Hello Heroes

[Sunshine]

Let HARRAH's (Las Vegas) take a message for ELTON JOHN. Perhaps ticket sales will slump and he will GET THE MESSAGE.

THIS IS A DISGRACE TO OUR MARINES and those that earned the uniforms they wear.

http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies322.htm

[Sunshine]

Please sign my guestbook on my heroes website.

http://www.theveteransvoice.com/hero.html

This would mean alot to me. Please also pass my site around to all your friends on your e-mail list and others forums to sign.



Thank you ,

Marnie

[MISS JOAN]

VA Awards $12.7 Million to Oklahoma Veterans Home

May 5, 2008

Peake: Grant Honors VA’s Commitment to Veterans

WASHINGTON – To make sure the state veterans home in Sulphur remains a comfortable residence for veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is awarding a grant of $12,675,000 for improvements at the Oklahoma state facility.

"This grant honors our commitment to care for the men and women of Oklahoma who have served in uniform," said Dr. James B. Peake, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "Our federal-state partnership helps to provide housing and care for veterans in a compassionate community."

The VA grant, for safety renovations, covers 65 percent of the cost of the project, which includes construction and purchase of equipment. Total cost of the upgrades is $19.5 million. Most residents receive nursing care.

Oklahoma has seven veterans centers providing intermediate to skilled nursing care and domiciliary care for wartime veterans and their spouses. The centers are located in Ardmore, Claremore, Clinton, Lawton, Norman, Sulphur and Talihina. The Sulphur Veterans Center is located on 17 acres in Southern Oklahoma, overlooking the scenic Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

Last year, VA spent nearly $1.4 billion in Oklahoma to serve more than 338,000 veterans who live in the state. VA operates major medical centers in Muskogee and Oklahoma City and five outpatient clinics across the state.

For more information on the Sulphur Veterans Center, visit* http://www.ok.gov/ODVA/ * or call (580) 622-2144.

[O'BOOT]

VA Names Members of Gulf War Veterans Advisory Committee

May 13, 2008

Secretary Peake to Hear Their Concerns, Issues

WASHINGTON -- Veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during 1990–1991 will have their own special advocates before Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake, thanks to a new advisory committee Peake established to respond to issues unique to them.

The 14-member, independent panel will advise the Secretary and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on the full range of health care and benefits needs of those who served in the conflict.

“Gulf War veterans made an invaluable contribution to national security and peace in a volatile region,” Peake said. “This new panel will ensure that VA benefits and programs adapt to the needs of these veterans, just as our services have adapted for veterans of other conflicts.”

Serving on the committee are Gulf War and other veterans, veterans service organizations’ representatives, medical experts, and the survivors of Gulf War veterans. Members were selected to provide a variety of perspectives, experiences and expertise.

The committee will be chaired by Charles Cragin, a retired Navy captain, who has had several senior level positions within the federal government, including Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Chairman of VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

In January 2002, the Department created an advisory committee to assist VA’s secretary on research into the medical problems of Gulf War veterans. That older committee will retain responsibility for research involving veterans of the 1990-1991 conflict in the Middle East.

This committee’s first meeting will be held in mid-June in Washington, D.C. It is expected to complete its work within 18 months. Committee meetings will be open to the public.

A list of the members of VA’s Gulf War Advisory Committee is attached.

Membership
VA Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans

Charles Cragin, (Chair) of Raymond, Maine. Currently serves a senior counselor for Maine Street Solutions, LLC.

Martha Douthit of Ashburn, Va. Surviving spouse of Gulf War Army veteran, member of the Gold Star Wives of America, currently an international trade analyst with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Dr. Henry Falk of Atlanta. Retired rear admiral and former Assistant U.S. Surgeon General. Currently director for the Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mark Garner of Lorton, Va. A retired Marine Corps chief warrant officer-three and Gulf War veteran who served as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Officer.

Dr. Lynn Goldman of Chevy Chase, Md. Vice chair of the Institute of Medicine Gulf War and Health Study; currently professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. John Hart of Plano, Texas. Past president of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, currently professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

William (Rusty) Jones of South Riding, Va. Retired Marine Corps colonel, and veteran of Gulf War and Vietnam War.

Kirt Love of Crawford, Texas. An Army veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as director of the Desert Storm Battle Registry.
Daniel Ortiz of Whittier, Calif. An Army veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as department service director with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Daniel Pinedo of Oceanside, Calif. Marine Corps colonel currently serving as the comptroller for First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Thomas Plewes of Annandale, Va. A retired Army lieutenant general and former chief of the Army Reserve. Currently a senior program officer with National Academy of Sciences.

Valerie Randall of Savage, Md. A retired Army sergeant first class; currently with the Department of Homeland Security.

Edward (Randy) Reese of Washington, D.C. An Army veteran of the Gulf War; currently national service director for the Disabled American Veterans.

Steve Robertson of Fredericksburg, Va. A Gulf War veteran who served both in the Air Force and Army National Guard. Currently director of the national legislative commission for The American Legion.

[MISS JOAN]

The Department of Veterans Affairs

The more you look. The more corrupt this agency becomes! Under the leadership of Secretary Anthony Principi the Department of Veterans Affairs has become nothing more then a sham.

And then when you realize that the Office of General Counsel is operated by his close friend, and another extremely corrupt Republican, Tim McCain, you realize that the Department of Veterans Affairs is just about as corrupt, dishonest, and fowl as an agency can get.

All management level personnel in the Department of Veterans Affairs are encouraged to use any technicality, or means, to deny claims, or to string out claims as long as possible in the hope that the Veteran will give up. Management level personnel are paid very substantial bonuses for such conduct.

As a result, it is "Normal" for VA Management Level Personnel to destroy evidence in Veterans Claim Files, and there is an Official Policy of ignoring any evidence favorable to the Veterans Claim.

http://www.vetsforjustice.com/HOSbody.htm

[MISS JOAN]

Hurricane man's death the 4th in West Virginia
by Julie Robinson, The WV Gazette

A Putnam County veteran who was taking medication prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder died in his sleep earlier this month, in circumstances similar to the deaths of three other area veterans earlier this year.

Derek Johnson, 22, of Hurricane, served in the infantry in the Middle East in 2005, where he was wounded in combat and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder while hospitalized.

Military doctors prescribed Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel for Johnson, the same combination taken by veterans Andrew White, 23, of Cross Lanes; Eric Layne, 29, of Kanawha City; and Nicholas Endicott of Logan County. All were in apparently good physical health when they died in their sleep.

Johnson was taking Klonopin and Seroquel, as prescribed, at the time of his death, said his grandmother, Georgeann Underwood of Hurricane. Both drugs are frequently used in combination to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Klonopin causes excessive drowsiness in some patients.

He also was taking a painkiller for a back injury he sustained in a car accident about a week before his death, but was no longer taking Paxil...




On May 1, the night before he died, Johnson called his grandfather, Duck Underwood, and asked if he could pick up his 5-year-old son and take him to school the next day. Johnson and his wife, Stacie, have three children, all under 6 years old. Their car had been totaled in the accident the previous week.

When Underwood arrived to pick up the boy the next morning, his knocks were not answered at first. He heard Stacie Johnson screaming. She opened the door and told him she couldn't wake her husband. They called paramedics, who could not revive him. Doctors did not declare an immediate cause of death.

Toxicology and autopsy results could take as long as 60 days, authorities told the family.

"I want to know the cause of death," said Ray Johnson, Derek's father. "Stacie said he was fine that night. Everything was normal. He kissed her goodnight and went to sleep."

Stan White, father of soldier Andrew White, has become an advocate for families of returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. During his son's struggle with the disorder and since his death, White has tracked similar cases. He knows of about eight in the tri-state area of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.

He and his wife, Shirley, introduced themselves to the Johnsons and Underwoods at Derek's funeral and offered their help. He is in contact with the office of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who is a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Rockefeller requested an investigation into these deaths, which is ongoing, said Steven Broderick, the senator's press secretary.

"When I talked to his family about Derek, I realized it was the same old story," said White. "It was all too familiar. He was taking those same drugs as the others, and, yes, I believe they are still prescribing that combination."

After speaking with family members, White wonders if the patients are taking the medicine as prescribed. He said PTSD patients suffer short-term memory loss and shouldn't be relied upon to track their medications.

Georgeann Underwood agrees.

"You shouldn't put vulnerable, mentally unstable people on drugs like that," she said.

An outgoing, personable young man who worked at several jobs to support his young family, Johnson frequently was offered other jobs by customers in the stores where he worked, Underwood said.

In 2006, he returned from the Middle East depressed and short-tempered. Johnson had operated an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or rapid-fire machine gun, and rarely spoke about his experiences there.

After his military prescriptions ran out, Johnson's medications were prescribed by private physicians because he refused to go the VA hospitals where he said he was required to wait long periods of time for appointments. His grandparents paid for his medications.

"He had a very short fuse," Ray Johnson said. "That was the biggest difference in his personality after he came back."

Until his death, he worked 12 or 16 hours a day. He was an electrical apprentice at the John Amos Power Plant until he was let go when his work hours approached the union limit for apprentices. He was on his way to apply for another job when the car he drove was rear-ended on April 24.

Johnson died May 2.

[O'BOOT]

I would like to tell y'all about one of the nicest and most caring women I have ever met. Her name is Miss Clairice Still. She is the owner and editor of ,'The Veterans Voice.' http://www.theveteransvoice.com
She lives in Montana but is orginally from Georgia. I normally do not trust women because they have hurt me too many times but she is the first woman that I can say has been a true friend and has never once betrayed me. When I needed a true friend she was there . My husband was having major problems with The VA and I contacted her because I needed someone to talk to . She stayed on the phone with me for 2 hours or more. She was always there and did everything in her power to help me.

I stayed in touch with her . I asked her if there was something I could do to show our Military men and women how much they are appreciated and loved and she asked me if I would like to have Veterans honored as Heroes and I said, 'Yes.' I have been doing this for a year and I have made some very good friends. Many of the Veterans I have had honored has stayed in touch with me on a regular basis. It really makes me feel good when I open up my e-mail every morning and there are e-mails from my heroes.

I just wanted to let everyone know how Miss Clairice Still has really helped me. She is one of the most Patriotic women I have ever met and she has a way about her that when someone is really depressed she knows just the right words to say to really help someone. She really cares about our Military men and women .


--
Forever Grateful For Our Veterans,

[MISS JOAN]

Its official, DD-214's are NOW Online.

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following
website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214's online: _
http://vetrecs.archives.gov/_ (http://vetrecs.archives.gov/) This may
be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for
employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers
and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military
files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members
may now use a new online military personnel records system to request
documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the
Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the
requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to
process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for
additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was
designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the
records centers mailroom and processing time.

Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know
and their dependents

[O'BOOT]

I received this e=mail and I contacted Mrs. Ritter and it is true. Please if you know anyone near or in this area please get the word out.

Hi Sergeant,

ritters5_69@earthlink.net

My husband served from 1966-1972 with two years in VietNam (66-68), then in the SeaBees from 1974-1990; retiring as a Builder Chief.

I am writing to you as he has become depressed because he has Parkinson's and feels he has lost his ability to properly care for our daughters (in their 30's) and me, as he use to.

He was at the 77 Day Siege of KheSan in 66-67, from there he went to Hue as part of the relief group. When he returned home in SEP68 he was the only survivor of his original Marine Company; 350 Marines.

He rarely will get out of the house now, let alone leave our family land to drive around, except to go to the doctors. He is ashamed of his condition, actually embaresed that he is not as healthy as he once was.

Next 16May we will celebrate 40 years together; we also celebrate when we became engaged, 22FEB (so we are still sentimental).

Can you help me locate any Marine in Oklahoma, or heck anywhere, who can contact him (he doesnt use the computer very often because of his tremors)?

Only recently has he started telling our daughters what he went through in VietNam, but he still needs another Marine about his age to talk to.

Someone he can visit with, maybe even get him out of the house and be with other Marines?

You are the only one I could think of to help him. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Semper Fi,

Mrs. Evelynne M. Ritter
Guthrie ,Ok - 405- 282-5563
ritters5_69@earthlink.net

[O'BOOT]

Free Dinner-Golden Corral

************************

Thank you Golden Corral.!




Here is another one to post:



Free meal at Appleby's for Vets:

Another one to thank...Applebee's

http://www.applebees.com/vetsDay/default.aspx