Beyond The Call Of Duty WWII Veterans "Titanic Sacrifices" and PTSD

Beyond the call of duty

The Augusta Chronicle
Editorial Staff 
August 19, 2017

“Many of the stories have such great impact that I would reread them again and again during the editing process even when I didn’t have to. These were not extraordinary people. They were ordinary folk who accomplished extraordinary things.”

A World War II veteran Gehle went to interview in a motel room had hung sheets on the wall. Some 70 years after imprisonment and torture by the Japanese, the veteran still wet his bed at night.

This is the Grand Canyon of awareness looming between generations. The younger may have little conception of the great struggle to defeat tyranny on two sides of the world and the titanic sacrifices made to do it. The older lived it.

We need to make sure members of the Greatest Generation lay down their often agonizing memories before they’re gone completely, so that present and future generations, like them, never forget.

Problem is, back in the days before we knew anything about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – back when a general like George Patton might slap a “shell-shocked” soldier for supposedly being a coward – you didn’t talk out your trauma. You buried it with the honored fallen, came home and quietly tried to somehow integrate back into a civil society where the guy around the corner wasn’t out to get you and the customer walking in a restaurant wasn’t looking to shoot you.

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Police Officer Killed, 3 Wounded in Florida

Suspected cop killer faces judge and murder charge; Kissimmee police seek person of interest

As deputies approached Miller, the 21-year Marine Corps veteran reached for his waistband, O’Dell said. He was tackled by a deputy and taken into custody.

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UPDATE

6 Police Officers Shot in Florida and Pennsylvania, 2 Killed and 4 Wounded

NBC News

Six police officers were shot, two fatally, in three separate incidents in Florida and Pennsylvania late Friday, officials said.

Two officers were shot in Kissimmee around 9:30 p.m., just south of the theme park hub of Orlando, central Florida. They both later died from their wounds.

In Jacksonville, two officers were critically wounded in a shoot-out, while two state troopers were also shot in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

Officers Matthew Baxter, left, and Sam Howard, right, who were both shot and killed in Kissimmee, Florida, on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. Kissimmee Police Department


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1 police officer killed, 5 others injured in 3 shootings in Florida and Pennsylvania

CBS News

August 19, 2017

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- One police officer was killed and three wounded in nighttime shootings in two Florida cities where the officers were responding to suspected drug activity and reports of a suicide attempt, police said Saturday.

In Pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot outside a small-town store in Fairchance, south of Pittsburgh. State police say the troopers, both taken to hospitals after the Friday night shooting in Fairchance, were in stable condition. 

One officer was killed and another gravely injured late Friday night in Kissimmee in central Florida just south of the theme park hub of Orlando. Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O'Dell said at a news conference Saturday that a suspect, Everett Miller, was arrested several hours after the shootings.

He faces a first-degree murder charge. Authorities originally said they believed there were four suspects, but the chief said no other arrests are anticipated.

The other two officers were injured a couple of hours later in Jacksonville, one of them shot in both hands and the other in the stomach. The shooter in Jacksonville was shot and killed when police returned fire.

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Comfort Cats Roam VA Hospital in Massachusetts

Cats offer comfort to veterans in final moments at VA hospital in Western Massachusetts

MassLive.com

Michelle Williams

August 18, 2017

At the VAMC, staff have noticed quality of life improvements in some veterans, thanks to the cats. 

From a hospital bed on the second floor of the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Leeds, a hushed meow could be heard. 

Michelle Williams | Michelle.Williams@MassLive.comTherapy cats of Veterans Administration Medical Center in LeedsMadison and Zoe are therapy cats at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Leeds. The pair roam the halls seeking attention from staff and offer comfort to patients, often at the end of their lives.

People were talking outside the room Madison, a sandy blonde cat, was sleeping within. 

This bed and most others on the floor are where she and fellow feline Zoe enjoy taking naps and seeking attention from patients and staff. 

The pair are therapy cats, offering comfort to veterans receiving long-term care at the hospital. 

Madison and Zoe were adopted four years ago when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs relaxed its stance on comfort animals. 

Soon after hearing the news, officials at the Western Massachusetts hospital began researching their options. 

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Infection Alert for Over 500 Buffalo VA Patients

Higgins, Collins call infection risk notice to Buffalo VA patients 'troubling'

Buffalo News

Henry I. Davis

August 17, 2017

Rep. Brian Higgins says he is posing questions to Veterans Affairs officials about an alert to more than 500 patients at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center who underwent procedures with medical scopes.

"Anything that compromises the health and safety of those who so bravely served is extremely troubling," Higgins, D-Buffalo, said in a statement.

"We will ask for more details, await the results of the ongoing investigation, and will work with the Buffalo VA to see that our nation's duty to properly care for our veterans is met," he said.

Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence, also called the revelation "troubling." He encouraged veterans in his district who may be concerned to contact his district office for assistance.

"It is completely unacceptable that proper protocols were not being followed, but I applaud the actions taken to relieve the employee at fault from their duties," he said in a statement.

The hospital acknowledged this week that it is notifying 526 patients that the use of an improperly cleaned medical scope may have put them at risk of infection.

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Five Finger Death Punch Taking Care of PTSD Veterans

Five Finger Death Punch frontman vows to perform at Illinois State Fair

The State Journal Register
Steven Spearle
August 18, 2017

Members of FFDP have long-supported U.S. military and veterans issues. In addition to doing USO tours, the band set up a website (www.5fdp4vets.com) that sells merchandise to raise money and awareness for veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Zoltan is also a founding board member of the Las Vegas-based veterans non-profit organization Home Deployment Project, which also assists combat veterans with PTSD.

What version of Five Finger Death Punch shows up at the Illinois State Fair is anyone’s guess.

Mercurial frontman Ivan Moody didn’t make it past the band’s first show during a June tour of Europe. After threatening to leave the group during a brief and chaotic onstage performance in Tilburg, Netherlands, Moody announced afterwards that he had “fallen off the wagon again” and was headed for another rehab stint with the support of band members.

Spokespersons from 10th Street Entertainment, who handle Five Finger Death Punch’s (FFDP) publicity, wouldn’t say whether Moody would be back for the Springfield show, the band’s first since the European tour ended June 24.

FFDP management told Illinois State Fair that there is “no reason to believe the concert will be canceled.”

Then in July, Moody released a statement thanking his fans and his bandmates for standing by him during his rehab stint.

“At this point, I am on track to return to the band with a vengeance in Springfield, Illinois, when we begin the next leg of our North American tour dates,” he said in the statement. “It’s my intention to sing at each and every future show we are committed to, in North America and in Europe. I can’t wait to put all of this behind me and move forward."

Harry Colmery Left More Than a Legacy For Veterans

Editorial: Colmery’s legacy of serving veterans

Topeka Capital Journal
Editorial Board
August 18, 2017

Last summer, the Harry Colmery Plaza was dedicated in downtown Topeka exactly 72 years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 — legislation more commonly known as the GI Bill.

Harry Colmery’s niece, Jean Roberts, left, and granddaughter, Mina Steen, inspect the statue of their family member after it’s unveiling Tuesday afternoon in downtown Topeka. The new plaza is dedicated to Harry Colmery, a Topekan who is responsible for the creation of the GI Bill. (2016 file photograph/The Capital-Journal)

After serving in World War I, Colmery became a tireless advocate for veterans, and his involvement with the American Legion culminated in his appointment as national commander in 1936. He was also a member of the organization’s national legislative committee, and during World War II, he wrote a draft that eventually became the GI Bill.

Colmery witnessed the awful treatment of American veterans when they returned from World War I. After enduring unimaginable horrors on the battlefield, they were thanked with abject poverty, a lack of basic health care, no job prospects and no chance to pursue an education. Many of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder — a condition that wasn’t well-understand and for which treatments were still in the early stages of development — and other devastating war wounds. This made finding a job, paying for a home and caring for a family even more difficult. Then the Great Depression came.
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Harry Colmery also left a history report of how Congress has failed veterans ever since.

Private Doctor Charge VA For Care Never Delivered?

Somerset Doctor Defrauded Veterans Affairs 350 Times: U.S. Attorney

The Somerset doctor fraudulently received $238,230 from Veterans Affairs for procedures he never performed, according to a U.S. Attorney. 

Patch.com 
By Alexis Tarrazi (Patch Staff) 
August 17, 2017

SOMERSET, NJ — A cardiologist from Somerset admitted Thursday to defrauding the Veterans Affairs program by billing for services he had not actually performed, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Apostolos Voudouris, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to information charging him with health care fraud. Voudouris must also pay $476,460 to resolve the government’s claims under the False Claims Act as part of a civil settlement agreement.

Voudouris, a physician specializing in cardiology and electrophysiology, began providing services to eligible veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange, pursuant to his contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2006.

On more than 350 occasions between 2011 and 2015, Voudouris claimed he performed procedures he had not actually performed. By doing so, Voudouris fraudulently received $238,230 from the VA, he admitted.

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Veteran Jesse Bird Pleaded For Help From Australia VA--Before Suicide

Jesse Bird warned Veterans' Affairs he could become suicide statistic days before his death

ABC News Australia

Michael Atkin

August 18, 2017

Combat veteran Jesse Bird pleaded with the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) to urgently help him, warning he was suicidal just days before his death, according to official records.

But the Department did not budge and in June, after losing his 18-month battle for compensation for war-related injuries, Jesse took his own life.

Disturbingly, money from Veterans' Affairs finally came through after his death and his parents have asked the department for an explanation.

His devastated family is campaigning for an urgent overhaul to how DVA handles compensation claims to prevent more veteran suicides.

His mother, Karen Bird, told 7.30 her son's file shows his concerns were not taken seriously.

"It triggers a really emotional response, to realise my boy was in so much pain," Ms Bird said.

"He obviously felt that he couldn't contact us for more money and he was really just pushed into the corner and he didn't see any other way out."

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Staff Sgt. David Tupper was presented with an all-terrain track chair

Local wounded veteran receives $18,000 all-terrain track wheelchair

Camp Lejeune Globe
Ena Sellers
August 17, 2017

Wounded veteran Staff Sgt. David Tupper was presented with an all-terrain track chair back stage prior to a Florida Georgia Line concert, Aug. 3 at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte.

The gift was made possible thanks to The Independence Fund, a non-profit veteran organization, which provided the Action Trackstander chair and teamed up with super star duo Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard to make the presentation.

“We are thrilled to team up with Florida Georgia Line to change the life of a wounded veteran,” said Sarah Verardo, executive director for The Independence Fund. “As the wife of a catastrophically wounded war veteran, I know firsthand how much these track chairs can change a family’s life.”
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AP Reports On Homeless Iraq Veteran With PTSD Finding A Home

Homeless Iraq Veteran Gets Place to Call Home 
Associated Press

A homeless Iraq war veteran in California has a unique place to finally call home. Vernon Poling moved into an apartment made of shipping containers. The complex built for homeless veterans is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. (Aug. 18)