Your Stories: Final honor for homeless former Marine CBS 8 News Video Report By Monique Griego Jul 03, 2018
SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — News 8 has an update on a story we first brought you last week about a homeless former Marine killed in a hit-and-run accident. Deryck Bacon's widow reached out for help because she wanted her husband buried with honor.
And several San Diego groups answered the call.
When News 8 shared the story of Bacon - a 59-year-old homeless veteran who'd been killed - the circumstances surrounding his death struck a chord within the community.
"This one was a particularly tragic story," said Michael McConnell, a homeless advocate in the San Diego area. "As it turns out, he's a veteran and [he was] just innocently sleeping on the sidewalk because he has no place to call home." read more here
Independence Day and time to celebrate what is possible. That is the way this country started. Isn't it? It began when some people saw suffering and did more than dream about what was possible. They risked their lives for it.
When I think of all the men and women who put their lives on the line, then returned home, I wonder what it was like for them. What did their families think when they were changed by everything they saw...and did?
What was it like not knowing what to do, or what to say, to take away the pain that was in their eyes?
It isn't that hard to imagine the experience because in the 80's, that was something I had to wonder about. That was when I met my husband.
We met over a decade after he came home from Vietnam. Back then, there was no way of knowing what came home with him. My Dad, a Korean War veteran, couldn't explain it, but it was clear he understood when he used the term "shell shock."
"During World War I, some people saw shell shock as cowardice or malingering, but Charles S. Myers convinced the British military to take it seriously and developed approaches that still guide treatment today."
We were just average people, trying to do the best we could to live the best life possible. We had no way of knowing what the experts had learned. What made it harder was that did not know how to make living easier that it was.
When I wanted to know what my Dad saw, I had to go to the library. Hours, weeks, months later I began to understand. What I learned, actually made me love veterans more. I understood what PTSD and what Vietnam did to him.
Back then, my husband was my best friend. Sure I knew about the nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings and memory problems, along with everything else. What I did not know was that it could get worse for him, and us. It did.
After years of feeling like I was living with a stranger, one day it happened and he came back home as the man I fell in love with. No matter what he had been through, he was still the same loving, caring best friend I decided to spend the rest of my life with.
We've been together since 1982!
He is the reason I do what I do and have done for over 3 decades. The thing is, for all the talk about what is wrong with veterans, few are letting them know what is right about them.
I know my husband's heart as much as I know the demons he still fights. I know that he has enormous strength within his emotional core to the point where he can see a sunset and scream with joy so that I can share the experience with him. I see the drive he has when he wants to do something as much as I see the laidback chill-out times when he is watching an old TV show.
If you have a veteran in your life, you can help your best friend come home too. Nothing is impossible as long as we are ready to fight this battle with them instead of wondering what came home with them.
Veteran who lost both arms in Iraq discovers a talent for painting CBS NEWS By DAVID MARTIN July 3, 2018
"I don't see it that way. Suffering an injury like this sort of has a way of making you focus on what's important in life." Peter Damon
Peter Damon at work on a painting CBS NEWS
MIDDLEBORO Mass. -- Peter Damon turns out about 30 paintings a year and sells them for between $250 and $1,500. That's not enough to make ends meet, but it has made him whole again. He lost both arms in Iraq.
"Having this skill or pursuing this skill that even able-bodied people find difficult was something that really sort of gave me a boost and sort of made me feel like I fit in more in the world," Damon said.
He was an Army helicopter mechanic working on landing gear in 2003 when pressurized gas blew it apart, killing one soldier and gravely injuring him.
"I lost my right arm above the elbow, about three inches above the elbow, and my left about six inches below," he explained.
Damon was a blue-collar guy who had been an electrician before he joined the Army.
"How am I going to make a living and take care of my family? I had always worked with my hands," he said.
Then with a simple little drawing, a new future opened up for him.
"I was kind of miraculous in a way," Damon said. "Something was telling me to focus on this and everything will be alright." read more here
“Sounds bother me […] because I don’t like loud noises,” former Marine master sergeant and Vietnam vet Tom Roulier told CBS2 News. “I’m still paranoid if I here like a loud bang or something like that. Sometimes I’ll duck, or I’ll just quickly look around to see where it came from.”
Sioux City, IOWA - As our country celebrates its independence, some of our most patriotic Americans dread this time of year. Michael Powell proudly spent 22 years serving our country."I was in Iraq constantly under mortar attacks, small arm fire, road side bombs," says Powell. And Like many veterans, he suffers from PTSD.
Common sense moment: Fireworks bother everyone who did not have a choice to hear them! Plain and simple! Sure it sounds like a great news story to cover what veterans with PTSD go through. Because this neighborhood or that one has plenty of people with enough disposable funds to blow off fireworks for weeks. They do not care they are taking away the choice of their other neighbors to live in peace or participate, they won't care about a veteran living in the neighborhood either. OK, so, it is not just veterans jumping out of their skin. Babies, elderly, pets, anyone who has to get up early the next morning and the list goes on. If you are a veteran, have a plan for the endless annoyance of boom-boom boobs. Get headphones. Turn up the TV or music as loud as possible. Remember, sooner or later, these people will run out of money! If you're lucky, they'll be out of fireworks tonight and eating PP and J sandwiches until payday.
Longest Serving Air Force General Retires After 44 Years of Service News 13 Penton LoCicero July 2, 3018
Hurlburt Field, Fla. - Honor, duty and commitment are what it takes to lead an entire crew into harms way and still return victorious. It's been a successful career for an Air Force General, who is longest serving general and is now ready for retirement.
Trumpets sounded and flags flew as Lieutenant General Brad Heithold took his final salute after serving for 44 years in the Air force.
"My entire youthful years were dedicated to service to this country and to the United State Air Force. So, really today this day capsulated really all 44 years of my extremely proud service to the country," said Lt. Gen. Brad A. Heithold, United States Air Force, Retired.
Hundreds of distinguished military guest and the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Air Force gathered to celebrate, as Heithold officially enters retirement. He enlisted in the air force in 1974 and was commissioned in 1981.
Forty-four years later, Heithold has an outstanding list of accomplishments. read more here
"Seaman Shaun Palmer is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.“Please help me find my son,” his mom, Diane, tweeted, adding that her son’s phone is dead and there has been no activity on his credit cards."
read more here Search for missing Navy sailor last seen in Waikiki KHON 2 News By: Brigette Namata Posted: Jul 02, 2018
HONOLULU (KHON2) - U.S. Navy Seaman Shaun Palmer failed to report for duty at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on July 1, and was classified as unauthorized absence on July 2, after 24 hours.
Palmer is a hospital corpsman assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
A missing persons report has been filed with the Honolulu Police Department and his command is working closely with local and military officials to find the missing sailor.
Palmer was not scheduled to participate in the ongoing Exercise Rim of the Pacific, a large maritime exercise taking place on and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
Palmer's mother Elizabeth Diane Unterein, who lives in California, said she received a call from the military of her son's disappearance on Monday morning. She ran multiple scenarios in her head. "Maybe he just went out and had too much to drink and he'll show up... and he hasn't shown up."
On Saturday night, Palmer was last seen outside the Kelly O'Neil's bar on Lewers Street in Waikiki. read more here
Court Slaps VA With Damages After Finding It Liable In Suicide Of Kansas City Veteran KCUR All Things Considered Dan Margolis July 3, 2018
On St. Patrick’s Day, 2010, after arguing with his girlfriend, Draughon shot and killed himself in front of his girlfriend and brother. He was 28 years old.
Cpl. William Draughon in his Marine Corps Blue Dress uniform.
DONALD AND LAURIE DRAUGHON
After finding the Veterans Health Administration liable earlier this year for the suicide of an Iraq war veteran, a federal judge has awarded more than $480,000 to his father and two children.
In what was thought to be one of the few verdicts of its kind, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled in February that the negligence of the VA directly contributed to the death of Cpl. William Draughon of Kansas City.
Draughon was a squad leader and gunner in Iraq for seven months in 2004 before he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.
After he returned to the Kansas City area, he began drinking heavily and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. During one of several hospitalizations at the Kansas City VA, he’d been flagged as being at high risk for suicide. Although no risk assessment was done, a suicide prevention coordinator at the hospital removed the high-risk flag from his electronic medical records 90 days later.
read more here
Vandals damage helicopter used in Vietnam War Columbus Dispatch Marc Kovac July 3, 2018
NEWARK — Local veterans are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of vandals responsible for damaging a Vietnam-era helicopter that’s been displayed at schools and in parades for decades.
The UH-1 “Huey” helicopter was used in the Vietnam War for about five years and subsequently for stints by the U.S. Navy and the Ohio National Guard before it was transferred to Newark about 30 years ago for display.
Sometime over the weekend, vandals broke out two of the windows on the chopper, which was parked at the American Legion Post 85 on Wilson Street in Newark, said Mark Rehl, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 55, District 1.
“It’s very upsetting,” he said.
The aircraft, which rides atop a customized boat trailer, has been used as a mobile historic display at community and school events, with frequent appearances during parades. It’s also been a help to local veterans, some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from their service years.
Anyone with information about the weekend vandalism of the aircraft is encouraged to contact the local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter at (740) 927-6272. read more here
DA drops case against patient who bit nurse The Oregonian/OregonLive By Aimee Green July 2, 2018
A Northwest Portland man was injected with a sedative, then hours later bit a nurse. He faced criminal charges, until recently.(The Associated Press)
Prosecutors have dropped charges against a 35-year-old Portland man charged with assault for biting a nurse while he was heavily sedated and taken to a hospital against his will.
Advocates from the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic at Lewis and Clark Law School took up the case of Brandon Michael Gabaldon when they heard the circumstances of what happened to him.
Ambulance medics injected Gabaldon with as much as 15 times the normal dose of the sedative Versed and then took him to Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Northwest Portland in November 2016, said Lewis and Clark law professor Aliza Kaplan, in a friend-of-the-court brief in Gabaldon's case.
Hours later, Gabaldon woke from a deep, medicated sleep -- and after an argument broke out, Gabaldon ended up biting the nurse's elbow, according to the brief. read more here
