A Fallen U.S. Soldier Is Returned To Her Family

Daily Mail: 'Damn near everyone on the plane was crying': Delta passenger captures the heart-wrenching moment a fallen soldier's body is removed from an aircraft and greeted by her weeping family

* Moment a fallen soldier returning home to her family brings flight to tears
* Mike Helms, who took a photo of the scene, shared it on Facebook
* The story has since garnered 200,000 shares on the social media site
* Helms said that nearly everyone was in tears when the family greeted the casket
* A member of Newton's family reached out to Helms to personally thank him
* Brooke Newton, 25, died on August 30 in San Diego, California

The moment a fallen soldier was returned to her family in Oklahoma was so overwhelming for passengers on a commercial flight it brought nearly everyone to tears.

Passenger Mike Helms said when his plane landed at Will Rogers World Airport Thursday night, the crew informed passengers of the special significance of the flight.

'When we stopped at the terminal, the pilot announced that he would like to inform us that we were flying one of our fallen soldiers home to her family,' Helms wrote to Facebook.

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WNU Editor: Our prayers are with the family and loved ones.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill Presses The Pentagon On Staged Arrival Ceremonies For Fallen Soldiers

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (L) and Secretary of the Army John McHugh (2nd L) salute as a U.S. Army carry team transfers the remains of Army Pfc. Cody J. Patterson of Philomath, Oregon at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, October 9, 2013. REUTERS/Roland Balik/U.S. Air Force/Handout

McCaskill Demands Explanation Over Staged Arrival Ceremonies For Fallen Soldiers -- FOX News

WASHINGTON – Sen. Claire McCaskill is pressing the Pentagon for answers following reports -- and an admission by the U.S. Department of Defense -- that it staged “arrival ceremonies” for fallen soldiers.

“This is even more evidence that these recovery efforts are suffering from systematic problems and a lack of coordinated leadership,” McCaskill said in a statement. “Families in this community just want officials to be honest and forthright about the government’s efforts – instead, what they’re often getting is false hope and fake ceremonies.”

Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command -- a unit in the Defense Department -- has been holding arrival ceremonies for seven years, with flag-draped coffins being carried off cargo planes as though they held the remains of American troops that had just been returned, according to an initial investigation by NBC News. However, the remains typically were on site before each ceremony began, at a lab where they were undergoing analysis. The report focused on ceremonies at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.

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Previous Post: "Arrival Ceremonies" For U.S. MIAs Have Been A Phony Exercise In PR

"Arrival Ceremonies" For U.S. MIAs Have Been A Phony Exercise In PR

Pentagon Unit Held 'Phony' Ceremonies For MIAs, Using Planes That Can't Fly -- NBC

HONOLULU — A unit of the U.S. Department of Defense has been holding so-called "arrival ceremonies" for seven years, with an honor guard carrying flag-draped coffins off of a cargo plane as though they held the remains of missing American service men and women returning that day from old battlefields.

After NBC News raised questions about the arrival ceremonies, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday that no honored dead were in fact arriving, and that the planes used in the ceremonies often couldn't even fly but were towed into position.

The solemn ceremonies at a military base in Hawaii are a sign of the nation's commitment to returning and identifying its fallen warriors. The ceremonies have been attended by veterans and families of MIAs, led to believe that they were witnessing the return of Americans killed in World War II, Vietnam and Korea.

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My Comment: A distressing read .... but one that should not surprise us.

White House Opposes Legislation To Pay U.S. Military Death Benefits

RENDERING HONORS

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, center left, renders honors as part of a team carrying the transfer case containing the remains of Army Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, who died in Afghanistan, during a dignified transfer on Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del., Oct. 9, 2013. Army Secretary John M. McHugh, center right, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, far right, participated in the ceremony. DOD photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Aaron Hostutler

Jay Carney Says 'We Don't Need Legislation' To Pay Military Death Benefits -- Washington Examiner

President Obama opposed passage of funding for veterans' death benefits because the Fisher House Foundation has agreed to cover the costs, according to his spokesman.

"The legislation is not necessary," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters Thursday when asked about legislation approved by the House and Senate that would pay for those benefits. "Our view has been, this piecemeal funding is, again, a gimmick."

Carney faulted Congress on Wednesday for not covering the death benefits in the Pay Our Military Act, though the Congressional Research Service rendered a legal opinion that the legislation did fund the program.

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My Comment: Both the House and The Senate have approved this legislation .... if President Obama should decide to veto this .... it will be over-written by Congress, and .... here is an easy prediction .... his popularity polls will sink to the low twenties (if not lower).

U.S. Government Scrambles Quickly To Restore Military Death Benefits

House Votes To Restore Military Death Benefits -- CNN

(CNN) -- The U.S. House voted unanimously Wednesday to resume paying survivor benefits to the families of slain troops. The benefits, which include a $100,000 payment, had been suspended because of the government shutdown.

Shortly before the House vote, President Barack Obama ordered administration officials to move quickly to find a way to resolve the situation, his spokesman said.

"The president was very disturbed to learn of this problem, and he directed the Department of Defense to work with the Office of Management and Budget and his lawyers to develop a possible solution, and he expects this to be fixed today," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

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Update #1: Administration scrambles to restore military death benefits -- USA Today
Update #2: House votes unanimously to restore military death benefit snagged by shutdown -- NBC

My Comment: A day late and a penny short.

Update: House votes for death benefits, but Defense reaches agreement with donor -- Washington Post

U.S. Military Death Benefits Denied To Families Of Fallen Soldiers

A combination of pictures shows (L-R) Special Agent Joseph M. Peters, 24, 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno, 25, Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, 24, and Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 25, are pictured in this combination photo of undated handout photos released to Reuters on October 8, 2013. REUTERS/U.S. Army/Handout

Shutdown Slows Aid To Families Of U.S. Troops Killed In Afghanistan -- Reuters

(Reuters) - For the families of four U.S. soldiers killed by insurgents in Afghanistan on Sunday, the partial U.S. government shutdown will take a particularly personal toll.

The Pentagon says it is not allowed to pay these families a "death gratuity," as long as the shutdown continues. The same goes for the family of a Marine who died in Afghanistan on Saturday and any others who die during the budget impasse.

A legal review of a law meant to shield the military from the shutdown determined that, while the Pentagon can promptly pay salaries and other benefits, the $100,000 tax-free payment to families of fallen troops is not covered.

The payment usually comes within a couple of days of a service member's death, helping the family grapple with the immediate financial needs before other federal government benefits become available.

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More News On U.S. Military Death Benefits Being Denied To Families Of Fallen Soldiers

'Just disgusting': Outrage after shutdown delays payment for families of fallen -- NBC
Shutdown Delays Benefits to Families of War Dead -- Wall Street Journal
Shutdown outrage: Military death benefits denied to families of fallen troops -- Washington Times
US Military Won't Compensate Families For Dead Soldiers During Government Shutdown -- Business Insider
Mother of fallen soldier denied death benefits: 'I won't ever understand it' -- Today News
Outrage builds over lapse in funding for families of fallen heroes -- CNN
Military death benefits suspended amid shutdown -- MSNBC
The Worst Consequence of the Government Shutdown -- Jim Geraghty, NPR

My Comment: The Pentagon and the Commander in Chief have the authority to make an exception to this even with the government shutdown .... if they are smart they should correct this immediately.

A Mother Talks About The Loss Of Her Only Son In Afghanistan

Margaret Evison talks about hearing of her son's death and coming to terms with it

Soldier's Death In Afghanistan Through The Eyes Of His Mother -- Caroline Wyatt, BBC

It is a mother's story that is deeply moving but often painful to read, emerging from the deep wounds of the loss of an only son.


Or as Margaret Evison puts it in her opening chapter: "This is the story of a journey... through the love one has for others, the intensities of care and compassion we feel for each other and the structures we humans have built to protect ourselves from those great heights and depths. I understand more completely now: when there is love, there will also be pain and suffering."

So far 437 British troops have now died in the war in Afghanistan. One of them was 26-year-old Lt Mark Evison, killed by a Taliban bullet as he led his men in Helmand in May 2009.

Mark survived long enough to be brought back to the UK, where he died of his wounds. His mother, father and sister were at his bedside.

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My comment: Our prayers are with the family and loved ones.

Fallen Soldiers Deserve Better

Heartbreak: Four months after his son's death, Tom Logan said he was saddened all over again when a UPS delivery truck brought a letter of condolence from President Obama

Father's Fury At Obama's 'Disrespectful' Form Letter Sent To Him By UPS To Offer Condolences For Son Killed In Afghanistan -- Daily Mail

* Tom Logan angered to receive 'impersonal' condolence letter from the White House four months after son's death in Afghanistan
* Investigation finds the White House has been sending same condolence letters to families of foreign soldiers for years

An anguished father says he was saddened to receive an 'impersonal’ form letter from the president regarding the death of his son in Afghanistan - as it is revealed that the White House has been sending the same exact letters to families of fallen troops for years.

Back in January, Tom Logan, of Willis, Texas, was ecstatic when it appeared that his son, USMC Cpl Joseph Logan, had come home on a surprise visit.

But the man at the door that day was not Joseph. He was a fellow Marine who had come to deliver the heartbreaking news that Mr Logan’s youngest son had been killed in action.

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My Comment: The White House is doing the same mistake that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld did in 2004 .... proving once again that Washington never learns.

Update: More proof that the political season is now in high gear .... Slain ex-US Navy Seal Glen Doherty's mother rebukes Romney .... daughter disagrees.

Condolence Letters From The White House For The Families of Fallen Soldiers Are Signed By Electric Pen

Obama Honored Fallen SEALs By Sending Their Parents a Form Letter Signed By Electric Pen -- Gateway Pundit

On August 6, 2011, 30 US service members were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter they were being transported in crashed in Wardak province, Afghanistan. It was the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. 17 members of the elite Navy SEALs were killed in the crash.

Yesterday, Karen and Billy Vaughn, parents of Aaron Carson Vaughn, spoke at the Defending the Defenders forum sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots outside the RNC Convention in Tampa. Karen brought a copy of the form letter they were sent following their son’s death.

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My Comment: President Obama is not the only one guilty of robo-signing.

Soldier's Widow Mourns Her "American Hero"

In Tampa, Soldier's Widow Mourns Her "American Hero" -- Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA — Every morning, Sarah Sitton opens her eyes and remembers. She remembers the knock on the door and the moment of fear. She remembers her 9-month-old son Brodey, who never got to play catch with his dad. And she remembers the love of her life: A soldier who died in Afghanistan a month before he was scheduled to return home.

"Every day it's a new struggle and it's something new to live with," Sarah , 21, said at a news conference Wednesday at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office where her mother works. "And every morning it starts all over again."

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My Comment: Our prayers are with her.

6 Crewmen Shot Down Over Laos Are Finally Laid To Rest At Arlington Cemetery

Combat: The servicemen were flying in an AC-47D when it was shot down. Daily Mail

Crew Shot Down Over Laos Finally Laid To Rest -- Military.com

On Christmas Eve in 1965, a World War II-vintage "Gooney Bird" rattled and rolled to takeoff from the Da Nang airfield in Vietnam on a secret mission to a war in Laos that the U.S. officially denied was being fought.

Nearly 47 years later, the Air Force crew of six aboard came home to the military's "Last Bivouac" in Arlington National Cemetery. Today they were lowered into the ground as a group in a single casket that was, in a sense, a time capsule from generations-ago conflicts whose politics and diplomacy were possibly even more muddled and maddening than those the nation has faced since 9/11.

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More News On The Return Of 6 Fallen Airmen And Their Burial At Arlington Cemetery

Closure for families of airmen killed in 1965 plane crash, presumed dead but not found for 50 years -- Daily Mail
US military buries airmen killed in 1965 crash -- Seattle Times/AP
46 years later, US military 6 airmen lost in Laos plane crash buried together in Arlington -- Washington Post/AP
Six Airmen Lost Over Laos in 1965 Buried at Arlington -- ABC News
6 airmen lost in Laos crash being buried -- UPI

My Comment: R.I.P.

Wife Of The First American Servicemember To Be Killed In The Afghan War Still Struggling With Loss

Widow Of First Service Member To Die In Afghanistan War Still Struggling With Loss, VA -- CBS News

(CBS News) Renae Chapman, the wife of the first American servicemember to be killed in the Afghanistan War, said the ten years since his death has been "really tough."

Chapman said she wishes "she could say it gets better, but it doesn't."

Her husband, Sergeant First Class Nathan Ross Chapman was a member of the special forces and was killed in Afghanistan less than three months after the official start of the war. His death is remembered as the 2000th American servicemember was killed Wednesday in the war that has been America's longest, lasting more than ten years.

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My Comment: Our prayers are with her and all the other families who are suffering greatly from these wars.

Portrait Of A Widow's Grief

Happy: The couple would have celebrated their third anniversary this June - when Jason was due home

Portrait Of A Widow's Grief: Wife Of Fallen U.S. Soldier Weeps As She Clings To His Coffin As It Arrives Back In Tennessee -- Daily Mail

It is the heartbreaking image of the undocumented victims of war.

Here, Ashley Edens collapses on the coffin of her 22-year-old husband, Army Spc. Jason K. Edens, as his body arrives in Nashville, Tennessee from service in Afghanistan.

More than 100 friends, relatives and Patriot Guards gathered at Smyrna Airport to welcome the fallen soldier home on Thursday after his death on April 26.

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My Comment: Our prayers are with his family and loved ones.

Army Medic Husband Dies In Afghanistan While Chatting On SKYPE With His Wife

Family: Capt Clark leaves behind his wife Susan Orellana-Clark - who witnessed his death on Skype - and two children aged three and nine

Wife Saw Army Medic Husband Die In Afghanistan While Chatting On SKYPE -- Daily Mail

* Army officials say Capt Bruce Kevin Clarke died of natural causes
* Non-combat related death and not suicide
* Family said: 'Although the circumstances were unimaginable, Bruce's wife and extended family will be forever thankful that he and his wife were together in his last moments.'

The family of a Texas-based Army medic serving in Afghanistan says his wife witnessed the officer's death, which happened as the two were video chatting via Skype.

A spokesman at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center told MailOnline that Capt Bruce Kevin Clark's death on Monday came from natural causes and was not combat-related or suicide.

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Update: Nurse in Afghanistan dies in Skype chat with wife -- AJC/AP

My Comment: Our prayers are with the family and loved ones.

U.S. Soldier Dies From Rabies After Being Deployed In Afghanistan

Tragedy: Shumaker was bitten as he tried to stop a pair of stray dogs that had attacked the base's pets

Soldier Dies Of RABIES Eight Months After Being Bitten By Stray Dog In Afghanistan -- Daily Mail

The feds are pushing for increased awareness in the wake of a soldier's death last year after he was attacked by a rabid dog while on active duty.

Spc Kevin Shumaker was bitten on the hand by a stray while breaking up a dog fight at a remote Afghanistan base in January 2011.

But it wasn’t until eight months later - and after his Afghan deployment - that the 24-year-old began to display symptoms of rabies at Fort Drum in New York.

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Update #1: Rabid Afghan Dog Bite Kills US Soldier -- Military.com/AFP
Update #2: N.Y. soldier died of rabies from dog bite -- UPI
Update #3: Rabid Afghan dog bite kills US soldier -- Sydney Morning Herald
Update #4: Soldier's rabies death points to vaccine's importance, CDC says -- MSNBC

My Comment: The parents of Spc. Kevin Shumaker are justifiably upset with the Army's response to their son's illness and death .... but .... many soldiers in the field love animals, and to forbid pets on bases will be a difficult order to follow.

A Soldier's Ultimate Sacrifice

‘Hero’ U.S. Soldier Gives Life to Save Afghan Girl -- ABC News

It is a compelling war-zone story of heroism of a U.S. soldier who gave his own life to save an Afghan girl from certain injury.

Sgt. Dennis Weichel, 29, died in Afghanistan last week as he lifted an Afghan girl who was in the path of a large military vehicle barreling down a road.

Weichel, a Rhode Island National Guardsman, was riding along in a convoy in Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan when some children were spotted on the road ahead.

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My Comment: Our prayers are with his family and loved ones.

The Loss Of 2 Brothers In Afghanistan Hits An Arkansas Family

In this undated photo provided by the Wise family in Little Rock, Ark., mother Mary Wise, right, poses with her children, from left, Beau, Heather, Ben and Jeremy. Ben and Jeremy were later killed in southwest Asia. Photo: Courtesy Of Wise Family / AP

Arkansas Family Loses 2 Sons In Afghanistan War -- FOX News/AP

PRESCOTT, Ark. – When their older brother Jeremy died in Afghanistan, Ben and Beau Wise did what loyal brothers and soldiers do. They stood solemnly in uniform at his memorial, laid red roses in front of his picture, and Ben spoke bravely to a chapel full of loved ones who came to mourn.

Soldiers themselves, Ben and Beau knew what their fallen brother had experienced and seen. They knew the difficulties of being a warrior and a devoted husband, and what a testament it was to Jeremy's character that he had excelled at both.

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My Comment: It's reading stories like this one that brings home the true high cost of war. Our prayers are with the family and loved ones.

No Respect For Our War Heroes

The plaque in honour of the nine soldiers who died in 2007

Vandals Destroy Afghanistan Memorial In The Same Week Six Soldiers Are Killed -- The Telegraph

Vandals have destroyed a memorial to nine soldiers killed in Afghanistan in 2007.

It comes in the same week that six serviceman were killed in a single explosion while on patrol in the country.

The acrylic plaque to the men of the Royal Anglian Regiment was kicked to pieces along with wooden crosses and a wreath.

They had been placed at a memorial garden in the grounds of the regiment’s Chapel of Remembrance in Essex.

The attack has been condemned as “senseless” by the families of the fallen as the monument was plastic and did not have any value as scrap.

One of the men commemorated at the garden was Lance Corporal Alex Hawkins, who was killed, aged 22, in an explosion in Helmand province in July 2007.

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Update: After Libya shame, memorial to Afghan dead is wrecked by vandals... in ESSEX -- Daily Mail

My Comment: Completely senseless.

Two Stories That Illustrate The Cost Of War To Those Who Serve And To Their Families

Tragic: Hayley Fisk, right, was delighted to receive a Valentine's Day card from soldier fiance Kyle Marshall, left, but joy turned to heartbreak when moments later, she was told he had been killed in Afghanistan

Tragedy As Fiancee Opened Valentine's Card From Soldier On Afghan Frontline... And Hours Later Was Told He Has Been Killed -- Daily Mail

* Paratrooper's father speaks of the family's ongoing grief as his first anniversary approaches
* The couple had just bought a house and had been due to get married in June last year
* Kyle Marshall had been offered 'double his wages' to stay at a Tyneside tile shop but felt he had 'unfinished business' with the Army

The heartbreaking story of a woman who was told her solider fiance had been killed in Afghanistan on Valentine's Day has today emerged.

Hayley Fisk had been excited to receive a Valentine's Day card from Paratrooper Kyle Marshall last year.

But her joy soon turned to heartache after soldiers arrived at her door to tell her the 24-year-old from Howdon, North Tyneside, had been killed after stepping on an explosive planted by the Taliban.

Today the soldier's father Gary has spoken of the family's ongoing grief as his first anniversary approaches.

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Tragic: Iraq vet Jason Pemberton killed himself and his wife Tiffany

Purple Heart War Hero Kills Himself And His Wife After Suffering From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -- Daily Mail

* 'This kid was a hero', says local police chief

A highly decorated veteran of the Iraq war shot and killed his wife before fatally shooting himself at their home yesterday.

Jason Pemberton, who had won three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following his service in the Middle East.

The 28-year-old soldier was described as a 'hero' by the local police chief, who said that Tiffany Pemberton, 25, was 'a casualty of war' despite never having fought.

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My Comment: Our prayers go to the families and to their loved ones.

Burial Problems Found At VA Cemeteries

Golden Gate National Cemetery

Burial Problems Found At VA Cemeteries -- Washington Post

The Department of Veterans Affairs has found scores of misplaced headstones and at least eight cases of people buried in the wrong places at several military cemeteries across the country.

The review by the VA’s National Cemetery Administration follows the revelation of widespread burial problems at Arlington National Cemetery, which touched off congressional inquiries and a criminal investigation.

After the scandal at Arlington, which included mismarked and unmarked graves and people buried in the wrong spots, some veterans groups and members of Congress had called for the cemetery, which is run by the Army, to be transferred to the VA.

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My Comment: My blood boils every-time I read a story like this one.