Truck Thief You Got To Love!

This Iraq veteran stole a truck and rescued dozens as gunfire rained down in Las Vegas

Sacramento Bee

Mandy Matney
October 3, 2017

An Iraq veteran is being hailed as a hero for stealing a festival truck and rescuing dozens of shooting victims as gunfire rained down in Las Vegas Sunday night.

Taylor Winston, 29, of San Diego, first thought the gunshots were fireworks while drinking and two-stepping at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, CBS News reports. But his combat skills kicked in when he heard the screams and the gunshots got closer during the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
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How to Help Mandalay Bay Survivors. Be There!

This morning I posted advice on Google+ about how to help someone after they have survived something like Mandalay Bay shooting. It is really simple advice.

"If you know survivors of the shooting in Las Vegas, be there to listen to them. Do not turn it into a contest or try to "fix them" with any words, other than letting them know you care. Hold their hand and hold your tongue. Be there as they bring what happened as survivors back into the safety of what "normal" life is supposed to be."

Aside from living through many times when my life was on the line as a civilian, (remember, I am not the veteran in the family) this works. My family did it naturally, not knowing they were beginning my healing as a survivor. I also studied it, trained to work with First Responders, because of how much I do believe it works. 

Having seen the worst that can happen after a survivor is suffering without help, I weep more because I know that suffering did not need to happen.

It isn't just me saying this. It is repeated over and over again from the type of experts I learned from. You know, the ones with degrees up the you know what and a proven history of being right.


This is from one of those types of articles that just came out from an interview with Michele Hart.

A place to feel safe
"The first step is safety. Give someone a safe place to be and just be," she said. "Right now the talking isn't the important part."

Hart said the priority should be giving people a place where they can cry and express emotions and begin to process what has happened in a way that is safe and comfortable.  

The rush for 'psychological first aid' in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting
CNBC
Jessica Mathews
October 3, 2017

The morning after Stephen Paddock opened fire on 22,000 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay Resorts promptly opened a crisis center.
What was to be an evening of country music and celebration turned into a night of bloody terror, leaving those affected at risk of severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
Clinical social worker Michele Hart, who specializes in stressor-related disorders, says one of the best measures to treat PTSD is providing a place where those affected can cry and express emotions.

Denise Truscello | Getty Images
People embrace during a vigil on the Las Vegas strip for the victims of the Route 91 Harvest country music festival shootings on October 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.

The morning after 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on 22,000 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay Resorts promptly opened a crisis center, asking certified trauma counselors to volunteer and go to "Circus Circus – Ballroom D," according to a tweet. The makeshift crisis center was open to all victims, family members and anyone else directly impacted by the events, including Mandalay Bay guests and employees.

"Psychological first aid," or early mental health response, after the aftermath of horror and heartbreak is relatively new. In the first two weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings on December 14, 2012, which left 29 people dead, more than 800 people visited the main crisis counseling center in Newtown, Connecticut. Within 24 hours after the June 12, 2016, nightclub shooting in Orlando, which claimed 49 lives, local counselors began circulating a spreadsheet, asking practitioners to sign up for shifts to offer therapy and support to victims, their families and community members. In a few days 650 practitioners signed up.

The Las Vegas shooting on Sunday night turned out to be the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, leaving 59 dead and 527 injured. For nearly 15 minutes shots rained down on the attendees, who had nowhere to escape. What was to be an evening of country music and celebration turned into a night of bloody terror, leaving those affected — whether directly or vicariously — at risk of severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
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But remember, it isn't just about the survivors. It is the First Responders, the families, the friends and the people who just left, will also be changed. Will you be there to help them change again for the better?

The best that comes out of many because of the "one"

One man decided to kill as many strangers as possible. 

Many more decided to risk their lives to save as many strangers as possible.

Thousands fled the hail of gunfire in Las Vegas. These people stayed to try to save lives.

Blyleven, who is the son of Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, said he has no formal medical training but that he felt obligated to do whatever he could to save lives.

“I just felt like I had to,” said Blyleven, who estimated that he may have helped about 30 or 40 people get away from the gunfire. “I would hope that if me, or my family, was in a situation like that, that someone would come in and get me.”

During the gunfire, Mike McGarry, a 53-year-old financial adviser from Philadelphia, said he tried to shield his children.

“It was crazy — I laid on top of the kids. They’re 20. I’m 53. I lived a good life,” McGarry told Reuters. He said he had shoe prints on the back of his shirt from people who ran over him to get away.

A parade of police officers, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene of the shooting, where good Samaritans were seen in photos kneeling down, tending to victims.

One man told Fox News that he hid behind a table and, when it was all over, helped load several bodies into a truck.

Las Vegas shooting: At least 58 dead, 515 hurt in Mandalay Bay shooting

Jose Baggett, 31, of Las Vegas, said he and a friend were in the lobby of the Luxor hotel-casino -- directly north of the festival -- when people began to run, almost like in a stampede. He said people were crying and as he and his friend started walking away minutes later, they encountered police checkpoints where officers were carrying shotguns and assault rifles. 

"There were armored personnel vehicles, SWAT vehicles, ambulances, and at least a half-mile of police cars," Baggett said.

That is the place where we find hope. There are still far more good people in this country than bad. Sure we may think that members of law enforcement and first responders are just doing their jobs, but they decided to do those jobs for the sake of everyone else.

Are there some who do not deserve to wear the badge? Yes, but they are few among many. So why is it that we forget that?

Are there some bad people in this country? Yes, but why do we forget that there are far more good ones?

People carry an injured person at the music festival grounds after gunfire was heard.

This man was talking about his friend who had been shot. He also talked about how many people went to help strangers. 



Southern California resident Chris Roybal, 28, died after he was shot in the chest, ABC Chicago station WLS reported. Roybal was a Navy war veteran who served in Afghanistan.



Time and time again we have witnessed the worst that can be done, but we have also witnessed the best that comes out of many because of the one.

Gary Sinise honors military in Melbourne

Actor Gary Sinise honors military in Melbourne -- with music 
Florida Today 
Jennifer Sangalang 
October 1, 2017

"Lieutenant Dan, certainly, when I played that I got more involved with our wounded through the Disabled American Veterans Organization and started supporting them," he told FLORIDA TODAY. The group contacted Sinise three weeks after the movie opened in 1994, inviting him to a convention.

Actor Gary Sinise, left, met some fans before his Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performance, in conjunction with the USO, at the King Center in Melbourne. Sinise is best known for his role as Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump" and Detective Mac Taylor in "CSI: NY." (Photo: PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX PREISSER)

"I was so fortunate to be able to go and attend this event," she added.

"It was awesome, beyond any expectations I had," John Carrigan of Melbourne said of the show. "The band was great, they covered lots of different music genres, but made it their own."

He was especially moved "when Gary talked to the audience and shared his family story and how he came to appreciate veterans. It was moving when he gave a shout-out to Vietnam vets and asked them to stand up."

In "Forrest Gump," Sinise wowed audiences with his portrayal of Lieutenant Dan Taylor. In the film, his character becomes a disabled veteran. Sinise's work led to an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
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Two Pilots Killed in Cherokee National Forest Navy Jet Crash

2 pilots killed in Navy training jet crash in Tennessee
USA TODAY NETWORK
Travis Dorman and Hayes Hickman
Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel
Published Oct. 2, 2017

TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. — Both pilots aboard a Navy training jet that went down in Cherokee National Forest have been confirmed dead, military personnel said Monday.

The T-45C Goshawk, attached to Training Squadron Seven (VT-7), was the same aircraft reported missing Sunday from the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Miss., according to Lt. Liz Feaster, public affairs officer for the chief of Naval Air Training. Military personnel arrived in the Cherokee National Forest early Monday to begin investigating the crash.

The names of the pilots, an instructor and a student, are being withheld for 24 hours after the notification of next of kin.

The crash site is believe to be about 15 miles southeast of Tellico Plains and 2 miles from the Tennessee-North Carolina border near the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Tellico Trout Hatchery, about 500 miles from Meridian.
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Will Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Advisory Committee Remember Us?

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Announces Formation of New Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Advisory Committee; Names Senator Elizabeth Dole Chair

Committee to focus awareness and action on the needs

of military families and caregivers, as well as the veterans they support

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the formation of the Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Federal Advisory Committee as part of VA Secretary David Shulkin’s commitment to supporting our nation’s Veterans and those who care for them,.

The new Committee will be chaired by former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, a noted advocate for military caregivers, and the founder of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and the Hidden Heroes Campaign, both of which regularly collaborate with the VA on issues related to military caregiving.

“The VA is committed to the delivery of highest quality care and support to our Veterans, and recognizes the essential role their families, caregivers, and survivors have every day,” said Secretary Shulkin. “Senator Dole is an accomplished and experienced advocate for Veterans’ caregivers I am honored that she will Chair this landmark Committee.”

The Committee will advise the Secretary, through the Chief Veterans Experience Officer, on matters related to Veterans’ families, caregivers, and survivors across all generations, relationships, and Veteran status, with a focus on gaining a better understanding of the use of VA care and benefits services, and factors that influence access, quality, and accountability for those services. A key element of the committee’s work will be to engage Veteran family members, research experts, and family service providers as a way to better understand their needs and identify ways VA can continue to support them in the best possible way.

“Military families, caregivers, and survivors are truly our nation’s hidden heroes, and make great sacrifices each and every day on behalf of their loved ones, so we must do more to support them on their journey. VA, under Secretary Shulkin’s leadership, is stepping up at a time of tremendous need and opportunity,” said Senator Elizabeth Dole, herself a caregiver to her husband, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole, a World War II veteran injured in combat. “I am proud to serve as chair of such a critical committee, alongside some of the nation’s top voices on the issues that affect Veterans and their families.”

Serving alongside Senator Dole on the committee will be Mr. Sherman Gillums (Vice Chair), Ms. Mary Buckler, Ms. Bonnie Carroll, Ms. Melissa Comeau, Ms. Harriet Dominique, Ms. Jennifer Dorn, Ms. Ellyn Dunford, Dr. Robert Koffman,  Lt. Gen. (U.S. Army, Ret.) Mike Linnington, Mr. Joe Robinson, Ms. Elaine Rogers, Brig. Gen. (U.S. Army, Ret) Dr. Loree Sutton, Mr. Francisco Urena, Ms. Shirley White, Ms. Lee Woodruff, and Ms. Lolita Zinke.

They finally want to include us as unsung heroes!

USS Kirk Crew Honored for Rescues After Vietnam War

Vietnam Veterans Recognized for Rescuing More Than 30,000 Refugees
NBC 4 News
Brie Stimson
Liberty Zabala
October 1, 2017

"If I wasn’t there, if the Navy chose not to send me, they would have been all killed…there’s no question in my mind,” Vietnam veteran CAPT Paul Jacobs told NBC 7.

Jacobs and the crew of the USS Kirk received two congressional commendations from the U.S. government at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park this weekend for their role in leading the effort to save more than 30,000 Vietnamese veterans near the end of the war.

Saturday was the first time the crew had been recognized formally by the U.S. government. The ceremony included dignitaries and congressional, county and city officials.

On April 30, 1975, Jacobs was told to return to the coast to rescue what was left of the South Vietnamese Navy.
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Demons Defeated UK Veteran--MoD Left Him Unarmed to Fight PTSD

'Demons are winning': Heartbreaking last letter of traumatised soldier who killed himself after he was 'failed by MoD'

The Mirror

Sean Rayment

September 30, 2017

The wife of a British soldier who committed suicide after being ­diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder says he was ­abandoned by the military.

Sarah Emslie said her husband, who served in both Gulf wars, took his own life after a 20-year battle with mental illness triggered by the horrors of war.

Mike Emslie, 44, who hanged himself a week before Christmas, left a suicide note saying: “The demons are winning the battle.

“I have seen things nobody should ever see and I see it everywhere I go.”

Sarah said they asked the Army for help but were told that there were no resources available to treat veterans with PTSD.

Instead – like many other military ­sufferers – the couple were simply advised to visit their GP and seek advice from military charities.

Mike served in both Gulf wars in Iraq (Image: Daily Record)

Mike Emslie's last email to his wife

My sweet, darling wife, this is probably the toughest email I’m going to write. But this isn’t the real me.

The demons are winning the battle, I can’t keep going any more and I’m so tired. I have seen things nobody should ever see and I see it ­everywhere I go and it’s eating away at me. It hurts babe, it’s been 20 years of pain and so much that I can only think of one way to stop the pain.

I know that you think I’m a coward for doing this but the pain is way to much for me, I’m not a strong man any more I don’t want to feel the pain any more.

Tell our son I love him so much and that I’m am so proud of the person he has grown into. Everything I have left I give to you both. Please don’t mourn me I don’t ­deserve it. Just know I’ve never stopped loving you both. I’ll be looking down on you both. All my love, Mike.
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Fort Snelling Veteran Volunteer Received Veterans Voices Award

An army of one: Farmington veteran Marilyn Anderson honored for volunteerism
Farmington Independent
By William Loeffler
Sep 30, 2017

The actions of people like Anderson exemplify mission of Veterans Voices, which is to let them dictate their own narrative, O'Fallon said.

"They say, 'We get trapped into two stories: "You're a hero, thanks for your service," or, 'Oh my God, maybe you're troubled and have PTSD and we don't know how to talk to you,'" he said.

Marilyn Anderson of Farmington (left) was presented with a Veterans Voices Award Sept. 11 at the University of St. Thomas Anderson Student Center in Saint Paul. She is pictured with Humanities Center board member Sakinah Mujahid. Submitted photo courtesy of Minnesota Humanities Center

Army veteran Marilyn Anderson of Farmington was honored with a Veterans Voices Award Sept. 11 at the University of St. Thomas Anderson Student Center in St. Paul.

She is one of 13 legacy veterans in the 40-and-over category to be honored by the Minnesota Humanities Center for their community contributions that extend beyond their military service.

"Everything that she's learned in the military about leadership, teamwork, concern for others, she applies across the whole community in extraordinary ways," Humanities Center president David O'Fallon said.

Anderson works as the education services specialist for the 88th Regional Support Command at Fort Snelling. She has volunteered for Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program, Heritage Village, Ronald McDonald House at the Children's Hospital of Minneapolis, Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots and Feed My Starving Children.
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Burnette Chapel Church Of Christ Fellowship Unbroken Faith

Nashville church tries to move forward amid shooting trauma, questions
USA Today
Holly Meyer
September 30, 2017

"I sat out here. It was early Monday morning and I was looking up and I could see Orion's Belt," Carter said. "I mean just how great — don’t understand why — but how great God truly is." Terry Carter

The sound of gunfire haunts Terry Carter.

She and the young students in her Bible class barricaded a classroom door one week ago as a masked man opened fire at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, killing one woman and injuring the minister and six others, police said.

The shooter did not go into the classroom, but the Sunday morning mayhem clings to Carter's thoughts.

"You can’t get some of the stuff out of your head for a while," Carter said. "I’ll gradually get there. But those sounds. The pop."

Carter and other members of the small Antioch church are trying to process what happened in the violent attack. In the midst of the pain and big unanswered questions, the congregation is moving forward.

The crime scene tape is gone and so is the carpet in the chapel. The 25-year-old suspect, Emanuel Samson, is in jail on a homicide charge. They have buried 38-year-old Melanie Crow, who was gunned down at the end of last week's service. And the victims who remain in the hospital are in stable condition.

After the Wednesday night service ended, Carter stood in the church parking lot chatting. Her great-grandchildren played nearby.

"It’s kind of a relief that we can get together and have a fellowship," Carter said. "That’s what we’re supposed to do, have fellowship and encourage each other. It’s going to take a whole lot of encouragement."

She was not certain the Wednesday service would occur nor that she would want to attend Sunday. But Carter will be there equipped with plans for better classroom safety.

She remembers hearing the first shot. It sounded too close. Carter put her finger to her lips, told the children to be quiet and turned off the classroom lights. Together, they moved furniture in front of a door and she cycled through scenarios in her mind.

Carter has her own questions. She knows nothing is guaranteed in life, but her faith is strong and she believes God is everywhere, Carter said.
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Andrew Nelles

Kaitlyn Adams, a member of the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, hugs another church member at the scene after shots were fired at the church on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Antioch, Tenn. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean via AP)

Tennessee church suspect may have sought Charleston revenge