Vietnam veteran survived Memorial Day attempted carjacking caught on video

‘Not my day to go:’ Shots fired as group attempted to carjack Vietnam veteran on Memorial Day

FOX6 NEWS
BY SUZANNE SPENCER
MAY 27, 2019

MILWAUKEE -- A 66-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War going to check on his garden in Milwaukee Monday morning, May 27 when an armed gunman attempted to take his car.

The attempted carjacking on Saylee Vang happened around 9 a.m. near 60th and Carmen on the city's northwest side -- and it was caught on camera. It had the Vietnam veteran using instincts from his days at war at his own home in Milwaukee.

Vang told FOX6 News three young men approached him and demanded the keys to his car. He said no -- and they took off. Vang told FOX6 News he attempted to chase them before returning to his car and going after them. He said the suspects fired four shots at his vehicle. One shot struck a neighbor's car.
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DAV Veteran of the Year, Iraq Veteran-Doctor With PTSD

Brookfield doctor Kenneth Lee honored as Disabled Veteran of the Year
Brookfield Elm Grove Now
Geoff Bruce
August 8, 2017

CITY OF BROOKFIELD – Veteran, doctor, proud father of two and now the 2017 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year.

The lifetime accomplishments of Dr. Kenneth K. Lee continue to accumulate. The longtime city of Brookfield resident was recognized in New Orleans by Disabled American Veterans with the award July 29.

(Photo: Submitted photo by Emily Kask/DAV)

“The Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year has been around for many years here at DAV and each year we select the most deserving veteran,” DAV National Voluntary Services Director John Kleindienst said. “What we’re looking for is individuals who have overcome a severe obstacle in their lives from military service.”

Lee, a native of South Korea, was deployed to Iraq as the commander of the Army’s Company B, 118th Area Support Medical Battalion, but was injured in 2004 by a suicide car bomber. Lee suffered an open head traumatic brain injury and severe shrapnel wounds to his legs. He was evacuated back to the U.S. and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Everyone kind of works towards a certain goal in their life to make a difference in what you do,” Lee said. “You don’t do it to get an award, but you do it to make things happen.”

Prior to his deployment, Lee worked as a rehabilitation specialist at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. Despite that experience, his own recovery was much harder than he expected.

“Coming back from Iraq, it was more difficult than I imagined," Lee said. "As a physician, I thought I could handle a lot of stuff, but it turned out to be not. There were a lot of challenges at home both dealing with family and everything else.”

Lee, 52, credits his own patients, fellow veterans and especially his family with helping him to get through that difficult period.
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PTSD Missing Veteran James Ivy

Police: Milwaukee man last seen a week ago in Fernwood
Chicago Sun Times
CHICAGO NEWS 06/25/2017

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a Milwaukee man who last last seen a week ago in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side.

James Ivy, 69, was last seen about 10 p.m. on June 17 in the 10300 block of South State Street, according to a missing person alert from Chicago Police.

Ivy is a retired veteran who has post-traumatic stress disorder and may be headed back to Milwaukee via Amtrak, police said.

He is described as a 205-pound, 6-foot-1 African American man with brown eyes, black hair and a medium complexion, according to police.
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Missing Veteran Alert: Body of Cory Adams Recovered from Pond

Corey Adams: Missing veteran's body recovered from pond
WTMJ News
Ben Jordan
Apr 7, 2017

The body of a missing veteran was pulled from a Milwaukee pond this morning.

Family members confirm it was Corey Adams, who hadn't been seen in 18 days. Adams' family is absolutely heartbroken as this was the last call they wanted to receive.

"I'm going to miss him so much,” said his mother Gwendolyn Adams.

"We came here to the park and we just found out it is him, my brother," said his sister Carmen Adams.

Dozens of officers with Milwaukee Police Department covered the grounds at Dineen Park Friday morning near the pond where Adams’ body was recovered. Family identified him from a tattoo.
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WWII Veteran Laid To Rest Where Battle War Fought

In death, Marine returns to island where he survived battle 
Journal Sentinel
Jordan Vinson
February 9, 2015

Roi-Namur, Marshall Islands — Under a cluster of coconut palms on a tiny coral island more than 6,400 miles from Milwaukee, Lynne Rivera and Paula Smith honored their father's final wish.

Frank Pokrop had been a sniper in the 4th Marine Division during World War II. Trudging through the jungle, trapped behind enemy lines, he was shot and nearly lost his life on Namur, one of two conjoined islands at the northern tip of Kwajalein Atoll in the heart of the Marshall Islands.

Seventeen at the time he enlisted, 18 and a corporal when he took part in the Battle of Kwajalein, the experience never really left him.

He served as president of the 4th Marine Division Association, helped organize reunions, and for 47 years ran a scholarship committee for division members' college-bound children and grandchildren. Twice, he returned to the island for anniversary commemorations, in 1985 and 1994.

The speck of land in the central Pacific kept calling her father back, said Smith, who lives in Menomonie.

Pokrop achieved much in his life — coach and counselor, teacher and principal, community volunteer and church leader. He and his wife, Maxine, had three children and five grandchildren.

But when he died at age 89 a few weeks before Christmas — the anniversary of Pearl Harbor to be exact — it was time to head back to Namur one final time.

And so on Jan. 30, just shy of 71 years after the island battle started, Pokrop's daughters landed here and climbed out of a 19-seat turboprop commuter plane, bringing with them their father's ashes.
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Milwaukee VA Hospital drug investigation

4 charged in Milwaukee VA Hospital drug investigation
WISN News
Nick Bohr
March 7, 2014

WISN 12 News reporter Nick Bohr first reported on this case Thursday, when officials declined to comment on the investigation.

The Veteran Affairs Police Department investigation began in early December after a fellow worker reported seeing three certified nursing assistants and a licensed practical nurse passing or exchanging medications.
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Veterans long walk for Dryhootch PTSD group

Veterans return from walk to Los Angeles
620 WTMJ News
By Jesse Ritka
CREATED FEB. 11, 2014

MILWAUKEE - It was a journey that began 5 months ago at the Milwaukee County War Memorial.

Veterans Anthony Anderson and Tom Voss set out on a walk that would take them more than 2,000 miles to Los Angeles to support and raise money for Dryhootch, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping veterans return to civilian life after war and with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

153 days, ten pairs of shoes, and seven states later, Voss and Anderson have returned home to Wisconsin. “We were just two bearded idiots with some laptops and maps and we made our way from Milwaukee to LA,” Anderson says.

Despite being often mistaken for brothers with impressive beards, Anthony and Tom didn’t even know each other until they met at Dryhootch after returning home. “Neither of us really had any time to decompress after our deployments so the beginning idea was to take the time to work on yourself, better yourself by walking,” Voss explained.

Walking provided the time to decompress emotionally but physically, pain became a problem. Especially in the first half of the trek Voss adds, “Iowa and into Nebraska we had some pretty bad blisters going on so there was some painful days in the beginning but we came around." Anderson admits he was mentally prepared in the beginning but the toll the walk was taking on his body was wearing on him, “You start to question whether or not your body's going to be able to deal with the rigors of it and people start to reach out to you and start saying you've gone 400 miles so far, this is amazing.”

Support came in all forms Voss details, “We had a farm dog walk with us for about 20 miles. This dog decided to walk with us, it led the way for 20 miles and we gave it water and food when we would take a break. Turns out the that owner of that dog has a daughter who's married to a veteran with PTSD so we thought it was kind of interesting that that happened.
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VA didn't have funding for flu shots for homeless veterans

No flu shots
There were plans for free flu shots, but Veterans Administration hospitals in Milwaukee and North Chicago, Ill., backed out on Friday, said Derrell Greene, Kenosha County Veterans Services officer. He said at least several veterans walked out when they were told the shots wouldn’t be given.

“It was a big disappointment to us” that the hospitals didn’t participate, he said.

Hospital officials said they didn’t have the funding to take part, although the event was operated mostly by volunteers, Greene said.

Veterans get aid at Saturday event
Kenosha News
BY JOHN KREROWICZ
October 26, 2013

The choice for Edward Pavlovich is rent or an electric scooter.

The Racine resident, who served in the U.S. Army First Cavalry between 1973-75 at Fort Hood, attended the Homeless Stand Down and Veterans Benefits Expo at the Job Center, 8600 Sheridan Road, on Saturday hoping to find financial help for getting the $712 scooter.

He has a heart condition, a pacemaker and spine and leg problems.

“If I could walk everywhere all day, I would,” said Pavlovich, who is on Social Security disability. “But I can’t. I just hobble, and I’m in pain, and it’s miserable. I just don’t want to be cooped up at our apartment when my wife is not there.

“Maybe I’ll have to go without paying my rent in November and cut out some bills so I can pay for it.”

The Kenosha/Racine Veterans Services Office sponsored the annual event for all veterans and family members. It included free haircuts, legal assistance, job searches and information on education, the property tax credit, housing and aid to needy veterans.
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Marine's death in Afghanistan under investigation

Marine from Milwaukee dies in Afghanistan, family says
Journal Sentinel
By Crocker Stephenson
Oct. 6, 2013

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Michael Collins Jr., a 19-year-old graduate of Milwaukee Hamilton High School, has died in Afghanistan, his family confirmed Sunday.

Collins, an intelligence specialist, died Saturday at Camp Leatherneck, which is in Helmand Province. The cause of his death is under investigation, his mother, Shannon Collins, said.
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Marine gets new bike at Harley Davidson Anniversary Party

Wis. Marine receives surprise Harley at kickoff
By Associated Press
CREATED AUG. 30, 2013

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A Wisconsin Marine got a surprise when he helped kick off Harley-Davidson's 110th anniversary party.

First Sgt. Timothy La Sage rode a new 2014 Project Rushmore motorcycle onto the grounds of the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee Thursday.

After La Sage's ceremonial ride, Bill Davidson -- great-grandson of company co-founder William A. Davidson -- told the Milwaukee native to keep the motorcycle.
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Milwaukee family welcomes home 71 year old soldier from Afghanistan

Family welcomes home 71-year-old Bill Ray from Afghanistan
FOX Milwaukee
by Beverly Taylor
August 20, 2013

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — Major Bill Ray has retired from the military many times. Just back from a tour of duty overseas, he says at the age of 71, he’s now retiring for good.

FOX6 News was there as Ray’s family welcomed him home from Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 20th.

Ray’s grandchildren were there with “welcome home” signs in hand. They say they’re proud of their grandpa.

“I think he’s such a good guy that he was able to be in the Army for that long and get to serve the country for awhile,” Katie Sadiq said.

Ray joined the Army in 1959, got out in ’52, joined the Reserves, got back into the Army in ’70, went into MP’s and intelligence, “retired” in ’90, and became a Department of Army Civilian or DAC, went to Kuwait in the beginning of 2005, served three tours in Iraq, retired to Elkhart Lake, taught in Arizona at the intelligence school, and then last year, headed to Afghanistan at the Army’s request.
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Vietnam veterans get special Honor Flight

Vietnam veterans get special Honor Flight
Journal Sentinel
By Meg Jones
July 20, 2013

The first thing Jim Schertz will do is find four names etched into the black granite.

They're not simply names to the retired Milwaukee firefighter and Vietnam veteran. They were his buddies and comrades. They did not come home from the war.

"Just the fact they're still missing in action is unbelievable," said Schertz, 62.

Schertz will head straight to one of the last sections of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, known as 2W, and his eyes will scan to Lines 128 and 129. That's where Douglas L. O'Neil, Larry A. Zich, Allen D. Christensen and Edward W. Williams are listed among the more than 52,000 other Americans killed in Vietnam.

Schertz has never been to the Wall or Washington. But he's flying to the nation's capital on Aug. 2 with 110 other Vietnam veterans in the first Honor Flight for Wisconsin veterans of that war.

Appleton-based Old Glory Honor Flight, whose motto is "It's never too late to say thank you," has organized numerous one-day trips to Washington for World War II veterans to visit memorials. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of hostilities in Vietnam, organizers decided to arrange a one-time-only trip for Vietnam veterans.

Old Glory Honor Flight's goal is to continue the free trips for World War II and Korean War veterans. With a waiting list of more than 500 names, it will be a few more years until the group can turn its attention to Vietnam veterans.

"Vietnam veterans as a group have been so incredibly supportive of our organization and really helped us get off the ground for our first flight in '09, so we thought this was a perfect way to give back to them," Old Glory Honor Flight President Drew MacDonald said.

The flight will leave Oshkosh early Aug. 2 with stops at the Wall, Smithsonian American History Museum and Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard ceremony. Veterans will wear special shirts and receive small tote bags filled with snacks, tissues, and pencils and tracing paper if they want to make an etching of a name on the Wall. The group will return that evening to EAA AirVenture to a hero's welcome and concert by actor Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan Band.
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Off-Duty Milwaukee firefighters save family from burning SUV

Rescuers save 3 people from burning SUV
By Ryan Haggerty of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: July 19, 2009
A group of people including two off-duty firefighters and an off-duty police lieutenant rescued a woman and her two children from a burning SUV that crashed on Milwaukee's south side Sunday afternoon.

Most of the rescue was filmed by a bystander. The video shows the 1992 Chevrolet Blazer on its left side near S. 22nd Place and W. Layton Ave., its back half engulfed in flames and black smoke.

Two men eventually use metal pipes to break through the windshield, freeing the woman, who is a 32-year-old Tennessee resident, and her 2-year-old daughter.

They suffered minor injuries, police said.

The woman's 4-year-old son was still trapped inside.

Two brothers - John and Joel Rechlitz, who are Milwaukee firefighters and were off duty - were notified of the fire by one of their wives, who lives near the scene and saw the crash, said Tiffany Wynn, a Fire Department spokeswoman.
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/51148722.html

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3 More Charged In Homeless Milwaukee Man's Killing

3 More Charged In Homeless Milwaukee Man's Killing
Man Found On Trail

UPDATED: 10:25 pm CDT October 29, 2008
MILWAUKEE -- Three more people, two from Milwaukee and one from Okauchee, are facing murder charges in the killing of a homeless man on a trail near the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Milwaukee.

According to criminal complaints, the killing happened early last Thursday after a group of people went to the tent where Kelly Graf, 29, was sleeping to confront him about naked pictures of a girl that he had been showing on his cell phone.

The complaint quotes witnesses as saying they took Graf from the tent, beat him and took him to the trail where Matthew McAfee, 26, shot him in the head and cut his throat.

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http://www.channel3000.com/news/17840085/detail.html

Milwaukee Police Department target PTSD

Few police agencies address suicides within ranks

CARRIE ANTLFINGER
July 22, 2008 01:48 PM EST
MILWAUKEE — Police Sgt. Chuck Cross pointed his department-issue .40-caliber handgun at his temple, finger on the trigger, as he sat drunk against his hallway wall.
"I was about eight pounds of a trigger pull away," he said.

He's unsure why he stopped. Fellow officers, called by his girlfriend, took him to a mental health center. He was charged with disorderly conduct while armed, and was fired.

He says his department had no idea how to handle his situation that March 2007 night, but after six suicides in three years the Milwaukee Police Department now provides suicide awareness training. Since starting the program early this year it has had two more suicides.

"We wear a Superman cape. You're not supposed to be emotional or show it. It might show that you are weak," said Cross, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and won his job back. "I don't think I'm so far off that a lot of cops haven't walked down the path I have."

In Milwaukee, Cross didn't know how depressed he was until the night he put the gun to his head. He had been through a divorce. He was stressed about his then-11-year-old disabled son. He'd seen his share of crashes, murders and rapes and he had worked with three officers who committed suicide.
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