America’s Oldest Living Veteran

America’s Oldest Living Veteran, 107, To Spend Memorial Day On Porch With Cigar -- Lookout/Yahoo News

America's oldest living veteran plans to celebrate Memorial Day at his Texas home like he always does: on the porch, smoking a cigar and sipping a cup of coffee stiffened with whiskey.

Richard Arvine Overton, a 107-year-old World War II veteran, was formally recognized as the country's oldest living veteran earlier this month, traveling to Washington, D.C., for the first time. But he'd rather not have all the attention.

“I don’t know, some people might do something for me, but I’ll be glad just to sit down and rest,” Overton, who lives in Austin, told FoxNews.com. “I’m no young man no more.”

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Update: America's Oldest Veteran Richard Arvine Overton -- FOX News

My Comment: Wow .... he has seen a lot.

War Hero Fighting Deportation Over His Passport Application

Veteran Now Fights Deportation, Accused of Lying on Passport -- New York Times

MIAMI — A veteran of both the Army and the Navy who served with distinction in Iraq and at Guantánamo Bay has spent the last month in federal lock-up here because the government wants to deport him

Not only did he lie on a passport application, prosecutors say, but he was never even a citizen.

But a lawyer for the man, Elisha L. Dawkins, 26, has a different story, one that begins with Mr. Dawkins’s arrival here from the Bahamas as an infant. He was raised to believe he was a citizen, his lawyer contends, something the state and federal authorities did not challenge during his seven years in the military.

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Update #1: Decorated Iraq War Victim Elisha Dawkins Sits in Miami Jail for Lying on Passport Application -- Miami New Times
Update #2: Veteran may be deported for passport lie -- UPI

My Comment: This is wrong on every level, but unfortunately for Elisha L. Dawkins, the law is the law. I pray and hope that the prosecutors will agree to a pretrial diversion program so he can avoid a conviction.

How Surfing Is Helping U.S. Veterans Recover From War

Army veteran Matthew Doyle, 26, catches a wave at a surf therapy program for military veterans in Manhattan Beach, California May 14, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

Surf Therapy Helps U.S. Veterans Recover From War -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Matthew Doyle grew up by the beach in Santa Monica, California, and with his slim physique and tattooed forearms, looks like he has been surfing his entire life.

But it took three tours of duty half a world away, many sleepless nights, and meeting a woman named Carly before the 26-year-old U.S. Army veteran braved the waves on a surfboard.

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My Comment: I concur with this post. Being always outdoors and active .... that is exactly what is needed for anyone who needs a little push to get back into the game of life.

Ranking America’s Top 50 Cities For Veterans

VETERANS MARCH - Tom Selleys, right, an 86-year-old World War II veteran, and Terri Schwartz carry the U.S. flag during a 29-mile march from Fargo, N.D., to Abercrombie, N.D., in honor of Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2010. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp

Top 50 Cities for Veterans -- The Daily Beast

Nearly 22 million veterans will be honored in parades across the country today. The Daily Beast crunched the numbers to figure out America’s most popular places for military veterans.

Across the country, military veterans are being honored today, as parades wind through Los Angeles and New York City and nearly every city in between. In Portland, veterans can get into the Oregon Zoo for free. Birmingham, Alabama, hosts a national award reception and a world peace luncheon. And at Mount Vernon, visitors can attend a concert of an all-veteran barbershop chorus and hear “Martha Washington” discuss her work with veterans.

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WNU Editor: The list is here.

The Experiences Of War Will Always Stay With Our Soldiers

BUNKER BUSINESS
A U.S. Army soldier provide security while coalition soldiers examine the inside of an Afghan army ammunition bunker during a visit to remove munitions left over from the Russian occupation in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, May 24, 2010. To prevent harm to Afghan and coalition soldiers, forces left ammunition behind for destruction at a later date. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt

For Some Veterans, Wars Never End -- Christian Science Monitor

Troops now coming home from Iraq -- and those scheduled to return from Afghanistan next year -- often carry the war with them.

In the town next to mine, a World War I Browning machine gun commands a quiet intersection. Several times a year, small flags are planted next to the much-repainted weapon. Most days, passersby don't give it a second thought, even though the conflict it commemorates was so epic in its day that President Woodrow Wilson called it “the war to end war.”

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My Comment: Truth be told .... for vets who experienced intense combat, the war will always stay with them. My father was a World War 2 veteran who fought for the Soviet Army .... until he passed away 5 years ago the nightmares and horrid experiences always stayed with him.

A Veteran's History Has An Impact In A Court Room

Photo: Timothy Oldani, a former Marine convicted of selling stolen equipment, could have spent nearly five years in prison. A federal judge gave him five months. Andrew Spear for The New York Times

Defendants Fresh From War Find Service Counts in Court -- New York Times

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — When Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down Timothy Oldani’s federal sentence for selling stolen military equipment on eBay, he gave the former Marine a break.

In Iraq, Mr. Oldani had performed the jangling work of detonating improvised explosive devices and had seen six of his fellow Marines burned alive in an armored vehicle. He left the service with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress syndrome that, the judge concluded, had clouded his judgment. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the prison term could have been nearly five years; Judge Chambers decided on just five months, with three years of supervised release and treatment.

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My Comment: I guess there are some of us who are above the law .... to a certain point.

As to what is my take .... I am weak when it comes to veterans .... especially those with Purple Hearts. Because there was no violence involved, I would also have given him a lighter sentence.

Unemployment Rate For Young U.S. Vets Hit 21.1%

From Military.com:

WASHINGTON — The unemployment rate last year for young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans hit 21.1 percent, the Labor Department said Friday, reflecting a tough obstacle combat veterans face as they make the transition home from war.

The number was well above the 16.6 percent jobless rate for non-veterans of the same ages, 18 to 24.

As of last year, 1.9 million had deployed for the wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Some have struggled with mental health problems, addictions, and homelessness as they return home. Difficulty finding work can make the adjustment harder.

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My Comment: A friend of mine runs a security company. He finds the best workers to be young vets.

Unfortunately, out of work veterans is a common problem in all countries .... it appears that veterans always have a hard time in adjusting back into civilian life.

Billions Allocated For Hommeless Vets

From BND.com:

More than 130,000 veterans homeless.

More than 130,000 military veterans are living on America's streets at any given time -- or roughly one third of the nation's homeless population, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs survey.

Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of poverty, lack of family support and dismal living conditions, such as in cheap hotels.

Peter Dougherty, director of the VA's homeless veterans program, answered some questions about the problem of homeless veterans.

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My Comment: I suspect that the homeless problem is far worse than what is being publicized and quoted. I am not in the field, but 130,000 strikes me as a low-ball number.

Still .... it is good to see that some attention to this problem is now being prioritized.

Female Veterans: Our Forgotten Soldiers

The Forgotten And Forsaken U.S. War Veteran: Females -- Examiner

Retired United States Air Force Captain Barbara A. Wilson – aka Captain Barb and/or Captain Critical – likes to remind visitors to her website that “women are veterans too.”

The self-proclaimed ‘skeptical, irascible, doubting, iconoclastic pontificator’ uses the second paragraph of her blog to ask, “Did you know that there are almost two million women veterans?”

Females have served in some capacity in all of America’s wars, but nearly 230,000 have served in the Middle East since September 2001, and according to the Department of Defense, at least 120 have died (and more than 600 have been wounded) while doing so.

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More News On Female Veterans

Female vets face homelessness, dearth of services -- AP
Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance -- AP
When Jenny Comes Marching Home, Few Seem to Care About Female Veterans -- About.com
VA clinics transform as more women join ranks -- San Francisco Chronicle
Female combat vets: Outside looking in -- Capital Hill Blue

Stories Like This One Get's My Blood Boiling

Fraud Hits Disabled Veterans -- Miami Herald

A government investigation found that fraud and abuse are diverting millions of dollars in contracts intended to go to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.

Millions of dollars worth of government contracts designated for service-disabled veterans are being siphoned off by fraud and abuse, according to a recent government report.

In a case-study of 10 firms, including one Florida company, the Government Accountability Office found ineligible companies had won about $100 million worth of contracts earmarked for service-disabled veteran-owned companies.

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Update: Major Fraud in Disabled Vets Small Business Program -- AllGov.com

My Comment: My gut tells me that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

No Disabled Vet Should Endure This

Photo: Survivor: Since returning to Britain from Afghanistan, Sapper Matthew Weston has become the target of cruel jibes about his disabilities

Hero Soldier Who Lost Three Limbs In Afghanistan Taunted About His Disabilities By Teenagers -- The Daily Mail

After losing three limbs fighting for his country, Matthew Weston might have expected to be treated with respect by the British public.

But the 20-year-old - who is one of the most seriously injured soldiers to survive since Britain began fighting in Afghanistan in 2001 - has instead had to endure cruel taunts in the street.

Yesterday his family were joined by politicians in condemning the cowards who insulted him.

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My Comment: My doctor always warns me about my high blood pressure .... it is very high right now.

WWI Veteran Stone Dies

Photo: World War 1 veteran William Stone, then 103, smiles during a ceremony on the 90th anniversary of the beginning of World War One at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, August 2004. Stone, one of just four surviving British veterans of World War I, died over the weekend at the age of 108, the Ministry of Defence said Monday. (AFP/Carl de Souza)

From Yahoo News/AP:

LONDON (AFP) – William Stone, one of just four surviving British veterans of World War I, died over the weekend at the age of 108, the Ministry of Defence said Monday.

Stone served 27 years with Britain's Royal Navy, spanning both world wars, and passed away peacefully on Saturday, the HMS Hood Association, the veterans' grouping of one of the ships he served on, confirmed on its website.

Born September 23, 1900, Stone first tried to join the Royal Navy aged just 15, but his father refused to sign off on the attempt because he already had three elder sons serving in the military.

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