Two wounded veterans will be special guests at the Hudson Valley Friends of the NRA’s 16th annual banquet at Casa Mia Manor House in Blauvelt this Friday.

Both men are amputees who live in Orange County, said Stan Pascoo, the group’s chairman, who met them through the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit group that raises awareness and funds (largely through athletic events) for the ongoing rehabilitation of severely injured soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pascoo, a West Nyack sportsman, volunteers with the organization’s WWP Outdoors, helping guide disabled veterans – including an Army Ranger blinded by an artillery shell during his service in Iraq – on hunting trips in the Lower Hudson Valley.

During Friday’s dinner, the group will collect donations for pre-paid phone cards to send to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year, the event raised more than $1,200 for this purpose, Pascoo said.

Tickets for the banquet Read more of this entry »

My dad had nightmares for years after he came home from Vietnam, and used to act jumpy whenever a helicopter flew overhead. He would never talk about it or answer our questions about the war.

When I was in the Army in the late 1970s, a lot of the NCOs in my unit, most of them combat vets, would make off-color wise cracks about the war during the day. But when we were out on field training exercises, many of these same guys would have flashbacks in the middle of the night, scaring the you-know-what out of the rest of us. In the morning, they wouldn’t talk about their bad dreams either.

Over the years I’ve had dozens of World War II and Korean combat soldiers tell me that they too have nightmares about their war experiences.

Many combat vets never realize that they’re suffering from post traumatic stress. Few seek or receive help, and according to a federal lawsuit being heard in San Francisco, those who do are not really getting adequate treatment.

Just last week The Journal News and Lohud.com published the story of Marine Staff Sgt. Steven Vickerman, a Palisades native who served two tours in Iraq. He committed suicide last month. You can read that report here.

The suit, filed by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, asks that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs be ordered to overhaul its health system, especially its mental health treatment, to meet growing demand from soldiers
returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Click here to get the details.

Whether it’s called shell shock, battle fatigue or post traumatic stress, the fact is that generations of combat vets have been affected by what they saw or did “over there.’’ It’s about time they all finally get the help they need and deserve.

Know any veterans or military spouses looking for jobs? RecruitMilitary, a national military-to-civilian recruiting firm, will hold two free career fairs for job seekers with military backgrounds in our area this month.

The RecruitMilitary Career Fair will run 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 19 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 20 at the U.S. Open Club at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens.

More than 20 employers, including CSX, Bartlett Tree Experts, DeVry University, the New York Police Department and Walgreens, will conduct one-on-one interviews with job seekers at the events.

Let us know if you’re planning to attend either of these career fairs, or if you know someone who would Read more of this entry »

Heard about “Stop Loss,’’ the movie coming out at the end of the month about a soldier returning home from Iraq, trying to adjust to life back in the world only to be recalled to active duty and ordered back into combat?

We’re looking for veterans and family members who can talk about the real deal for a story on how the military’s  stop loss policy affects their lives.

Seems like you can’t even keep a reliable “short timers’’ calendar in today’s armed forces.

If you or someone you love is living the stop loss life, leave me a message here or give me a call at 914-694-3534.

Re-Edited at 6:30 p.m.: The donation link at the bottom of this entry is now working!

Ever hear of the Wounded Warrior Project? It’s a nonprofit group that raises awareness and funds, largely through athletic events, for the ongoing rehabilitation of severely wounded veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Andrew Kelly, a Clarkstown police officer and former U.S. Marine, is helping raise money for the organization by running in the Vermont 100 in July. The 35-year-old, two-time Ironman Triathlete said he has been preparing for a year for the 100-mile race in the Green Mountains. Here’s a photo of him at the qualifying race – the Vermont 50 - in September. (His time was 9 hours, 58 minutes.)

Kelly told me he hopes to raise $100,000 for the project, and that his efforts will inspire other Lower Hudson Valley residents to help defray the mounting medical expenses incurred by amputees and other seriously injured veterans.

“The outpouring of support has helped our heroes to better assimilate back into society, but, more importantly, has given them hope for their future,” he said. “They have given so much of themselves and ask for so little in return.”

Donors can contribute to the Wounded Warrior Project through Kelly’s race by clicking here. For more information, post a comment at the end of this blog entry (Click on “Comments” to submit questions Read more of this entry »