Tag: Traumatic Brain Injuries

Daniel Zwerdling {link takes you to a page of his reports}, of NPR, has been doing stellar investigative reporting on PTSD and TBI, now for a number of years, as the two occupations we’re engaged in continued on. It took the media a few years to finally grasp what was already known as to the results of War on the soldiers we send. Even with the some four decades of many of us Vietnam Veterans, as well as other Veterans, and the Civilians who recognized those results and have been speaking out about. Like everything else the public either ignored or certainly didn’t want to hear. We didn’t have the present day technology and sadly it’s taking two more long occupations for the realities to finally speak of what happens and reach more and more people who now can’t ignore. The media to finally started reporting on the results of war, not recognized before, as well as the understanding that same happens within the civilian populations, wars are not the only cause. Traumatic Brain Injuries have been known about and treated in the public but even those are being looked at and re-studied, as there is much more now known in needing to understand and bring new treatments for or advance the treatments used.

Today, as many know or should know, is Veterans Day, or actually many who observe call it what it was intended to be called, Armistice Day.

On this day in a U.S. occupation of anothers country, that seems so long ago but isn’t, and which I served ’70-’71, the following happened:

November 11, 1972

The U.S. Army turned over its massive military base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese army, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. The last American forces, however, did not leave until 1975.

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April 29 – Corporal Charles McMahon, Jr., and Lance Corporal Darwin Judge, USMC, are the last US military personnel killed in Vietnam. They are struck during a rocket attack at the US Embassy in Saigon, during the final North Vietnamese attack on the government.

April 30 – At 7:53 a.m., 11 US Marines (the last of 865 Marines assigned to guard the US Embassy) carrying the American flag, are airlifted from the US Embassy rooftop helipad. Three hours later the Vietnam war finally ends when North Vietnamese tanks break into the Presidential Palace.

5-07-08, NPR’s Talk of the Nation had a followup to a previous NPR Report on this, a Veterans Court setup in Buffalo NY. I previously did a post on the first report, and that report can also be found at todays Talk of the Nation site page, in the link below.

Vets in Legal Trouble Find Help in Buffalo Court

Talk of the Nation, May 7, 2008 · Earlier this year, Robert Russell, a judge in Buffalo New York, decided to address the increasing number of veterans he saw entering the criminal justice system. Russell established a special court that considers the experience of war before sentencing and helps former soldiers find treatment.

Guests:

Hank Parowski, project director for Buffalo City Court

Libby Lewis, NPR’s national desk correspondent {who put together the first report}

Tom Berger, national chair of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Abuse for Vietnam Veterans of America

This link brings up the NPR Player to listen to report

And an Update to the Conditions found at the Fort Bragg Army barracks that returning Afganistan and Iraq Military personal were living in:

Army Secretary: barracks repairs to cost $248 million

Army Secretary Pete Geren said today that the military will commit $248 million to repair dilapidated barracks around the world.

Back in January Ilona Meagher, of PTSD Combat-Winning The War Within posted about a Justice Court being set up in Buffalo NY to help Veterans who get into legal trouble you can read her post Here

This Court came together with the help of the local Buffalo chapter membership of Vietnam Veterans of America:

A group of Marines ogling a pinup girl outside their bunkers in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, in January 1968

Targetting Congressional Pages or Toe Tapping in public bathroom stalls is just fine and dandy, as well as giving male prostitutes seemingly unlimitted access to the White House Press Room and only rove knows where else, and the other numorous sex related adventures of mostly republican congressmen, bet the women have a few little secrets themselves.

But shockingly, once again, after being the Lead Cheerleaders, along with their equally sex confused talking heads, o’really are you listening, you to fatboy cyst, to the extremely failed policy of Wars/Occupations Of Choice we get this:

I don’t need to add anything to the below, one: I’m not there, two: what’s below says it all, three: this Country put it’s Military Through All This Before to my Brother ‘Nam Vets and followed up with Every Deployment Since!

How many know what’s happening with the Gulf War I Vets!

An Update to my post from last night, I also expect a Video report following a local TV Stations nightly news from the area, with the family press conferance.

Body identified as former Marine Hall

(Last updated: March 12, 2008 11:14 AM)  

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has notified Eric Hall’s family this morning that the remains found in a culvert Sunday was the former Marine.

A detective from the agency notified the family at 10 a.m. and relayed the cause of death has not been determined.

Becky Hall, Eric’s mother, plans a press conference at noon.

The family scheduled a military memorial service at noon Thursday at the Faith Lutheran Church, 4005 Palm Drive, Punta Gorda.

I certainly hope this Country is out of it’s collective Denial, about Vietnam, and it’s Apathy as to this World we live in, much of it created by our past policies and now the present, for the Future is Here!