WWII Veteran was buried as "homeless" because donated body was cremated

Son of deceased veteran steps forward: Dad wasn't homeless

Newsday
By Martin C. Evans
July 19, 2019

The crematory received the remains from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, where Franklyn Lansner had donated his body for medical research, his son said. The family had expected the school to send the body to the crematory, he said.

Frank Lansner Sr., seated, is surrounded by family members at his home in Westbury. The photo was taken in 2017. Photo Credit: Lansner Family

The son of a World War II Navy radar technician whose remains were buried in a ceremony for homeless veterans wants Long Islanders to know that his father wasn't homeless and had a family who loved him.

Tom Lansner learned about his father's burial by reading a Newsday account of the ceremony, which was last Thursday at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.

The remains of Franklyn R. Lansner Sr., 94, and four other veterans were buried after a funeral presented by Missing In America Project, a national group that buries the unclaimed remains of veterans, and Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, a cooperative effort of the Dignity Memorial funeral service providers, veterans groups and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Relatives of Air Force veteran Irving Beiser, 84, also have come forward to say he wasn't homeless.

Franklyn Lansner died of pancreatic cancer two years ago at his Westbury home, surrounded by his family, his son said.

Despite the confusion, Tom Lansner said he was pleased that his father was recognized for his military service: "I'm honored that he had a veteran's burial."

Tom Lansner said he thinks the mix-up with his father's remains may have happened because of a miscommunication between himself and the Nassau-Suffolk Crematory, a funeral home in Lake Ronkonkoma.
read it here

Jason Kander understands PTSD is not as strong as he is with other veterans

He left politics to treat his PTSD. His new mission? Helping fellow vets

CNN
By Kathleen Toner
July 18, 2019

"I was afraid of the stigma. ... But it's just getting worse. So, after 11 years of trying to outrun depression and PTSD symptoms, I have finally concluded that it's faster than me. That I have to stop running, turn around, and confront it." Jason Kander

Jason Kander, former Missouri Secretary of State and U.S. Army veteran

New York (CNN)Last fall, Jason Kander was considered a rising star in the Democratic party.

The U.S. Army combat veteran had served as Missouri's Secretary of State, nearly beaten a Republican incumbent for a U.S. Senate seat in 2016 and was the front-runner in the race for Kansas City mayor. There was even talk of him running for president.

But Kander made headlines when he suddenly dropped out of the race to get treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. In a public letter to his supporters, he admitted it was a step he'd avoided for years.

The treatment helped Kander. So did hanging out at the group's outreach center. "(Before) I didn't make time to hang out with other veterans like maybe I should have because it's been very therapeutic to do that," Kander said. "There's a reason that past generations have been hanging out at VFW halls. There's a comfort in being around fellow combat vets."

Earlier this week, the organization announced that Kander will help lead the nonprofit's national expansion. The group hopes to open eight additional locations across the country by 2022. Kander calls the role his "new mission."

"I was really impressed by everything that VCP does and found it inspiring," Kander said. "Long term, we want to end veteran homelessness nationwide and make sure no veterans fall through the cracks."
read it here

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

Marine Corps tells Duncan Hunter to stop using emblem

Duncan Hunter ordered to stop using Marine Corps emblem in campaign

NBC News
By Mosheh Gains
July 17, 2019

He currently faces federal charges of wire fraud, campaign finance violations, falsifying records and conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and has argued the charges are politically motivated. In June, federal prosecutors alleged in court documents that Hunter had used campaign funds to pursue extramarital affairs with five women while in Congress.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., arrives for a hearing for his upcoming campaign finance trial at federal court in San Diego on July 8, 2019.Mike Blake / Reuters file

The California Republican used the Marine Corps emblem in a campaign mailer that tied his Democratic opponent and two Democratic congresswomen to terror.

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., for using the official Corps emblem and phrase on campaign mailers that link his likely 2020 opponent and two Democratic congresswomen to terror.

In a letter to Hunter obtained by NBC News, the Marine Corps Trademark Licensing Office tells the congressman, "It has come to our attention that your campaign is using the official USMC Eagle, Globe and Anchor (Emblem) and the phrase 'No Better Friend, NO Worse Enemy' (Phrase) as an integral part of your political campaign, namely, on at least one fundraising mailer to your constituents."

The letter, dated Tuesday, demands that Hunter's campaign "immediately remove the Emblem and the Phrase from its mailers, and, without limitation, from all other campaign materials including websites and other instances where the Emblem or the Phrase are being used. We also request that you provide us with a timetable as to your compliance with our requests."
read it here 👿

Was slavery about business?

History is only offense to those who do not learn from it

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2019

While I do hate politics in general, I find it more distressful to witness facts being assaulted because someone does not like what history actually was.

“It shouldn’t be surprising since owning slaves wasn’t a decision predicated on race but on economics. It’s a business decision.” — Republican state Rep. Werner Horn

I am an Independent because I no longer believe either party represents what I think. This is in no way a defense of a politician I know nothing about. It is however predicated upon the response that forced him to delete what he rightfully pointed out.

This is from the National Museum of American History.

The Business of Slavery Slavery created enormous profits not only for Southern planters and slave traders, but also for Northern cotton-mill owners and investors. Nearly one million enslaved Africans, defined as property, were wrenched from their upper South families. Some bought their freedom; more fought back by running away or even taking their own lives.

While our nation did try try to rectify this with the Civil War, it seems that has also been forgotten. Many African Americans who were freed joined the fight for their independence. After all, it is something they had done since the Revolutionary War. 

They have served in the military ever since the beginning.

If you know history, then you would know that as reprehensible as it was, slavery was always about business and making money using the cheapest labor instead of valuing those who provided the wealth the owners enjoyed.

Slavery existed around the world as one nation conquered another.

History of Slavery from History World
Slaves in Babylon: 18th century BC

Information about slaves in early societies relates mainly to their legal status, which is essentially that of an object - part of the owner's valuable property. The Code of Hammurabi, from Babylon in the 18th century BC, gives chilling details of the different Rewards and penalties for surgeons operating on free men or slaves. But it also reveals that the system is not one of unmitigated brutality. Surprisingly, Babylonian slaves are themselves allowed to own property.

But the first civilization in which we know a great deal about the role of slaves is that of ancient Greece.

A free man beating an enslaved man.

Slaves in Greece: from the 7th century BC

Both the leading states of Greece - Sparta and Athens - depend entirely upon forced labour, though the system in Sparta is more properly described as serfdom rather than slavery. The distinction is that the helots of Sparta are a conquered people, living on their own hereditary land but forced to work it for their Spartan masters. Their existence is a traditional rural one to which certain rights remain attached.

The slaves of Athens, by contrast, have no conventional rights. But their condition varies greatly according to the work they do.

The most unfortunate Athenian slaves are the miners, who are driven often to the point of death by their owners (the mines are state-owned but are leased to private managers). By contrast other categories of slaves - particularly those owned directly by the state, such as the 300 Scythian archers who provide the police force of Athens - can acquire a certain prestige.

The majority of Athenian slaves are domestic servants. Their fortune depends entirely on the relationship they develop with their owners. Often it is close, with female slaves looking after the children or acting as concubines, or a male slave running the household as a steward.

No free Athenian works in a domestic capacity, for it is considered shameful to be another man's servant. This inhibition applies equally to a subsidiary position in any form of business.

As a result male slaves in Athens do all work of a secretarial or managerial nature, for in these contexts they are unmistakably somebody else's personal assistant. Such jobs include positions of influence in fields such as banking and commerce.

Slaves in Rome: from the second century BC

The same loophole, offered by the self-esteem of free citizens, provides even greater opportunities to slaves in imperial Rome. The most privileged slaves are the secretarial staff of the emperor.

But these are the exception. In the two centuries before the beginning of the empire (the last two centuries BC) slaves are employed by Romans more widely than ever before and probably with greater brutality. In the mines they are whipped into continuing effort by overseers; in the fields they work in chain gangs; in the public arenas they are forced to engage in terrifying combat as gladiators. There are several slave uprisings in these two centuries, the most famous of them led by Spartacus.

Slaves in the Middle Ages: 6th - 15th century

In the period after the collapse of the Roman empire in the west, slavery continues in the countries around the Mediterranean. But the slaves are employed almost exclusively in households, offices and armies. The gang slavery characteristic of large Roman estates does not reappear until the tobacco and cotton plantations of colonial America (one notable exception is the salt mines of the Sahara).

Nevertheless the slave trade thrives, and the Mediterranean is a natural focal point.

Go to the links above to learn more before more history is deleted. It would be great if the people who are so offended would actually know the basics behind what they complain about today.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. To covet truth is a very distinguished passion."-George Santayana

Florida Georgia Line gets disabled veteran on the "track"

Veteran Presented with Tracked Wheelchair by Florida Georgia Line and Fox News' Jennifer Griffin

PEOPLE
By Joelle Goldstein
July 15, 2019

Marine Corps veteran Chris Kaag was honored with the all-terrain tracked wheelchair during Florida Georgia Line's July 13 concert.

A wounded veteran was in for a huge honor over the weekend when he was presented with a new wheelchair by Florida Georgia Line and Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin.

During the country duo’s concert in Camden, New Jersey on Saturday, Marine Corps Veteran Chris Kaag was given a brand new all-terrain tracked chair to help him get around more places.

The emotional moment was captured in a video and shared to Instagram by The Independence Fund, a nonprofit organization that has teamed up with FGL during their 2019 “Can’t Say I Ain’t Country” tour to help wounded, injured or ill veterans in need.

At each leg of their summer tour, the country duo, known for their hit “This Is How We Roll” and “H.O.L.Y.”, will be presenting the specialized wheelchairs, which provide the ability to regain independence lost through their injuries, to wounded veterans.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of all, Griffin recalled, was when Kaag’s 6-year-old son joined his father on stage and became overcome with emotion as the crowd chanted, “USA! USA!”
read it here

VFW added 25,000 new members during the past year

VFW snaps 27-year membership decline and adds nearly 25,000 new members

Military Times
By: Brian Mackley
July 16, 2019

This year, the VFW helped advocate on the behalf of 526,000 veterans for $8.4 billion in disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also highlighted it’s prominent legislative advocacy for veterans in the nation’s capital, as well.

Don Foran, who as a teenager spent the last months of World War II on dangerous assignments driving a jeep, restored and donated the same model of a 1942 jeep to the Canyon VFW post. (Lauren Koski/The Amarillo Globe News via AP)

The Veterans of Foreign Wars said it has added almost 25,000 new members during the past year, ending a long period of steady decline.

Officials with the 120-year-old veteran service organization attribute the uptick to a new strategy to target new members using social media, as well as word of mouth, to inform veterans how much work they do to serve veterans.

"The VFW is making a difference in the lives of countless others every day, and thanks to the power of social media and the internet, more people are taking notice and wanting to be part of our team,” VFW National Commander B.J. Lawrence said in a recent post on the organizations website.
read it here

Navy Corpsman hit by explosion...of cash

Navy corpsman wins $1 million on scratch off

By N.C. Education Lottery
Posted Jul 12, 2019

RALEIGH – Michael Strong has been on a lucky streak lately when it comes to scratch-off games. His luckiest ticket to date? The $150 Million Cash Explosion ticket he bought Wednesday that won him a $1 million prize.

“I decided to play this game because $20 tickets are my lucky tickets,” said Strong. “I always win when I play them. I’ve won 26 out of the last 27 $20 tickets I bought.”

Strong, a Navy corpsman, currently calls Waianae, Hawaii home, but has been stationed all over the world, including North Carolina. He was in Richlands to do some work on his home when he decided to continue his lucky streak at the Scotchman on South Wilmington Street.

“My friends were joking with me about my luck,” said Strong. “They said I should buy a ticket since I was back in town. So I took a break from the fence I was building, bought a ticket, and won $1 million!”

Strong claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $424,506. He plans to use his winnings to invest and pay off bills.
read it here

Senior Center kicked out veterans and told seniors to do pledge in closet!

Todd Starnes: Seniors told to pledge allegiance to the flag -- in a closet

FOX News
By Todd Starnes
July 15, 2019

“The first person to receive a trespass notice walked into the center carrying his flag and was told, ‘This is your warning. If you try to say the pledge you will be escorted off the property by the sheriff,’” Miss Minnie told me. “He did receive a trespass notice.”

A raging battle over prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance at a Washington State community center took an ugly turn when military veterans were thrown off the property and elderly patriots were told to recite the pledge inside a closet.

The board of directors at the Mullis Community Senior Center on San Juan Island decided to revise its lunchtime program by removing the traditional prayer and the recitation of the pledge.

The center’s executive committee blamed the prayer and the pledge for a decline in attendance, as I mentioned on the "Todd Starnes Radio Show" Podcast.

“We discovered that many of the incoming seniors were uncomfortable with an introductory ceremony where the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer were recited,” they wrote in a letter to the San Juan Islander.

The senior center went on to say they had a “duty to provide a safe and peaceful environment in our building and on our property, inclusive to all.”

Minnie Kynch, a longtime member of the community center, told me that a majority of the citizens staged a rebellion and decided to show and recite the flag in spite of the rule. So then, the operators of the community center decided to play hardball.
read it here

Navy veteran cremated and ripped off by faker posing as nephew

Florida launches investigation after fake nephew cremates veteran

BY CNN WIRE
JULY 16, 2019

CITRUS COUNTY, FL — A U.S. Navy veteran was cremated after a man falsely claiming to be his nephew signed off on his cremation and death certificate, the I-Team uncovered.

Navy veteran Robert Walaconis of Hernando, Florida died June 5, 2018 at 71 years old.

His son and daughter said they found out months later.

They claim items were missing from their father’s home – including a gun collection – and told the I-Team they were shocked when they discovered his death certificate listed a nephew named Todd Smith.

But Walaconis doesn’t have a nephew, according to his son, Michael.

Michael said that fake nephew also made decisions against his father’s wishes.

“He wanted to be buried in Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania,” said Michael. “I can’t believe this could happen to someone.”
read it here

Vietnam veteran confronted memories of 1st Sgt. Charles Sellers at the Wall

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall more than names

The Chronicle-Telegram
Bruce Walton 
July 16, 2019

Gannett spent the last few hours looking over the wall to find several names, including the name of 1st Sgt. Charles Sellers, Gannett’s sergeant, who died in Vietnam. The worst part, he said, was that he died at the hands of his own soldiers. It was through his work at the wall he said, that he even remembered his name Monday.

WELLINGTON — A small but dedicated group assembled for the closing ceremony of the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall on Monday afternoon.

Although attendance was less than for the opening ceremony Thursday, the respect was just as overwhelming.

The Amherst Veterans Military Honor Guard led the presentation of colors, followed by the last reading of the 98 Lorain County Vietnam veterans who died in the war. Brant Smith, Wellington Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6941 quartermaster and one of the main organizers of the event, gave the last words before the closing prayer.

“I truly love all of our Vietnam veterans, these men are my heroes, these men are the reason that myself and so many other young men of my generation have served our country because of these men and women that paved the way for us,” he said.
read it here

This is from the Virtual Wall

Sen. Donna Campbell lied about PTSD and pot

Did study show that 70% of veterans who committed suicide had THC in their system?

Politifact.com
By Taylor Goldenstein
July 15th

But the study Campbell cited doesn’t seem to exist. Some research does exist on this topic, but experts questioned the validity of drawing a conclusion about the connection between marijuana use and suicide generally — let alone among veterans.
🤬We rate this claim Pants on Fire.

Texas lawmakers this year voted to broaden the state’s medical marijuana program to include more qualifying conditions than just intractable epilepsy.

Under the bill, which was signed into law, patients with several more conditions, including terminal cancers, autism and multiple sclerosis, will now be eligible to participate in the program.

During a debate in the Senate over the proposal, state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, argued against including post-traumatic stress disorder in the bill. The disorder was ultimately not included in the bill that passed.

"A study was done, a post-mortem, so a retrospective study done, looking at autopsies and drug levels, what drugs were in the blood of veterans that committed suicide, and 70 percent had THC," Campbell said.

We decided to take a look at Campbell’s claim to see if a study of this nature existed and whether there’s a connection between veterans, marijuana use and suicide.
read it here

Tom Hanks encourages people to ‘Be There'

Tom Hanks encourages people to ‘Be There' and help prevent veteran suicide

Connecting Vets
By Ben Krimmel
JULY 15, 2019

Even the smallest action can make the world of a difference.

Actor Tom Hanks is joining the call to promote the "Be There for Veterans" public service announcement to raise awareness for the VA's #BeThere campaign to support veterans in need.

"Twenty veterans take their lives every day," Hanks says in the PSA. "Learn how to be there for a veteran at bethereforveterans.com. Honor the code! Be there! Leave no one behind."

The VA hopes their #BeThere campaign underscores how everyone can play a role in suicide prevention.

“This PSA underscores VA’s public health approach to preventing Veteran suicide, which encourages everyone to play a role in suicide prevention,” said Aaron Eagan, deputy director of operations and integration for suicide prevention in VA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. “The ‘Be There’ campaign is focused on simple yet impactful ways we can all reach out to and engage Veterans.”
read it here

Where will you be when they need you?

That is the question I have been asking since I began my online work back in 93. I was known as Namguardianangel.

It seems like a lifetime ago, especially now that all the results seem so bad. 

There used to be good results because people with good intentions back it up with diligent work on research to know exactly how to help them. Now it is whatever will obtain the most popularity, even if that means they have to lie to gain it.

The lie is "suicide awareness" actually means something other than spreading misery instead of healing.

After all these years I am still asking "where are  you when they need you" because from what I have seen, most are just taking whatever they can get while veterans are still suffering.

Bravo Company battles to save their brothers after war

Military Unit, Ravaged by War, Regroups Back Home to Survive the Peace

The Wall Street Journal
By Ben Kesling
July 14, 2019

“Derek, Grant, Timmy—all those guys died at their own hands,” said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Musil, listing close friends from Bravo Company and other units he served in who had killed themselves. “All those men were warriors. If they can do it, what’s stopping me?”

Veterans at the reunion talk about their experiences since returning from deployment to Afghanistan. PHOTO: TRAVIS DOVE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Suicides drive Bravo Company veterans to test whether reuniting will help overcome lingering effects of battle

Nearly a year ago, the combat-hardened paratroopers of Bravo Company realized things were getting too dangerous. They weren’t working as a team. Too many men were dying. Nobody seemed to know how to stop the bloodletting.

And that was a decade after they got home from war.

During an 11-month tour of Afghanistan’s notorious Arghandab Valley, three soldiers from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment were killed in action and a dozen more lost at least one leg or arm. In the 10 years since they returned to the U.S., two B Company soldiers—isolated from their buddies, struggling with their demons—have killed themselves, more than a dozen have tried and others admit they have considered it.

“I didn’t think I deserved to get help,” Jason Horton confessed to the group over a microphone in a conference room. It’s hard to find help in a system as large as the VA, he said. He found it helpful to talk one-on-one with someone who experienced the same trauma he did. “It’s a big sea, and it’s hard to swim in that sea,” he said.
read it here

You learned how to fight...now learn how to live! #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

Maryland Air National Guard soldier stopped attack

Off-duty Air National Guard member kills armed man at Maryland restaurant

By: The Associated Press
July 12, 2019

MILLFORD MILL, Md. — Authorities in Baltimore County say an off-duty member of the Maryland Air National Guard shot and killed an armed man while reportedly breaking up a fight outside a restaurant.

Baltimore County Police say the shooting happened early Friday after the airman saw people arguing outside the restaurant in Windsor Mill.

Authorities initially identified the airman as an off-duty officer. They say he has a gun permit.
read it here

Many federal agencies can't tally fatalities outside of work hours

Agencies Boost Efforts to Stop Wildland Firefighter Suicides

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 15, 2019

Reasons for the rise are unclear, though some cite longer and tougher wildfire seasons and an increase in the number of wildland firefighters who previously served in the military and were already dealing with post-traumatic stress.

CREDIT USDA.GOV

Federal wildland firefighting authorities are increasing mental health resources following an apparent increase in firefighter suicides in recent years.

Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise say it's difficult to track the number of suicides because many federal agencies can't tally fatalities outside of work hours and some families don't want the cause released. But officials say there appears to be a jump in known suicides, so efforts are being boosted to get wildland firefighters help.

Experts say the high-intensity camaraderie of the wildfire season can be followed by months of isolation in the offseason and sometimes money concerns without a steady paycheck.
read it here

If you are reading this, there is a reason you are here.

The fact that over 7 million Americans have PTSD, and most from just one event, needs to sink into your brain.

Why? Because you are still just another human, susceptible to the same kind of events the rest of the population goes through. For us, it can be just one event.

That said, you decided to put your own life on the line to save as many other people as possible. For you, it is the one event too many. 

If you do not look down on the people you are risking your life for...THEN WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF?

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

Fort Carson 10th Special Forces Group Lost Hero

Decorated special forces soldier dies in combat in Afghanistan

NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
July 14, 2019

Sgt. Maj. James Sartor "was a beloved warrior who epitomized the quiet professional," a military official said.

A Special Forces company sergeant was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan, military officials said Sunday.

Sgt. Maj. James Sartor, 40, died Saturday in the country’s northern Faryab Province, U.S. Army Special Operations spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said in a statement.

Additional details about Sartor’s death were not immediately available.

Sartor, of Teague, Texas, was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group in Fort Carson, Colorado, Bymer said. He deployed to Iraq as an infantryman in 2002 and later as a Green Beret. Sartor had served in Afghanistan twice — once in 2017 and again this year.

Sartor, who went by "Ryan," joined the Army in June, 2001, and was given more than 20 awards and decorations during his military career. He will posthumously receive a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, Bymer said.
read it here

Robert Craft gave Jarheads $100,000 hugs

Robert Kraft Pledges $100,000 To Families Of Motorcyclists Killed In NH Crash

CBS News Boston
July 13. 2019

“I know you have a GoFundMe page and it said you’re looking to raise 700 (thousand dollars) and you’re somewhere near $560,000, so our family, we’re going to commit $100,000 to that,” Kraft said.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

“And if you don’t get to the 700 today, we’re making it up whatever it is,” the Patriots owner said. “We are all Patriots and you are the true Patriots.”

FOXBORO (CBS/AP) — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a surprise announcement Saturday, as he pledged to donate $100,000 to the families of seven motorcyclists killed in a tragic crash in New Hampshire last month.

More than a thousand bikers came from across the country to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro to celebrate the lives of the men and women who were killed when a pickup truck and trailer crashed into a group of motorcycles in Randolph, New Hampshire on June 21. They were members or supporters of the Jarheads, a New England motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses.

Kraft met the group in the parking lot for the event Saturday, which raised money for the families of the victims. When he got up on stage to address the crowd, he made this surprise announcement.
read it here

Stunning Coast Guard crew video shows them in action stopping narco sub

Dramatic video shows Coast Guard leaping onto submarine carrying 17,000 pounds of cocaine

NBC News
By Doha Madani
July 11, 2019

Crew members can be seen jumping onto a moving narco-sub and busting open the hatch in the USCG video.

The U.S. Coast Guard released video Thursday of service members leaping onto a submarine carrying 17,000 pounds of cocaine as part of a months long, $569 million cocaine bust.

A member of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro can be seen in the video yelling at an unidentified aquatic vehicle to stop as it moved alongside the cutter at the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Crew members then jump onto the top of the mostly submerged vessel as it's moving and bust open the hatch.

A person inside the vessel can be seen briefly just as the hatch opens at the end of the minute long video.

About 17,000 pounds of cocaine were found inside along with five suspected smugglers, the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC News on Thursday. The estimated street value of the drugs is $232 million.

Self-propelled submersible vessels, often called “narco-subs,” are sometimes used by cartels and traffickers to smuggle drugs across borders.

The operation, which occurred June 18, was one of 14 drug-smuggling vessels intercepted off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by three Coast Guard cutters between May and July of this year. A total of 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana, were seized in that time, for an estimated worth of $569 million, according to a press release Thursday.
read it here

World War II veteran James Pepe, hero among us

Heroes Among Us: Navy Veteran James Pepe Helped Many Wounded Soldiers During World War II

CBS 4 News
By Marybel Rodriguez
July 12, 2019

U.S. Navy World War II veteran Jimmy Pepe was awarded the bronze star for his service. He was recently honored at a Florida Panthers game.

SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – Now to a weekly segment you will only see right here on CBS4.

Every Friday, in partnership with the Florida Panthers, we put the spotlight on a hero among us men or women who have gone beyond the call of duty for our country.

This week we’re meeting World War II veteran James Pepe.

James Pepe, who goes by Jimmy, served in the United States Navy as a pharmacist from 1943 to 1945. He enlisted and was part of the new Georgia-Rendova-Vanganu Campaign.

Pepe’s job was to take care of the wounded and although he says they were under very stressful conditions he did whatever he had to do save lives.
read it here

Vietnam Veteran Sgt. Matthew Francis Kelly made a dying wish to his nurse

Strangers invited to funeral for Vietnam veteran who died alone. ‘I wanted to honor his final wishes,’ his nurse said.

Philadelphia Enquirer
by Melanie Burney
July 9, 2019

Kelly left Vietnam in November 1970 and received an honorable discharge, his records show. Little is known about his life after the military. He returned to Philadelphia. Richello said he had a hard life, “and he was one of the forgotten.”

BRADLEY C BOWER / FOR THE INQUIRER

Former Army Sgt. Matthew Francis Kelly made a dying wish to his nurse: He wanted to be buried with full military honors, a parade, bagpipes, and a 21-gun salute.

In death, Kelly will get what he did not receive in life when he returned home to Philadelphia from the Vietnam War nearly 50 years ago. His nurse, Jennifer Richello, has recruited a band of strangers to keep the promise she made to Kelly on his deathbed a few months ago.

“I wanted to honor his final wishes, and love and respect for his service to our country,” Richello, a registered nurse, said in a statement Tuesday. “Kelly was a good man and deserves this.”

Richello also made a special request to mourners: bring a can of Pepsi to the funeral. Kelly loved the soft drink, she said.

After graduating from high school, Kelly enlisted on Jan. 14, 1969, his 20th birthday. He completed training at Fort Bragg, N.C, and Fort Sill, Okla., according to his military record. He was deployed to Vietnam in December 1969 and served as a communications chief in the 13th Battalion Signal, First Cavalry Division.
read it here