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: The American Legion Magazine
Last Rites : As demand at national veterans cemeteries soars, VA scrambles to add burial space – and one community takes matters into its own hands
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) Kristie Roberts’ family was disheartened to learn that she didn’t qualify for burial in the national veterans cemetery near their home in upstate New York. It was Roberts’ wish when she first … Continue reading
On The Edge: Doctors over prescribe opioid painkillers to young veterans, leading to addictions and accidental overdoses
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) By the time Justin Minyard discovered the video of himself stoned, drooling and unable to help his daughter unwrap her Christmas presents, he was taking enough OxyContin, oxycodone and Valium every day … Continue reading
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
Posted in Uncategorized
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
Leave a comment
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
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
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
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
Posted in Uncategorized
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
5 Comments
Seconds to Win: For nearly 60 years, Wyoming veterans have helped develop some of America’s top rodeo talent
BY KEN OLSEN (Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved) Emily Faber steps off her galloping horse, flies to the goat, flanks it, ties its feet and steps back. Time: 8.31 seconds – one of the fastest on this 98-degree summer evening … Continue reading
Veterans Voices 