"Take Me Home Huey" Honoring Vietnam Veterans

Vietnam Memorial Helicopter "Take me home Huey", visits Oshkosh

NBC 26 News
Shara Taylor
July 2, 2017

"I know a lot of Vietnam vets don't like to talk about it, but for me being able to share it with other people it kind of lifts it away," said Ruby.

OSHKOSH, Wis.
A Vietnam war helicopter, transformed into a work of art, will be on display at the EAA Aviation Museum beginning this July 4th weekend. The exhibit honors Vietnam veterans and brings awareness to PTSD.

"They never really got the proper welcome home and we're trying to fix that," said EAA Programs Coordinator Chris Henry.

Henry said the helicopter was shot down in 1969. It was refurbished and later used for training at Fort Rucker in Alabama.

The aircraft was originally used in the Vietnam War for medical evacuations. Saturday it brought back memories and created dialog for veterans.

The display is called "Take me home Huey". A veteran said the helicopter had many uses.

"This was a life line to get inserted or extracted out of fire bases in Vietnam," said Vietnam War veteran Stephan Ruby.
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Afghanistan Veteran High Speed Chase After Seeking Help

Only On 9: War Veteran Suffering From PTSD Leads CHP On Dangerous 2-County Chase
CBS Los Angeles
July 1, 2017

The son returned to Los Angeles from Afghanistan about three-and-a-half years ago and the elder Hidalgo says it’s been a struggle for his son ever since.

“Once he came back,” said Gary, “he got no help. I had to fight for his assistance, to get him what he needs.”

ONTARIO (CBSLA.com) — A war veteran who allegedly suffers from PTSD led law enforcement on a two-county high-speed chase Saturday.

The veteran’s father, Gary Hidalgo, spoke to KCAL 9’s Cristy Fajardo about his son, 26-year-old Christian Hidalgo.

She spoke to the elder Hidalgo in Ontario where the chase ended. It is a story that is Only On 9.

The father said his son has not been the same since returning from Afghanistan after “multiple” deployments spanning three years.

The CHP said they first tried to pull the son over in Santa Clarita for driving recklessly. They called the chase dangerous and said Hidalgo often exceeded 100 mph.

The father said his son has not been the same since returning from Afghanistan after “multiple” deployments spanning three years.

The CHP said they first tried to pull the son over in Santa Clarita for driving recklessly. They called the chase dangerous and said Hidalgo often exceeded 100 mph.

A squad car crashed during the chase. There was no word on whether the officer driving the vehicle was injured.

Gary said his son’s PTSD was so bad he went to the VA Hospital in Westwood today trying to get help.
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Idaho Vietnam Veteran Searching for Orphan He Saved in 1970

Vietnam War veteran searches for orphan he rescued in 1970

ADVANCE FOR USE SATURDAY, JULY 1 - In this June 22, 2017 photo, Robert Martin holds a picture of himself at his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, holding 2-month-old Roberta Sunday after finding her in a bunker in Vietnam. 

By BRIAN WALKER - Associated Press - Saturday, July 1, 2017

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) - Robert Martin’s platoon was sent to check out an enemy bunker complex that had been hit with heavy airstrikes. He heard a coughing sound.

“In this one bunker I found three dead Vietnamese - two men and one woman,” the Coeur d’Alene man said softly. “I turned to go to the next bunker when I heard a cough from under the dead bodies.”

Under the woman’s body was a naked infant girl - perhaps 2 months old - who was shivering and had shrapnel in one of her thighs.

Martin wrapped the girl in an empty sand bag and carried her to the pickup zone.

After Martin informed his commanders via radio of the situation, his chopper was diverted to the Quang Tri Catholic Hospital, where the baby could be treated.

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Veterans and Youth Hunt Pythons in Florida

War vets, inner city youth join to trap Florida pythons
Yahoo News
Leila MACOR Agence France-Presse
June 30, 2017

Boynton Beach (United States) (AFP) - US war veteran Chad Brown suffers from PTSD after serving in Iraq and Somalia, has been homeless and classified as mentally disabled, sold his blood for $20 a pop and tried to kill himself.

The NGO Soul River, founded by war veteran Chad Brown, bring together veterans dealing with PTSD and disadvantaged inner city youth for outdoor excursions to help find healing through nature (AFP Photo/Javier GALEANO)

Now he has found some semblance of redemption in the swamps of Florida, mucking around with disadvantaged inner city youths to catch snakes and get a taste of nature as he works to connect with other people.

The project is the brain child of a Portland-based NGO called Soul River. The kids find adult mentors while the vets gain some perspective on life, says Brown, a decorated Navy veteran who founded the organization.

On this particular day Brown is with another vet and five youths in the Loxahatchee nature reserve, on Florida's east coast, when a Burmese python slithers out of a sack that a forestry official had been holding it in.

Later, the group troops off into a swamp with muck up to their hips infested with mosquitos and alligators. But a Florida Everglades guide assures them that the big-toothed critters do not like human flesh. All the humans get are bug bites.

Brown founded Soul River in 2011 after concluding that a simple sport -- fly fishing -- was the only thing that helped him battle his PTSD. 

- Natural medicine - 

Brown left the Navy in 1994 and bottomed out in 2000 when he was admitted to a psychiatric ward and thought he had lost everything. But life changed when he ventured out into nature. He went fishing.read more here

Clergy Get Schooled on How to Help Veterans Come Home

I am part of Point Man International and while this article says for members of the clergy "it is not usual for them to be one-on-one" that is exactly the best way to do it.

It is not posting on Facebook. It is giving face time. It is not using a cellphone to text back and forth, but using it to talk to someone so you can hear the sound of their voice and know there is compassion there, as well as knowledge. It is not doing push-ups but helping them push the pain away. It is not taking a walk to get attention for something you haven't even bothered to understand, but standing by their side and helping them find the way to take control of their lives back.

PTSD is complicated. Suicide is complicated. Helping them heal takes a lot out of us but what we get back is priceless. As long as people seem so satisfied with what we're doing, nothing will ever change.

If you are going to church this morning, share this with your clergy and elders. They need to do what has been working for over 3 decades.

Clergy training designed to help NH veterans reintegrate

Union Leader

By BEA LEWIS

Sunday News Correspondent 

LACONIA - Returning veterans are getting some help from above. 

"Clergy are typically on the front lines of helping veterans and it is not usual for them to be one-on-one dealing with specific issues. This event will help give clergy who don't have any direct connection with the military a better understanding of what vets are facing when they return from deployment," said Heilshorn.

Veterans display their colors during the annual Freedom Ride and Vigil at Hesky Park in Meredith during Motorcycle Week. (Bea Lewis/Sunday News Correspondent) 
Genesis Behavioral Health and the Veterans Administration are partnering to train clergy to recognize the challenges faced today by servicemen and women, active or retired.

The challenges of reintegration, coupled with issues that may be linked to their service, can result in problems that go unrecognized or develop slowly over time, said Ann Nichols, director of Development and Public Relations for GBH.

"Our role is to teach clergy and designated lay people how to play such an important role. It's a really nice partnership with the VA to have the opportunity to be able to do this," Nichols said.

"The military culture is so ingrained in our soldiers and competes with other things we know in life it doesn't surprise me that there are challenges. It's important to remove the stigma and to be able to have a positive impact on veterans and their families."

Approximately 115,000 veterans live in New Hampshire. A third are from the Vietnam Era, and more than 48 percent are 65 years of age or older, compared with 15 percent of the civilian population. The second largest group of veterans is from the Gulf Wars, with more than 7,000 coming from post-9/11 service. Only 30,000 of the 115,000 use the VA Medical Center, according to the state Bureau of Community Based Military Programs.read more here 

PTSD Awareness: We Suck At Giving Real Help

What You Didn't Learn During PTSD Awareness Month 
Combat PTSD Wounded Times 
Kathie Costos 
July 1, 2017

There are so many things that you probably did not learn during PTSD Awareness Month. If we are ever going to start getting rid of the stigma of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is time the facts came out and the bumper sticker slogans stopped being the center of attention. 

When all has been said and done, the facts remain veterans are still killing themselves after risking their lives in combat, in service to this country and for each other.

Fact 1
The lives of others mattered so much, they were willing to die for them. These same men and women could no longer believe they mattered and no one would fight for them. 

Fact 2
While the size of the military has gone down, suicides have not gone down accordingly, nor have they reflected any of the "efforts" in prevention working.

Fact 3
Majority of veterans in this country are over the age of 50.

Fact 4
Majority of the suicides, 65% are over the age of 50.

Fact 5
Suicide rate among veterans going to the VA are lower than among those who do not.

Fact 6
There are over 400,000 charities claiming to help veterans but if they say anything at all about what they are doing, almost every new charity is not doing anything for the majority of our veterans.

Fact 7
Most of these "charities" are sending veterans to others for help, if they send them at all. The best way to help a veteran is with Peer Support but only if the one giving the support knows the facts and how to help. It does not work if you think that a Facebook post or text is all that is being given.

Fact 8
Congress keeps writing bills that are the replication of other ones they passed and funded during the past decade when there are absolutely no beneficial results and did not fund what worked.

Fact 9
No wound is any different from any other wound caused by any other war.

Fact 10
When it comes to taking care of our veterans, we suck at it!

VA Suicide Report 2016 Key findings from this year’s report include: 
 In 2014, an average of 20 Veterans died by suicide each day. Six of the 20 were users of VHA services. 
 In 2014, Veterans accounted for 18 percent of all deaths by suicide among U.S. adults and constituted 8.5 percent of the U.S. adult population (ages 18+). In 2010, Veterans accounted for 20.2 percent of all deaths by suicide and represented 9.7 percent of the U.S. adult population. 
 The burden of suicide resulting from firearm injuries remains high. In 2014, about 67 percent of all Veteran deaths by suicide were the result of firearm injuries. 
 There is continued evidence of a high burden of suicide among middle-aged and older Veterans. In 2014, about 65 percent of all Veterans who died by suicide were age 50 or older. 
 After adjusting for differences in age and gender, risk for suicide was 21 percent higher among Veterans when compared with U.S. civilian adults. (2014)  After adjusting for differences in age, risk for suicide was 18 percent higher among male Veterans when compared with U.S. civilian adult males. (2014) 
 After adjusting for differences in age, risk for suicide was 2.4 times higher among female Veterans when compared with U.S. civilian adult females. (2014)  In 2014, rates of suicide were highest among younger Veterans (ages 18–29) and lowest among older Veterans (ages 60+). Furthermore, rates of suicide among Veterans age 70 and older were lower than rates of suicide among civilians in the same age group.

Veterans Fight to Save Club After Theft from Treasurer

Veterans fight to save Upwey-Belgrave RSL after treasurer stole from club
Herald Sun
Ashley Argoon
June 30, 2017

WAR veterans are fighting to save their local Returned and Services League, $400,000 in the red after the treasurer stole from them.

War veterans Peter Hay, 84, David Eaton, 72, and Bob Stevens, 49, worry about the future of the Upwey-Belgrave RSL. Picture: David Caird

Pokies addict Marion Mills stole from the Upwey-Belgrave RSL — which has refused to install any pokies — to spend on her gambling and drinking.

But managers fear it may not see next Anzac Day.

“We’re struggling,” Vietnam veteran and Upwey-Belgrave RSL president David Eaton said.

“The problem is you trust people and then you get burnt.”

In April, Mills, 62, was sentenced to four months’ jail, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to stealing $28,918.10 while treasurer from 2010-13.

But she had originally been accused over a sum almost three times that, and also failed to pay bills or staff superannuation, taking the total to about $400,000.
read more here

Australia: Police Officers Struggle for Help With PTSD

Late policeman’s brother vows to help those struggling
Border Mail Australia
BLAIR THOMSON
1 Jul 2017

THE BROTHER of an Albury policeman who took his own life after a battle with post traumatic stress disorder is helping others in the force who are struggling.

MESSAGE: Patrick Seccull says those battling PTSD should know that there is help out there, and that life can be good despite how bad things can get fighting the illness.

Tony Seccull, 41, followed in the footsteps of his older brother Patrick when he joined NSW Police as a young man.

The father of one lost his battle at his Burrumbuttock property on February 1, leaving a gap in his large family that will always be there.

Patrick, who has also worked as an Albury policeman and has had his own fight with the disorder, said his brother died about five years to the day after his discharge from the force.

By the end of his service, Tony was worn out and just wanted to retire without the grinding stress caused by the police insurance company.

Mr Seccull links his brother’s PTSD to an incident early in his career, the full impact of which didn’t surface until a firearms training course on the Border sometime around 2010.

Tony had been stationed at Nyngan in central NSW in the early 2000s and like many times before, he was called to a domestic dispute.

But it was no ordinary call out, with a farmer firing shots from a high-powered rifle at Tony and his partner, leaving them pinned down.
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Missing Veteran Alert: Navy Veteran

Family, friends to search for missing Patchogue veteran
Newsday
By Martin C. Evans
Updated June 30, 2017

Rebecca Barra poses with a photo of her mom Janet Barra, 58, a Navy veteran living in Patchogue Tuesday, June, 28, 2017. Rebecca Barra has been missing for the past twenty-two days and is struggling with depression but always stayed in touch with her daughter. (Credit: John Roca)

Janet Barra, 58, of Patchogue, had struggled with depression since her days in the Navy but had always stayed in touch with her daughter, Rebecca.

That was until the morning of June 5, when she parked her car at a strip mall in Medford, left her purse, identification and bank card behind, and was seen on video headed north on Route 112.

She has not been seen or heard from since.
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Guardian of Valor Started After American Idol Faker Took The Stage

Meet the country's most prominent "stolen valor" detective
CBS News
June 14, 2017

"It's just too great for some people. They would rather impersonate instead of actually go raise their hand and serve their country." Anthony Anderson

In 2013 "American Idol" featured a contestant with a sympathetic story.

"We were on a mission in Ramadi, Iraq, and we came across an IED, and the IED exploded," Matt Farmer said on "American Idol." Farmer served in Iraq, but was never injured in battle and later admitted "it was all lies" in a letter to the website, Guardian of Valor.

"When we outed the guy from 'American Idol', that pretty much started this whole thing," Guardian of Valor founder Anthony Anderson said.

Anderson may be the country's most prominent "stolen valor" detective. "Stolen valor" is a term applied to those who falsely claim military service, either to gain recognition or, in some cases, money. It's offensive for many Americans to think of, but it's real, and because the government often doesn't have the resources or time to investigate, private citizens pick up the slack, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor.

From his South Carolina basement, Anderson works day and night separating military fact from fiction.

"We've had family members turn their own family members in. It's crazy sometimes. I've had sons turn their dads in. I've had dads turn their sons in. It's wild," Anderson said.

The website features a "Hall of Shame" and links to video confrontations.
read more here

There is another fake hunter and this is one from last year from Don Shipley