Happy Veterans Day!

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deec77

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To all who served thank you for your service!

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~Dee~
 
Dad, still living fought in Korean War. Brother is a Marine. Thanks to all who served and to those who support our troops.
 
My father fought in the Korean War and his older brothers in WWII. My grandfather fought in WWI, the war that ended 100 years ago today.

Many thanks to all our veterans.
 
Much respect for our Veterans


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Happy Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a day to honor all those who have served and are serving our country!
 
In Colorado, if you present your honorable discharge papers to the DMV, they issue you a license/ID that shows your Veteran status. Does Massachusetts do the same?


Because I loves me some 10% discounts at Home Depot, plus the free dinners I get on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day. Going out tonight to get one at a local seafood restaurant.



By the way, today marks the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice that ended WWI.
 
sprocketboy said:
In Colorado, if you present your honorable discharge papers to the DMV, they issue you a license/ID that shows your Veteran status. Does Massachusetts do the same?
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Yes, they do.

Massachusetts residents who are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces can choose to have the word "Veteran" printed on their driver's license or ID card when you apply for, renew or duplicate your learner's permit, driver's license, or ID card.
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Link
 
Nice story.

When Green Beret Is Sentenced to Night in Jail, Security Camera Catches Judge Going Into Cell

A North Carolina judge sentenced a Green Beret veteran to spend a night in jail. But when he remembered his own story and all he had gone through, he couldn’t just let him spend the night alone.

Judge Lou Olivera, a Gulf War veteran, is a district court judge over the Veterans Treatment Court in Cumberland County, North Carolina. He had to sentence Green Beret Joe Serna to one night in jail for a probation violation.

Serna, a recipient of three Purple Hearts, is retired from the military and is having a hard time adjusting back to life after experiencing the battle of war in Afghanistan. Through his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, he turned to alcohol to help him deal with the issues he was having mentally.

This path of destruction soon lead him to the Veterans Treatment Court which helps struggling veterans get back on track. This is where Serna meet Olivera.

“When Joe first came to my court, he was so tight,” Olivera says. “His shoulders were so tense. Over time, you could see his shoulders relax.”

When Serna lied in court about a urine test, Olivera knew he had to hold him accountable for his actions. He sentenced him to spend the night in jail.

But as Serna entered the jail cell, the painful memories of losing companions began to flood his mind and he felt this would be the longest night of his life. Anxiety gripped him and flashbacks began to play in his mind as the door closed behind him.

His scariest moment was when he was riding with three other soldiers along a creek when the road gave way, and the vehicle plunged into the water. The truck started filling with water and “all hope was lost.”

Serna was trapped and unable to move, the water rose all the way up to his chin where it finally stopped. He was the only one saved that day. “I was the sole survivor,” he recalled with tears in his eyes.

Without telling Serna what he planned to do, Olivera drove him to the jail and asked the jail administrator if he could spend the night with Serna. The administrator had never heard of such a thing.

“Joe was a good soldier and he’s a good man,” Olivera said. “I wanted him to know I had his back. I didn’t want him to do this alone.”

As Serna’s mind began to go to the dark place of being trapped in the vehicle and losing his buddies, the jail cell door opened and he saw the judge’s smiling face. “When he came in, I knew everything was going to be okay,” recalled Serna.

“I was at peace,” he continued. Olivera brought him back to North Carolina when he felt he was trapped back in the truck again.

They spent the night talking about their families, lives, and service. The judge knew Serna needed to face the consequence for his actions, but he also knew he didn’t want him to go it alone.

“He is a judge, but that night, he was my battle buddy,” Serna said. “He knew what I was going through. As a warrior, he connected.”
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That was outstanding thanks Tmack

~Dee~
 
PTSD is a horrible thing. He's not the only veteran to turn to drugs or alcohol. Vietnam veterans are experiencing rough times now, as it seems as the body gets older, the neural system is less able to tamp down memories. Not all veterans, but some have it pretty bad trying to make sense of dual memories of teh same event or just tryijng to figure out which memory is real,and trying to keep some things forgotten..
 
spacecrime said:
PTSD is a horrible thing. He's not the only veteran to turn to drugs or alcohol. Vietnam veterans are experiencing rough times now, as it seems as the body gets older, the neural system is less able to tamp down memories. Not all veterans, but some have it pretty bad trying to make sense of dual memories of teh same event or just tryijng to figure out which memory is real,and trying to keep some things forgotten..
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Spent almost 2 years there, but not in harms way. Consider myself damn lucky I was spared those kinds of terrifying memories. Thank God.


Cheers
 
spacecrime said:
PTSD is a horrible thing. He's not the only veteran to turn to drugs or alcohol. Vietnam veterans are experiencing rough times now, as it seems as the body gets older, the neural system is less able to tamp down memories. Not all veterans, but some have it pretty bad trying to make sense of dual memories of teh same event or just tryijng to figure out which memory is real,and trying to keep some things forgotten..
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When I worked in the Canteen Store at the Bedford Vets' Hospital, we had some hard cases in Ward 78F; most of them were Vietnam Veterans. They had to be escorted by nurses, all of whom were men, and most of whom looked big enough to start as linebackers for Clemson.


I only saw one or two outbursts personally, but the first time I had to deliver their cigarette orders to the Ward, I was scared shit-less. However, I came to learn that they didn't want to mess with me ... because I was bringing their cigarettes every week.
 
After Hearing U.S. Veteran Had No Family, Huge Crowd Attends His Funeral In Texas

Scores of people turned up for Joseph Walker's funeral Monday in Texas — not because they knew him, but because they knew the Vietnam-era veteran was at risk of being buried without anyone in attendance.

Walker served in the U.S. Air Force, and he died of natural causes in November at the age of 72. When the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery announced funeral plans for him last week, the facility said it didn't expect anyone other than staff members to be present.

With no family or loved ones coming forward after his death, Walker was classified an "unaccompanied veteran."

That changed on Monday.

"Today, we're not strangers; today, we are family, " said Marc George of the Christian Motorcyclists Association, who officiated the funeral. Standing next to Walker's flag-draped coffin, George declared, "This is our brother, Joseph Walker."

The diverse turnout — young and old, people dressed in suits, jeans and motorcycle jackets — reflected "an outpouring of love" from communities in Killeen, Texas, and beyond, George said, acknowledging the large crowd that turned out to pay their respects.

Officials at the cemetery say they knew very little about Walker's life. It's possible he has a brother living in Texas, the cemetery said. But despite the long delay between Walker's death and his burial, no one had come forward on his behalf.

"If you have the opportunity, please come out and attend," the cemetery told its followers on social media. "We do NOT leave Veterans behind."

Local TV news station KVUE picked up the call, as did motorcycle clubs and other media, including CNN's Jake Tapper.

When the time of Walker's funeral arrived on Monday, news crews captured the moment as uniformed pallbearers bore his coffin into a covered plaza at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery.

One attendee put the number of people who turned out at more than 1,000. The crowd extended far beyond the plaza's rows of folding chairs, out onto the pavement where dozens of rows of people stood quietly in the sunshine. Photos showed that the road leading into the cemetery was clogged with vehicles bearing people who wanted to be there for Walker.

Texas officials say Walker served during the Vietnam War, from Sept. 10, 1964, to Sept. 9, 1968, when he left the service with an honorable discharge. At the funeral service, George noted that little else is known about Walker's military service, including his rank.

"I don't have a lot of information, but it doesn't matter," he said, "because once upon a time, like a lot of us other vets, he signed a blank check for our nation."

Walker was born on Feb. 28, 1946, and joined the military when he was 18.

"Today, we give him honors," George said, before leading a prayer in remembrance of Walker — a man whom no one apparently knew, but whom no one wanted to forget.

Walker's funeral was facilitated by a unit of the Texas General Land Office, a state agency headed by George P. Bush. The military ceremony reflects policies that were changed in 2015, the office's Karina Erickson told NPR. Before then, she said, the remains of veterans who died without any surviving relatives or other ties were sometimes interred without any recognition of their military service.

Citing new federal and state collaborations in handling veterans' remains, Erickson said, "All eligible Veterans are now interred with honor and dignity, regardless of where they may have found themselves in life."

Monday's military ceremony for Walker ended with a representative from the Veterans Land Board accepting the folded flag that was used during the service. It will be held at the cemetery for 90 days; if no family or next of kin comes forward, it will be flown from the cemetery's main flagpole.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Killeen, Texas: A line of cars stretching for miles to attend the funeral of an Air Force Veteran with no family.. after fears he would be buried with no one attending. <a href="https://t.co/IC5z7IlDjh">pic.twitter.com/IC5z7IlDjh</a></p>— Janet Shamlian (@JanetShamlian) <a href="https://twitter.com/JanetShamlian/status/1089924947844259845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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