Read more here.
If you are going to be in the Phoenix area, please consider attending!
Showing posts with label Veterans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veterans. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Barefoot for the Troops
Read more here.
If you are going to be in the Phoenix area, please consider attending!
Friday, November 05, 2010
Veterans’ Reflections: Going to War in 1944
Unlike many of his fellow recruits at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in 1944, the 24-year-old Kushwara had volunteered to don the uniform and go to war. It was a choice, technically, but he didn’t consider it much of one. Though he had a perfectly good job at the time, he said, he knew his country needed him.
Continue reading here:
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Smart Phone App Helps Track Post-Deployment Emotional Health
The National Center for Telehealth and Technology will release a smart phone application that will help service members track their emotional health after they've been deployed, according to a statement by the Department of Defense.
Click here to read about it.
Click here to read about it.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Former Marine, 84, foils robbery attempt
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 20:10:48 EDT
An 84-year-old former Marine stopped a teenager brandishing a knife in a robbery attempt Wednesday with a kick to the groin, police said.
The former Marine, whose name was not released, was walking on a Santa Rosa, Calif., sidewalk with a grocery bag in each arm when he was approached by the teen, said Sgt. Steve Bair of the Santa Rosa Police Department. The alleged incident occurred at 2 p.m.
Bair said the teen, described as a white male about 15-16 years old, threatened the man, saying, “Old man, give me your wallet or I’ll cut you.”
The former Marine responded by telling the teenager he had fought in three wars and faced knives and bayonets in the past, Bair said. The Marine placed his grocery bags on the ground and said if the teen came any closer, he’d be sorry, police said.
Bair said when the teen took a step toward the former Marine, the man kicked him in the groin. The leatherneck picked up his groceries, walked home and arrived at the police department 45 minutes later to report the attempted robbery, police said.
The incident marks at least the second time in a year that an attempted robbery was foiled by a former Marine in his golden years.
In June, Bill Barnes, 72, foiled a pickpocket attempt at a Grand Rapids, Mich., store, landing six or seven punches on a would-be thief, 28, before a store manager intervened. The thief, Jesse Rae, received a six-month jail sentence in January after pleading guilty to assault with intent to commit unarmed robbery.
Source
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 20:10:48 EDT
An 84-year-old former Marine stopped a teenager brandishing a knife in a robbery attempt Wednesday with a kick to the groin, police said.
The former Marine, whose name was not released, was walking on a Santa Rosa, Calif., sidewalk with a grocery bag in each arm when he was approached by the teen, said Sgt. Steve Bair of the Santa Rosa Police Department. The alleged incident occurred at 2 p.m.
Bair said the teen, described as a white male about 15-16 years old, threatened the man, saying, “Old man, give me your wallet or I’ll cut you.”
The former Marine responded by telling the teenager he had fought in three wars and faced knives and bayonets in the past, Bair said. The Marine placed his grocery bags on the ground and said if the teen came any closer, he’d be sorry, police said.
Bair said when the teen took a step toward the former Marine, the man kicked him in the groin. The leatherneck picked up his groceries, walked home and arrived at the police department 45 minutes later to report the attempted robbery, police said.
The incident marks at least the second time in a year that an attempted robbery was foiled by a former Marine in his golden years.
In June, Bill Barnes, 72, foiled a pickpocket attempt at a Grand Rapids, Mich., store, landing six or seven punches on a would-be thief, 28, before a store manager intervened. The thief, Jesse Rae, received a six-month jail sentence in January after pleading guilty to assault with intent to commit unarmed robbery.
Source
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Vietnam Veterans Memorial opens online
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 6:37:27 EDT
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the most visited sites in the nation’s capital since its opening in 1982, has gone virtual.
The memorial is now posted on the Internet with a searchable database of National Archives files that provides more than just the names of the 58,000 veterans whose names are etched in black marble on “the Wall,” located near the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall.
The “virtual wall,” with features that include allowing visitors to post photographs and comments, was produced by a for-profit company, Footnote.com, under an agreement with the National Archives, which keeps the military’s historical records and photographs and makes them available to researchers and other visitors at an archives facility in College Park, Md.
Justin Schroepfer, Footnote.com’s marketing director, said access to the virtual Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to linked historical records and photographs is free, but people will have to pay to use some features on the Web site.
Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, said the Vietnam Memorial is one of the most visited sites not only in Washington but in the nation, and interest increases each year among people seeking to look at historical files of the war held by the National Archives. Putting the Vietnam memorial on the Internet, and providing ways to search by name, age, hometown, state, service, unit and other factors, makes the records available to even more people, Weinstein said.
James Hastings, the Archives’ director of access programs, said he is not troubled about having a for-profit company use government-owned records because the information is available for free to archives offices, which are scattered throughout the U.S.
Putting the information online “expands access by incalculable magnitude,” he said. For example, the Web site will soon include Vietnam War photographs in the Archives’ possession that include captions identifying who is in the photo, making it easier to locate a photo of a particular person that might have been almost impossible for a family to find on its own.
Schroepfer said the interactive feature allowing photographs and comments to be posted by visitors will be a big draw to the Web site. Comments will not be reviewed before they are posted, he said, but the Web site requires registration to post a comment, and other visitors can “flag” comments they think are inappropriate. In that sense, he said, the site “polices itself.”
Registering also gives visitors the opportunity to exchange comments, such as allowing families to contact someone who served with one of the service members whose name is on the Wall.
Source
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 6:37:27 EDT
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the most visited sites in the nation’s capital since its opening in 1982, has gone virtual.
The memorial is now posted on the Internet with a searchable database of National Archives files that provides more than just the names of the 58,000 veterans whose names are etched in black marble on “the Wall,” located near the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall.
The “virtual wall,” with features that include allowing visitors to post photographs and comments, was produced by a for-profit company, Footnote.com, under an agreement with the National Archives, which keeps the military’s historical records and photographs and makes them available to researchers and other visitors at an archives facility in College Park, Md.
Justin Schroepfer, Footnote.com’s marketing director, said access to the virtual Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to linked historical records and photographs is free, but people will have to pay to use some features on the Web site.
Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, said the Vietnam Memorial is one of the most visited sites not only in Washington but in the nation, and interest increases each year among people seeking to look at historical files of the war held by the National Archives. Putting the Vietnam memorial on the Internet, and providing ways to search by name, age, hometown, state, service, unit and other factors, makes the records available to even more people, Weinstein said.
James Hastings, the Archives’ director of access programs, said he is not troubled about having a for-profit company use government-owned records because the information is available for free to archives offices, which are scattered throughout the U.S.
Putting the information online “expands access by incalculable magnitude,” he said. For example, the Web site will soon include Vietnam War photographs in the Archives’ possession that include captions identifying who is in the photo, making it easier to locate a photo of a particular person that might have been almost impossible for a family to find on its own.
Schroepfer said the interactive feature allowing photographs and comments to be posted by visitors will be a big draw to the Web site. Comments will not be reviewed before they are posted, he said, but the Web site requires registration to post a comment, and other visitors can “flag” comments they think are inappropriate. In that sense, he said, the site “polices itself.”
Registering also gives visitors the opportunity to exchange comments, such as allowing families to contact someone who served with one of the service members whose name is on the Wall.
Source
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
GI Bill
WWII Posters
Below you will find an email sent to me from a fellow Blue Star Mom who is the state Vice President of the MN Blue Star Mothers of America. We both thought that our Lubbock Marine Parents readers would be interested in reading about this.
There is currently before both the US House and US Senate, a bill that would restore the military GI Education Bill to WWII levels. Meaning that our military veterans would be able to have college totally paid for, books paid for and a monthly stipend for expenses. The bill includes ALL military, including Guard and Reservists. The bills are gaining lots of approval on both sides of the aisle for passage.
As of today, the only MN members of Congress that have signed on to this bill are Representatives Betty McCollum and Collin Peterson.
Please take a few moments and email your congress members, urging them to support this bill.
Our veterans, our Heroes and our kids deserved this!
Below is a copy of the mail that I sent to both of my Senators and to my representative. Please feel free to use this letter, edit how you wish, take out the beginning about being a military mom and my sign off. Cut and paste into an email to the Congress members, if you wish.
To locate contact information for the Senate:
click here
For the House: click here
Thank you for supporting our Veterans and our Military!
Hooah!
---------
I am the mother of a US Army soldier. My son is, right now, preparing for his second deployment. I am also the President of the St Paul Chapter of Blue Star Mothers and the MN State BSM Vice President.
As a military mother, I am keenly aware of issues that concern our military and our veterans. There is a bill now before the Senate(S.22) and the House (HR 2702)regarding the new GI Bill for our veterans. This bill is to restore educational benefits to our US Military to WWII levels.
A veteran of World War II was entitled to free tuition, books, and a living stipend that completely covered the cost of education. Attending college gave veterans time to readjust to civilian life, and prepared them for careers as innovators andleaders. For every dollar spent on the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, seven went back into the economy in the form of increased productivity, consumer spending, and tax revenue.
Many service members enlist in order to earn money for college, but today's GI Bill only covers part of the costs of college. Tuition costs have increased faster than inflation, and many veterans must take out student loans or forego education altogether. Even though 95% of veterans pay the non-refundable $1,200 to participate in the Montgomery GI Bill, 30% never use these benefits.
In a time when we are asking so much of our Armed Forces, paying for college is one of the best ways to show our gratitude as a Nation. S.22 and H.R.2702, a new World War II-style GI Bill, should have your support.
Thank you.
Cindy McLean
Proud Army Mom of Chris, 10th Mountain
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Lap Blankets
As some of you may know, in addition to being involved with Lubbock Marine Parents I am also a Soldiers' Angel. The Houston area angels need our help.
Cross-posted at Soldiers' Angels Texas
The Houston Soldiers' Angels VA Team is collecting Lap Afghans. They are trying to collect 533 so that each bed in the Houston VA will have one. The blankets need to be 36 x 48, but they can be any color. They would appreciate it if you would attach a note or card to the blanket so the Veteran will know who made their wonderful afghans.
If you or your group would like to help them in this effort please contact the Kimberly Hightower, Soldiers' Angels Contact Angel for the Houston VA at vactltx03@gmail.com .
Please help us help our Veterans know they are appreciated.
Cross-posted at Soldiers' Angels Texas
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Retired Air Force general brings fight to ALS
By Jill Coley - The (Charleston) Post and CourierPosted : Tuesday Jan 22, 2008 9:57:21 EST
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Four-and-a-half years have passed since Tom Mikolajcik was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Seventy percent of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis die within five years. Time is not on his side.
Now, Mikolajcik must make decisions about how he will face the last stages of the disease before he loses the ability to do so.
The degenerative disease, which is known for killing New York Yankees first baseman Gehrig, strikes about 15 Americans daily, shutting down nerve cells responsible for movement. Limbs weaken and atrophy before paralysis spreads to the trunk of the body. Eventually, speaking, breathing and eating are affected.
Patients must decide if they want to go on a ventilator and feeding tube to hold off the inevitable a little longer.
“Today, my decision is, I will put in a feeding tube even before I need it,” Mikolajcik said. “Today, my feeling is, I want to go on a ventilator as long as I can communicate with family and friends.”
The retired Air Force general and former commander of Charleston Air Force Base is taking charge of these critical decisions by participating in a medical study testing diaphragm-pacing stimulators in ALS patients. Located below the lungs, the diaphragm is the large muscle used for respiration.
The pacing device stimulates the diaphragm with surgically implanted electrodes to maintain muscle mass. The stimulator, already used in people with spinal cord injuries, might delay the need for a ventilator by more than a year.
During the surgery, a feeding tube also will be inserted, although Mikolajcik does not yet need one. “The sooner you have the procedure, the better,” he said.
Dr. Raymond Onders, director of minimally invasive surgery at the Medical University Hospital’s Case Medical Center in Cleveland, pioneered the technology and the procedure. The late actor Christopher Reeve, who suffered from a spinal cord injury, was Onders’ second patient to receive a stimulator.
ALS is a fatal disease, but theoretically, people could live indefinitely with a tracheotomy and ventilator. But most don’t want to do that, Onders said.
Doctors can predict when ALS patients will die based on their rate of decline in respiratory function.
To measure the success of the stimulator, Onders looks for decreases in that rate.
“It’s not a cure,” he said.
Mikolajcik was successfully fitted with a stimulator last week in Cleveland. He is part of a 100-person trial in six U.S. sites. Onders previously completed a safety trial implanting the device in 16 ALS patients whose decline in breathing function slowed, delaying the need for a ventilator by more than a year.
“I want to be able to listen, watch and absorb my children and grandchildren as they grow and change,” Mikolajcik said. The mind and senses remain unaffected by the disease. But as time passes and the body shuts down, the ability to communicate diminishes.
Toward the end of the disease, some people use their eyes, looking right or left to signal “yes” or “no.” In preparation for the time he will become speechless, Mikolajcik recorded himself singing “A Bushel and A Peck” to be played when his grandchildren are placed in his lap.
In August 2003, the retired general went to the doctor with a minor complaint: He was feeling tired and not hitting his golf balls as far, he said. The doctor noticed a slight twitching in Mikolajcik’s chest called fasciculation.
The doctor told him the best-case scenario was a benign tic, and the worst case was ALS. Mikolajcik went home and Googled ALS.
“I almost fell out of my chair,” he said. The muscles in his arms shut down first, then his legs. He can move his left thumb and index finger, and if he concentrates and is well rested, he can move his left wrist and ankles. Little is known about ALS, which was discovered in 1869.
“In 70 years, there’s only one questionable drug that may extend life by three years,” Mikolajcik said. “In 70 years. Give me a break.”
For unknown reasons, veterans have a 60 percent higher chance of developing ALS. That high rate is why Mikolajcik said he feels strongly that the government has a higher responsibility to advance ALS research.
He has visited Congress three times to push for ALS research and testified before a congressional committee in July. Legislation to establish an ALS database that will warehouse information on the disease for scientists and patients has passed the House and is awaiting consideration by the Senate.
“I am blessed that I’m a Type-A personality,” Mikolajcik said. “What about those who take no for an answer?”
Source
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Four-and-a-half years have passed since Tom Mikolajcik was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Seventy percent of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis die within five years. Time is not on his side.
Now, Mikolajcik must make decisions about how he will face the last stages of the disease before he loses the ability to do so.
The degenerative disease, which is known for killing New York Yankees first baseman Gehrig, strikes about 15 Americans daily, shutting down nerve cells responsible for movement. Limbs weaken and atrophy before paralysis spreads to the trunk of the body. Eventually, speaking, breathing and eating are affected.
Patients must decide if they want to go on a ventilator and feeding tube to hold off the inevitable a little longer.
“Today, my decision is, I will put in a feeding tube even before I need it,” Mikolajcik said. “Today, my feeling is, I want to go on a ventilator as long as I can communicate with family and friends.”
The retired Air Force general and former commander of Charleston Air Force Base is taking charge of these critical decisions by participating in a medical study testing diaphragm-pacing stimulators in ALS patients. Located below the lungs, the diaphragm is the large muscle used for respiration.
The pacing device stimulates the diaphragm with surgically implanted electrodes to maintain muscle mass. The stimulator, already used in people with spinal cord injuries, might delay the need for a ventilator by more than a year.
During the surgery, a feeding tube also will be inserted, although Mikolajcik does not yet need one. “The sooner you have the procedure, the better,” he said.
Dr. Raymond Onders, director of minimally invasive surgery at the Medical University Hospital’s Case Medical Center in Cleveland, pioneered the technology and the procedure. The late actor Christopher Reeve, who suffered from a spinal cord injury, was Onders’ second patient to receive a stimulator.
ALS is a fatal disease, but theoretically, people could live indefinitely with a tracheotomy and ventilator. But most don’t want to do that, Onders said.
Doctors can predict when ALS patients will die based on their rate of decline in respiratory function.
To measure the success of the stimulator, Onders looks for decreases in that rate.
“It’s not a cure,” he said.
Mikolajcik was successfully fitted with a stimulator last week in Cleveland. He is part of a 100-person trial in six U.S. sites. Onders previously completed a safety trial implanting the device in 16 ALS patients whose decline in breathing function slowed, delaying the need for a ventilator by more than a year.
“I want to be able to listen, watch and absorb my children and grandchildren as they grow and change,” Mikolajcik said. The mind and senses remain unaffected by the disease. But as time passes and the body shuts down, the ability to communicate diminishes.
Toward the end of the disease, some people use their eyes, looking right or left to signal “yes” or “no.” In preparation for the time he will become speechless, Mikolajcik recorded himself singing “A Bushel and A Peck” to be played when his grandchildren are placed in his lap.
In August 2003, the retired general went to the doctor with a minor complaint: He was feeling tired and not hitting his golf balls as far, he said. The doctor noticed a slight twitching in Mikolajcik’s chest called fasciculation.
The doctor told him the best-case scenario was a benign tic, and the worst case was ALS. Mikolajcik went home and Googled ALS.
“I almost fell out of my chair,” he said. The muscles in his arms shut down first, then his legs. He can move his left thumb and index finger, and if he concentrates and is well rested, he can move his left wrist and ankles. Little is known about ALS, which was discovered in 1869.
“In 70 years, there’s only one questionable drug that may extend life by three years,” Mikolajcik said. “In 70 years. Give me a break.”
For unknown reasons, veterans have a 60 percent higher chance of developing ALS. That high rate is why Mikolajcik said he feels strongly that the government has a higher responsibility to advance ALS research.
He has visited Congress three times to push for ALS research and testified before a congressional committee in July. Legislation to establish an ALS database that will warehouse information on the disease for scientists and patients has passed the House and is awaiting consideration by the Senate.
“I am blessed that I’m a Type-A personality,” Mikolajcik said. “What about those who take no for an answer?”
Source
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Tribute to Vietnam Marines
Our veterans and those currently serving are in our thoughts and prayers today and every day. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. You are not forgotten.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Hard Corps
The remarkable redemption of a gangster turned hero
By Chris Lawson - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 3, 2007 8:16:24 EDT
The moral of this story is pretty simple: As impossible as it may sometimes seem, people can change. Even small-minded, petty and violent criminals like Marco Martinez.
Ponder the highlights from his 2004 Navy Cross citation:
“After his squad leader was wounded, he took control and led the assault through a tree line where the ambush originated. As his squad advanced to secure successive enemy positions, it received sustained small arms fire from a nearby building. Enduring intense enemy fire and without regard for his own personal safety, Corporal Martinez launched a captured enemy rocket propelled grenade into the building temporarily silencing the enemy and allowing a wounded Marine to be evacuated and receive medical treatment. After receiving additional fire, he single-handedly assaulted the building and killed four enemy soldiers with a grenade and his rifle.”
Not bad for a soulless former gangbanger, a self described “sh--head” who, before joining the Corps, was on a bullet train to loser land.
His is an epic tale of the redemptive power of military service, the glories and horrors of war and the constant quest for forgiveness and acceptance.
It’s also a love story, of sorts. Love for his “brothers from other mothers” and for the Big Green Marine Machine itself.
“All I ever am, or will become, I owe to my beloved Corps,” he unabashedly says.
Ooooh-freaking-rah.
“They say that those who experience combat never see the world the same way again. That’s been true for me. I’ve seen the world through rifle sights. Everywhere I go, the war is present.”
It’s 10:45 Pacific time, and former Marine Sgt. Marco Martinez has just gotten out of class. It’s day three of the Southern California wildfire disaster, and the skies are choked with black smoke. Martinez describes the scene in a cell phone call to a reporter as he drives to work on an Orange County back road.
“The smoke is so thick you can barely see the sky,” he says. “I’m just eight miles from one of the bigger fires. It’s really sad. People are losing their homes.”
Just yesterday, the Santa Ana winds that are driving the fires ripped a branch from a tree and slammed it down onto the hood of Martinez’s brand-spanking-new 2007 GMC Sierra Denali.
“I don’t even have 400 miles on it, and it’s already damaged,” he laughs.
Still, despite the dangers and frustrations, life is good. Real good. When you’ve dodged the reaper’s scythe as often as he has, wildfires are wussies.
Three years as a teenage New Mexico street thug and four more as a fire team leader in a front-line infantry unit during a time of war will shape that sort of worldview.
“Every day is gravy since I’ve been back from Iraq,” he says. “I’ll take the good with the bad. As long as I’m living and have all my limbs, I’m doing fine.”
In the three years since returning to civilian life in 2004, Marco has made yet another transformation. He’s gone from Navy Cross-decorated Iraq war stud to college puke. Now he has added published author to his pedigree.
“Hard Corps,” Martinez’s gritty, gripping memoir of going from gang member to Marine hero, was released in October. It’s a teeth-rattling, E-4 insight into gangs, grunts and Iraq war gore. It’s also a riveting, poignant and, yes, inspirational story. You can’t help but root for the guy as he struggles to right his moral compass, shake his shame and, later, face down terrorist attackers. His battalion was one of the first into Baghdad after the Iraq invasion.
“We couldn’t wait to go. I wanted to go to Iraq,” he said. “It’s what I joined the Corps to do. I wanted to serve and see combat.”
Just a few pages into his book, however, it’s clear to see his enlistment was about something far more: a search for honor, courage, commitment.
The troubled, aimless son of a 20-year Army Ranger needed the Corps as much as his country needs men like him to serve. In the Marines, he certainly found his path, his purpose, his muse.
“Sometimes when I lie down at night, my mind rewinds to that exact moment. There I am, sitting in that car with that gun, an insecure, violent, cocky, disgraceful little sixteen-year-old punk. I want to reach through time and kick my own ass.”
All it took was one look at the 6-foot-tall, dark-skinned, Mexican-American USMC recruiter to help a troubled teen find his future.
Staff Sgt. Marquez — Martinez never dared to ask his first name — was barrel-chested, with bulging forearms and a commanding presence. He was a real badass, the kind of man who ate street toughs for breakfast.
“Seeing him walk through that high school hallway made me feel like everything I’d ever done meant sh--,” Martinez recalls in his profanity-laced book. The Marine was everything Martinez longed to be.
For the first 17 years of his life, Martinez says, he was a “sh--head.” A gangbanging, trash-talking thug.
“I was the kind of loser who today I — and probably you — can’t stand,” Martinez writes. “From stealing cars to beating the hell out of guys because I could, to ‘tagging’ [writing graffiti] to sporting a gang tattoo, you name it and I probably did it.”
Gang life was adventurous, never boring. The familial culture and camaraderie fascinated him.
But in 2001, after years of staying just two steps ahead of the police — and constantly disappointing a mother and father he loved — he wanted a way out. Staff Sgt. Marquez was the prism he used to see that better life.
“I knew I wanted to change ... to really, really change. Thank God I never shot anybody, even though I was prepared to. My lifestyle was just a lot of crap,” he said. “The Marines were willing to bet on me. Words just can’t describe how grateful I am.”
In the first part of his memoir, Martinez recounts in graphic detail the dangers and drama of small-time street gangs. He admits taking penitentiary chances for petty stuff nearly every day. He’s never proud of that past, but painfully peels back the curtain.
Readers are then quickly thrown into the deeply bonded world of Marine Corps boot camp, the School of Infantry and life in the Fleet Marine Force. The last third of the book is devoted to his unit’s combat street brawls in Iraq.
For example, after missing the chance to deploy to Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks, Martinez’s unit later learns it will deploy to Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein. It’s time to form for war, and the team is stoked.
“This is where the road divides between those who wear the uniform and civilians,” Martinez writes. “This is where what I’m about to say will either make you nod knowingly or shake your head in confusion, maybe even revulsion: The Marines of 2/5 [2nd Battalion, 5th Marine regiment] — myself most assuredly included — began cheering and smiling and high-fiving and celebrating.
“Here’s why: We were the ones who were going to get the privilege of doing something about what the hell just happened on your television screen. We felt honored, privileged, God-blessed — and ready to rip the mother-f------ face off the enemy.”
“Not everyone was meant to understand what it takes to keep a nation free. Not everyone was meant to understand hardcore devotion to military service, or to our beloved Corps. Not everyone was meant to value a brother’s life as much as you value your own. But that’s ok. That’s as it should be. Not everyone was meant to be Hard Corps.”
When he traded his Tec-9 gang gun for an M16 used to defend his nation, Martinez found his focus for life.
In his new world view, as reflected in his book, things are pretty black and white. There are good guys and bad guys, and Marines wear the red capes.
“Violence isn’t senseless,” he now says. “Senseless violence is senseless.” Marines help resolve those issues.
These days, however, the violence is mostly purged from his system. No more gangs. He’s now a former Marine.
He attends community college nine credits a semester while working full time “in the nuclear security industry.” While there’s no violence, there’s apparently still some adventure in his life.
Martinez hopes to earn a business degree and perhaps write another book. The advance he earned from “Hard Corps” has helped set up that bright future.
Still, despite his hard-earned hero status in Corps and country, he struggles with his past. He ruefully, shamefully sighs “God” when he shares gang stories. He wonders if “hard corps lifer” Marines will like a book written by a former gang member.
“I hope people can understand,” he says.
But as he drives off under the smoke-filled California skies, his mood is infectiously upbeat.
This isn’t some movie. It’s his life. And all he wants — all he needs — is still out there.
Read: An excerpt from the book
Source
Mr. Martinez is also a columnist with Townhall.com. Read his columns Why Do Conservatives Love the Military? and Marine Hero: The 5 Things I Saw that Make Me Support the War
By Chris Lawson - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 3, 2007 8:16:24 EDT
The moral of this story is pretty simple: As impossible as it may sometimes seem, people can change. Even small-minded, petty and violent criminals like Marco Martinez.
Ponder the highlights from his 2004 Navy Cross citation:
“After his squad leader was wounded, he took control and led the assault through a tree line where the ambush originated. As his squad advanced to secure successive enemy positions, it received sustained small arms fire from a nearby building. Enduring intense enemy fire and without regard for his own personal safety, Corporal Martinez launched a captured enemy rocket propelled grenade into the building temporarily silencing the enemy and allowing a wounded Marine to be evacuated and receive medical treatment. After receiving additional fire, he single-handedly assaulted the building and killed four enemy soldiers with a grenade and his rifle.”
Not bad for a soulless former gangbanger, a self described “sh--head” who, before joining the Corps, was on a bullet train to loser land.
His is an epic tale of the redemptive power of military service, the glories and horrors of war and the constant quest for forgiveness and acceptance.
It’s also a love story, of sorts. Love for his “brothers from other mothers” and for the Big Green Marine Machine itself.
“All I ever am, or will become, I owe to my beloved Corps,” he unabashedly says.
Ooooh-freaking-rah.
“They say that those who experience combat never see the world the same way again. That’s been true for me. I’ve seen the world through rifle sights. Everywhere I go, the war is present.”
It’s 10:45 Pacific time, and former Marine Sgt. Marco Martinez has just gotten out of class. It’s day three of the Southern California wildfire disaster, and the skies are choked with black smoke. Martinez describes the scene in a cell phone call to a reporter as he drives to work on an Orange County back road.
“The smoke is so thick you can barely see the sky,” he says. “I’m just eight miles from one of the bigger fires. It’s really sad. People are losing their homes.”
Just yesterday, the Santa Ana winds that are driving the fires ripped a branch from a tree and slammed it down onto the hood of Martinez’s brand-spanking-new 2007 GMC Sierra Denali.
“I don’t even have 400 miles on it, and it’s already damaged,” he laughs.
Still, despite the dangers and frustrations, life is good. Real good. When you’ve dodged the reaper’s scythe as often as he has, wildfires are wussies.
Three years as a teenage New Mexico street thug and four more as a fire team leader in a front-line infantry unit during a time of war will shape that sort of worldview.
“Every day is gravy since I’ve been back from Iraq,” he says. “I’ll take the good with the bad. As long as I’m living and have all my limbs, I’m doing fine.”
In the three years since returning to civilian life in 2004, Marco has made yet another transformation. He’s gone from Navy Cross-decorated Iraq war stud to college puke. Now he has added published author to his pedigree.
“Hard Corps,” Martinez’s gritty, gripping memoir of going from gang member to Marine hero, was released in October. It’s a teeth-rattling, E-4 insight into gangs, grunts and Iraq war gore. It’s also a riveting, poignant and, yes, inspirational story. You can’t help but root for the guy as he struggles to right his moral compass, shake his shame and, later, face down terrorist attackers. His battalion was one of the first into Baghdad after the Iraq invasion.
“We couldn’t wait to go. I wanted to go to Iraq,” he said. “It’s what I joined the Corps to do. I wanted to serve and see combat.”
Just a few pages into his book, however, it’s clear to see his enlistment was about something far more: a search for honor, courage, commitment.
The troubled, aimless son of a 20-year Army Ranger needed the Corps as much as his country needs men like him to serve. In the Marines, he certainly found his path, his purpose, his muse.
“Sometimes when I lie down at night, my mind rewinds to that exact moment. There I am, sitting in that car with that gun, an insecure, violent, cocky, disgraceful little sixteen-year-old punk. I want to reach through time and kick my own ass.”
All it took was one look at the 6-foot-tall, dark-skinned, Mexican-American USMC recruiter to help a troubled teen find his future.
Staff Sgt. Marquez — Martinez never dared to ask his first name — was barrel-chested, with bulging forearms and a commanding presence. He was a real badass, the kind of man who ate street toughs for breakfast.
“Seeing him walk through that high school hallway made me feel like everything I’d ever done meant sh--,” Martinez recalls in his profanity-laced book. The Marine was everything Martinez longed to be.
For the first 17 years of his life, Martinez says, he was a “sh--head.” A gangbanging, trash-talking thug.
“I was the kind of loser who today I — and probably you — can’t stand,” Martinez writes. “From stealing cars to beating the hell out of guys because I could, to ‘tagging’ [writing graffiti] to sporting a gang tattoo, you name it and I probably did it.”
Gang life was adventurous, never boring. The familial culture and camaraderie fascinated him.
But in 2001, after years of staying just two steps ahead of the police — and constantly disappointing a mother and father he loved — he wanted a way out. Staff Sgt. Marquez was the prism he used to see that better life.
“I knew I wanted to change ... to really, really change. Thank God I never shot anybody, even though I was prepared to. My lifestyle was just a lot of crap,” he said. “The Marines were willing to bet on me. Words just can’t describe how grateful I am.”
In the first part of his memoir, Martinez recounts in graphic detail the dangers and drama of small-time street gangs. He admits taking penitentiary chances for petty stuff nearly every day. He’s never proud of that past, but painfully peels back the curtain.
Readers are then quickly thrown into the deeply bonded world of Marine Corps boot camp, the School of Infantry and life in the Fleet Marine Force. The last third of the book is devoted to his unit’s combat street brawls in Iraq.
For example, after missing the chance to deploy to Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks, Martinez’s unit later learns it will deploy to Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein. It’s time to form for war, and the team is stoked.
“This is where the road divides between those who wear the uniform and civilians,” Martinez writes. “This is where what I’m about to say will either make you nod knowingly or shake your head in confusion, maybe even revulsion: The Marines of 2/5 [2nd Battalion, 5th Marine regiment] — myself most assuredly included — began cheering and smiling and high-fiving and celebrating.
“Here’s why: We were the ones who were going to get the privilege of doing something about what the hell just happened on your television screen. We felt honored, privileged, God-blessed — and ready to rip the mother-f------ face off the enemy.”
“Not everyone was meant to understand what it takes to keep a nation free. Not everyone was meant to understand hardcore devotion to military service, or to our beloved Corps. Not everyone was meant to value a brother’s life as much as you value your own. But that’s ok. That’s as it should be. Not everyone was meant to be Hard Corps.”
When he traded his Tec-9 gang gun for an M16 used to defend his nation, Martinez found his focus for life.
In his new world view, as reflected in his book, things are pretty black and white. There are good guys and bad guys, and Marines wear the red capes.
“Violence isn’t senseless,” he now says. “Senseless violence is senseless.” Marines help resolve those issues.
These days, however, the violence is mostly purged from his system. No more gangs. He’s now a former Marine.
He attends community college nine credits a semester while working full time “in the nuclear security industry.” While there’s no violence, there’s apparently still some adventure in his life.
Martinez hopes to earn a business degree and perhaps write another book. The advance he earned from “Hard Corps” has helped set up that bright future.
Still, despite his hard-earned hero status in Corps and country, he struggles with his past. He ruefully, shamefully sighs “God” when he shares gang stories. He wonders if “hard corps lifer” Marines will like a book written by a former gang member.
“I hope people can understand,” he says.
But as he drives off under the smoke-filled California skies, his mood is infectiously upbeat.
This isn’t some movie. It’s his life. And all he wants — all he needs — is still out there.
Read: An excerpt from the book
Source
Mr. Martinez is also a columnist with Townhall.com. Read his columns Why Do Conservatives Love the Military? and Marine Hero: The 5 Things I Saw that Make Me Support the War
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Updates
We had a great meeting Tuesday night, so I have lots to update you on.
First I want to let you know about the thank you cards that we are doing for Veterans Day. We are hoping to collect 200 thank you cards for the local VA clinic to hand out during the week prior to Veterans Day. If you want to participate just let me know and I'll get all the details to you. We are also planning to "adopt" a vet family for Christmas. We'll let you know more on that soon too. It is so important that our vets know that we appreciate the sacrifices they have made to keep us free and that they will never be forgotten.
The collections for our Christmas care packs are coming along very well. We hope to have everything collected by November 19th so that we can get it sorted in time for our packing party on December 1st. If you want to see the list of items we are collecting and drop off locations, click here. Also remember that we still have our contest going on.
Our new shipment of cookbooks is here. The first shipment sold out quickly. They make great Christmas gifts and we use the proceeds to pay for shipping all these care packs.
Thanks for all your support!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Paralyzed Veterans of America Veterans Day Wall of Honor
Add A Hero to the PVA Veterans Day Wall of Honor!
Show a veteran or active duty service member how much you care.
Anyone you know who has proudly served our great nation or is currently serving today — deserves all the honor and respect we can give them.
You can see their name online when PVA ‘erects’ the 2007 Wall of Honor on November 7th as part of their Veterans Day 2007 ceremonies.
Show a veteran or active duty service member how much you care.
Anyone you know who has proudly served our great nation or is currently serving today — deserves all the honor and respect we can give them.
You can see their name online when PVA ‘erects’ the 2007 Wall of Honor on November 7th as part of their Veterans Day 2007 ceremonies.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Strangers step in to save vet’s ashes
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 30, 2007 15:27:21 EDT
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Strangers, including a veteran’s group, have stepped in to save the ashes of an Augusta Army veteran that former neighbors say were headed for a trash can.
With the widow of William Dillard in jail on drug charges, the couple’s former apartment was undergoing an eviction earlier this month when neighbor Patricia Haley noticed a “greasy” cardboard box of ashes and a folded American flag being carried out.
She took the ashes, eventually turning them over to the local American Legion chapter.
Dillard was an Army veteran who died Feb. 13.
“Even if he wasn’t a veteran, how can you just throw someone away?” said South Carolina National Guard Staff Sgt. Holli Stevenson, whose mother recovered the ashes. “We bring people home from the Middle East dead and in pieces in better condition.”
Augusta-Richmond County Marshal Steve Smith said his office gives plenty of warning before evictions, but noted that the veteran’s widow, Diane Lawrence, was in jail at the time the eviction was scheduled.
He said the ashes never were in jeopardy.
“At no point in time were the ashes ever put somewhere where something could happen to them,” Smith said.
The American Legion, members of the Marine Corps and Richmond County deputies were part of a motorcade that transported the ashes to an Augusta funeral home, where they will be stored until a family member claims them.
Dillard’s mother was located in Miami, said American Legion Chaplain Paul Knox. She plans to claim the ashes, but injured a knee while packing to come get them, he said.
“I feel that’s a weight lifted off of me now,” he said of finding her.
Knox said more information will be known about Dillard once he sees his military discharge papers. He said he wants Dillard to receive a funeral with full military honors.
Posted : Sunday Sep 30, 2007 15:27:21 EDT
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Strangers, including a veteran’s group, have stepped in to save the ashes of an Augusta Army veteran that former neighbors say were headed for a trash can.
With the widow of William Dillard in jail on drug charges, the couple’s former apartment was undergoing an eviction earlier this month when neighbor Patricia Haley noticed a “greasy” cardboard box of ashes and a folded American flag being carried out.
She took the ashes, eventually turning them over to the local American Legion chapter.
Dillard was an Army veteran who died Feb. 13.
“Even if he wasn’t a veteran, how can you just throw someone away?” said South Carolina National Guard Staff Sgt. Holli Stevenson, whose mother recovered the ashes. “We bring people home from the Middle East dead and in pieces in better condition.”
Augusta-Richmond County Marshal Steve Smith said his office gives plenty of warning before evictions, but noted that the veteran’s widow, Diane Lawrence, was in jail at the time the eviction was scheduled.
He said the ashes never were in jeopardy.
“At no point in time were the ashes ever put somewhere where something could happen to them,” Smith said.
The American Legion, members of the Marine Corps and Richmond County deputies were part of a motorcade that transported the ashes to an Augusta funeral home, where they will be stored until a family member claims them.
Dillard’s mother was located in Miami, said American Legion Chaplain Paul Knox. She plans to claim the ashes, but injured a knee while packing to come get them, he said.
“I feel that’s a weight lifted off of me now,” he said of finding her.
Knox said more information will be known about Dillard once he sees his military discharge papers. He said he wants Dillard to receive a funeral with full military honors.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Army of moms greets wounded Fort Lewis soldier
A Fort Lewis soldier got a hero's welcome at Sea-Tac Airport Tuesday, courtesy of the Blue Star Mothers of Washington.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
WHO?? WHY???
Police Say Vietnam Memorial Vandalized
Associated Press September 18, 2007
An oily substance found splashed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this month.
WASHINGTON (AP) - An oily substance found splashed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this month was the result of vandalism, U.S. Park Police determined.
Sgt. Robert Lachance, a Park Police spokesman, said Monday that a detective made the conclusion, but he declined to provide further details because of the investigation is ongoing.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the structure, has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
The oily substance on the black granite wall — which bears the names of more than 58,000 men and women killed or missing in the Vietnam War. It was first reported Sept. 7. National Park Service officials said they did not know what the substance was, and at first said it was unclear whether it was the result of vandalism or some kind of accident.
On Monday, dark blotches remained along a stone curb at the base of the wall for much of its length. At least 14 of its 140 inscribed panels appeared to be stained.
Park Service spokesman Bill Line said maintenance and preservation crews were working to remove the stains and marks but were proceeding cautiously to avoid further damage. He said officials are confident they can remove all the stains, but it could take a week or more.
"It's deplorable that someone would vandalize what's really a national shrine," said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Memorial Fund. "It's an outrage. It's sad."
It's such a shame that anyone would even think to stoop that low. I almost feel sorry for them...sorry that they don't understand the patriotism and valor behind this memorial.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Blind Vietnam vet severely beats assailant
By Sean Murphy - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 7, 2007 12:30:30 EDT
NORMAN, Okla. — A blind Vietnam veteran disarmed and severely beat a man who had just gunned down the former Marine’s wife, mother and sister-in-law.
Police said Wednesday that the shootings in an upscale home near the University of Oklahoma on Tuesday were triggered by a domestic dispute.
After the gunman fired shotgun blasts that killed the three women, Joseph Brent Link injured him so badly in the face and the head that police have not been able to interview him.
Officers initially thought the wounds were life-threatening, Norman police Capt. Leonard Judy said.
The injured man, described by police only as Link’s 50-year-old brother-in-law, remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Killed by single shotgun blasts to their torsos were Link’s wife, Tami, 52; his sister-in-law, Sheila Ellis, 56, and his mother, Letannah Bishop, 87, who lived with Link, 54.
A 12-gauge shotgun police believe was used in the killings was recovered at the home. The weapon was already in the house at the time the domestic dispute began, Judy said.
“It appears there was some sort of family dispute that was in progress, and that in fact escalated into these homicides,” Judy said.
Police received an emergency call from the residence about 3:51 p.m. Tuesday from a man who requested an ambulance and said a shooting had occurred.
Investigators found the women in two separate rooms, and the injured man was on the porch.
Neighbors said the couple’s son, Stephen Link, ran a landscaping business out of the house.
“They’ve only lived there for a couple of years,” said neighbor Bob Moring, who lives across the street. “It’s a horrible tragedy. They were very pleasant, very sweet people.”
Moring said Joseph Brent Link was a Navy and Marine Corps veteran. Navy and Marine Corps flags were among six flags that hung from flagpoles outside of the house.
He is also a volunteer with the Oklahoma League for the Blind, according to the organization’s Web site.
Following his military career, Joseph Link opened his own business developing adaptive technology for the blind and vision impaired, the Web site says. He also works with blind veterans groups and to educate people about blindness and find opportunities for the blind.
The shootings rattled neighborhood residents.
“If this wasn’t happening right now, this street would be full of kids, children in strollers and people walking their dogs,” said neighbor Charles Keeling.
Source
Posted : Friday Sep 7, 2007 12:30:30 EDT
NORMAN, Okla. — A blind Vietnam veteran disarmed and severely beat a man who had just gunned down the former Marine’s wife, mother and sister-in-law.
Police said Wednesday that the shootings in an upscale home near the University of Oklahoma on Tuesday were triggered by a domestic dispute.
After the gunman fired shotgun blasts that killed the three women, Joseph Brent Link injured him so badly in the face and the head that police have not been able to interview him.
Officers initially thought the wounds were life-threatening, Norman police Capt. Leonard Judy said.
The injured man, described by police only as Link’s 50-year-old brother-in-law, remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Killed by single shotgun blasts to their torsos were Link’s wife, Tami, 52; his sister-in-law, Sheila Ellis, 56, and his mother, Letannah Bishop, 87, who lived with Link, 54.
A 12-gauge shotgun police believe was used in the killings was recovered at the home. The weapon was already in the house at the time the domestic dispute began, Judy said.
“It appears there was some sort of family dispute that was in progress, and that in fact escalated into these homicides,” Judy said.
Police received an emergency call from the residence about 3:51 p.m. Tuesday from a man who requested an ambulance and said a shooting had occurred.
Investigators found the women in two separate rooms, and the injured man was on the porch.
Neighbors said the couple’s son, Stephen Link, ran a landscaping business out of the house.
“They’ve only lived there for a couple of years,” said neighbor Bob Moring, who lives across the street. “It’s a horrible tragedy. They were very pleasant, very sweet people.”
Moring said Joseph Brent Link was a Navy and Marine Corps veteran. Navy and Marine Corps flags were among six flags that hung from flagpoles outside of the house.
He is also a volunteer with the Oklahoma League for the Blind, according to the organization’s Web site.
Following his military career, Joseph Link opened his own business developing adaptive technology for the blind and vision impaired, the Web site says. He also works with blind veterans groups and to educate people about blindness and find opportunities for the blind.
The shootings rattled neighborhood residents.
“If this wasn’t happening right now, this street would be full of kids, children in strollers and people walking their dogs,” said neighbor Charles Keeling.
Source
Friday, August 31, 2007
In league with the stones...
You know one of the things I have enjoyed so much about blogging is all the wonderful people I have come in contact with through this blog that I might have never know otherwise. I have made some great friends. Some I have met in person and some only via other blogs and email. I am blessed to know each one of them.
The following is from former WWII and Korean War Marine, Sgt Jim Baxter. He sent this beautiful and wise essay to me in an email and I am so honored that he has allowed me to share it here. God bless you Sgt Baxter! Thank you for your service. It is a privilege to correspond with you.
Every September, I recall that is more than half a century (62 years) since I landed at Nagasaki with the 2nd Marine Division in the original occupation of Japan following World War II. This time every year, I have watched and listened to the light-hearted "peaceniks" and their light-headed symbolism-without-substance of ringing bells, flying pigeons, floating candles, and sonorous chanting and I recall again that "Peace is not a cause - it is an effect."
In July, 1945, my fellow 8th RCT Marines [I was a BARman] and I returned to Saipan following the successful conclusion of the Battle of Okinawa. We were issued new equipment and replacements joined each outfit in preparation for our coming amphibious assault on the home islands of Japan.
B-29 bombing had leveled the major cities of Japan, including Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Yokosuka, and Tokyo.
We were informed we would land three Marine divisions and six Army divisions, perhaps abreast, with large reserves following us in. It was estimated that it would cost half a million casualties to subdue the Japanese homeland.
In August, the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima but the Japanese government refused to surrender. Three days later a second A-bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The Imperial Japanese government finally surrendered.
Following the 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese admiral said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." Indeed, they had. Not surprisingly, the atomic bomb was produced by a free people functioning in a free environment. Not surprisingly because the creative process is a natural human choice-making process and inventiveness occurs most readily where choice-making opportunities abound. America!
Tamper with a giant, indeed! Tyrants, beware: Free men are nature's pit bulls of Liberty! The Japanese learned the hard way what tyrants of any generation should know: Never start a war with a free people - you never know what they may invent!
As a newly assigned member of a U.S. Marine intelligence section, I had a unique opportunity to visit many major cities of Japan, including Tokyo and Hiroshima, within weeks of their destruction. For a full year I observed the beaches, weapons, and troops we would have assaulted had the A-bombs not been dropped. Yes, it would have been very destructive for all, but especially for the people of Japan.
When we landed in Japan, for what came to be the finest and most humane occupation of a defeated enemy in recorded history, it was with great appreciation, thanksgiving, and praise for the atomic bomb team, including the aircrew of the Enola Gay. A half million American homes had been spared the Gold Star flag, including, I'm sure, my own.
Whenever I hear the apologists expressing guilt and shame for A-bombing and ending the war Japan had started (they ignore the cause-effect relation between Pearl Harbor and Nagasaki), I have noted that neither the effete critics nor the puff-adder politicians are among us in the assault landing-craft or the stinking rice paddies of their suggested alternative, "conventional" warfare. Stammering reluctance is obvious and continuous, but they do love to pontificate about the Rights that others, and the Bomb, have bought and preserved for them.
The vanities of ignorance and camouflaged cowardice abound as license for the assertion of virtuous "rights" purchased by the blood of others - those others who have borne the burden and physical expense of Rights whining apologists so casually and self-righteously claim.
At best, these fakers manifest a profound and cryptic ignorance of causal relations, myopic perception, and dull I.Q. At worst, there is a word and description in The Constitution defining those who love the enemy more than they love their own countrymen and their own posterity. Every Yankee Doodle Dandy knows what that word is.
In 1945, America was the only nation in the world with the Bomb and it behaved responsibly and respectfully. It remained so until two among us betrayed it to the Kremlin. Still, this American weapon system has been the prime deterrent to earth's latest model world- tyranny: Seventy years of Soviet collectivist definition, coercion, and domination of individual human beings.
The message is this: Trust Freedom. Remember, tyrants never learn. The restriction of Freedom is the limitation of human choice, and choice is the fulcrum-point of the creative process in human affairs. As earth's choicemaker, it is our human identity on nature's beautiful blue planet and the natural premise of man's free institutions, environments, and respectful relations with one another. Made in the image of our Creator, free men choose, create, and progress - or die.
Free men should not fear the moon-god-crowd oppressor nor choose any of his ways. Recall with a confident Job and a victorious David, "Know ye not that you are in league with the stones of the field?"
Semper Fidelis
Jim Baxter
Sgt. USMC
WW II and Korean War
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wounded troops find healing in Colo. outdoors
By Christine Benedetti - Aspen Daily News
Posted : Sunday Aug 26, 2007 18:03:46 EDT
ASPEN, Colo. — When Bryon Chambers stopped on a ledge halfway through the climb to catch his breath and plan his next move, everyone watching was unsure if he would continue.
But 10 minutes later, he was at the top of the pitch with a huge grin.
“It kicked my butt, but if felt good and I would do it again — not today though,” he said.
For Chambers, completing a rock climb is more than a physical accomplishment — it’s a metaphorical feat, too. A roadside bomb in Iraq injured the 20-year-old Marine Corps lance corporal in February. The driver of a light armored vehicle, he suffered a brain injury and a shattered right heel that ultimately cost him his leg from the knee down. Three others essentially walked away from the accident, but his vehicle commander, Sgt. Chad Allen, was killed on the spot.
“The three-ton engine next to me was thrown 40 yards, so that tells you something,” said Chambers. “I’m extremely lucky to be here. ... Everything I worked for I lost.”
Chambers is spending a week in the Rockies with other recently injured Iraq war veterans as part of a program hosted by Challenge Aspen. Eighteen men are in town for the Aspen Wilderness Program, and after spending three days river rafting through Westwater Canyon on the Utah/Colorado border, they spent some time scaling rock up the Lincoln Creek valley.
Chambers has only had his prosthetic leg since mid-July, and learning to walk has been a hurdle.
“I was 200 pounds in February, and that’s the last thing I remember,” he said. “I woke up four months later, and had lost it all. I’m about 150 pounds now.”
Chambers underwent 22 surgeries during that period, and while he wasn’t in a coma, he says it almost felt that way.
“I was in a dream state. If I didn’t like what I was doing, I would just go to sleep,” he said. “I thought I would wake up again in Iraq and be late for post or patrol.”
Part of his traumatic brain injury was short-term memory loss, which affected long-term memory loss too. Basically for four months of his life he blacked out.
“I think when I stopped trying to wake up from the dream is when things changed,” he said.
The Delta, Colo., native went home for the second time since the injury on Thursday night to visit family and friends. He’s an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and has also spent time at a brain injury facility in Tampa, Fla.
“I’m mentally stable enough not to go crazy, or I’d like to say I don’t have it (post-traumatic stress disorder),” he said, laughing with a surprisingly good sense of humor.
The Aspen Wilderness Program is in its third year and, like many Challenge Aspen programs, it’s recreation-based therapy, said program director Sarah Volf. It encourages the soldiers to test their physical skills, in turn building self-confidence they may have lost along with their leg or arm. In September, Challenge Aspen will host the first TBI outdoor rehabilitation program in the country.
“It’s a way to work back into society,” said Volf. “Nature is so therapeutic. The changes we’ve seen, even in five days, is incredible.”
She points out Jake Altman as one of those cases.
The 20-year-old Army specialist was stationed in Germany. After five months of deployment in Iraq, his vehicle — the lead car in his convoy — was destroyed by a bomb.
“I didn’t really feel pain when my hand was blown off,” he said. “It felt like a lot of pressure and my hand was dangling by the fabrics of my uniform.”
Besides losing his right hand and forearm, both knees were severely injured, and physical tasks like rock climbing and rafting have been work — and fun.
“It’s really boosted my self esteem and I think it’s wonderful that they do this for the soldiers. It’s inspired me to work harder,” he says. “Honestly, this is the funniest experience of my life.”
A support system is something Altman could use right now, considering his wife — a German native — and 10-month-old son are still overseas. He hasn’t seen either since he left for Iraq, and he says securing a passport and dual citizenship so they can travel to America has been difficult.
“I still have fear but I just try to push through it,” he said.
And that is one of the Aspen Wilderness Program’s goals, notes Kristi Say, an occupational therapist at Walter Reed who accompanied the veterans to Aspen. It’s her third summer participating in the program.
“The meaningful goal is to independence,” she said. “That’s breaking down all barriers, whether or not they’re an able-bodied person or missing a limb. Some of these activities were a huge mental block before and it opens up the door to possibilities.”
Those options are different for each man. After completing therapy at Walter Reed, Chambers is returning to the Western Slope to attend college at Mesa State University in Grand Junction, where he hopes to go into computer systems. Greg Robinson, a 28-year-old Army Corps of Engineers staff sergeant based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., said he’ll return to his station for another 10 years to earn full retirement.
“It’s not for everyone, but I like the lifestyle and I like what I do,” he says.
Having been deployed to Kosovo, Korea and Iraq, Robinson was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan in May, and it tore off his right leg. He already participated in a ski program for soldiers in Breckenridge and Vail last fall, and says gliding on two boards was easier than walking.
Looking back at where he’s been is tough, though.
“I would rather be there (Afghanistan) than Iraq, because you can actually see hope,” said Robinson. “Since the invasion the country has evolved, and it’s the smaller villages that are unstable. But in Iraq, when I was there, it was chaos.”
Volf said she’s sees a difference in the injuries that are coming back from overseas. She said what used to kill people now leaves them amputees because of the changes in armor and technology, which means wounds tend to be more severe.
“It’s a population that we need to proactively serve because in 10 to 15 years, these guys still don’t have a limb,” she said.
As a patient at Walter Reed, Robinson compares his progress rate with others to see where he should be in the future.
“If someone is six months ahead of me, I set goals to see where I should be compared to people that are already there,” he says.
For this group, those physical checklists are much more visible this week, and they all cheer each other on as they take on things like climbing and paddling.
As Chambers rappels down the rock face, everyone watching hoots, hollers and gives him a round of applause.
“These people are great,” said Altman. “They actually pushed me to keep going. ... Now I face that fear and before I didn’t have the tools.”
Source
Posted : Sunday Aug 26, 2007 18:03:46 EDT
ASPEN, Colo. — When Bryon Chambers stopped on a ledge halfway through the climb to catch his breath and plan his next move, everyone watching was unsure if he would continue.
But 10 minutes later, he was at the top of the pitch with a huge grin.
“It kicked my butt, but if felt good and I would do it again — not today though,” he said.
For Chambers, completing a rock climb is more than a physical accomplishment — it’s a metaphorical feat, too. A roadside bomb in Iraq injured the 20-year-old Marine Corps lance corporal in February. The driver of a light armored vehicle, he suffered a brain injury and a shattered right heel that ultimately cost him his leg from the knee down. Three others essentially walked away from the accident, but his vehicle commander, Sgt. Chad Allen, was killed on the spot.
“The three-ton engine next to me was thrown 40 yards, so that tells you something,” said Chambers. “I’m extremely lucky to be here. ... Everything I worked for I lost.”
Chambers is spending a week in the Rockies with other recently injured Iraq war veterans as part of a program hosted by Challenge Aspen. Eighteen men are in town for the Aspen Wilderness Program, and after spending three days river rafting through Westwater Canyon on the Utah/Colorado border, they spent some time scaling rock up the Lincoln Creek valley.
Chambers has only had his prosthetic leg since mid-July, and learning to walk has been a hurdle.
“I was 200 pounds in February, and that’s the last thing I remember,” he said. “I woke up four months later, and had lost it all. I’m about 150 pounds now.”
Chambers underwent 22 surgeries during that period, and while he wasn’t in a coma, he says it almost felt that way.
“I was in a dream state. If I didn’t like what I was doing, I would just go to sleep,” he said. “I thought I would wake up again in Iraq and be late for post or patrol.”
Part of his traumatic brain injury was short-term memory loss, which affected long-term memory loss too. Basically for four months of his life he blacked out.
“I think when I stopped trying to wake up from the dream is when things changed,” he said.
The Delta, Colo., native went home for the second time since the injury on Thursday night to visit family and friends. He’s an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and has also spent time at a brain injury facility in Tampa, Fla.
“I’m mentally stable enough not to go crazy, or I’d like to say I don’t have it (post-traumatic stress disorder),” he said, laughing with a surprisingly good sense of humor.
The Aspen Wilderness Program is in its third year and, like many Challenge Aspen programs, it’s recreation-based therapy, said program director Sarah Volf. It encourages the soldiers to test their physical skills, in turn building self-confidence they may have lost along with their leg or arm. In September, Challenge Aspen will host the first TBI outdoor rehabilitation program in the country.
“It’s a way to work back into society,” said Volf. “Nature is so therapeutic. The changes we’ve seen, even in five days, is incredible.”
She points out Jake Altman as one of those cases.
The 20-year-old Army specialist was stationed in Germany. After five months of deployment in Iraq, his vehicle — the lead car in his convoy — was destroyed by a bomb.
“I didn’t really feel pain when my hand was blown off,” he said. “It felt like a lot of pressure and my hand was dangling by the fabrics of my uniform.”
Besides losing his right hand and forearm, both knees were severely injured, and physical tasks like rock climbing and rafting have been work — and fun.
“It’s really boosted my self esteem and I think it’s wonderful that they do this for the soldiers. It’s inspired me to work harder,” he says. “Honestly, this is the funniest experience of my life.”
A support system is something Altman could use right now, considering his wife — a German native — and 10-month-old son are still overseas. He hasn’t seen either since he left for Iraq, and he says securing a passport and dual citizenship so they can travel to America has been difficult.
“I still have fear but I just try to push through it,” he said.
And that is one of the Aspen Wilderness Program’s goals, notes Kristi Say, an occupational therapist at Walter Reed who accompanied the veterans to Aspen. It’s her third summer participating in the program.
“The meaningful goal is to independence,” she said. “That’s breaking down all barriers, whether or not they’re an able-bodied person or missing a limb. Some of these activities were a huge mental block before and it opens up the door to possibilities.”
Those options are different for each man. After completing therapy at Walter Reed, Chambers is returning to the Western Slope to attend college at Mesa State University in Grand Junction, where he hopes to go into computer systems. Greg Robinson, a 28-year-old Army Corps of Engineers staff sergeant based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., said he’ll return to his station for another 10 years to earn full retirement.
“It’s not for everyone, but I like the lifestyle and I like what I do,” he says.
Having been deployed to Kosovo, Korea and Iraq, Robinson was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan in May, and it tore off his right leg. He already participated in a ski program for soldiers in Breckenridge and Vail last fall, and says gliding on two boards was easier than walking.
Looking back at where he’s been is tough, though.
“I would rather be there (Afghanistan) than Iraq, because you can actually see hope,” said Robinson. “Since the invasion the country has evolved, and it’s the smaller villages that are unstable. But in Iraq, when I was there, it was chaos.”
Volf said she’s sees a difference in the injuries that are coming back from overseas. She said what used to kill people now leaves them amputees because of the changes in armor and technology, which means wounds tend to be more severe.
“It’s a population that we need to proactively serve because in 10 to 15 years, these guys still don’t have a limb,” she said.
As a patient at Walter Reed, Robinson compares his progress rate with others to see where he should be in the future.
“If someone is six months ahead of me, I set goals to see where I should be compared to people that are already there,” he says.
For this group, those physical checklists are much more visible this week, and they all cheer each other on as they take on things like climbing and paddling.
As Chambers rappels down the rock face, everyone watching hoots, hollers and gives him a round of applause.
“These people are great,” said Altman. “They actually pushed me to keep going. ... Now I face that fear and before I didn’t have the tools.”
Source
Monday, August 06, 2007
Send a get well card to a Marine
This is from TXMarineMom1987. Along with being a Lubbock Marine Parents member, she is also a member of the Patriot Guard.
The following note and address was on the PGR forum site. I heard that it was also on the Soldiers' Angels site. I wonder if we could post on our blog and Yahoo group site.
RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM ROLLING THUNDER THAT A YOUNG MARINE IN A VA HOSPITAL IN TEXAS NEEDS SOME GET WELL CARDS AS HE IS NOT GETTING MANY AT ALL. THIS, I AM TOLD WAS CHECKED OUT WITH HIS NURSE.
IF EACH OF US CAN SEND A CARD IT WOULD MAKE LIFE, I HOPE, A LITTLE EASIER.
LCPL PEREZ,JOSE
7400 MERTON MINTER BLVD.
AUDIE MURPHY VA HOSPITAL
SPINAL CORD INJURY UNIT GLD.
DO 26 BED A
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78229
Friday, August 03, 2007
Senate clarifies right to salute flag
Staff report
Posted : Friday Aug 3, 2007 6:29:56 EDT
The Senate has passed legislation clarifying U.S. law to ensure that veterans and service members not in uniform can salute the flag.
S 1877, sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., would address the ambiguity of current law, which states that veterans and service members not in uniform should place their hand over their hearts, without specifying whether they can or should salute the flag.
“The salute is a form of honor and respect, representing pride in one’s military service,” Inhofe said. “Unfortunately, current U.S. law leaves confusion as to whether veterans and service members out of uniform can or should salute the flag.”
Inhofe said he believes this is “an appropriate way to honor and recognize the 25 million veterans who have served in the military and remain as role models to others citizens. Those who are currently serving or have served in the military have earned this right, and their recognition will be an inspiration to others.”
The House would have to agree to the legislation before it could become law.
Source
Posted : Friday Aug 3, 2007 6:29:56 EDT
The Senate has passed legislation clarifying U.S. law to ensure that veterans and service members not in uniform can salute the flag.
S 1877, sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., would address the ambiguity of current law, which states that veterans and service members not in uniform should place their hand over their hearts, without specifying whether they can or should salute the flag.
“The salute is a form of honor and respect, representing pride in one’s military service,” Inhofe said. “Unfortunately, current U.S. law leaves confusion as to whether veterans and service members out of uniform can or should salute the flag.”
Inhofe said he believes this is “an appropriate way to honor and recognize the 25 million veterans who have served in the military and remain as role models to others citizens. Those who are currently serving or have served in the military have earned this right, and their recognition will be an inspiration to others.”
The House would have to agree to the legislation before it could become law.
Source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)