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
Tag Archives: American Legion
‘Like a giant X-ray’ They had a front-row seat to secret nuclear weapons tests. Now they’re fighting for recognition and compensation
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2018) Charles Savukas’ South Pacific deployment almost sounds like a page from an exotic travel brochure: fishing, swimming and exploring the white sands and turquoise waters of Christmas Island, when he wasn’t working as secretary to … Continue reading
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
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2017) Tom Vosmer doesn’t recall exactly when he learned his cousin had been killed during the Battle of Tarawa. He might have been 6 or 7. The loss was nonetheless devastating. “Even at that age, I … Continue reading
‘Nothing wrong with you:’ Twenty-five years later, Gulf War Illness often treated as a mental condition
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved) William Fuzi came home from the first Gulf War suffering from fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, a mysterious rash and intense migraines. When he told the Marine Corps that every joint … Continue reading
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Tagged American Legion, Anthony Hardie, By Ken Olsen, David Winnett, Gulf War Illness, Roberta White
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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
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved) John England was last seen heading back into the depths of the crippled USS Oklahoma to rescue a fourth shipmate on Dec. 7, 1941. The 20-year-old ensign had come topside after an … Continue reading
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
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved) Max Fernandez was arrested for a bar fight the first weekend after he came home from Iraq. The Marine Corps machine gunner didn’t think twice about the altercation.”Coming back, my mindset was … Continue reading
Mystery in Hot Springs: Veterans are baffled and furious as VA prepares to abandon a medical center that serves three states
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) John Renstrom used to get all his medical care at a VA hospital near his home in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Now he drives 120 miles round-trip for everything from PTSD … Continue reading
More than 40 years after he came home from combat, John Wayne Cloud is still walking point for fellow veterans
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2012 / All Rights Reserved) To anyone except John Cloud, the Vietnam veteran’s case was hopeless. Johnny Pryor had gone AWOL three times, tried to kill himself twice, spent months in the stockade and was booted … Continue reading
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Tagged American Legion, AWOL, Brandi Simons, Cornelious Henderson, John Cloud, Johnny Pryor, Justice for Vets, Ken Olsen, Matt Stiner, National Guard, Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, Sandra Oxford, The American Legion Magazine, Thurman Phillips, Tulsa Vet Center, Tulsa Veterans Treatment Court, Vietnam veterans
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The War Within: The battle against post-traumatic stress
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved) Melissa Seligman started shaking when her husband described the aftermath of a suicide bombing he witnessed during his first deployment to Iraq. She had heard that same flat, detached tone from her father, when … Continue reading
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Tagged American Legion, Chris Piper, Her War Her Voice, Ken Jones, Ken Olsen, Melissa Seligman, mental health, Military Families, post-traumatic stress, PTSD, The American Legion Magazine, traumatic brain injury, VA, Vet Centers, Vietnam veterans, War in Afghanistan, war in Iraq
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The War Within: Special Report on Post Traumatic Stress featured on WERE 1490 AM
More than 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans – nearly 20 percent of returning troops – have PTS or depression and the number is rising. Their experiences, and they way they resonate with Vietnam veterans, are part of a special report … Continue reading
Broken System: Despite 30-year battle, federal court victory, Vietnam veteran’s disability claim remains unresolved
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2011 / All Rights Reserved) A federal appeals court ruled in his favor two years ago, but Leroy Comer’s decades-long fight for less than $30,000 in VA disability benefits remains mired in the bureaucracy. Comer, who … Continue reading
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Tagged American Legion, Dion Messer, disability claims, Ken Olsen, Leroy Comer, PTSD, VA
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