Third Marine Attacked--Hate Crime

Marine Corps veteran says he became target of hate crime
ABC 6 News
BY LISA RANTALA
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29TH 2016

COLUMBUS — A Marine Corps veteran says he became a random target in the Short North and police are consulting with prosecutors to determine if the case is a hate crime.

Grant Gray enlisted in the Marines in 2011 and served seven months in Afghanistan last year.

"My job in the Marine Corps was the 7-51. It's aircraft rescue and firefighting," Gray told ABC 6/FOX 28 from his home near Lima. "Pretty much rescuing downed pilots when they crash."

He's now studying sports management at Miami University and has been thinking about transferring to OSU for business. He came here to Columbus out homes and apartments Friday.

But he says rather than finding support, he was the recipient of hate. "I don't remember too much because I have a pretty severe concussion," Gray said.
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Linked from Bizpac

Ex-Spokane VA Doctor Convicted of Child Molestation Charges

Former Veterans Affairs doctor in Spokane convicted of multiple counts of child molestation 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 
Published: 3/1/16 

SPOKANE, Washington — A federal court jury in Spokane has convicted Dr. Craig Morgenstern of child sex abuse, after hearing graphic evidence of the former Veterans Affairs doctor's secret life as a serial child molester. 

The jury found Morgenstern guilty on all counts Tuesday. read more here

West Point Major Found Dead in New Jersey

West Point instructor found dead off-post
Army Times
By Kevin Lilley
March 1, 2016

Maj. Benjamin Recla, 34, had deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Maj. Benjamin Recla

(Photo: Army)

An officer serving as an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy was found dead Sunday while off-post, the school announced in a Monday news release.

Maj. Benjamin Recla’s death is being investigated by the Atlantic City (New Jersey) Police Department, the release states, but foul play is not suspected. No further details on the incident were available; the police department did not return a message seeking comment.
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Parris Island Marine Hero Vanished?

Unidentified Marine hero injured in Burton roadway rescue
Live 5 News
By Georgiaree Godfrey
Monday, February 29th 2016

“There was a marine from Parris Island.

We're actually not sure who he is, but he went into traffic to help get someone who had been ejected from the vehicle, and in the process of bringing them to the shoulder, he was clipped by a car,” said Lt. Alex Murray, Burton Fire District.
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Stolen Valor Case Involves Marines and Mickey?

Skip Wells Foundation Severs Ties with Marines and Mickey Charity
BY WTVC
FEBRUARY 29TH 2016

Marietta, GA — Representatives of a foundation that raises money in the name of a July 16th shooting victim say they no longer wish to be associated with another charitable organization.

In the months since the death of Lance Corporal Skip Wells, the Skip Wells Foundation has worked hand in hand with the Marines and Mickey Foundation to help the charity raise money, but now they say questions about the founder's integrity have forced them to back out of the partnership.

In a post on Facebook, the Skip Wells Foundation announced it had "disassociated itself from any and all relationships with the Marines & Mickey foundation."

Marine Reconnaissance Foundation
on Sunday
STOLEN VALOR

This is one of the worst cases of stolen valor we have seen to date. John Simpson is the Founder of the Marines and Mickey Foundation.

Claimed to be a Recon Master Sergeant with 4 deployments to Afghanistan and a Marine Corps Drill Instructor. John Simpson claimed he was a Force Recon Marine with 2nd Recon Bn. He also claims he spent 20 years in the Marine Corps. None of which is true and has been verified.

LCpl Skipp Wells was killed in the Chattanooga, TN shooting on July 16th, 2015. After the attack John Simpson came along with the Marines and Mickey Foundation and took over $135,000 from the Mother of Lance Corporal Wells.

John Simpson was reduced to E-1 Private, and received a Bad Conduct Discharge from the Marines. His job specialty in the Marines before discharge was an Admin Clerk.

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Rep. Judy Chu Calls for End Of Hazing in Military

New military hazing rules could be part of annual defense bill
Military Times
By Leo Shane III
March 1, 2016

Rep. Judy Chu wants the military to finally get serious about ending hazing in the ranks.

Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, 21, killed himself April 3, 2011, in Afghanistan after being hazed by fellow Marines, according to an investigation. His aunt, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., wants anti-hazing legislation to be in the next defense authorization bill.

(Photo: Courtesy of Allen Lew)

The California Democrat, whose nephew committed suicide in Afghanistan five years ago after a hazing episode by fellow Marines, on Tuesday petitioned House defense leaders to include new anti-hazing initiatives in the upcoming defense authorization bill debate, saying that Pentagon leaders simply have not done enough to address the issue despite years of focus from Congress.

Her renewed criticism stems from a Government Accountability Office report released last month which found poor oversight and enforcement of those initiatives, and still-scattered data on the frequency of such crimes in the ranks.

“Today we have an independent analysis that found that the Defense Department’s anti-hazing policies are not being implemented, training is unclear and tracking systems are highly divergent and underdeveloped,” she told members of the House Armed Services Committee. “DoD is not aware to the extent of which hazing policies have been implemented.”
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Camp Pendleton Marine Shot Outside of 7-11

Camp Pendleton-Based Marine Shot Outside SoCal 7-Eleven 
NBC 7 San Diego 
By Jessica Perez 

A U.S. Marine was hospitalized after being shot outside a 7-Eleven in Monterey Park early Monday morning, and now police are looking for the shooter, officials said. 

Police responding to reports of a shooting in the 200 block of West Pomona Boulevard about 2:45 a.m. found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the Monterey Park Police Department. 
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Seventy Four Names Missing From Vietnam Memorial Wall?

Man Fights for Brother to Be Included on Vietnam Memorial
The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.
by Stephanie Weldy
Feb 29, 2016

The 20-year-old died, along with 73 others, aboard the USS Frank E. Evans in an accidental collision in the South China Sea in 1969.

For years, Novato resident and Vietnam War veteran Jim Reilly had no interest in visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Seeing the names of those he had known inscribed on the granite wall in Washington D.C. would have been too difficult, he said.

When Reilly did at last visit it in 1999, he was shocked. The name of his younger brother was missing. The 20-year-old died, along with 73 others, aboard the USS Frank E. Evans in an accidental collision in the South China Sea in 1969.

As he would learn, the omission of Lawrence Reilly Jr.'s name, and those of the other fallen men — dubbed "The Lost 74" — was no accident. Now 47 years since his brother's death, Reilly, 70, is not done fighting. He is involved in a campaign to have the names of those killed aboard the USS Evans added to the wall.

"Ultimately, of course we'd like the 74 names added to the wall," Reilly said. 

"Space is going to be a problem so it may be necessary to make some kind of accommodation. Whatever accommodation needs to be made, it should be made."

In the early hours of June 3, 1969, the USS Evans, a Navy destroyer carrying 272 men, was ripped in two during Operation Sea Spirit, a training exercise involving more than 40 ships of allied countries.

After one flawed move by the USS Evans 225 miles off the coast of Vietnam, the HMAS Melbourne, an Australian carrier, tore into the ship, killing 74 men. The brothers' father, Lawrence Reilly Sr., was also aboard the ship as a U.S. Navy master chief, but survived.
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Veteran Poisoned by Agent Orange Finally Gets VA Disability

Veteran wins benefits after FOX 2 Agent Orange report
FOX 2 Now
BY CHRIS HAYES
FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Casto emailed us this morning, after our follow up interview, with even better news. He titled the e-mail "we won!" and went on to explain that the VA awarded him a 70% overall disability rating. He said after seven years of dealing with the VA on this, he believes he's now won the battle.

(KTVI) - A military veteran suspected to have been exposed to Agent Orange feared the VA would deny him benefits, waiting for him to die. Now a huge change since our story after an unexpected government response.

One week after our FOX Files investigation about vets denied benefits for exposure to Agent Orange, Bill Casto received a 27 page letter with a surprising acknowledgement.

Casto read from the letter, “It says ‘VA memorandum, herbicide exposure conceded dated February 5 2016.’ After all these years since 2009, when I originally filed my claim they`re admitting now that I was exposed to herbicide.”

He got the letter February 5th, one week after our report when Casto told us, “Deny, deny, deny until you die is what we say.”

67-years old and hooked to oxygen, he suspected the VA may be waiting him out.

Casto said, “There`s thousands of us in the same boat, thousands of us.”
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Widow Of Afghanistan Veteran Shot By Police Files Lawsuit

Widow files lawsuit against MPD
Casa Grande Dispatch
Brian Wright
March 1, 2016

Veteran killed by officers during incident in 2015

Johnathan Guillory, 32, a military veteran killed by Maricopa

police in January 2015, poses with his wife, Maria Garcia.

MARICOPA — The community was shaken when Johnathan Guillory, a military combat veteran, was shot and killed by Maricopa police officers in the Cobblestone Farms subdivision Jan. 18, 2015.

Now the community will have to revisit the events surrounding that day, as Guillory’s wife, Maria Garcia, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Maricopa alleging wrongful death, negligence, excessive force, false imprisonment, and assault and battery.

Scottsdale attorney David Lunn, representing Guillory’s estate, said the lawsuit was filed in federal court as opposed to state court because it claims civil rights were violated, which would constitute federal violations.

Guillory, 32, was an Army veteran who served two combat tours in Afghanistan, returning from his second in 2003.

Reports from the Maricopa Police Department indicate Guillory, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was having increasingly heated confrontations with police in the days and weeks leading up to the fatal shooting.

On Jan. 13, five days before the shooting, MPD Detective Michael Burns sent out an email warning officers to be careful when dealing with Guillory. He described an incident Guillory had with officers the previous night.
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This is from the original report by AZ Family.com. The link to them is not working now but link to Wounded Times is still active. Arizona Iraq Veteran Killed By Police

Garcia says her husband proactively sought help for his condition.

"He saw therapists, and was on the phone constantly with suicide hotlines," she says.

Guillory's widow says he went to the VA hospital, where he reported he was having a mental health emergency.

"They turned him away. They told him there was no room, and that he'd have to make an appointment," she recalls.