What Can You Do to Help Our Vietnam Veterans?

[longknife]

by NavyOne @ What Can You Do to Help Our Vietnam Veterans? |

I’ve visited the Vietnam Memorial several times, with Vietnam vets or alone. It’s always struck me as a very somber, dignified place. There are others who see it, or what it stands for, in a different way. The story of Jeff Davis, and his reaction to it, is heartbreaking:

http://themellowjihadi.com/wp-conte...rs-after-he-returned-from-Vietnam-300x226.jpg

Read more at above link.

 

[waltky]

Stop the parade float an' let `em get off before the train hits `em...

Officials: Vets' float crossed track after signals
18 Nov.`12 — A parade float filled with wounded veterans that was struck by a freight train had crossed onto the railroad tracks after warning signals were going off, investigators said Saturday.

Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were killed and 16 more people were injured when the train crashed into the flatbed truck in West Texas. It was the second of two floats carrying veterans in Thursday's parade in Midland. The first was exiting the tracks when the warning bells and signals were activated, 20 seconds before the accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The second float didn't enter the tracks until several seconds after the warning system went off, the NTSB said. By that time, the guardrail was lowering. "Once the crossing becomes active, people should stop," lead investigator Robert Accetta with the NTSB said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

The timeline was pieced together by combining information from a video camera mounted on the front of the train, another one on a sheriff's car and a data recorder that acts like an airplane's black box, activating when the train blared the horn, NTSB member Mark Rosekind said. Nine seconds before the crash, the train sounded its horn, a blaring that lasted four seconds, according to Rosekind. The guardrail hit the truck, then the engineer pulled the emergency brake, trying to bring the train that was traveling at 62 mph to a screeching halt. People on the first float and dozens of others who had come out to greet the veterans shrieked and watched in shock, as some aboard the truck tried to jump off, witnesses said. The veterans' military instincts kicked in as they treated the wounded.

The NTSB has also interviewed the engineer and conductor, and established the train's air brakes were working, Rosekind said. No mechanical problems were found with the cars. A review of the train's maintenance history found no defects, he added. The tracks also had no problems. Investigators will try to establish on Monday what the engine could have seen as it approached the truck, Rosekind said. Part of the investigation includes whether the parade group, Show of Support/Hunt for Heroes, had the proper permit. The parade has been an annual event in Midland for nine years. "It has a long history, and I don't know what the original arrangements were," City Manager Courtney Sharp said. "But for the most part we require permits."

Railroads are a vital part of Midland, a town that sits in the heart of Texas' oil rich Permian basin. It's listed as having nearly 114,000 residents, but residents and officials believe the population has risen significantly with the growth of the oil industry. Three or four railroad tracks lie within city limits, and the site of the accident is just about 10 minutes from downtown, said Midland spokesman Ryan Stout. That's considered when the city grants permits for parades and other events, Sharp said. "We take all steps into consideration when we permit," he said. "I hate to go down that track until all of the investigation is over, but yes we do take that stuff into account."

More Officials: Vets' float crossed track after signals - Yahoo! News

 

[editec]

It's a little to late, I think, to thank VN vets in any way that is truly meaningful.

The time to have done that, back when it would have helped, is long past.

I hear todays chickenhawk' generation of right wing cranks telling me thank you for your service, and most of what I hear, given the mindset of the people who tell me this, rings false.

If today's chickenhawks really want to thank the VN generation for their service, the best thing they can do is see to it that TODAY'S GENERATION service people are not WASTED on stupid militaristic misadventures of EMPIRE.

 

[Politico]

Don't drive in front of trains and you won't get hit.

 

[waltky]

Feds investigators say train signals, lights & gates worked properly...

Feds probe deadly Texas train-truck crash
Nov. 18,`12 (UPI) -- Federal investigators said all warning lights, gates and bells worked properly before a train hit a parade float carrying wounded veterans in Midland, Texas.

The crash Thursday killed four people and injured 16 others, The Wall Street Journal reported. The flatbed truck was one of two carrying veterans in Midland's annual salute to wounded military and was driven by a young soldier in uniform who survived the crash.

The 7,200-foot Union Pacific train was traveling at more than 60 mph, below the limit for that stretch of track, the National Transportation Safety Board told reporters Saturday. The engineer sounded his horn and crossing warnings and barriers functioned normally, the investigators said.

The NTSB is interviewing witnesses and reviewing video from the train and a police car that was nearby, the report said. Early speculation among witnesses is that the truck driver was distracted by the parade noise and activities, but that wasn't certain, the Journal said.

Read more: All signals worked before Texas train struck veterans? parade float - UPI.com

 

[uscitizen]

Send me rep.

 

[waltky]

Doomed Parade Float Used Tried-and-True Route...

Parade where vets killed used route for 3 years
Nov 19, 2012 - Floats had followed same one for 3 years

Organizers of a parade in West Texas in which four U.S. military veterans were killed when a train plowed into a truck had been using the same route for three years, investigators said Sunday. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Mark Rosekind also announced that oilfield services company Smith Industries was the owner of the truck that served as the float the veterans were on during Thursday's parade in Midland. Rosekind said the company was cooperating with investigators, who expect to interview the driver on Monday. The NTSB declined to release the driver's name, and Rosekind said investigators don't know if the driver worked for Smith Industries.

Rick B. Smith, Smith Industries' CEO and president, did not immediately respond to phone calls or emails seeking comment. Investigators have said the truck began crossing the train tracks even though warning bells were sounding and lights were flashing. However, some Midland residents said they believe the signal time is too short. They say the guardrails aren't completely down by the time a train comes whizzing by. "The signals come on and the arms go down, but before they are fully down, the train is already at the intersection," said Mark Thomas, who lives blocks from the track and says he crosses it daily. "These signal times are unacceptable," Thomas added.

According to the NTSB, the warning system was activated 20 seconds before the accident, and the guardrail began to come down seven seconds after that. Everything functioned properly, Rosekind said, but investigators will have to check to make sure the signal timing met the requirements for that particular crossing. The truck was the second of two parade floats filled with wounded war veterans. The first float had already cleared the tracks when the accident happened. Four veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were killed and 16 more people were injured.

The parade was organized by a group called Show of Support-Hunt for Heroes and has been an annual event in Midland for nine years. It was supposed to be the start of a three-day weekend of banquets, deer hunting and shopping in appreciation of the veterans' service. Rosekind said investigators were also looking at whether organizers had the proper permits for the parade. "This is an entirely volunteer organization and activity, so there were a lot of things that were donated, and so that changes kind of the rules of what had to be filed," he said.

MORE

See also:

State highway safety director reassigned following revelations of driving violations
11/18/2012 - Highway Safety Honcho Has Abysmal Driving Record; Massachusetts' Sheila Burgess will be reassigned

The administration of Governor Deval Patrick, embarrassed by revelations that the state highway safety director has a driving record that includes seven accidents, four speeding violations and two failures to stop for a police officer, announced today that the director will be removed from that job. Sheila Burgess, the top safety officer since 2007, is on medical leave recovering from an Aug. 24 one-car accident in Milton in which she drove off the road and suffered a head injury. She told police she swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle in her lane. Burgess will be assigned to a “different role” within the state Office of Public Safety and Security, according to a statement released today by Mary Elizabeth Heffernan, the public safety secretary. “Given her driving record, it is clear that Ms. Burgess should not have been hired as the director of Highway Safety in 2007,” Heffernan said in the statement.

Burgess is a former fund-raising consultant to high-profile Democratic candidates for public office, including Congressman James McGovern, whose office said on Friday that McGovern asked the newly elected Patrick administration in 2007 to hire Burgess, but without suggesting a specific role for her. She is paid $87,000 annually. Burgess had no experience in public safety, transportation or government administration when hired, according to her resume. Heffernan called Burgess “a solid and dependable employee” during the intervening years, but today, following a Globe story that revealed her driving record, said she no long has confidence in Burgess leading the state’s efforts to reduce accidents by promoting good driving practices. Burgess “cannot expect the public’s trust, nor mine, as the directory of Highway Safety going forward,” the statement says.

Burgess, 48, of Randolph, has 34 entries on her record. Since her appointment to a state job, Burgess has faced no new moving motor vehicle violations, however. Her license was active but flagged for non-renewal for failure to pay local excise taxes. Those taxes were paid and her license cleared on Nov. 1, after the Globe began making inquiries. Heffernan’s statement was released hours after Patrick, speaking to reporters at a public event unrelated to Burgess, said he was angry about her being hired as highway safety director and vowed to find out how it happened. “I will get to the bottom on it,” he said.

Burgess’s most recent crash occurred on a sunny summer afternoon in a state vehicle during work hours. State Police say they arrived at the scene on Unquity Road in the Blue Hills Reservation to find Burgess being assisted by an ambulance crew. The public safety department produced a record showing Burgess was not talking on her state-provided cellphone, but declined to release a summary of how many text messages, if any, she sent or received during that month’s billing cycle. Such bills provide total number of text messages in the month, but do not say when the texts were sent or received. Spokesmen for Patrick and Heffernan declined to comment on whether such paperwork will be released soon.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Train Warning Delayed in Texas Crash: Records...

Rail Crossing Built for Longer Alert
Nov 29, 2012 - Alert designed to sound 10 seconds earlier

The railroad crossing in Midland, Texas, where four veterans died after being hit by a train this month was designed to give motorists 30 seconds warning of a train's approach, 10 more than investigators say was given in the accident, according to a Wall Street Journal review of records held by the Texas Department of Transportation. Emergency officials on Nov. 15 at the site where a train crashed into a parade truck, killing four veterans.

A federal probe has found that warning lights flashed and bells sounded only 20 seconds before a freight train hit a parade float carrying veterans and their families on Nov. 15. Crossing gates started to descend seven seconds after the lights flashed, say investigators, striking the float as it tried to cross the tracks. Union Pacific Corp., UNP +1.01% which owns the train and designed the warning system, said the Texas transportation records are dated and "do not reflect current conditions" at the crossing. The plans detail a signal warning system completed in 1991.

The railroad noted the findings by federal investigators that the float "proceeded onto the tracks eight seconds after the red flashing lights and bells activated" and that the crossing met federal requirements. "Disregarding active warning signals is extremely dangerous and we urge drivers to stop once the red flashing lights and bells activate," the railroad said. Federal law requires railroads to give at least 20 seconds warning, but railroads often build in extra time to accommodate traffic and other contingencies.

The Texas transportation records indicate that when the signal warning system at the crossing was constructed, planners anticipated that six trains would traverse the crossing daily, at a speed of 25 mph. The train that struck the parade float was traveling at 62 mph, below the current 70 mph speed limit. A representative of the Texas Department of Transportation declined to comment on the plans. But, the representative said, crossing plans in the state normally provide for a minimum 25 seconds warning.

MORE

 

[Sunni Man]

I am a Vietnam era vet; so rep the heck out of me and all is forgiven...........

 

[whitehall]

Forty years later they want to know what they can do for VN Vets? Leave them alone.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Stop making vets prove their disability is service connected; if a combat vet suffers any malady notwithstanding it's cause it should be treated. Period.

 

[whitehall]

Stop making vets prove their disability is service connected; if a combat vet suffers any malady notwithstanding it's cause it should be treated. Period.

I guess a Veteran has to prove he is a combat Vet then. How does that work?

 

[Warrior102]

Send me rep.

For being an assfucker?
Sorry

Don't send rep to fake-vet pieces of shit like you.

 

[del]

Send me rep.

I'm an assfucker


and a fake-vet piece of shit.

Sorry

we know, asswipe, we know.

stfu, already

 

[uscitizen]

Stop making vets prove their disability is service connected; if a combat vet suffers any malady notwithstanding it's cause it should be treated. Period.

I guess a Veteran has to prove he is a combat Vet then. How does that work?

Umm scars from bullet and shrapnel wounds help.

 

[whitehall]

Stop making vets prove their disability is service connected; if a combat vet suffers any malady notwithstanding it's cause it should be treated. Period.

I guess a Veteran has to prove he is a combat Vet then. How does that work?

Umm scars from bullet and shrapnel wounds help.

Umm, how does a Vet prove that the scars are from shrapnel and bullet wounds and does that eliminate the legitimate claims of Combat Vets who weren't wounded? Ya see, either way the "combat Vets" need to prove their disability is service connected.

 

[Katzndogz]

Viet Vets are now so old, they all have some sort of limits on their ability, even if it's only old age.

 

[Jos]

They served their country, time now for their country to serve them

 

[Wry Catcher]

stop making vets prove their disability is service connected; if a combat vet suffers any malady notwithstanding it's cause it should be treated. Period.

i guess a veteran has to prove he is a combat vet then. How does that work?

dd-214

 

[Wry Catcher]

I guess a Veteran has to prove he is a combat Vet then. How does that work?

Umm scars from bullet and shrapnel wounds help.

Umm, how does a Vet prove that the scars are from shrapnel and bullet wounds and does that eliminate the legitimate claims of Combat Vets who weren't wounded? Ya see, either way the "combat Vets" need to prove their disability is service connected.

Some combat scars are not physical and others can be disputed, i.e. Agent Orange Exposure. Until the Reagan Administration vets didn't need to prove a medical issue was service connected. In particular PTSD which was recognized as early as WW I but called by a different name:

The Perilous Fight . The Mental Toll | PBS

Stress has been associated with cancers, heart disease, drug & alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorders.