Veterans Voices- ‘Like a giant X-ray’ They had a front-row seat to secret nuclear weapons tests. Now they’re fighting for recognition and compensation
- An Army of One: Oregon widow dedicates everything to providing housing for homeless veterans
- The Lost Graves of Tarawa: Hastily buried following one of World War II’s most horrific battles, the remains of missing Marines are coming home
- Growing Veterans: A Marine Corps veteran teams up with a trauma counselor to prevent suicides, through farming, fellowship and an effort to end the stigma of getting help
- ‘Nothing wrong with you:’ Twenty-five years later, Gulf War Illness often treated as a mental condition
- Home at Last: Seventy-five years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, men who died on USS Oklahoma are finally being returned to their families
- Thoroughbred Therapy: How Saratoga WarHorse rekindles life for soldiers dealing with PTSD
- ALASKA’S VANISHING CARE: How VA’s “Choice” program sabotaged a hard-earned network of local health care across the state’s vast and inaccessible wilds
- Wrongful discharge? Board that corrects military records ‘stacked against servicemembers’ critics charge
- BOOTED AFTER BATTLE Thousands of combat veterans have been kicked out of the military for misconduct without regard to PTSD, TBI or their right to medical retirement
Author Archives: Veterans' Voices
Quiet Crisis: In the shadow of a record number of military suicides, spouses and children are also taking their own lives
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved) Her husband suffered a skull-shattering bullet wound in Iraq. She lost her job. Her car was repossessed. A psychiatrist misdiagnosed her then threatened to commit her if she didn’t take medication that … Continue reading
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Tagged Afghanistan war, Brannan Vines, Code of Support Foundation, Craig Bryan, Daniel Radenz, Darnall Army Medical Center, Family of A Vet, Iraq war, Ken Olsen, Kristina Kaufmann, military spouse suicide, military suicide, National Center for Veterans Studies, PTS, The American Legion Magazine, Torrey Shannon, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Tricia Radenz, Walter Reed
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Stealth Soldiers of the Vietnam War: The Little Known Legacy of the U.S. Army’s Combat Tracker Teams
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved) Pete Peterson was recruited for the combat trackers while recovering at a U.S. military hospital in Japan during the fall of 1968. It wasn’t a hard sell for the two trackers who … Continue reading
The Gift of Arms: After years of waiting Iraq veteran Brendan Marrocco is celebrating a successful bilateral transplant
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2013/All Rights Reserved) Brendan Marrocco has new arms. Nearly four years after an armor‑piercing roadside bomb claimed all four of his limbs, Brendan became the first person in the United States to receive such an extensive bilateral arm transplant. … Continue reading
Veterans potentially exposed to toxic waste at nearly 140 military bases
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2013/ All Rights Reserved) From Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in California to Fort McClellan, Ala., there are nearly 140 U.S. military bases on the federal government’s roster of toxic waste sites. This is a … Continue reading
Camp Lejeune’s Toxic Legacy: Marine Corps families who were exposed to decades of contamination search for answers
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2013/All Rights Reserved) Jerry Ensminger’s 9-year-old daughter died of a rare form of leukemia he believes was caused by solvent-laced drinking water at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Her death could have been prevented, he says, if the … Continue reading
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Tagged A Civil Action, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, benzene, By Ken Olsen, Camp Lejeune, Camp Lejeune contamination, child leukemia, drinking water contamination, Hadnot Point, Jerry Ensminger, Mass., Mike Hargett, Mike Partain, PCE, Richard Clapp, Safe Drinking Water Act, Tarawa Terrace, TCE, The American Legion, The Few The Proud The Forgotten, vinyl chloride, Woburn
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Suicide help on the home front: Symposium April 20 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia for military spouses and children
Frustrated by the lack of attention on the crisis military families face, an Army wife is organizing a suicide awareness symposium to help the spouses and children who are struggling on the home front. “Are You Listening: Suicide Awareness for … Continue reading
Frank Kowalski’s forgotten war: In the mid-’50s, Kowalski and hundreds of other U.S. soldiers were sent to a largely unknown country called Vietnam
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved) The Pentagon didn’t acknowledge Frank Kowalski’s tour in Southeast Asia for more than 40 years. Some of his fellow veterans still don’t. Kowalski was handed orders for Vietnam on his 19th birthday … Continue reading
Upside Down Lives: Spouses and parents of severely injured veterans struggle under weight of 24/7 caregiving
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2012/All Rights Reserved) By the time Debbie Schulz got help, she had been her wounded son’s full-time caregiver for more than six years. She had lost her husband, her teaching career and her retirement. She lay … Continue reading
For Air Force veteran, challenge trumps comfort
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2012/All Rights Reserved) Nicole Green walked away from her secure six-figure salary at a Washington consulting firm for a far more austere and uncertain future at Team Rubicon. That says everything about the quality of people … Continue reading
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Tagged Clay Hunt, Dan Fong, Dr. John Sutter, Haiti earthquake, Jake Wood, Joplin, Ken Olsen, Matt Pelak, Nicole Green, suicide, Team Rubicon, tornado
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Mission Possible: Team Rubicon’s rapid response to natural disasters gives combat veterans the challenge they crave
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2012 / All Rights Reserved) The moment he saw the destruction on TV in January 2010, former Marine scout-sniper Jake Wood knew he had to get to Haiti. He called a few friends, posted a quick … Continue reading
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