Vietnam Veteran Had PTSD For Years Without Knowing
Huffington Post
By Chai Dingari
February 27, 2019
Today, Smallwood is an accomplished actor and writer. His book Return To Eden discusses his Vietnam experiences extensively to share with others who might have gone through the same thing. He still lives with depression and takes each day as it comes. At the end of it all, he acknowledges, “I’m a survivor.”
As Tucker Smallwood explains, when Vietnam veterans returned home, oftentimes they were met with the words “baby killer” and “cry baby.” Those unwelcoming sentiments only added to the severe psychological trauma that many of them were coming back with.
Smallwood’s story shares elements of many American soldiers’ experiences in Vietnam. Drafted into the army in 1967, he was wounded in action on Sept. 14, 1969. He was left for dead on the operating table before a second doctor saved his life. He came home and threw himself into a new life as an actor, quickly finding acclaim.
For years, Smallwood had a high-functioning and successful life. Then, an incident in 1978, eight years after his wartime injury, triggered a decade-long cycle of severe depression that he suffered through until he was persuaded to seek help.
As Smallwod explains, “There’s lots of kinds of PTSD. Anyone can be traumatized [...] You might break down right then. I might not break down for 10 years. It’s post-traumatic.”
The trigger for his PTSD came in the form of two young kids who pointed a gun at him one day in New York City and attempted to shoot him. Thankfully, the gun misfired and Smallwood was left standing there in confusion. Shortly afterward, while he was onstage performing in a musical, he broke down in tears in front of 600 people and had to be led offstage. At that point, Smallwood realized he had some issues he needed to resolve.
For more than 20 years, Smallwood experienced what is known as “anniversary syndrome.” Every year on Sept. 14, the day he was wounded in action, he would experience visceral flashbacks to the jungles of Vietnam.
Smallwood lived with this annual trauma for two decades until he began talking about Vietnam in his regular therapy. It wasn’t until 1988 that he was formally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Town of Marion mourns death of veteran firefighter
NBC 10 NEWS
by MATTHEW STEVENS
February 27th 2019
MARION, Mass. (WJAR) — A 45-year-veteran of the Marion Fire Department passed away Wednesday in the line of duty.
Marion town officials said Firefighter Thomas Nye, 72, helped extinguish a fire on Point Road Tuesday and then collapsed early Wednesday morning after suffering from an apparent cardiac arrest incident.
Thomas Nye passed away in the line of duty Wednesday. (Marion Fire Department)
Nye was taken to Tobey Hospital in Wareham where he was pronounced dead.
"Firefighter Nye was a proud firefighter who served our community with distinction. We are a call fire department, and Firefighter Nye anchored our Station 2 during the day. While many of our younger firefighters are working their private jobs, he was always available when people needed help." Marion Fire Chief Brian Jackvony said. "We are all feeling the loss of our friend and brother firefighter today."
Nye was a Vietnam veteran and also worked as an auto mechanic. Officials said Nye was known for his handy work and was always helping service the station's equipment.
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UCF police officer honored for responding to 100 crisis calls: 'He's part counselor, part detective'
Orlando Sentinel
Michael Williams
February 28, 2019
In 2010, the University of Central Florida Police Department detained 30 people under the Baker Act, a state law that allows law enforcement to temporarily hold those who are deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Detective Luis Rivera (left) shakes hands with Chief Carl Metzger during the University of Central Florida Police Department Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Rivera won CIT Officer of the Year, and Officer of the Year. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel)
By 2017, that number was 118.
Whether that increase is due to the proliferation of social media or typical student stresses, campus police officers are routinely expected to juggle being a cop as well as a therapist. The stakes are high: in December, a 24-year-old student took his life on campus. During two other incidents in the past year, students faced charges after illegally possessing or modifying high-powered weapons.
In response to that demand, the department recently assigned Detective Luis Rivera to be UCFPD’s first “Persons of Concern” detective.
Rivera — who has handled more than 100 cases over the past year for students who have been suicidal, mentally ill or even homicidal — was honored as UCFPD’s Officer of the Year during an awards ceremony Wednesday. He was also named the Crisis Intervention Team Officer of the Year for the entire Central Florida region.
“He’s part counselor, part detective — in some cases he has prevented individuals from hurting themselves, and in some cases he’s prevented individuals from hurting other people right here at UCF,” Chief Carl Metzger said. “ … We’re going to take a sample of his blood and clone him, because we need about three Luises.”
Others honored at the ceremony include a group who went to the Florida Panhandle to assist with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts; an officer who developed a bond with a student who posted a picture holding a gun to his head on social media; and Officer Victoria Scott and Sgt. Anthony Chronister, who saved the life of a student who threatened to jump off a parking garage last year.
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"It helps me a lot of times just to talk about Vietnam": Vets return to country for first time since war ended
CBS News
By JEFF GLOR
February 27, 2019
Hanoi, Vietnam — Most who served in the Vietnam War have never been back since the war ended. Some have no interest but for others, returning is a crucial part of the healing process.
CBS News was there as 52 U.S. veterans from Wisconsin came back to Vietnam for the first time. Their tour around Saigon is far different from the last. It began where the war finished, at the presidential palace in Ho Chi Minh City, or as many still call it, Saigon.
Marine Sgt. Wayne Pierret served three tours.
"I was born and raised on a farm. I never had anybody shoot at me until I got here, when I got to Vietnam," Pierret said. "A 19-year-old kid shouldn't have been here, back then fighting a war. What do I know about war back then at 19."
The tour organizer warned the veterans that their journey would be stressful, especially as they got close to where they served. But there are demons that endure.
"We got into a fight, it was up in the DMZ and and there was a young man, he was dead and I went through his pockets and he had a picture of his wife and his children," Pierret said. "That hit home. Boy did it ever. He was no different than I was. He had a family."
Pierret said he suffered from nightmares.
"It helps me a lot of times just to talk about Vietnam. Like I said it'll tear me up but it gets here, on my chest gets it out," he said.
For Pierret and thousands of others, time goes by. It doesn't go away.
"My nightmares aren't as pronounced as they were when I first got out, but I still get them," he said.
He's hopeful this trip will take some away.
The trip was possible thanks to the Old Glory Honor Flight. As part of their two week tour, they will also make their way to Hanoi.
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Nonprofit claims to have found Medal of Honor recipient's family
Civil War soldier's relatives thankful for return of medal
Click Orlando
By Troy Campbell - Reporter
February 27, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla. - A military nonprofit organization said Wednesday that it found the living relatives of a Civil War soldier News 6 first told you about Monday.
A couple of house flippers in Orlando reached out to News 6 after finding a Medal of Honor inside a home they purchased and planned to renovate.
Within minutes of the story airing, people from across the county began to call and email information about soldier Mark Wood.
Col. Zachariah Fike with Purple Hearts Reunited said that he located Wood's third-generation nephew and fourth-generation niece.
Kathy Tafel said that she received a call from Fike, telling her that her distant relative's medal had been found.
"This (is a) Medal of Honor that has been found in some house that apparently I'm connected to, and he's looking for my dad," Tafel said.
Fike said that it's believed Wood's Medal of Honor was one of the first two-dozen ever awarded by then-President Abraham Lincoln. He said the award was given for his role in what's now known as the Great Locomotive Chase, where Union soldiers attempted to cause damage along a Southern railway, to halt Confederate soldiers.
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Nebraska man stands trial in killing of Iraq War veteran
The Associated Press
Feb 27, 2019
Womack was in the Army and served three tours in Iraq before he moved to Omaha with his wife to raise their three children.
OMAHA — An Omaha trial has begun for a man accused in the road-rage killing of an Iraq War veteran.
Michael Benson, 26, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of James Womack, 32. The shooting occurred at a busy Omaha intersection in 2017.
Dashcam video from another vehicle shows that the altercation began after Womack got out of his semitrailer and yelled at Benson, pounded on the passenger-side window of Benson's truck and started to walk back to his semitrailer.
Witnesses testified in a Douglas County courtroom Tuesday that they heard gunshots and then saw Womack fall to the ground. Womack was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
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Death of 7-month-old military child fuels questions about unlicensed daycare on base
Military Times
By: Karen Jowers
February 28, 2019
The Honolulu Police Department is investigating the Feb. 24 death of a 7-month-old military child found dead in the home of a daycare provider at a military installation in Hawaii, officials said.
This 7-month-old girl died Sunday, Feb. 24, at a reportedly unlicensed daycare home at Aliamanu Military Reservation, Hawaii. (Photo courtesy of the family)
A neighbor who lives near the home where the child died said the death came four days after she filed a complaint alleging the provider, a Navy wife, was operating an unlicensed daycare after being shut down at least three times by base officials who allegedly found violations. The daycare is in privatized housing at Aliamanu Military Reservation, part of U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii.
The neighbor, Katie Camario, told Military Times that she had reported her concerns for more than a year about numerous young children crying and left unattended outside the home, citing various incidents such as the children playing with a lighter, and one child’s head being stuck in playground equipment. Other neighbors also said they reported similar concerns.
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Large-scale closures of VA facilities could be coming sooner than expected. Here’s why.
Military Times
By: Leo Shane III
February 27, 2019
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs’ version of a base closing round could start years ahead of schedule, department officials told Congress on Wednesday.
Veterans wait for their rides following treatment at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Medical Center in Seattle in March 2015. VA officials on Wednesday said an asset review set for 2022 could be moved up, to better gauge where medical facilities are needed. (Elaine Thompson/AP)
Under the VA Mission Act signed into law last year, the president is authorized to appoint an Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission for the department in 2022. To inform the group’s work, VA officials were given three years to perform regional market assessments across the country to determine areas where there were medical facility shortages, gluts and other challenges.
On Wednesday, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said those assessments were delayed slightly late last year but could still be finished in the next 12 months. If so, that could create a problematic gap between collecting that information and starting evaluations in 2022.
“We’ll come back to you this summer and give you an assessment of where things are,” he said. “If we can, to meet the expectations of this committee and the changing need of veterans, we’re going to come to Congress and ask to move that timeline up.”
The idea of a base-closing-style round for VA has been controversial for many advocates, including lawmakers who could see major hospitals in their districts closed due to dwindling patient numbers.
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UPDATE
'Heroic' doctor subdues gunman at veterans hospital, authorities say
The gunman was identified as 59-year-old Larry Ray Bon.
ABC NEWS
By Morgan Winsor
February 28, 2019
A doctor is being hailed a hero for stopping a patient who opened fire in the emergency room of a veterans hospital in South Florida on Wednesday night.
The patient, a double-amputee, came to the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in Riviera Beach for treatment but became combative with staff members and was taken to the emergency room. He pulled out a small handgun from his electric wheelchair and started firing as he was about to undergo a mental health evaluation around 6:20 p.m. local time.
The doctor was shot in the neck, and another hospital employee was grazed by a bullet, according to Justin Fleck, assistant special agent in charge at the FBI's Miami field office.
The wounded doctor, whom Fleck called "very brave," was able to jump on the patient in between fired rounds and disarm him before more shots were fired.
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Doctor shot at VA hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida
STARS AND STRIPES
By NIKKI WENTLING
Published: February 27, 2019
WASHINGTON – An employee was shot Wednesday evening at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., the VA confirmed.
An emergency room doctor was shot in the neck by a double amputee in a wheelchair, according to local news station CBS12. A hospital tech was in the restroom with the shooter and saw him loading a weapon, the report said. When the tech went to seek help, the shooter came out of the restroom firing.
The VA Sunshine Healthcare Network confirmed in a statement that one VA employee was shot at about 6:20 p.m. The employee was taken to another hospital and was in stable condition Wednesday night.
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Decorated Transgender Troops to Testify Before Congress
Associated Press
BY JULIE WATSON AND JENNIFER McDERMOTT
Feb. 27, 2019
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Lindsey Muller served in the Army as a man for nearly a decade before telling her commanders in 2014 that she identified as a woman and would resign because military policy barred transgender personnel. Her superiors, citing her outstanding performance, urged the decorated attack helicopter pilot to stay so she did.
After then-President Barack Obama changed the policy, she started dressing in uniform as a woman. Muller went on to be recommended for a promotion as the surgery to complete her gender transition was scheduled, but the operation was postponed in 2017 when President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he was reinstituting the ban.
With the ban now blocked by lawsuits, transgender troops Wednesday will testify for the first time before Congress.
This undated photo provided by her wife Jessica Kibodeaux shows Lindsey Muller and her dog Emma hiking in the Cheyenne Mountains west of Fort Carson, Colo. Muller, a 19-year combat veteran who served multiple tours in Iraq, diligently followed the Pentagon guidelines to transition. In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces in 2016, they have served without incident. Some, like Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition. (Jessica Kibodeaux via AP) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces, they have served without incident. Some, like Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition.
They say they stand as proof against President Donald Trump's argument that their presence is a burden.
"Once you meet transgender people who have served in the different branches ... it's really hard to dismiss the fact that you will find Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star winners, attack aviators, Navy SEALs," said Muller, who will not be testifying but is a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits challenging the ban. "We've been here, and we will continue to be here regardless. In what capacity is up to the administration."
The hearing will be held by the subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee chaired by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier. Speier introduced bipartisan legislation in February that would prohibit the Department of Defense from denying the enlistment or continued service of transgender people if Trump's ban takes effect.
Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate. It's unclear whether the legislation would be voted on as a stand-alone bill or be folded into the defense bill, which could be harder for Trump to veto.
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