Coming Home: Families adjust to Marines returning from war
CBS News
August 6, 2018
When the Riveras are separated, with Paul serving in dangerous combat zones, they rely on their faith. "I'd wake up and just go in my closet and pray for 15 minutes, and that was one thing I did every day," Lily said. "I just felt like I needed that pick up."
"CBS This Morning" continues to follow the lives of our nation's bravest as they return from war. We were there earlier this year when a group of Marines came home to North Carolina from Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
It's been six months since that emotional reunion. Now as part of our series, "Coming Home," we focus on the families of two Marines, Major Ethan Krumnow and Major Paul Rivera.
Major Ethan Krumnow's family must now adjust to his return following a lengthy deployment to Afghanistan. CBS NEWS
You hear this phrase all the time when we're honoring our nation's heroes: "Families serve, too."
But what does that really mean for a family to serve? How do they cope when this huge hole opens up in their home, and then when their loved one comes home and so much has changed – especially for those with young children?
When Majors Krumnow and Rivera first saw their families, you could feel the relief.
But after nine long months in Afghanistan, Krumnow and his wife, Christina, faced some surprises.
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350 Oklahoma Airmen return home after deployment to Afghanistan
FOX 25 News
Jessica Remer
August 6, 2018
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) -- Family and friends lined up Monday to welcome home 350 Airmen assigned to the 138th Fighter Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
A sweet homecoming for hundreds of men and women serving our country.
Beneath the stars and stripes a crowd of anxious faces.
All waiting or their loved ones’ return.
Today more than 350 airmen and airwomen coming home from deployment to Afghanistan.
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Chicago paramedics need our help to save their own lives
Chicago Sun Times
By Phil Kadner
August 7, 2018
As Frank Crossin, coordinator of the fire department union assistance program, told me, “We were all required to take a four-hour class on how to put out a pallet fire when I was in the department, but there were no mandatory classes like that on PTSD.”
Twelve people were killed and 71 shot in Chicago over the weekend. More than 1,700 people have been shot so far this year. And almost every time, Chicago paramedics are on the scene trying to save lives.
When a man used a knife to nearly decapitate the head of his 2-year-old son, Chicago paramedics responded.
At every horrific traffic accident, each time a teenager overdoses on heroin, when a baby is physically abused, or someone’s flesh is burned in a fire, the paramedics are there trying to save a life.
Yet, to my amazement, nobody has ever done a study of the toll taken by the stress on their lives.
There is no medically trained mental health expert (psychiatrist or psychologist) employed full-time by the Chicago Fire Department to monitor their well-being.
As one field supervisor told me, there is no mandatory class, no significant training, to help paramedics identify the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or help supervisors deal with people suffering from such symptoms.
There needs to be academic research on the impact of stress on Chicago paramedics. There needs to be a baseline mental health analysis conducted so evidence of stress can be tracked over years. And mental health professionals ought to be employed to make this a real priority within the Chicago Fire Department.
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Orlando backed out of settlement with officer suffering PTSD after Pulse, wife says
Orlando Sentinel
David Harris
August 7, 2018
The wife of a retired Orlando police officer diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the massacre at Pulse nightclub said the city has backed out of a proposed settlement in his workers’ compensation lawsuit.
Orlando Police officer Gerry Realin was part of the small hazmat team that was responsible for removing the bodies from Pulse nightclub. He now struggles with PTSD and blood pressure so high he was recently admitted to the hospital.
Gerry Realin was rendered permanently disabled after working on the team that removed bodies from Pulse after the attack in June 2016, which left him with PTSD according to the lawsuit.
He is suing the city and the Orlando Police Department in Orange County circuit court, claiming lost wages and medical benefits, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations.
His wife Jessica Realin said the parties met for mediation in June and came to a proposed settlement, but her attorney called her Monday to say the city backed out of the deal.
She declined to say what the settlement was.
“Gerry wanted to move on,” his wife said. “He felt like he wanted to be completely separated [from the city]. He didn’t feel like he could handle trial. I guess the city wants a trial.”
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Florida restaurant cancels NFL package over national anthem protests
FOX News
Ryan Gaydos
August 7, 2018
The restaurant will save more than $5,000 by canceling its package and instead will offer veterans 40 percent off on food Sundays during game days, the station reported.
Beef O'Brady's felt the protests showed a "lack of compassion and gratitude" for service members. (Google Street View)
A Florida restaurant decided to cancel its DirecTV NFL package over the controversy about players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustices.
Curtis West, who co-owns Beef O’Brady’s in Brooksville with his wife Janet, told FOX13 Tampa Bay on Monday there will be no NFL games shown because of the “disrespect” the players have shown.
“Last year, with the kneeling and the disrespect to our veterans and our flag and our country, I was very upset,” West told the station.
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Sailor killed, another injured in California after fuel tank detached from Sea Hawk helicopter
STARS AND STRIPES
By COREY DICKSTEIN
Published: August 7, 2018
WASHINGTON — A Navy helicopter crewmember was killed and another suffered minor injuries last week at a California base when a fuel tank detached from a utility helicopter and landed on them, Navy officials said Tuesday.
An aircrew assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 85 prepares to take off in a HH-60H Sea Hawk helicopter from Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., Oct. 19, 2016. CHARLES E. WHITE/U.S. NAVY
Navy Helicopter Aircrewman 1st Class Jonathan Richard Clement died July 30 when an auxiliary fuel tank fell on him from an HH-60H Sea Hawk during “hotseat” operations at Naval Air Station North Island, said Navy Cmdr. Ron Flanders, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces. During hotseat operations, a helicopter typically lands, is refueled or the crew is switched out while it is still running and quickly takes off again.
The helicopter was on the ground when the fuel tank fell, Flanders said. It contained fuel and potentially weighed some 1,500 pounds.
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Army Dad With PTSD Breaks Down in Tears as He's Surprised With Service Dog
Inside Edition
INSPIRATIONAL
August 7, 2018
A Texas dad suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder was moved to tears when his family surprised him with a service dog.
Rudy Pena, of Amarillo, couldn’t believe his eyes as he read a letter his kids Aubrie, Trever and Adrian presented him, explaining that they were giving him a service dog to help combat his night terrors and depression.
“I’m very lucky to have a family that cares and loves me enough to find him for me,” he told T and T Creative.
Pena has been an Army Combat Medic for the last 10 years, doing two deployments in Iraq before he was diagnosed with cancer.
He has been battling PTSD since returning from service.
“We’ve tried everything possible but as most veterans know, there is no cure and memories never go away," his wife Samantha said. “He has seen his brothers die in his arms and the memories haunt him."
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Retired general to address PTSD, other issues
Joplin Globe
August 6, 2018
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc will speak on a range of topics at 3 p.m. Friday in the Dotty and Bill Miller Theater inside the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts at Pittsburg State University.
Bolduc, who recently retired from Army active duty status as the commanding general of U.S. Special Operations Command-Africa, will address U.S. security challenges, best practices in leadership and experience with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bolduc served 32 years of active-duty service, receiving two awards for valor, five Bronze Star medals and two Purple Heart medals. He led 10 deployments and survived a bomb blast, numerous firefights and a helicopter crash.
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You may remember reading about him after then candidate Trump said that PTSD happens because they "can't handle the stress" and the New York Times interviewed him. The thing is, the General is an example of what leadership does...takes care of the men and women he served along side of, in front of and then, made sure he would stand behind them so they would get the support they need to heal!
A General’s New Mission: Leading a Charge Against PTSD
New York Times
By Dionne Searcey
Oct. 7, 2016
“The powerful thing is that I can use myself as an example. And thank goodness not everybody can do that. But I’m able to do it, so that has some sort of different type of credibility to it.” Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc
STUTTGART, Germany — It might have been the 2,000-pound bomb that dropped near him in Afghanistan, killing several comrades. Or maybe it was the helicopter crash he managed to survive. It could have been the battlefield explosions that detonated all around him over eight combat tours.
Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc, commander of American Special Operations Forces in Africa, tells soldiers that it is all right to get help for brain injuries and mental health problems.CreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press
Whatever the cause, the symptoms were clear. Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc suffered frequent headaches. He was moody. He could not sleep. He was out of sorts; even his balance was off. He realized it every time he walked down the street holding hands with his wife, Sharon, leaning into her just a little too close.
Despite all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, it took 12 years from his first battlefield trauma for him to seek care. After all, he thought, he was a Green Beret in the Army’s Special Forces. He needed to be tough.
General Bolduc learned that not only did he suffer from PTSD, but he also had a bullet-size spot on his brain, an injury probably dating to his helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2005.
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Vietnam veteran memorial destroyed
KFDM News
by Cassidy Wood
August 4th 2018
VIDOR — A Vietnam veteran memorial at Veteran Memorial Park in Vidor has been vandalized.
The monument was pushed on its back, splitting it into two pieces. Vidor Police Department is investigating.
go here for video report
Polk Honor Flight passenger dies after fall at home
News Chief
Paul Catala
August 5, 2018
Willie Dread, who died July 31, was among 81 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., on April 10 and returned home to a hero’s welcome the next day.
LAKELAND — Over the past six years, Willie Dread became more to Emily Cornelius than just a subject for a school project — he became a genuine friend.
And although that friendship came to a close Saturday afternoon, the inspirational bond Dread formed with Cornelius will carry on in her heart, mind and aspirations.
Dread, who died July 31, was among 81 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., on April 10 and returned home to a hero’s welcome the next day before the start of the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In Expo’s night airshow. A U.S. Army veteran, he was one of 81 veterans to make the April excursion.
After a fall and hitting his head at his apartment last Tuesday, Dread, 71, was hospitalized in Lakeland Regional Hospital and placed on life support in the intensive care unit. He was officially pronounced dead Tuesday but was sustained via life support until 4:37 p.m. Saturday, after his sister from Atlanta was able to see him.
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Original report Lakeland Teenager Honors Vietnam Veteran
