thomas Burke sat on an Afghan riverbank with the barrel of his rifle in his mouth. By then, he had experienced the tragedies of war — he had seen children blow up in an attempt to help American forces and had been left to pick up their remains and place them in the back of trailer — but his deployment wouldn’t end for another three months.

File photo. Veterans who receive other-than-honorable discharge are barred from accessing state benefits and programs accessible to other veterans. (Richard Messina, Hartford Courant)

Burke, now 28, a native of Bethel and a soon-to-be Yale University graduate, was saved by a fellow marine “who followed me out to nowhere” and embraced him in a hug.

After experiencing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Burke returned home with substance-abuse disorders and combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorder. In an effort to get help, Burke took an other-than-honorable discharge in exchange for rehabilitation, he said.

In Connecticut, though, his other-than-honorable discharge barred him from accessing vital state benefits available to more than 200,000 other veterans.
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VA Secretary David Shulkin sought approval after he did it?

VA Secretary David Shulkin misused government resources, agency watchdog report says
USA TODAY
Donovan Slack
Published Feb. 14, 2018

Craig Holman, an ethics specialist with Public Citizen, said Shulkin didn't seek ethics clearance to accept the tickets until months later, when a Washington Post story about the trip was imminent.

WASHINGTON – Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets and airfare for his wife during a European trip last summer that cost taxpayers more than $122,000, according to a VA inspector general report released Wednesday.

His chief of staff, Viveca Wright Simpson, made false representations to a VA ethics lawyer and altered an official email to secure approval for taxpayer funding of Shulkin’s wife’s flights, which cost more than $4,000, the VA inspector general found.

Shulkin told ethics officials the tennis tickets were provided by a personal friend, Victoria Gosling, an adviser for the Invictus Games, a sporting event for wounded warriors. The inspector general concluded that was not the case.

The inspector general found the excursion led to a “misuse of VA resources.” Shulkin and his wife, Merle Bari, took the trip with three other VA executives and a six-member security detail ostensibly to attend meetings in Denmark and a summit on veterans’ issues in London.
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Scream about healing...not suicides!

I can't think of a better day to do this than Valentine's Day. It is the reason our veterans and military members risked their lives...for love. They loved so much, they were willing to die for someone else. 

That is the reason why they hurt so much afterwards. The depth of their emotional core is so strong, it caused them to want to serve in the first place, yet is also so strong it is trying to destroy them.

That is where PTSD lives. While there is no cure for PTSD, there is plenty of healing that is possible. They can live a better quality of life with the right help.

Join the fight to help them take back control over PTSD. After all, they defeated it when they survived the thing that started it, but no one told them that what they stopped being a victim and became a survivor!

From now until the end of February, there is a  campaign for this cause to go to Point Man International Ministries. It started back in 1984 working with veterans and families with Christian based support. We're not about raising money but about raising healing with peer support.

After the campaign is over, if you have a charity, I want you to take the design you see above and use if for your own campaign. The message needs to be spread out across as many places as they can find it!


Here is the link to the campaign page


Take your cell phones out, set it to video and start screaming about healing! Yell "defeat PTSD and fight to take your life back" or hold up a sign. Then add in whatever message you want them to know.

Contact me through any of those links and send me a link to your video or link it yourself if you can.

It is time we changed the conversation and put a new voice in their heads!

Mother hears son's donated heart beat in Navy veteran's chest

Mother hears son's donated heart beat in Navy veteran's chest
WBRC News
Tuesday, February 13th 2018

SALEM, VA (WSLS/CNN) – A mother who lost her son two years ago is now talking about her experience hearing his heart beat in another man’s chest and encouraging other families to consider organ donation.

Melinda Dillon remembers her son, 21-year-old Lucas, as full of life and energy. She says he had many friends, but most didn’t know about Lucas’ decade-long struggle with mental illness until he took his own life.

"His blood type and mine both were B-positive and part of his notation to us when he committed suicide was to stay positive,” Dillon said. "It's been hard. It's hard to stay positive."

Dillon got her son’s last message tattooed on her wrist along with his heartbeat, a rhythm she was able to hear in another man’s chest after Lucas’ heart was donated.

"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't even be talking to you right now,” said Dave, a 56-year-old Navy veteran, who was suffering from congestive heart failure.

Lucas’ heart now beats in Dave’s chest, something for which the 56-year-old says he’s thankful for every day.

"I was gone. I was dead gone, you know. I wasn't supposed to be here. Before Lucas, I wasn't supposed to be here,” Dave said.

Dillon reached out to Dave, and they met in person, where the mother was able to hear Lucas’ donated heart, beating in Dave’s chest.

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Korean War veteran facing eviction over service dogs shot by police

Armed veteran, facing eviction over his service dogs, shot to death by police
Miami Herald
BY CHARLES RABIN AND DAVID OVALLE
February 12, 2018

A despondent military veteran — slated for eviction because of complaints about his service dogs, Roxie and Ranger — was shot to death after police say he pointed a gun at officers on Monday afternoon near Homestead.

Jonathan Rodriguez, a friend of Korean War veteran Raymond Bishop, said the 84-year-old Bishop was upset about a pending eviction. Police shot Bishop on Monday after being called to his apartment on a report of an armed man threatening suicide.
Charles Rabin crabin@miamiherald.com

Raymond Bishop, 84, died inside his home at the Hidden Grove apartments. Miami-Dade police officers had rushed to the home after receiving a call of an armed man threatening to kill himself.

At least four Miami-Dade officers wound up opening fire on Bishop from just outside the doorway where he stood, gun in hand — but only after pleading with him extensively to put his weapon down, law-enforcement sources told the Miami Herald. One officer even praised Bishop’s military background in an attempt to get him to surrender peacefully.

The dogs were inside the apartment and were not harmed, one source said.

Bishop, who served in the Korean War, was upset about the apartment complex’s eviction attempt, according to a neighbor. Bishop lived there, according to court records, under a Miami-Dade County government subsidy program.

“They were throwing him out. He had nowhere to go,” said neighbor Jonathan Rodriguez, who often fed Bishop and took him to the veterans hospital for medical treatment.
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Linked from Stars and Stripes

DOD 3rd Quarter 2017 Suicide Report

Department of Defense Quarterly Suicide Report
For the third quarter of 2017, the military services reported the following:
• 67 deaths by suicide in the Active Component
• 26 deaths by suicide in the Reserves
• 38 deaths by suicide in the National Guard

Peer-to-Peer Assistance
DoD launched the new “Be There” program, which offers confidential peer coaching to active duty Service members, including National Guard and Reserve members and their families,through 24/7 chat, phone, and text. The DoD “BeThere” Peer Support Call and Outreach Center is staffed by peer coaches, who are veteran Service members and family members of Veterans,and aims to provide support for everyday problem solving, such as career and general life challenges.

Service members’ families who would like to learn more about the “BeThere” Call and Outreach Center or connection with a peer may visit www.betherepeersupport.org, call 844-357-PEER(7337), or text 480-360-6188

February: more standoffs between police officers and veterans

1 Identity released of handcuffed suspect who shot deputy
KHOU 11 News February 2, 2018

Matthew Vincent Cobb, 35, allegedly shot a deputy while handcuffed. The incident happened Wednesday evening and lasted until early Thursday morning at a home on Kiplands Way Drive in north Harris County.

2 Affidavit: Man pointed handgun at Jasper County sheriff during brief standoff
KTRE ABC 9 News February 9, 2018

After Duhon was transported to the sheriff’s office to await an evaluation by the Veteran’s Affairs Office, the deputy sat with him. Duhon eventually got “extremely agitated” and demanded they let him go home.

3 Armed suspect in standoff taken to hospital

Carolina Coast Online News Times February 10, 2018

According to Capt. Wilder, neighbors said the man, a Marine Corps veteran, had been in the hospital Friday night, but came home and was seen by neighbors Saturday morning outside the house with a gun and wearing a helmet and military clothing. 

4 Standoff at Rockland hotel ends after nearly five hours

Press Herald February 11, 2018 

During that time, he was ranting about a variety of things, saying he was a veteran and wanted more respect. He also said that all he wanted earlier in the morning was food and the dining area was not open, so he got the food himself.

5 Korean War Veteran facing eviction
February 13, 2018

A despondent military veteran — slated for eviction because of complaints about his service dogs, Roxie and Ranger — was shot to death after police say he pointed a gun at officers on Monday afternoon near Homestead. Raymond Bishop, 84, died inside his home at the Hidden Grove apartments. Miami-Dade police officers had rushed to the home after receiving a call of an armed man threatening to kill himself.

6 Police Wound Standoff Suspect Barricaded In Churchill Home
February 14, 2018

The sound of gunfire was in the air as SWAT officers tried to get the 50-year-old man inside of the home to surrender.“He is a Navy SEAL war veteran. They said he had high-powered weapons in his home,: said neighbor Tami Warfield.

7 Richmond man shot himself at home just before being arrested, police say
February 15, 2018

RICHMOND — A local man who shot and killed himself Thursday at his home was about to be arrested for allegedly receiving stolen property, including a motorboat, when he grabbed a handgun out of his truck and shot himself in front of authorities, according to police.

And yes, he was a veteran.

Family of Richmond man say PTSD, medication factors in shooting death
A Richmond man who shot and killed himself earlier this month as he was about to be arrested at his home over allegations of stolen property suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his four tours of duty with the Army in Iraq, where he witnessed his best friend since kindergarten get killed in a mortar attack, according to the man’s family.

8 Deputy stabbed in face by man while serving mental health order in Prince George's Co.
February 19, 2018

A family member had asked the sheriff’s office to serve the order on the 38-year-old veteran, who neighbors say the night before had been yelling and swearing and smashing sticks on the ground. After stabbing Romanchick, the man went up on the home’s roof. That led to an hours-long standoff that shut down nearby Route 1.

9 Veteran shot by deputies suffered from PTSD, parents say V.A. failed to provide better help 
February 20, 2018

Right out of high school Ryan Batchelder joined the army. "He went over to Afghanistan. He left as my little boy and when he came back he just wasn’t the same." said Lisa. Ryan’s mother Lisa says he never talked about his time in Afghanistan, only mentioning that one day he switched shifts with a friend, and that friend was killed in an attack.

Veterans Court gives PTSD veterans a fighting chance

Torres: Veteran mentors continue to serve in court with pride
Florida Today
John A Terres
February 12 2018

You hear the cliches in just about every war movie ever made about this special band of brothers or no man left behind.

Circuit Judge Judith Atkin honors the veteran mentors in Veterans Court.

(Photo: Courtesy 18th Judicial Circuit)

You may never hear "never stop serving" on the big screen but its sentiment is just as important to the health and well-being of those who have served our country as evidenced in Brevard County's Veterans Treatment Court.

Just ask someone like Melbourne native and former Marine Theodore Doukas, who returned from a couple of tours in Iraq with a back injury that led to a painkiller addiction. Paired up with veteran mentor Harry "Skip" Taylor, Doukas is getting the help he needs and will soon graduate from the program.

"He's shown me the path," Doukas said about Taylor. "He's really stayed on me about going to the V.A. Some things in this program have really changed my life."
read more here