MOH Staff Sgt. David Bellavia

David Bellavia receives the Medal of Honor for his actions in a ‘house of nightmares’

STARS AND STRIPES
By COREY DICKSTEIN
Published: June 25, 2019

WASHINGTON — Pinned down inside a pitch-black, insurgent-filled house in the early days of the second battle of Fallujah, Staff Sgt. David Bellavia grabbed a heavy M249 automatic machine gun from another soldier and charged forward into oncoming fire from enemy fighters hunkered down in a stairwell.

The enemy fighters froze, ducking away from Bellavia’s fire just long enough for his squad to escape the building and regroup outside. Moments later, with his fellow soldiers outside, the infantryman from Buffalo, N.Y, burst back into the building — eventually killing four insurgents and gravely wounding another.

Nearly 15 years later, Bellavia stood stoically Tuesday as President Donald Trump placed the Medal of Honor around his neck for his actions that night — Nov. 10, 2004, his 29th birthday. The former infantryman who left the Army in 2005 never cracked a smile during the White House ceremony, sharing only telling nods with more than a dozen of the men with whom he served. Along with his family, the men joined him on the East Room stage and a packed audience roared and applauded.

Many of those men would not have made it to the White House on Tuesday if it were not for Bellavia and his “exceptional courage to protect his men and defend our nation,” against an enemy “that would have killed them all had it not been for David,” Trump said.
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From the White House

Korean War Veteran died alone...buried by community, Governor and Senator

Hundreds packed a Korean War veteran's funeral when he died without surviving family members in Nebraska

CNN
By Christina Maxouris
June 25, 2019

(CNN)When Dale Quick died earlier this month and left no known survivors, a Nebraska funeral home appealed to his community to make sure he got the funeral he deserved.

"We are appealing to any and all veterans, veterans' clubs and organizations and our community to attend Dale's service to honor an individual who so selflessly served our country," Roper and Sons Funeral Home wrote in an obituary posted to its website.

The 91-year-old "led a simple life" after serving in the military for nearly seven years, the funeral home said.

CNN's Jake Tapper also took to social media to spread the word.

The community heard the call.

On Monday morning, hundreds showed up to pay their respects to Quick, including 50 bikers and flag carriers who led his casket, CNN affiliate KLKN reported.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Sen. Ben Sasse were also there.
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President Trump offered to negotiate for debunked nasal spray for PTSD

Struggling To Curb Veteran Suicide, VA Approves Costly Depression Drug Amid Accusations It’s Rushing The Process

Kaiser Health
June 24, 2019

The agency is racing to get the drug through the approval process after President Donald Trump signaled support for the treatment. But psychiatrists and medical researchers, including some at the VA, raised questions about the drug’s effectiveness and safety, and Democratic lawmakers question why the decision-making on the drug has been so rushed.

The New York Times: Veterans Agency To Offer New Depression Drug, Despite Cost And Safety Concerns Confronted by a rising rate of suicides in some groups of veterans., the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday decided to approve the use of a new and costly depression drug, despite concerns among doctors and other experts about the drug’s effectiveness. The decision to endorse the drug — called Spravato, and manufactured by Janssen, a unit of Johnson and Johnson — came days after President Trump offered to negotiate a deal between the drug maker and the agency. Johnson and Johnson reportedly was working with associates at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, and the company has been supporting V.A. suicide-prevention efforts. (Carey and Steinhauer, 6/21)

Center For Public Integrity: Controversial J&J Drug Pushed By Trump Is Nixed From VA's Pharmacy List A Department of Veterans Affairs panel has pushed back against efforts to rush a controversial anti-depression drug into use for its patients, voting not to include the drug, Spravato, on its list of drugs available through prescription at its pharmacies. The VA had been racing to get Spravato ready for patients after President Trump, according to VA sources, urged the agency to buy the Johnson and Johnson drug for treatment-resistant depression. But psychiatrists and medical researchers, including some at the VA, have raised questions about the drug’s effectiveness and safety. (Cary, 6/21)
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Arrest made after murder of Air National Guard female soldier and children

Arrested boyfriend of slain Staten Island servicewoman had violent past

New York Post
By Tina Moore, Anabel Sosa and Max Jaeger
June 23, 2019

A Staten Island military man was arrested and charged Sunday in the murder of his Air National Guard girlfriend and their two young sons, police announced.

The scene of the alleged murder (left) and Alla Ausheva Richard Harbus; CNP

The arrest came as new details emerged about accused killer Shane Walker’s violent past — and his Russian-born girlfriend’s tragic story of achieving her American dream only for her life to be cut short at 37.

Cops charged Walker, 36, with murder, manslaughter, arson and criminal possession of a weapon for killing US Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Alla Ausheva along with the couple’s sons Ivan, 2, and Elia, 3.

Ausheva was found bludgeoned to death in her home Saturday near the bodies of their children, who appear to have been drowned.
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Community forms Hands Across the Bridge to support veterans and first responders fighting PTSD

Community Joins Hands Across SH 66 Bridge in Support of Veterans, First Responders

Blue Ribbon News

“To see this amount of support from the community shows that people do care,” Salerno said. “And that eases the minds of our military veterans and first responders, knowing that all of these people are out here for them.

(ROCKWALL, TX — June 24, 2019) 
On June 22, community members joined hands on the State Highway 66 bridge to raise awareness on suicides committed among our country’s military veterans and first responders.

In Oct. 2018, Third Watch LE Motorcycle Club started a Walk Across the Bridge movement to raise awareness and combat suicides among veterans and first responders suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The bridge walk, held on the 22nd of each month, has grown from 13 participants in October to an average of 90 participants each month.

As part of their bridge walk event this month, Third Watch LEMC invited folks to line the bridge, hold hands, and take a few minutes of silence to remember those veterans and first responders who committed suicide due to PTSD. The Hands Across the Bridge event saw more than 140 people span a third of the two-mile bridge in support of the cause.

Third Watch LEMC’s John Salerno, a 9/11 survivor and retired NYPD detective, said he was honored at the turnout for the event, and hopes they can make it halfway across the bridge for the next one.
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Veteran lost brother to PTSD battle...stranger let her know he cared

Stranger leaves heartfelt note for veteran who lost brother to PTSD

WINK
Jerrica Valtierra
Jack Lowenstein
Published: June 20, 2019

A little kindness can go a long way. And for a woman, a stranger’s act of kindness meant the world to her. Now, she wants to thank a man who showed her and her brother a simple kindness.

Lauren Osborne is a retired Florida Highway Patrol officer and a U.S. Air Force veteran. Osborne lost her brother to PTSD after he served in the U.S Marines Corp.

Osborne drives around with a special decal on her car that memorializes her brother’s life. She also just so happens to have a dash cam that captured a man share his sentiments with her.

“There’s no way that I could really thank him for what he did,” Osborne said. “It was really sweet.”

Osborne’s camera recorded the moment a man left a note on her car’s windshield.

“Sorry about your brother,” the stranger’s note read. “May God bless him. He was part of a great brotherhood.”

Osborne said she had to take the time to appreciate the message left especially for her and her brother.

“I received this note,” Osborne said. “I was actually taken aback a little bit. I had to sit in my car and read it.”

Osborne’s brother served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Osborne said he experienced the unimaginable while he was overseas.

“One of the hardest things I ever probably will go through in my entire life,” Osborne said. “My brother, a U.S. Marine for five years, he was a sergeant when he discharged at the end of 2010. He became incredibly withdrawn.”
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Veteran of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq running for President

Joe’s In: Former Congressman, 3-Star Admiral Sestak announces campaign for President.

JUNE 22, 2019

Thank you for taking the time to see why I am declaring my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

What Americans most want today is someone who is accountable to them, above self, above party, above any special interest … a President who has the depth of global experience to restore America’s leadership in the world to protect our American Dream at home … and one who is trusted to restructure policies where too many see only the growth of inequity not of the economy.

I want to be that President who serves the American people the way they deserve to be served.

And while my announcement may be later than others for the honor of seeking the Presidency, the decision to delay was so I would be there with Alex, our daughter, as the brain cancer she had courageously beaten at four years old returned this past year. But with her same team of medical heroes, she has again overcome the single digit odds.

I had worn the cloth of our nation for over 31 years in peace and war, but after Alex’s first high-grade brain tumor, I needed to answer to you, the American people, who provided the military healthcare coverage that saved our daughter’s life. I served our nation as a U.S. Congressman for two terms from a Republican District in order to work for all Americans to have the healthcare coverage we fortunately had had for Alex.

Now, the hour has become late to restore U.S. global leadership that convenes the world for two primary objectives that serve our collective well-being here at home: putting a brake on climate change and putting an end to an illiberal world order’s injustices, from China’s control of the 5G network to Russian interference in democratic elections.

However, we cannot meet the defining challenges of our time without a united America. This is our Hobson’s Choice: not just to win this Presidential election, but to heal our nation’s soul by regaining the trust of Americans – all Americans – by a President who the people know will remain accountable to them alone, no matter the cost to him.

I ask that you would take a moment and watch the video(s) below. The first is my announcement summarizing why our next President must have a unique understanding of all the elements of our nation’s power: our economy and diplomacy, our military – including its limitations – and the power of our ideals. The other videos describe the foreign and domestic challenges we face, and the policies I will pursue as President, particularly accountability to America.
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It is the reason I became a Chaplain back in 2008

The deepest dashboard

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
June 23, 2019

Why do responders suffer a deeper level of PTSD? Is it because they are exposed over and over again to traumatic events? Or is it because they have the "one time too many" hit them?

After decades of research, it became clear that for responders, it is more about the strength of their emotional core that makes causes the hardest hit.

It is the reason I became a Chaplain back in 2008. I trained to respond to responders knowing that the very thing inside of them causing them to take on those jobs, also caused them the greatest harm.

Oh, no, not all bad news, because that same emotional core holds the power to heal.

This video was done for National Guards and Reservist...the IFOC gave me an award for it because they were using it to help police officers and firefighters. It is called PTSD I Grieve for that reason.
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Being exposed to the death and suffering of others tends to result in worse PTSD

For Veterans, Witnessing Suffering Can Mean Worse PTSD

PsychCentral
Traci Pedersen
Associate News Editor
June 23, 2019

“An example of witnessing might be that a suicide bomber triggers a bomb that hurts or kills children and civilians. Then our soldiers come in to clean up or secure the area after the bomb has gone off and experience the devastation,” said study author Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Psychology.

A study of Norwegian veterans who served in Afghanistan finds that being exposed to the death and suffering of others tends to result in worse symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than being put in life-threatening situations.

The study, published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, is part of a comprehensive survey of how veterans are faring after the war in Afghanistan. Just over 7,000 Norwegian soldiers participated in the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011, and 4,053 of them participated in this research.

Trauma is roughly divided into danger-based and non-danger-based stressors. Both types of stressors lead to an increase in PTSD, an anxiety disorder which can involve being hyper-alert, jumpy, sleeping poorly and reliving events after they’ve happened.

Danger-based trauma occurs when soldiers are exposed to trauma in classic military settings, such as being shot or ambushed. It is an active threat that is linked to anxiety.

Non-danger-based trauma is divided into two subgroups: Witnessing (seeing the suffering or death of others, without being in danger oneself) and moral challenges (seeing or performing an act that violates a person’s own moral beliefs).
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Deputy Chief Steven Xiarhos standing by side of those who stood by him..Jarheads

Father of fallen Marine mourns friends killed in Route 2 crash

New Hampshire Union Leader
By Shawne K. Wickham New Hampshire Sunday News
Jun 22, 2019

“I don’t know why God does this. I don’t know. Maybe there’s a reason.” Deputy Chief Steven Xiarhos

In Steven Xiarhos’ darkest hour, after his 21-year-old son was killed in Afghanistan, a group of motorcycle riders, all Marines, came to offer comfort and support. And they’ve stood by his family for the 10 years since.

Now, after some of those Marines were killed in a horrific crash on Route 2 in Randolph, it’s Xiarhos’ turn to stand by them.

Xiarhos is deputy chief of police in Yarmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod. He’s been friends with members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club there for a decade. News that members of the club died Friday evening hit him hard.

Those who died were “American heroes,” Xiarhos said.

“I don’t know why God does this,” he said, his voice breaking. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s a reason.”

His son, Nicholas, was 21 years old when he was killed in combat in Helmand Province in Afghanistan while going to the aid of fellow Marines.

“It was Marine bikers that came to me in my worst time in my life,” Xiarhos said.

They asked if they could hold a charity ride in his son’s honor. And Big Nick’s Ride for the Fallen has been held every year since, raising thousands of dollars for worthy causes.

In order to be a member of the Jarheads, Xiarhos said, “you have to be a combat Marine.”

Members served in different wars, he said. “Some of them are young, from this war; some are from Vietnam.”
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God did not do this!

How would you turn to God in your darkest times, if you believe He just caused them? What is the point in praying for relief if you believe God is punishing you?

All of us search for answers...and someone to blame when bad things happen, especially senseless ones.

God did send people to help after the tragedy. 

God did send people who responded and tried to render medial aid until emergency responders arrived. He also sent those responders, because He called them to take on those jobs.

He caused people from around the nation to donate and help the families.

Each of us have the ability to do harm or help someone in need. Those who choose to help, listened to what their soul called them to do.

Whatever good comes out of something bad, He is there.