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Can Condo Association Force Vet to Give Up Support Dog?

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Robert Brady

By Debbie Gregory.

The federal government will look into whether 70-year-old  Vietnam veteran Robert L. Brady will have to give up Bane, the mixed-breed sidekick that his psychologist deemed as an emotional support dog.

Brady filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after a judicial arbitrator determined the dog exceeded the homeowners association weight limit by six pounds.

Evicting animals based on their weight is “senseless” because size doesn’t predict whether a dog will attack someone. It is also difficult to predict what a puppy will weigh by the time they reach adulthood, which is already too late.

HUD will consider whether the case violates fair-housing laws by forcing the widower to surrender the animal despite Orlando Veteran Administration psychologist Matthew Waesche’s recommendation that Brady keep the dog.

“The reason I don’t want to lose him is that he keeps my mind off the war and everything. He’s just a wonderful companion,” said the widower, who retired last year from working as a theme-park bus driver. “My life would be lost without a good companion and that’s why I’m doing all I can to keep from having to get rid of him.”

Waesche wrote in an October 2015 letter that Brady was under his care and that the dog appears to help keep his owner’s mental health issues in remission.

Unlike service dogs trained to assist disabled people with daily tasks, emotional support animals don’t require training. They can be any species and require no certification to assist owners who have psychological disabilities.

“The real crux of our concerns are the HUD fair-housing issues and we’re hopeful it takes its course the way we want it to,” said Orlando attorney Jonathan Paul, who represents Brady.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Vietnam Veteran, Wrongfully Convicted of Double Murder, Plans to Work With Veterans

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craig+coley

By Debbie Gregory.

Navy veteran Craig Coley was wrongfully convicted of a double murder on Veterans Day in 1978. The son of a Los Angeles police officer, Coley, now 70-years-old, has been exonerated and released from prison, and will continue to serve his fellow veterans.

Coley, who created a veterans organization while incarcerated, said that’s what veterans do: they help each other.

CA Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned Coley after DNA evidence proved that Coley was innocent of the slaying of his ex-girlfriend Rhonda Wicht, 24, and her son, Donald Wicht, 4.

Coley, the son of a Los Angeles Police Department officer, had maintained his innocence since his arrest. It was his first brush with the law in his life. Coley had served several deployments to Vietnam aboard the USS Enterprise, and had also served on the USS Bainbridge and the USS Bon Homme Richard.

During his incarceration, Coley volunteered, served as an officer with the Veterans Affairs organization in the prison, and belonged to Veterans Embracing Troops, raising money for Blue Star/Gold Star Mothers to send care packages to fellow veterans.

He is a participant and mentor for the bible study group with the college program; he earned his Associates degree in Theology, his certificate as a Biblical Counselor, and in 2017 received his Bachelors of Arts in Biblical Studies while starting on his Master’s degree.

In 1989, Detective Mike Bender came across Coley’s case and immediately saw red flags.

“His whole case was a series of mistakes,” said Bender, a now-retired Simi Valley police detective who worked for almost 30 years to right the wrong.

Bender has taken Coley under his wing to help him navigate a very changed world from the one Coley left behind. Bender has created a GoFundMe page for Coley that has raised over $20,000.

Coley is also receiving assistance from Army Sgt. Maj. Jesse Acosta, the president of a nonprofit organization called Thank-A-Vet. Acosta, who was wounded in a 2006 mortar attack on an Iraqi base, lost his eyesight and suffered a traumatic brain injury, visited the prison to share his story and speak about service dogs. He has been helping Coley navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs. Acosta’s advocacy has inspired Coley to serve his fellow veterans.

“Nobody understands a veteran like another veteran,” Coley said.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

VA to Pay Iowa Veteran $550,000 Settlement Over Treatment

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porter

By Debbie Gregory.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has paid a Vietnam veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that because of a three-year delay in treatment, he suffered life-shortening heart damage.

Air Force veteran John Porter, 68, of Greenfield, Iowa sued the VA in federal court in after he says VA staff overlooked a test result showing his heart was failing.

“After I’m done paying my lawyers and expenses, I’m not going to be rich,” said Porter. “It’s more of a moral victory than the money.”

According to the lawsuit, Porter presented at the emergency room of the Des Moines VA hospital in October 2011 after feeling tightness in his chest. Tests revealed that he might have heart problems. Follow-up test three weeks later showed his heart was functioning at less than half of normal levels, indicating heart failure, but Porter was not advised of the findings, according to the lawsuit.

Porter only discovered the results three years later after seeing doctors at an Arizona VA hospital, where Porter had gone in 2014 after again experiencing severe chest pain. It was only then that the 2011 test results were given to Porter.

Porter’s lawsuit cited a cardiologist at the Des Moines VA who later wrote that the oversight kept Porter from seeing a cardiologist promptly and that because of the three-year delay, “I doubt there will be much progress made” in treating Porter.

Porter said that he didn’t place the blame on the facility, instead pointing to communication breakdowns at the facility.

“The Des Moines VA is full of knowledgeable, caring and competent people,” Porter said.

While the Department of Justice attorneys representing the VA acknowledged the 2011 test and that the test was not acted on, they denied negligence by VA staff.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

CA Photographer Helping Local Veterans Get to D.C.

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calendar

By Debbie Gregory.

Twenty veterans have been featured on an 18-month calendar created by Bakersfield, CA photographer Petrina Harris. But it’s not a “beefcake” calendar; these veterans served during World War II and Korea.

“My father is a Vietnam Veteran and I wanted to do something to benefit the local brave men and women in Bakersfield,” said Harris.

Proceeds from the sale of the calendar will benefit Honor Flight Kern County.

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s Veterans for all their sacrifices.

The organization was founded in 2004 by U.S. Air Force (Ret.) Captain Earl Morse. While working for the VA at a clinic in Springfield, Ohio, he noticed that many of his older patients at the clinic were interested in visiting the World War II Memorial. Unfortunately, they were very often physically or financially unable to make it to the memorial in their honor.

On the first Honor Flight, Morse, a licensed civilian pilot, flew a single World War II Veteran at his own cost. A week later, he took a second WWII Veteran. Both Veterans were moved to tears by the generous gift. Morse began recruiting the help of his pilot friends, and the Honor Flight Network was born.

The non-profit relies on donations to fund the trips so that veterans can go to see the memorials in Washington, DC, built in their honor, at no cost.

Honor Flight Kern County is one of 136 hubs from around the country that is part of the Honor Flight Network. The next Honor Flight Kern County will take place on October 25th.

The calendars are $25 each and can be purchased at crazybusybee.com. You can also contact Petrina directly at 661-865-7727 or email info@crazybusybee.com

Military Connection is a proud supporter of Honor Flight Network.

We salute and serve veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Vietnam Veteran to Receive Medal of Honor

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James C. McCloughan

By Debbie Gregory.

In July, 2017, a retired West Michigan high school teacher and coach who is credited with saving the lives of 10 members of his platoon in Vietnam will receive the Medal of Honor.

James C. McCloughan was a 23-year-old medic when in May, 1969, his platoon was engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. PFC McCloughan returned to the combat zone multiple times to retrieve wounded soldiers, despite the fact that he had been shot in the arm and had shrapnel injuries.

McCloughan, now 71 years old, received numerous awards for his actions, including the Combat Medical Badge, two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. But he was not eligible for the Medal of Honor until a recent change did away with the previous time limit.

Prior to leaving office, President Obama signed the waiver into law that did away with the five year time limit from the time of the action as part of a defense authorization act.

McCloughan’s old platoon leader, Randy Clark, was the driving force behind the push to award McCloughan the Medal of Honor.

McCloughan vividly remembered the battle, when 89 soldiers were flown in by helicopter in an effort to block a North Vietnamese advance, only to find that they were greatly outnumbered.

According to the White House, in order to receive the award, “the meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life.”

James C. McCloughan certainly displayed these qualities, and for that, he has earned the nation’s highest military honor.

We congratulate him and thank him for his service and sacrifice.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Vietnam Veteran Receives Long-Delayed Silver Star

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Dvorak

By Debbie Gregory.

It took almost 48 years, but Vietnam veteran Edward Dvorak has now been awarded the military’s Silver Star for valor after braving enemy fire to save his fellow soldiers.

“It’s like a check-off on the internal moral clock that says I did the right thing, that I served honorably,” said the 68-year-old Lakebay, Washington man after he was presented with the medal

On Nov. 29, 1968, while a member of F Company, 51st Infantry Regiment, Dvorak’s team was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades during a mission near the military base at Bien Hoa.

Despite taking shrapnel to his left shoulder and chest (some of which is still there), the 19-year-old Dvorak grabbed an M60 and “provided immediate effective and suppressive machine gun fire to protect the seriously wounded LRPs while still exposing himself to automatic weapons fire,” according to his Silver Star citation.

Dvorak continued engaging enemy fighters while still under enemy fire, refusing medical aid, and he was able to direct fire support from Army attack helicopters that eventually would lead the enemy to break off contact.

Dvorak said he had to sit down when he got the letter notifying him of the honor. The Silver Star, awarded for gallantry in action, is the country’s third-highest military combat decoration.

Dvorak, who continued to serve with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after his time in the Army, said he was humbled by the award. He humbly stated that he was accepting the award “one-twelfth for me, eleven-twelfths for the rest of the team.”

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Military Connection: Vietnam Veteran to get M.O.H. By Debbie Gregory

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VV MOHThe Medal of Honor will be presented to retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins from Opelika, Alabama, during a ceremony at the White House on September 15, 2014.

Adkins is receiving the nation’s highest Military honor for actions performed 48 years ago, during a battle in the A Shau Valley in Vietnam. At the time, Adkins was a Sergeant First Class serving as an Intelligence Sergeant with Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces at Camp A Shau, in the Republic of Vietnam.

During a 38 hour period, March 9-12, 1966, Adkins suffered 18 separate wounds when the camp was attacked. At the start of the attack, Adkins braved enemy fire to man a mortar position in order to help defend the camp. Adkins also put himself at risk multiple times to help wounded soldiers, and to move casualties to an airstrip. On multiple occasions, Adkins left the safety of the camp’s walls to retrieve much needed supplies, each time putting himself at risk from hostile fire.

During the enemy’s main assault, Adkins again manned a mortar. After the first two hours of the battle, Adkins was the only American still firing a mortar. Despite enemy mortar rounds landing several direct hits on the position, wounding Adkins multiple times, he fired the mortar until he was out of ammunition.Adkins then manned a recoiless rifle and concentrated fire on the Viet Cong who were infiltrating the perimeter of the camp.

Adkins and the remaining small group of soldiers took up position at the camp’s communications bunker. From the bunker, Adkins defended that position with small arms. He even made an extremely dangerous excursion to get more ammunition.

When Adkins and the remainder of the camp’s soldier were finally given the order to evacuate the position, they destroyed all classified materials in the bunker, and retreated for a helicopter rescue.

Intent on leaving no man behind, Adkins carried a wounded soldier, causing Adkins and a small band of soldier to miss their pick-up. After their fierce battle, Adkins and his comrades evaded the enemy for an additional 48 hours in the jungle, before being rescued.

During the 38 hour battle and 48 hour evasion, the actions of then-Sergeant First Class Adkins went above and beyond the call of duty. It has been estimated that the soldier single handedly killed 135-175 enemy combatants, while sustaining of his own, and saving dozens of lives.

Adkins, now 80, will be joined by his wife and four of the soldiers that served with him in the Shau Valley, as he received the nation’s highest military honor.

Adkins served 22 years in the Army, from 1956-1978. Not only did this brave soldier survive his ordeal, but he continued to serve. He even went back to Vietnam for another tour of duty. Adkins served three tours in Vietnam 1963, 1965-66, and 1971.

Military Connection would like to congratulate retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins on his Medal of Honor.

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Military Connection: Vietnam Veteran to get M.O.H. By Debbie Gregory


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