Oklahoma nonprofit helps veterans with claims

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Kelsey Hightower, News21

A Goldsby, Okla.,-based nonprofit organization has assembled a national community of volunteers to help veterans and their families negotiate the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs claims process.

Veterans wait to talk to a volunteer at the Goldsby Community Center in Goldsby, Oklahoma. (Photo by Kelsey Hightower, News21)

Every Thursday at Veterans Corner, which is south of Norman, Okla., former military from across the country get assistance in filing their disability claims. The setting is modest. Volunteers work quickly to unload tables, printers, and office supplies to set up Veterans Corner in the Goldsby Community Center. In minutes, an empty building is transformed into an office and waiting area for the average 150 walk-ins.

This has been the routine for five years.

Dale Graham, founder and director of Veterans Corner, said that the organization was established to help veterans who say the VA wasn’t helping them get the disability benefits they deserved.

When Graham returned from his deployment in Vietnam he went to therapy sessions for his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Gulf War veteran Charles Russell and his wife Janet seek help filing a VA claim at the Goldsby Community Center. (Photo by Kelsey Hightower, News21)

“I went to the VA in the early ’90s and talked to them about [my] problems,” he said. “They didn’t want to hear about it and they certainly weren’t going to do anything about it.”

Graham set out to change that. “I was convinced to learn their system,” he said.

He began by helping his friends work through the claims process. Graham continues to fight for fellow veterans with the support of his 100 volunteers.

Veterans Corner has helped approximately 20,000 veterans and surviving spouses receive about $50 million annually in VA disability benefits, Graham said. Through this journey, as Graham describes it, his PTSD has improved.

“If you’re helping somebody else, you’re helping yourself,” he said.

What We’re Reading: Week 7

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Chad Garland, News21

Texas Monthly’s July 2013 cover story is a photo essay about soldiers returning home from war.

What We’re Reading:

The Call of Battle (Matt Cook, 7/2013, Texas Monthly) After two Iraq deployments, Matt Cook left the Army in 2006. He found success writing and making films, where he “mined” his memories — some that haunted him, some that slipped away. Eventually, he no longer recognized himself as a soldier, and that’s when he felt the need to return, “to feed on the pain of war again.” In November 2012, he embedded with his old unit, then in Afghanistan.

4^th of July Fireworks a Nightmare for Shell-Shocked War Veterans (Susan Donaldson James, 7/3, ABC News) On the eve of Independence Day, some veterans are looking for alternatives to the customary fireworks displays. Startling noises, such as fireworks, can be a trigger for veterans who served in combat zones where frequent mortar shelling, gunfire and other explosions ingrained second-nature reactions or traumatic memories.

Troops still wary of admitting mental health problems (Gregg Zoroya, 7/3, USAToday) A confidential survey of troops in Afghanistan last year reveals that nearly half of Army troops and 60 percent of Marines who reported psychological problems feel they would be seen as weak if they sought help. A review of previous versions of the survey shows these attitudes have changed little since the first was conducted in 2003.

Former U.S. Marine and amputee brings the heat as rising underwear and fitness model (Nina Golgowski, 6/18, New York Daily News) Alex Minsky, a 24-year-old Marine Corps veteran who lost his right leg below the knee in an explosion in 2009, turned to alcohol to cope with the challenge of recovery. When he finally went sober, he was discovered in a Southern California gym just two days later, launching his career as a fitness and underwear model.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Casualty Who Became a War Hero (Clay Tarver, 7/2, The New York Times) Before he joined the Army, before he became a member of the elite U.S. Army Special Forces, before he fought the Taliban in Afghanistan, Jason Everman was in a rock band. In fact, he was in two. They just happen to be Nirvana and Soundgarden, two of the most well-known alternative rock groups from the 1990s era grunge movement, and Everman just happens to be the one guy who was kicked out of both.

Army vehicles add seatbelts

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Bonnie Campo, News21

The Heavy Recovery Vehicles that soldiers steer into battle are getting retrofitted to increase safety against the high threat of improvised explosive devices. At Fort Bliss, Texas, for example, the U.S. M88A2, M1A2 Abrams and the M2A3 Bradley already have gotten seatbelts that resemble harnesses instead of traditional lap belts.

Felix Mendoza, logistics management specialist, and his crew work on the combat vehicles. Seatbelt modifications prevent soldiers from being bumped around when under attack, he said.

“We inspect the vehicles here, send them off and they get taken apart piece by piece, apply the modifications and then we get them back for a final inspection,” he said.

Mendoza’s team at Ft. Bliss also will begin placing aircraft materials to the HRVs to make them more secure, he said. Those changes include intricate suspension systems to absorb shock from the floor and Kevlar blankets to prevent cabin fires.

Mendoza knows how valuable the alterations can be. He was deployed twice to Iraq, for about a year each and now is a civilian employee at Fort Bliss. Mendoza served from January 1981 to January 2007. He was a New Equipment Training Team Instructor and a drill sergeant at Fort Knox, Ky.; a battalion motor sergeant at Fort Carson, Colo.; a First Sergeant in South Korea, and a task force motor sergeant in Iraq.

He retired as a master sergeant, but his workload hasn’t changed since he returned home.

Mendoza worked on combat vehicles in Iraq too, but said there was one difference: guns and mortar fire. It was a powerful reminder to him that soldiers leave their homes with a strong connection to their country, but in life and death situations, there is only one-thing men and women in uniform fight for — each other.

As he sat inside one of the Bradleys, Mendoza’s voice changed.

“Soldiers fight for their buddy, the guy sitting right here next to them,” he said.

He has reached retirement, but Mendoza continues to serve those willing to die for America.

“I got a call from a guy I went to basic with. He said he needed someone who could work on vehicles and speak Spanish. Well that was me,” Mendoza said.

He said that the companionship shared between those who serve now and served before will always be life long.

His active duty service has ended, but Mendoza still considers his job of retrofitting fighting vehicles a duty that allows him to continue to protect the lives of American warriors.

Camp helps veterans cope with PTSD

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Chase Cook, News21

Matthew XXXXX smokes cigarettes with Jaydee Faulkner at their interim house on June 25th, which is part of the PTSD Foundation of America's Camp Hope in Houston, Texas. The camp offers housing for struggling veterans, like Faulkner who suffers from post-traumatic stress brought on by his service in the Army. (Photo by Chase Cook, News21)

Matthew Marshall smokes cigarettes with Jaydee Faulkner at their interim house on June 25th, which is part of the PTSD Foundation of America’s Camp Hope in Houston, Texas. The camp offers housing for struggling veterans, like Faulkner who suffers from post-traumatic stress brought on by his service in the Army. (Photo by Chase Cook, News21)

If it weren’t for Camp Hope, Jaydee Faulkner would be dead.

“I would have killed myself,” the Army veteran said.

After Faulkner came home from duty in Iraq, he battled with post-traumatic stress disorder. The only emotions he could feel were anger and depression, Faulkner said, and he knew that needed help after he lashed out and struck his wife.

He discovered the PTSD Foundation of America Camp Hope in Houston, Texas. The organization places struggling veterans in transitional housing so they can focus on recovery. Transition can last up to six months, depending on veterans’ needs. The PTSD Foundation also places veterans in support groups and offers faith-based services.

Faulkner has been at Camp Hope for six weeks and said he is improving. His wife and daughter joined him two weeks ago.

Faulkner’s progress and successes by others have motivated Camp Hope officials to double the number of veterans they can house, increasing to 16 by fall 2013. Two more homes are being built to support four people or a family, Retired Lt. Col. Ann Marie LaRoque said.

One of the homes will be available for female veterans as the need arises, LaRoque said.

Each veteran in an interim home gets a single room and shares a living room and kitchen with other residents. They may personalize their space, and some do, with drawings done by their children, for example.

Housing is granted according to when a veteran arrives and the level of need evident.

“There are people we turn away right now because there aren’t enough beds,” LaRoque said. “We can get people into the support groups, but with the current infrastructure we can’t house anyone else.”

Having veterans live at Camp Hope, where they have access to other veteran workers or residents is paramount to their recovery, Executive Director David Maulsby said.

“Civilians have no idea what they have gone through,” he said.

After the two new homes are built in the fall, LaRoque said, attention will shift to construction plans next year for a building that would house 23 veterans, expanding the potential number of residents to 39.

Army Reserve officer faces yearlong unemployment

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Colton Totland, News21

With decades of military experience in areas that ranged from human resources to supply and logistics, Scott Hargrove seemed qualified for the civilian job market.

The former Chief warrant officer four left the Army Reserve in June 2012 when his veterans outreach job was eliminated. The Vietnam era volunteer found himself unemployed after 40 years of military life. His yearlong search for work has been frustrating.

“You’d like to think that wealth of experience is something that employers would jump on,” Hargrove said. “I just don’t like being out of work.”

Hargrove, 60, represents a unique demographic among unemployed post-9/11 veterans, most of whom are younger and much less experienced. The highest unemployment rate among veterans is in the 20-24 age range, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For April, it was at 17.7 percent.

Hargrove said employers are discouraged from hiring veterans because of confusion about what military experience actually means.

“We use acronyms in the military all the time. You need to take your military resume and convert it over to English; you have to put it into civilian terms,” he said.

Veterans and reservists visit the Arizona Army National Guard center in Phoenix. The facility offers career services for service members, notably resume-building advice on how to translate military jargon. (Photo by Colton Totland, News21)

Hargrove in early June visited a National Guard center in Phoenix for advice on his resume. Since 2011, new public and private organizations have offered career services for veterans. Hargrove has attended more than a dozen job fairs, he said. None has yielded desirable job offers.

“There’s a lot of veterans groups trying to help; in many cases, it’s almost overwhelming,” Hargrove said. “It’s just that there are so many initiatives. It would be nice if there were fewer organizations all doing the same thing.”

Navy veteran confronts trauma with exposure therapy

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Riley Johnson, News21

Jason Patterson, seen here in Saddam Hussein’s office in the Baghdad Presidential Palace in 2004, served in the unit that governed Iraq after the invasion. (Photo submitted by Patterson)

Jason Patterson’s traumatic experiences in Baghdad’s Green Zone no longer trigger anxiety in parking lots.

The 45-year-old Navy veteran saw a parking lot as a “death trap” with the openness creating easy targets for car bombs. Patterson’s daily stress over six months as a communications support officer in 2004 Baghdad seemed “like six years,” he said.

Patterson retired from the Navy in 2009, but his Iraq experiences crept up on him in ways he didn’t readily notice. On grocery trips in his La Vista, Neb., hometown, he’d park at the far end of the lot, fearing bombs, he said.

In March 2012, Patterson sought therapy for his post-traumatic stress through the Veterans Affairs hospital in Omaha. The program – prolonged exposure therapy –is one of an array of PTSD treatments allowed by the VA. A therapist would ask Patterson to talk about his trauma, and on his own, confront the situations that triggered it.

Terry North, director of the PTSD program for the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, said that prolonged exposure therapy is designed to help veterans “develop a more balanced view of the world. With trauma, their world turns into ‘The world is a dangerous place.’ ”

In his sessions, Patterson would close his eyes and recall his traumas.

“That’s how you open the gate,” he said.

Parked alone in his silver Honda Civic, Patterson confronted his anxiety. The first few times he’d abandon his one-hour goal and leave after 10 or 15 minutes. But over 12 weeks he began to feel more comfortable. He learned to close his eyes, and think of fishing.

Patterson doesn’t fish more than once or twice every few months in the summer, but fishing helps him cope, he said.

“It brings joy, excitement and a sense of peace,” he said. “As long as I’m fishing, I don’t care.”

Vet honors soldiers on cross-country trek

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Meg Wagner, News21

Chuck Lewis sets out on his first day of a cross-country walk in Everett, Wash. (Photo submitted by Linda Sappington)

Retiree Chuck Lewis considered two ways to spend six months: sitting at home or walking across the country. He chose the latter.

The 62-year-old U.S. Marine Corps and Navy veteran is “Walking for the Fallen,” a cross-country trek raising money for wounded veterans. His 3,300-mile journey began March 31 in Everett, Wash., and is scheduled to end sometime in September at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

A few years ago at Christmas, Lewis stood in uniform on a street corner in his Ronan, Mont., hometown and held a sign that read, “Standing here today in respect of those away.”

He made it a holiday ritual, and passersby started giving him money – 50 cents, $50, whatever they could. When he collected $1,000, he donated it to non-profits that help wounded veterans and their families.

Soon, Montana wasn’t big enough.

“We were sitting on the couch having our coffee like we do every day – like we did every day before he left,” said Linda Sappington, Lewis’ wife. “And he said ‘I’ve done everything I want to accomplish in Montana. Why don’t I walk across America?’”

Sappington was supportive from the start.

“We’ve been married for 20 years, so I know the guy’s a wild man,” she said. “When he has an idea, he has no problem making it happen.”

Lewis walks about 25 miles a day, pushing a two-child stroller that carries essentials: a tent, a sleeping bag, freeze-dried food and a solar panel to charge his phone, among other basics.

Some nights he camps. On others he sleeps in churches or in firehouses. Sometimes, people who’ve learned of his journey offer him a bed and laundry use.

His goal is $50,000. So far, he’s raised $14,100 as of June 12, Lewis said.

He raises awareness, too. Lewis walks in honor of those overseas and in remembrance of those who’ve died.

“Six months is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to the soldiers who never come home,” he said.

On being a veteran who’s reporting on veterans

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Chad Garland, News21

A veteran salutes during the posting of the colors National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. (Photo by Chad Garland, News21)

If you’ve met one veteran, you’ve met one veteran.

This seemingly simple message was an Army veteran’s refrain to a room full of reporters in Arlington Heights, Ill., May 10.

Erica Borggren, who served in Iraq as an Army officer in 2008, is director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Reporters had gathered for a seminar about covering post-9/11 veterans, but several acknowledged they didn’t know a single veteran or where to find one.

I was there as a News21 Fellow, but I am also a veteran. Until August 2012, I was one of roughly 76,000 post-9/11 veterans living in Illinois. I never served in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I faced many of the obstacles that war vets face — finding my place in a community, pursuing a career, completing higher education, and navigating the labyrinthine U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

At the University of Illinois, I was often the one veteran whom student reporters knew how to find, probably because of my duties as president of the Student Veterans of America chapter. I fielded calls or emails, but I was disappointed often by the repetitive, “I’d like to talk to a veteran who’s having problems.”

Yes, veterans have problems. I know a guy who got blackout drunk at least once a week to shut out recurring memories of his experiences at war. Another sometimes awakes in the night and forgets whether he’s home or still in Iraq.

I know a Marine who suffers acute bouts of anxiety and smashed his laptop against a wall out of frustration with schoolwork. But he also intervened when several drunks harassed a bus driver. He defused that situation without violence.

Certainly veterans across the spectrum of service experience can use a hand. In my reporting role at News21, I’ll delve into the work done by veteran support organizations and nonprofits to aid these men and women.

Veterans like my fellow Marine defy the stereotypes of damaged individuals. All, though, face varying forms of judgment.

A Navy veteran, married with two young children, earned a degree in engineering physics at one of the top schools in the country. When he was interviewing with potential employers, a recruiter told him not to mention military experience; it was a liability.

Another Marine veteran, orphaned at 6, was raised by his oldest sister on Chicago’s Southside. He went to Illinois to study electrical engineering so he can develop the technology he wished he’d had as an infantryman in Iraq.

I know a dozen more veterans who are responding to the needs in their communities by getting involved in education, politics, social work, medicine, research, law enforcement and several other fields.

I got into journalism in part because I saw the need to tell the overlooked stories of these veterans and others. I didn’t expect I’d become part of the News21 national investigation into problems that veterans face and telling their unique stories, but I can’t imagine a more timely and important topic.

I’m looking to turn my experience into an asset, not a liability. But I’m just one veteran — there are millions of us across the country.

Walking for their brothers and sisters

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Chase Cook, News21

Top from left to right: Ruck Up members and veterans AJ Paige, Nicholas Leone, Don Spencer, Eddie Brown and John Pajak pose for a photo with team member (bottom) Sue Barton, and Miles for Military team member and veteran Angie Guss. They participated in the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk in Washington, D.C. to raise money for suicide prevention efforts, which attracted about 1700 walkers and 300 volunteers. (Photo by Chase Cook, News21)

With the flag of the Green Mountain Boys — the Vermont National Guard — tucked into the straps of his backpack, Eddie Brown stands among fellow veterans awaiting their 16-mile walk.

Brown is part of the Ruck Up team, Veterans who have served in Panama, Macedonia, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. They all are in the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk to remember service members who died by suicide and to support veterans struggling with mental illnesses.

An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide a day, according to a February report by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Three of Brown’s comrades-in-arms have committed suicide since his last deployment three years ago.

Brown and other veterans say that one of the main reasons for suicide is a disconnect between those who fight and those who don’t.

“I hate to put this stereotype out there, but civilians don’t understand us,” Brown said. “We are our own little community, brotherhood.”

The Ruck Up team of five veterans came together for the overnight walk to not only remember the fallen, but to remind non-veterans that a community fought for their country and some now feel abandoned or lost among those they swore to protect. Ruck Up teamed with Miles for Military, which featured family members of servicemen, women and veterans who have committed suicide.

The walk took the two groups throughout downtown Washington, D.C., passing the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and other historical sites as they completed the 16-mile journey. They began at 7:30 p.m., and crossed the finish line around 4 a.m.

AJ Paige, a Panama and Gulf War veteran, walked for his fellow rangers who committed suicide. Paige thinks the estimated number — 22 veterans committing suicide a day — is higher. Veterans back from deployment are cast into the world without their battalion, their unit, their platoon, Paige said.

“The day you discharge, you are the most lonely person in the world,” he said. “It is like being cut off. It takes a long time for folks to realize they are not alone.”

One of the ways non-veterans and others can help veterans struggling with suicidal thoughts is to listen, those in the group said.

“We are not strange. We are not mutants. We are your brothers, your sons, your sisters, your moms, your dads and we aren’t any different than when we left, but we’re scarred,” Paige said. “If people aren’t willing to deal with that, we are going to continue getting lost.”

If you or a loved one know a military service member or veteran in emotional distress, please call the Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-8255 (Press 1).

Post-9/11 veteran writes names of more than 2,000 fallen soldiers from memory

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Rachel Leingang

By Anthony Cave, News21

Ron White writes out a name of a fallen soldier from the Afghanistan war on a 50-foot memorial wall at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on May 27, 2013. (Photo by Anthony Cave, News21)

Navy veteran Ron White can remember 7,000 consecutive words. But he still forgets everyday items, like the blender to make his morning protein shake.

“I have a very average memory, but when I use this system, it’s extraordinary,” he said.

White, a memory expert, took a seminar when he was 18 years old. For more than 22 years, he has used the loci technique, which associates names with everyday objects and locations — his stove or the inside of a bookstore — to remember large quantities of information. White teaches a memory class and even has a set of instructional CDs.

Beyond using it on school exams or to win memory competitions, he took on a far greater challenge in May 2012.

White, who served in Afghanistan in 2007, started memorizing every fallen soldier from the Afghanistan war, more than 2,200 names.

White traveled across the globe, from Africa to Boston, with a black folder that contained pages of the fallen soldiers to memorize.

“I kind of feel like I’m taking these guys with me,” he said.

At Chase Field in Phoenix on Memorial Day, White wrote the names, one-by-one, on a blank, 50-foot memorial wall. It took him 10 hours. White’s purpose is for people to remember the soldiers. His efforts help raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Still, emotions run high when writing the names. Sometimes, family members stand and watch him.

Post-9/11 veteran Ron White wrote out more than 2200 names of fallen soldiers from the Afghanistan war on Memorial Day at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on May 27, 2013. (Photo by Anthony Cave, News21)

“When you’re getting ready to write their name and they’ve waited an hour to see you write their son or daughter’s name, the emotions well up,” White said. “I just got to remind myself ‘stay focused on this moment.’”

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