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| Topic: Love & thanks ~ to our beloved Soldiers... - part 2 | |
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 I try Spirit and I are quite tight these days. Love to you as well! 
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God Bless the troops and keep them safe!
Hi Nessa, Hope you hear from Brigade soon..... Sherry |
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I try Spirit and I are quite tight these days. Love to you as well! 
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Sun 07/20/08 11:07 PM
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God Bless the troops and keep them safe! Hi Nessa, Hope you hear from Brigade soon..... Sherry  Oh, Sherry...you are so kind & compassionate  I thank you so much for your love & prayers |
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Sending prayers for our Military Men & Women Keep them safe every night and every day Cover them & love them each step of their way |
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Sending an extra special prayer request for Brigade Lord, please protect him always & keep him safe Please be with him wherever he is right now...  Let no weapon formed against him prosper ever lighten his load, Lord, give him some needed rest please bring him home healthy , safely & quickly |
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Chillin of the Evening
by Arlo Guthrie http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1S2m2piqH2I&feature=related http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTSh5wyGzU&feature=related Warm me from the wind & take my hand A song is sounding, softly singing My song is cast upon the rainbow waves Forever splashing in the sunlight Prove to me there's a love still left In all of this emptiness around me Take me from the chilling of the evening Though you know my love that I must go A-following the winds that blow inside me I've nowhere left to run or hide Except if you will come & run beside me And even if you do there'll be a lot for us to do To keep believing Take me from the chilling of the evening And now my time has come down many streets I'm coming from a night decaying The song that itself sings is all alone I cannot even hear it playing Now to leave before I understand Just what it is I know I'm leaving Take me from the chilling of the evening |
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Vanessa, I love your words of encouragement!
I am sending hopes and prayers that the troops stay safe and come home soon. This war is quickly and quietly taking them. Friends wonder about veteran care when system didn't save Army medic in iconic photo The Associated Press Published: July 21, 2008 PINEHURST, North Carolina: Officers had been to the white ranch house many times before over the past year to respond to a "barricade situation." Each had ended uneventfully, with Joseph Dwyer coming out or telling police in a calm voice through the window that he was OK. But this time was different. The Iraq War veteran had called a taxi service to take him to the emergency room. But when the driver arrived, Dwyer shouted that he was too weak to get up and open the door. The officers asked Dwyer for permission to kick it in. "Go ahead!" he yelled. They found Dwyer lying on his back, his clothes soiled with urine and feces. Scattered on the floor were dozens of spent cans of Dust-Off, a refrigerant-based aerosol normally used to clean electrical equipment. Dwyer told police Lt. Mike Wilson he'd been "huffing" the aerosol. "Help me, please!" the former Army medic begged Wilson. "I'm dying. Help me. I can't breathe." A half hour later, he was dead. When Dionne Knapp learned of her friend's June 28 death, her first reaction was to be angry at Dwyer. How could he leave his wife and daughter like this? Didn't he know he had friends who cared about him, who wanted to help? But as time passed, Knapp's anger turned toward the government. A photograph taken in the first days of the war had made the medic from New York's Long Island a symbol of the United States' good intentions in the Middle East. When he returned home, he was hailed as a hero. But for most of the past five years, the 31-year-old soldier had writhed in a private hell, shooting at imaginary enemies, sleeping in a closet bunker and trying desperately to huff away the "demons" in his head. When his personal problems became public, efforts were made to help him, but nothing seemed to work. This broken, frightened man had once been the embodiment of American might and compassion. If the military couldn't save him, Knapp thought, what hope was there for the thousands suffering in anonymity? ___ Like many, Dwyer joined the military in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. The son and brother of New York police officers, he wanted to save people, not kill them. So he became a medic. In 2002, Dwyer was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, and immediately fell in with three colleagues — Angela Minor, Sgt. Jose Salazar, and Knapp. They spent so much time together after work that comrades referred to them as "The Four Musketeers." Knapp had two young children and was going through a messy divorce. Dwyer stepped in as a surrogate dad, showing up in uniform at her son Justin's kindergarten and coming by the house to assemble toys that Knapp couldn't figure out. When it became clear that the U.S. would invade Iraq, Knapp became distraught, confiding to Dwyer that she would rather disobey her deployment orders than leave her kids. Dwyer asked to go in her place. When she protested, he insisted: "Trust me, this is what I want to do. I want to go." Dwyer assured his parents, Maureen and Patrick — and his new wife, Matina — that he was being sent to Kuwait and would likely stay far from the action. But Dwyer was attached to the 3rd Infantry's 7th Cavalry Regiment, what one officer called "the tip of the tip of the spear," at the front of the invasion force. On March 25, 2003, near Baghdad, Army Times photographer Warren Zinn watched as a man ran toward U.S. soldiers carrying a white flag and his injured 4-year-old son. Zinn clicked away as Dwyer darted out to meet the man, then returned, cradling the boy in his arms. The photo — of a half-naked boy, a kaffiyeh scarf tied around his shrapnel-injured leg and his mouth set in a grimace of pain, and of a bespectacled Dwyer dressed in full battle gear, his M-16 rifle dangling by his side — appeared on front pages and magazine covers around the world. Suddenly, everyone wanted to interview the soldier in "the photo." The attention embarrassed Dwyer. "Really, I was just one of a group of guys," he told a military publication. "I wasn't standing out more than anyone else." ___ Returning to the U.S. in June 2003, after 91 days in Iraq, Dwyer seemed a shell to friends. The 6-foot-1 (185-centimeter) soldier had dropped to around 165 pounds (75 kilograms), causing the other Musketeers to immediately think of post-traumatic stress disorder. Dwyer attributed his skeletal appearance to long days and a diet of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), and his friends accepted the explanation. But they soon noticed changes that were more than cosmetic. At restaurants, Dwyer insisted on sitting with his back to the wall so no one could sneak up on him. He turned down invitations to the movies, saying the theaters were too crowded. The arid landscape around El Paso, and the dark-skinned Hispanic population, reminded him of Iraq. Dwyer, raised Roman Catholic but never particularly religious before, now would spend lunchtime by himself, poring over his Bible. When people would teasingly call him "war hero" and ask him to tell about his experiences, or about the famous photo, he would steer the conversation toward the others he'd served with. Dwyer once confided that another image, also involving a child, disturbed him. He was standing next to a soldier during a firefight when a boy rode up on a bicycle and stopped beside a weapon lying in the dirt. Under his breath, the soldier beside Dwyer whispered, "Don't pick it up, kid. Don't pick it up." The boy reached for the weapon and was blasted off his bike. In spring 2004, Dwyer was prescribed antidepressants and referred for counseling. But his behavior went from merely odd to dangerous. One day, he swerved to avoid what he thought was a roadside bomb and crashed into a convenience store sign. He began answering his apartment door with a pistol in his hand and would call friends, babbling and disoriented from huffing. In the summer of 2005, he was removed to the barracks for 72 hours after trashing the apartment looking for an enemy infiltrator. He was admitted to Bliss' William Beaumont Army Medical Center for treatment of his inhalant addiction. But things continued to worsen. That October, the Musketeers decided it was time for an "intervention." Dwyer refused to surrender his guns but agreed to let Matina lock them up. Less than a week later, his paranoia reached a crescendo. On Oct. 6, 2005, Dwyer barricaded himself in his apartment. Imagining Iraqis swarming up the sides and across the roof, he fired his pistol through the door, windows and ceiling. After a three-hour police standoff, Dwyer was admitted for psychiatric treatment. In a telephone interview later that month from what he called the "nut hut" at Beaumont, Dwyer told the Long Island newspaper Newsday that he'd lied on a post-deployment questionnaire that asked whether he'd been disturbed by what he'd seen and done in Iraq. The reason: A PTSD diagnosis could interfere with his plans to seek a police job. Besides, he said, "I'm a soldier," he said. "I suck it up. That's our job." Dwyer told the newspaper he was committed to embracing his treatment this time. In January 2006, Joseph and Matina Dwyer moved back to North Carolina. But his shadow enemy followed him there. ___ Dwyer was discharged from the Army in March 2006 and living off disability. That May, Matina Dwyer gave birth to a daughter, Meagan Kaleigh. He seemed to be getting by, but setbacks would occur without warning. In June 2007, Matina Dwyer told police her husband had become enraged when she took away his AR-15 assault rifle, and threatened that "someone was going to die" if she didn't give it back. She moved out and sought a protective order. The following month, Dwyer checked into an inpatient program at New York's Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He stayed for six months. He came home in March with more than a dozen prescriptions. But within five days of his discharge, Dwyer's symptoms had returned with such ferocity that the family decided it was time to get Matina and 2-year-old Meagan out. On April 10, Matina Dwyer filed for custody and division of property. Dwyer's grip on reality loosened further. He was sleeping during the day and "patrolling" all night. Unable to possess a handgun, he placed knives around the house for protection. In those last months, Dwyer opened up a little to his parents. What bothered him most, he said, was the sheer volume of the gunfire. He talked about the grisly wounds he'd treated and dwelled on the people he was unable to save. When Maureen Dwyer saw Zinn's photo, she'd had a premonition that her son wouldn't come home from Iraq. "And he never did." ___ Police are treating Dwyer's death as an accidental overdose. Friends and family see it differently. The day of the 2005 standoff, Knapp spent hours on the telephone trying to get help for Dwyer. She was frustrated by a military bureaucracy that would not act unless his petrified wife complained, and with a civilian system that insisted Dwyer was the military's problem. In a letter to post commander Maj. Gen. Robert Lennox, Knapp expressed anger that Army officials who were "proud to display him as a hero ... now had turned their back on him..." (Lennox told The AP that Dwyer "had a great (in my opinion) care giver.") Some wondered why the VA couldn't involuntarily commit Dwyer. But Dr. Antonette Zeiss, deputy chief of the VA's Office of Mental Health, said it's not that simple. "Veterans are civilians, and VA is guided by state law about involuntary commitment," she told the AP. "There are civil liberties, and VA respects that those civil liberties are important." Zeiss said that while caregivers must be 100 percent committed to creating an environment in which veterans feel comfortable confronting their demons, the patient must be equally committed to following through. "And so it's a dance between the clinicians and the patient." Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, feels the VA is a lousy dance partner. "I consider (Dwyer) a battlefield casualty," he said, "because he was still fighting the war in his head." ___ The Sunday after the Fourth of July, Knapp attended services at Scotsdale Baptist, the El Paso church where she and Dwyer had been baptized together in 2004. On the way out of the sanctuary with her children, she checked her phone and noticed an e-mail: Joseph had been buried that day. She made it to her car. Then she lost it. Trying to explain, she told the kids that, just as they occasionally have nightmares, "sometimes people get those nightmares in their head and they just can't get them out, no matter what." Despite the efforts she made to get help for Dwyer, Knapp is trying to cope with a deep-seated guilt. She knows that Dwyer shielded her from the images that had haunted him. "I just owe him so much for that." Since Dwyer's death, Justin, now 9, has taken to carrying a newspaper clipping of the Zinn photo around with him. He shows it to playmates and tells them about the soldier who used to come to his school and assemble his toys. Justin wants them to know about Spc. Joseph Dwyer. His hero. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — AP Pentagon reporter Pauline Jelinek also contributed to this report. |
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I think we should pray not just for our troops overseas, but also the ones who made it back that need our prayers.
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 Oh God...Help our Soldiers while they are there & please be with them & help them when they return ... please intervene & change the crazy rules that prevent Our Veterans who return home and for those Soldiers who are still over there from getting the help they so desperately need ... what a stupid insensitive question for them  to ask on a dumb post deployment questionnaire  as if they are not supposed to be affected by the hellacious horrors of war  i don't know how anyone could go through what they see and experience daily , without being affected < or is it effected ? > for the rest of their lives... Oh God... please give special attention, amazing love & final peace & rest to the brave & tender soul of our beloved soldier Army Medic Joseph Dwyer and to all of the soldiers & military personnal who have lost their limbs & lives in battle, or later on, as a result of those Battles & for those who may make it home physically, but who sadly never make it home in their minds |
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That was too beautiful, Vanessa.
I have been praying for his soul since I found out about his death yesterday. I have a website for you, but I have to find it again first. It keeps a list of all our fallen heroes. |
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Mon 07/21/08 01:15 PM
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That was too beautiful, Vanessa. I have been praying for his soul since I found out about his death yesterday. I have a website for you, but I have to find it again first. It keeps a list of all our fallen heroes. Oh, Myriah...I love you Honey... you are so kind and generous & thoughtful...  I thank God for you & your daughter and for the gift of surrogacy you lovingly provide for Families who are not able to have children I thank God for the heart you have for our soldiers i hate to see SUCH young people going through this i grieve so much knowing that new generations are being subjected to all this pain & suffering My Own Children are still quite young, yet older than our beloved Hero Army Medic Joseph Dwyer I hate to hear of these endless tragedies... I don't think it is possible for anyone who has any heart at all to truly be happy and have fun knowing of the atrocities that go on and how our Soldiers are giving their all & are just falling through the cracks of an often heartless & demented government  that sends our young men & women off to war and then really does nothing to help them when they return so horror stricken after witnessing the ravages of the war... |
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Prayers for a protective covering & shield over our Troops Please Lord God, keep the little children safe and all the other innocent people in the war zones
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Lord God of the Universe I humbly come before Your Throne of Grace  and beckon to you, Oh Lord... Please remove hatred & greed & end the fighting & the wars |
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Tue 07/22/08 09:33 AM
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http://militarywarriors.org/node {video} http://militarywarriors.org/node/48/play Isaiah 40:31 (King James Version) "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Military Warriors Support Foundation Mission Statement Demonstrate support for the men and women of our military through providing practical opportunities and financial assistance to those injured in service to our country. The Foundation will provide academic scholarships, work force retraining and job placement assistance. Recreation opportunities will be provided through outdoor hunting and fishing programs. The program will help create awareness for our resources as well as the care and preservation of those assets. You can leave a message using the contact form included on the site or by calling them at 210-615-8973. |
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Tue 07/22/08 12:57 PM
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I'd like to take this time to thank a very good friend of mine... and his good buddy Jesse who have gallantly returned home from Iraq and who are hopefully finishing up their Service here in the States {{{{{ <<<<< Will >>>>>  <<<<< Wiccan Cowboy >>>>> }}}}} i love you so much, my dear Buddy i just got an email here from you  so i hope you have continued internet access now please stop by and say howdy...We love you  big hugs, many accolades & a Huge Heroes Welcome |
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Hey hey Ya'll hows everyone tonight?
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Hey hey Ya'll hows everyone tonight? there you are, Soldier Man... I'm fine...How are you ???  and say hello please for me to your hilarious friend Jesse  I will let you reply back and be the last post so everyone can see you've come online... cause i am usually always here and it is very special & so rare that we get a guest appearance from one of our brave & awesome,  courageous honorable Soldiers... This is all for you , love and hugs Honey |
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And its so very rare that i find a gorgeous woman like you my Dalwlin Rapunzel
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And its so very rare that i find a gorgeous woman like you my Dalwlin Rapunzel Hi There William, Oh my, Thank you so much... You are so kind... and so handsome yourself...  |
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