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Times are tough and a lot of people are looking for inspiration. GreatAmericans.com is a relatively new website that celebrates “everyday heroes,” incuding men and women serving in the armed forces.
Log onto www.greatamericans.com and you’ll find stories and video tributes of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Posted by Rich Liebson on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm | 
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Duke Searles, the Vietnam veteran who runs the food pantry at the VA hospital in Montrose, reports that Carpenter’s Union Local 11 in Hawthorne recently donated $1,000 to the pantry, which will be used to buy canned goods, pasta and other staples to help keep the shelves filled.
Local members of Rolling Thunder, a veterans group that focuses on POW/MIA issues also ddonated $500.
The pantry gives out one or two weeks of groceries to between 100 and 200 needy veterans each month, although with times getting tough, Searles said the need is likely to grow.
On Saturday (Jan. 24) local members of the Harley Owners Group, also known as the HOGS, will be holding a food drive for the pantry at the Reggie Pink Harley-Davidson motorcycle showroom on Central Avenue in White Plains beginning at noon. Drop by with some groceries if you can.
If you can’t make to the food drive but still want to make a donation, call the food pantry at 914-737-400 ext. 2640.
Posted by Rich Liebson on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm |
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A while back on this blog we posted a story from the Stars & Stripes about the Department of Defense considering a proposal to award the Purple Heart to combat troops diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome.
The “Stripes’’ reported yesterday that the military powers that be have decided against it. The paper quotes DoD spokeswoman Eileen Lainez, who explained he decision thusly:
“PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event; it is not a wound intentionally caused by the enemy from an ‘outside force or agent,’ but is a secondary effect caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event.”
You can see the entire Stars & Stripes story here.
No doubt, the debate will continue. I was never sure that the Purple Heart was the appropriate award for those who suffer from PTSD, but I do believe some sort of recognition would be a good think. More important, though, in my opinion, is that the military and the VA take care of those who have to live with the disorder every day.
Posted by Rich Liebson on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 10:39 am |
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"At Ease!" is a place for Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard veterans to share their experiences and voice their opinions. It doesn't matter if you served during war or peacetime, overseas or stateside, active duty or reserves, as a draftee or volunteer - if you served in uniform, this is the place for you.
We'll let you know about interesting military and veterans stories we find, issues that might affect you, and local veterans events you might want to attend.
If you're a member of a veterans organization in the Lower Hudson Valley, let us know about your events, charity efforts and other news. We may also ask for your help in finding sources to interview for veterans stories in The Journal News and LoHud.com.
Rich Liebson is a "military brat" who grew up on bases in the U.S. and Germany during his father's 23-year career as an Air Force enlisted man. Rich enlisted in the Army in 1976 and until his discharge in 1980 was assigned to the 78th Engineer Battalion in Ettlingen, Germany, as a public information specialist and translator. He's been a reporter at The Journal News and its forerunner, the Reporter Dispatch, for more than 20 years. During that time he's covered a variety of beats and has written frequently about veterans and veterans issues.
Hema Easley was born and raised in India, where she worked as a reporter for The Associated Press and United Press International. While in India she wrote about the insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir and covered the 1999 India-Pakistan conflict in the mountains of Kashmir. She joined The Journal News in 2002. She has covered municipal government in Westchester and now covers on social services in Rockland as well as military issues.
Copyright ©2009 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in New York.
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