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Author Topic: Shooting at Ft. Hood Texas 11/05/09 13 dead, 43 wounded-(Murder Charges)  (Read 730129 times)
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« Reply #600 on: November 10, 2009, 05:14:09 PM »

The Military Wire
ArmyNavyAir ForceMarinesMarine CorpsNational GuardSeattle


Army Wife Responds to Fort Hood

Last week's shooting at Fort Hood was one of the worst shooting sprees on a military installation. It has had a tremendous impact on those serving, both in the trenches and at the home front.

The following letter is from an Army wife who's husband is on his third deployment. This is her call to action. Please note, this is not an "official" statement on behalf of the Army but rather one wife's response to Fort Hood. And one to heed.

    "We are going out on a mission and I won't be able to talk to you for three or four days. Sorry I missed you. Just wanted to tell you I love you." The cursor blinks on and off in the blue background on the monitor screen. I look at the time of his last message. 7:03. It is now 7:07. We overslept.
    "I'm here!" I type back, hoping to see his response and hear the familiar alerting pop of the messenger. Nothing. I missed him. Again.
    I hear the words form in my head. "What if that was the last time?" What if he dies on the side of the road in Iraq and I never had a chance to say those all important words?
    "I love you, too," I whisper.
    And so my day begins, as every day begins: with fear and panic. That familiar feeling originally gripped me one clear day in September 2001; then again with the first deployment, the second, now the third. It lives seething and swirling, toward Iraq and Afghanistan the moment my husband enlisted and left to fight two wars.

    Now, since the incident at Fort Hood, that fear has come home to possess our military families within the gate. The online chat rooms, websites, and military support groups are filled with fear, rage, disbelief, compassion, and visceral pain. All previews of the impending implosion writhing beneath the surface.

    Driving through the gates of another base, I feel the thick, heavy silence. The questions of "Why?" and "How?" ruling our minds. We have done all we can to serve, uphold, defend, remain steadfast and loyal. Hasn't that been enough?

    Every military family held their breath while watching a tragedy unfold. All the while, begging the public to understand our pain. Not just document it.

    I feel their pain. Hear their cries thundering in my ears. I fight the urge to curl up in a ball, hoping it all goes away and the opposing, relentless want to rip and shred until someone or something can feel the raw explosion in our already tired hearts.
    But now is not the time.

    For every family member who loves one in uniform, every wife, mother, father, sister or brother who has watched a loved one walk away from your empty arms, I implore you: do not give in to the hate you feel. Do not give in to the fear racking our bodies. Do not give in to the overwhelming need to give up and walk away, allowing another to carry an extra burden for freedom. We are already weary, already torn and ripped apart, each of us playing a vital role in these wars. I understand, deeply. With my husband deployed, now wondering if his fellow soldier could shoot him, I am ready to crumble.

    I ask you, one more time, to rise, stand. Find it within you to push aside the fear and the hatred. I implore you; do not let it eat you. Do not give into the frustration so that only a few carry this burden. Do not hate a group of people who had no role in pulling the trigger. We all want our marriages back. Our sanity. A sense of peace and a moment to breathe. We all want our children to feel like children again, rather than "military children" set apart from the rest. Once again, too much will be asked of us as we pull that familiar concrete armor over us and rise as the ambassadors and heart and soul of America.

    I have no doubt you will. As you always have.
    For every civilian, every friend, every protestor, every media outlet in America, and our own President and First Lady, I beg of you, help us stand.

    Now is not the time to "think of us." Now is not the time to wonder "I just don't know how you do it."

    Now is the time to reach out and touch us. Yesterday, at my son's preschool a teacher reached out, her warm hand gripping my shoulder, and touched me. Her warmth and compassion released my tears. Finally.

    Send flowers. Walk past your yellow ribbon and to our door. We need you to do this. We need a chance to feel our humanity when we have performed as an entity for too long.

    Do not allow this to remain a "military tragedy." We have put our lives on hold and on the line for every American citizen. Do not let our pain go unnoticed because another story becomes more "newsworthy." Do not let us fall because we feel forgotten.

    Remember us today and past Veteran's Day. Because we need you. If you can't drive to us, call. Listen when we finally break. See past our protective exterior and past our "can do" attitude and fierce pride. We are still standing, but not for long. Our legs are steady and true, but they are faltering. Our hearts are pounding with love for our country. But they are bleeding. We can carry the weight. But not right now.

    I beg of you, rally behind us and give us new legs. Bleed with us. We need to hear you. We need to feel you. We may have put that line in the sand between us, but I am asking you to now step over it.

    For every person welcoming home a soldier in the airport, we feel you. Every motorcycle thundering in front of a funeral procession, we hear you. For every person who creates postcards for our hurting children, stuffs dolls with images of their deployed parent, salutes a flag when a fallen one comes home to us, hugs a family member carrying the burden, we feel it. Do not stop.

    America, we need you to stand not just with us, but for us. No, we will not ask for help. We will not reach out to you. We have already given all we have.

    Put aside the politics, the newsroom breakdowns, the play-by-play tickers, and the right and left wing ideologies. Pull from your humanity. I beg of you. Because we cannot do this alone.

To learn more, visit the blog Her War ( http://www.herwarhervoice.com/ ) and hear the voices of our military spouses.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/militarywire/archives/184495.asp?source=mypi
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« Reply #601 on: November 10, 2009, 05:15:13 PM »

Thank-you for all of that, I didn't watch the memorial, but reading all that has been posted and looking at all the pictures, it certainly appears that it was a very well done, thought out memorial.  an angelic monkey
Yes, it was nrcg!
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« Reply #602 on: November 10, 2009, 05:24:35 PM »



Obama remembers what Fort Hood victims left behind
By BEN FELLER (AP)

FORT HOOD, Texas — President Barack Obama says the nation must never forget the 13 men and women who died during a shooting rampage on a U.S. Army post at Fort Hood, Texas.

In prepared remarks, Obama says the shooting is a tragedy, in part because the military members died on U.S. soil and not on a battlefield. Obama on Tuesday planned to use his remarks to praise those who died and calm a nation troubled by the shootings.

Obama says the United States endures because of those who defend it. He says the bravery of those who died there must be honored by remembering their contributions to their communities.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Stepping for the first time into the role of national consoler, President Barack Obama is honoring the 13 people slain in a shooting rampage by remembering what they left behind, offering personal stories about the lives they touched and the service they provided to their country.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama began an afternoon of consolation by meeting privately with family members of those killed last week on this enormous Army post. The Obamas also were meeting with those wounded in the attack and released from the hospital, along with their families, before the president was to speak at an outdoor memorial service.

Thousands upon thousands of people, many of them soldiers dressed in their camouflage uniforms, gathered to pay respects and hear the president. The shooting killed 12 soldiers and 1 civilian, injured 29 others and left a nation stunned and searching for answers.

On a steamy Texas day, the crowd kept growing until the service began. Below the stage was a somber tribute to the fallen — 13 pairs of combat boots, each with an inverted rifle topped with a helmet. A picture of each person rested below the boots.

The president hoped to convey the idea that for those killed, "their memory lasts in the service and the dedication of the Armed Forces and by the people that they touched, both in the military and outside," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Later, the president and first lady planned to go to a military hospital to meet with those still recovering from injuries incurred during the attack.

The site of the ceremony is a field at the headquarters of the massive post, cordoned off with walls of steel shipping containers. Fort Hood is larger than many small towns, with about 53,000 troops, and it has substantial ties to the surrounding community.

Sheila Wormuth, whose husband is stationed at Fort Hood, brought her 3-year-old daughter to the memorial service to show their support. While her husband wasn't at the shooting site, she said, "what happens to my husband's brothers and sisters happens to us."

Bonita Childs, 46, drove about 30 miles to attend the ceremony, even though she had no connections to Fort Hood.

"I wanted to be a part of it," she said. "Our soldiers give so freely of themselves for the freedom we enjoy, and I thought coming here today and showing my gratitude was the least I could do."

This is Obama's time to take on the healer role that can help shape a presidency at a time of national tragedy.

Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, governed during the worst terrorist attack on American soil, the most crippling natural disaster in U.S. history, a space shuttle explosion, a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, a tornado that wiped away a Kansas town, a bridge collapse in Minnesota, Midwestern flooding and California wildfires. Each response affected his standing, for better or worse, in a country that expects its president to be empathetic and clearly in charge.

History is full of other examples. Bill Clinton helped rebuild his troubled presidency with the way he reacted to the Oklahoma City bombings.

In this case, Obama has sought his own balance.

He has promised a full investigation of the Fort Hood shootings but has said little about it as police search for a motive. He has praised religious diversity in the military, trying to offer calm as questions loom about whether the alleged shooter had ties to extremist Islamic ideology. And he has delayed a trip to Asia to attend the memorial service.

The mass killing shook the nation even more because it happened in a presumed haven of U.S. security. The suspect himself is a soldier, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. Authorities say he fired off more than 100 rounds before a civilian police officer shot him. He survived and is in stable condition.

It wasn't even two weeks ago that Obama stood in the dark of night at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, honoring the remains of 18 troops killed in Afghanistan. Now he leads the mourning for 13 men and women who were working in the one place, as Obama put it, that "our soldiers ought to feel most safe."

Among those killed at Fort Hood were 21-year-old Pvt. Francheska Velez, who was pregnant and preparing to return home after a recent deployment in Iraq. And Spc. Jason Hunt, a 22-year-old who served in Iraq and was married two months ago. And Maj. Libardo Caraveo, 52, who was headed to the war zone in Afghanistan.

When Obama returns to Washington, the cost of war will still be with him.

His agenda Wednesday: another war council meeting on Afghanistan, and laying a Veterans Day wreath at Arlington National Cemetery.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iwYEFasV3WqznkJoN2-BwTxAN4fgD9BSS2HG6

Associated Press writers Angela K. Brown and Jeff Carlton at Fort Hood, Texas, contributed to this report.
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« Reply #603 on: November 10, 2009, 05:30:31 PM »

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 10, 2009
Remarks by the President at Memorial Service at Fort Hood
Fort Hood - III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas

1:55 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT:  To the Fort Hood community; to Admiral Mullen; General Casey; General Cone; Secretary McHugh; Secretary Gates; most importantly, to family, friends and members of our Armed Forces.  We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war.  Yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle.  They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state and the heart of this great American community.  This is the fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that's been left.  We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers.  You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know:  Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation.  Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched.  Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we all too often take for granted.  Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy.

Neither this country -- nor the values upon which we were founded -- could exist without men and women like these 13 Americans.  And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.
Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill had served in the National Guard and worked as a physician's assistant for decades. A husband and father of three, he was so committed to his patients that on the day he died, he was back at work just weeks after having had a heart attack.

Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager.  But he put himself through college, earned a PhD, and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment.  He's survived by his wife, sons and step-daughters.
 
Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow joined the Army right after high school, married his high school sweetheart, and had served as a light wheeled mechanic and satellite communications operator.  He was known as an optimist, a mentor, and a loving husband and loving father.

After retiring from the Army as a major, John Gaffaney cared for society's most vulnerable during two decades as a psychiatric nurse.  He spent three years trying to return to active duty in this time of war, and he was preparing to deploy to Iraq as a captain.  He leaves behind a wife and son.

Specialist Frederick Greene was a Tennessean who wanted to join the Army for a long time, and did so in 2008, with the support of his family.  As a combat engineer he was a natural leader, and he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Specialist Jason Hunt was also recently married, with three children to care for.  He joined the Army after high school.  He did a tour in Iraq, and it was there that he reenlisted for six more years on his 21st birthday so that he could continue to serve.

Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was an athlete in high school, joined the Army shortly after 9/11, and had since returned home to speak to students about her experience.  When her mother told her she couldn't take on Osama bin Laden by herself, Amy replied: "Watch me."

Private First Class Aaron Nemelka was an Eagle Scout who just recently signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service -- diffuse bombs -- so that he could help save lives. He was proudly carrying on a tradition of military service that runs deep within his family.

Private First Class Michael Pearson loved his family and loved his music, and his goal was to be a music teacher.  He excelled at playing the guitar, and could create songs on the spot and show others how to play.  He joined the military a year ago, and was preparing for his first deployment.

Captain Russell Seager worked as a nurse for the VA, helping veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress.  He had extraordinary respect for the military, and signed up to serve so that he could help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and return to civilian life.  He leaves behind a wife and son.

Private Francheska Velez, daughter of a father from Colombia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army.  When she was killed she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.

Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman was the daughter and granddaughter of Army veterans.  She was a single mom who put herself through college and graduate school, and served as a nurse practitioner while raising her two daughters.  She also left behind a loving husband.

Private First Class Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child.  He was a husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service.  He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan.

These men and women came from all parts of the country.  Some had long careers in the military.  Some had signed up to serve in the shadow of 9/11.  Some had known intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some cared for those did.  Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity, the decency of those who serve, and that's how they will be remembered.

For that same spirit is embodied in the community here at Fort Hood, and in the many wounded who are still recovering.  As was already mentioned, in those terrible minutes during the attack, soldiers made makeshift tourniquets out of their clothes. They braved gunfire to reach the wounded, and ferried them to safety in the backs of cars and a pickup truck.

One young soldier, Amber Bahr, was so intent on helping others, she did not realize for some time that she, herself, had been shot in the back.  Two police officers -- Mark Todd and Kim Munley -- saved countless lives by risking their own.  One medic -- Francisco de la Serna -- treated both Officer Munley and the gunman who shot her.

It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy.  But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor.  For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next.

These are trying times for our country.  In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America, our allies, and innocent Afghans and Pakistanis.  In Iraq, we're working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for.

As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon.  Theirs are the tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call -- the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country.  In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility.  In an era of division, they call upon us to come together.  In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.

We are a nation that endures because of the courage of those who defend it.  We saw that valor in those who braved bullets here at Fort Hood, just as surely as we see it in those who signed up knowing that they would serve in harm’s way.

We are a nation of laws whose commitment to justice is so enduring that we would treat a gunman and give him due process, just as surely as we will see that he pays for his crimes.

We're a nation that guarantees the freedom to worship as one chooses.  And instead of claiming God for our side, we remember Lincoln’s words, and always pray to be on the side of God.

We're a nation that is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal.  We live that truth within our military, and see it in the varied backgrounds of those we lay to rest today.  We defend that truth at home and abroad, and we know that Americans will always be found on the side of liberty and equality.  That's who we are as a people.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day.  It's a chance to pause, and to pay tribute -- for students to learn the struggles that preceded them; for families to honor the service of parents and grandparents; for citizens to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made in pursuit of a more perfect union.

For history is filled with heroes.  You may remember the stories of a grandfather who marched across Europe; an uncle who fought in Vietnam; a sister who served in the Gulf.  But as we honor the many generations who have served, all of us -- every single American -- must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who've come before.

We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.

This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in the time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known.  They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places.  They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains.  They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war.  They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and all stations -- all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

In today’s wars, there's not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops’ success -- no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed.  But the measure of the impact of these young men and women is no less great -- in a world of threats that no know borders, their legacy will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that's extended abroad.  It will serve as testimony to the character of those who served, and the example that all of you in uniform set for America and for the world.

Here, at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to 13 men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home.  Later today, at Fort Lewis, one community will gather to remember so many in one Stryker Brigade who have fallen in Afghanistan.

Long after they are laid to rest -- when the fighting has finished, and our nation has endured; when today’s servicemen and women are veterans, and their children have grown -- it will be said that this generation believed under the most trying of tests; believed in perseverance -- not just when it was easy, but when it was hard; that they paid the price and bore the burden to secure this nation, and stood up for the values that live in the hearts of all free peoples.

So we say goodbye to those who now belong to eternity.  We press ahead in pursuit of the peace that guided their service. May God bless the memory of those that we have lost.  And may God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.) 

END
2:12 P.M. CST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-memorial-service-fort-hood
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« Reply #604 on: November 10, 2009, 05:40:01 PM »

Tuesday November 10, 2009 4:36 PM

Hospital Won’t Release Information On Suspected Fort Hood Shooter


SAN ANTONIO (November 10, 2009)—Army Maj. Nidal Malik Husan, who’s suspected in the shooting Thursday at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 29 injured, has instructed Brooke Army Medical Center officials not to release any additional information about his condition.

Brooke spokesman Dewey Mitchell said Tuesday that he can no longer provide condition or
status reports on Hasan, who was listed in stable condition Monday.

Hasan met with Belton attorney John Galligan on Monday.

Galligan said Hasan was able to talk and that he requested a lawyer when investigators approached him.

Hasan has not been formally charged, but officials said he would face charges in a military court.

Officials say he acted alone in firing more than 100 rounds Thursday afternoon at Fort Hood’s busy Soldier Readiness Center.

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/69696812.html
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« Reply #605 on: November 10, 2009, 05:51:30 PM »

Fort Hood: A Wounded Soldier Speaks



A victim of the Fort Hood shooting speaks about his experience, his fallen friends, and the desire to serve his country in Afghanistan.


http://news.ph.msn.com/newsweek/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3699020

Alan Carroll laughed when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan jumped up from his desk in the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood military base and shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Carroll, a 20-year-old private second class, had been waiting all day to get the remainder of his vaccines and medical exams so that he could deploy to Afghanistan. For the past half hour or so, Major Hasan had paced the floor of the spacious, gymnasiumlike room casting suspicious glances at Carroll and three friends, who were also preparing to deploy. But he figured the major—whom he'd never seen before—was just restless and goofing around. Even when the shooting started , and a bullet pierced the left side of Carroll's chest, the private assumed it was some sort of training exercise, maybe designed to test their response to close-range fire. "My first thought was 'Wow that really hurts for a rubber bullet,' " Carroll says. "But he kept shooting and all of a sudden there was blood flying all over the place." (Article continued below...)

Carroll, a short, stocky soldier whose physique hints at his days as a high-school wrestler, dove to the ground face down. For the next several minutes he alternated between playing dead and scanning the horrified crowd for his friends. When the gunman wasn't looking, he pulled one comrade—who'd also been shot in the chest—out of a chair to the floor. Across the room, he saw another friend tangled in a bunch of chairs, screaming. With one eye on the gunman, who was still walking the room firing random shots, Carroll crawled to the other private. "Every time the major came in my direction I would stop moving, put my head down and play dead," he said. "And when he saw me move, he shot at me."

By the time he reached the other soldier, Carroll had sustained two additional bullet wounds: one in his left arm, one in his left leg. Still, when the gunman wasn't looking, Carroll scurried to untangle his friend from the mess of chairs. When he accidentally knocked a chair over, he froze. "I knew [the shooter] heard it, and I knew he was coming back to me," he says. "I was trying to pull my buddy out, but my leg wouldn't cooperate anymore." When the gunman fired a fourth shot at Carroll, hitting him in the right shoulder, Carroll fell to the floor. Soon after, Hasan turned his attention elsewhere, walking to the far end of the large room. Stunned and badly wounded, Carroll fled, half running, half stumbling through a nearby door. It would take another hour before medics reached him. Neither of the soldiers he tried to save would make it out alive.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/222007

In the days since, the young soldier has struggled to come to terms with the loss, and with his newfound status. "Everyone keeps calling me a hero," he says. "But I don't agree. If I was a hero, my buddies would still be alive." On Saturday, George W. Bush paid Carroll and his fellow soldiers a visit. The former president's first question: where was Carroll wounded? "When I told him, he said 'Wow! That'll show 'em it takes more than a few bullets to put a good soldier down.' "

Carroll had been out of boot camp for just over a year when last week's massacre claimed the lives of 13 soldiers. With multiple generations on both sides of his family having served in the armed forces, Carroll considers the military his family business. He describes the edict of "never leave a fallen comrade behind" as the most sacred of his duties. Friends and family describe Carroll as loyal, dedicated and eager to help others. He joined the National Guard at 17 but quickly decided one weekend a month was not enough. "I wanted to call myself a soldier," he says. "And I figured it was my time to honor the family tradition of military service." So when he turned 18, he joined the Army. Family and friends say it's the only plan he ever really had for his life, and recent events have not changed that.

"He's an unbelievable soldier, and he's in it for the long haul," says his mother, who flew down to Texas from her home in New Jersey immediately after the shooting, along with Carroll's stepfather and younger brother. "I couldn't be more frightened, but I couldn't be more proud."

Carroll was released from the hospital Saturday evening and is staying with his grandmother who lives near Fort Hood. He's received a steady stream of visits and phone calls from other members of his unit. He'll return to work after two weeks rest, and still hopes to be in Afghanistan by January. But while his doctors expect him to make a full recovery, they can't say for certain when he'll be ready for combat. "They won't give me any timeframe," he says. "I've still got a bunch of holes that need to heal up."

© 2009
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« Reply #606 on: November 10, 2009, 06:16:15 PM »

Lehigh resident tries to send flowers to Ft. Hood shooter
Posted: Nov 10, 2009 4:30 PM CST Updated: Nov 10, 2009 4:58 PM CST



Video Gallery
Raw video: Interview with Dan Ross, Part 1
19:51   
Raw video: Interview with Dan Ross, Part 2
7:44


LEE COUNTY: Federal Bureau of Investigation agents showed up at the house of 61-year-old Dan Ross to find out why he tried to send flowers to the alleged Fort Hood shooter, who Ross calls a 'hero.'

Ross is a former Vietnam War soldier and Christian. He says his faith led him to order roses for Major Nidal Hasan, the man accused of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood. Ross calls Hasan a hero.

"The FBI were the ones who actually killed those 13 people, because they were well informed that this guy was against the United States of America," said Ross.

One day after the shooting, Ross placed an order for a $59.95 bouquet of yellow roses to be delivered to the hospital where Hasan remains in critical condition.

"By my doing that, I was immediately labeled a terrorist," said Ross.

"I ask you respect my freedom of speech and freedom of religion" Ross wrote in an email to a Killeen Texas florist. Ross asked the following note be attached to the roses.

"Major Nidal Hasan. Qur'an Chapter 2: Verse 190-3. In God's eye, and those who submit, you are a hero."

We asked Ross if he thinks Hasan is a hero.

"He can be used as a hero for a better good," said Ross.

Ross, an Army veteran, showed us a living room decorated with photos of his son, a Navy officer and his daughter, a member of the Army ROTC at Stetson University. He claims his actions were that of a Christian-- in fact, the Apostle Peter, reborn.

NBC2's Katie LaGrone: I just want to understand why a man would send roses to an alleged killer?
Ross: It's phony bologna. Holy Spirit just told me.
LaGrone:  The Holy Spirit's talking to you right now?
Ross:  Just a little bit

His wife of 24 years says Ross poses no threat.

"He thinks it's a part of the bible," said Eng Ross.

Ross was questioned by the FBI because of the flowers.

"The FBI came by and I thought I was on drugs," said Ross. "That's part of Christianity, love your enemies and do good to them."

The florist, a veteran himself, contacted the FBI after he refused to fulfill Ross' order.

The FBI can neither confirm nor deny they are investigating Ross.

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=11480448
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Zoe you will always be in my heart and soul


« Reply #607 on: November 10, 2009, 06:20:40 PM »

Thank-you Heart for posting the President's speech. I felt he handled this well, and was impressed with this.            It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy.  But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor.  For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next.
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« Reply #608 on: November 10, 2009, 06:51:32 PM »

Fort Hood: A Wounded Soldier Speaks



A victim of the Fort Hood shooting speaks about his experience, his fallen friends, and the desire to serve his country in Afghanistan.


http://news.ph.msn.com/newsweek/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3699020

Alan Carroll laughed when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan jumped up from his desk in the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood military base and shouted "Allahu Akbar!" Carroll, a 20-year-old private second class, had been waiting all day to get the remainder of his vaccines and medical exams so that he could deploy to Afghanistan. For the past half hour or so, Major Hasan had paced the floor of the spacious, gymnasiumlike room casting suspicious glances at Carroll and three friends, who were also preparing to deploy. But he figured the major—whom he'd never seen before—was just restless and goofing around. Even when the shooting started , and a bullet pierced the left side of Carroll's chest, the private assumed it was some sort of training exercise, maybe designed to test their response to close-range fire. "My first thought was 'Wow that really hurts for a rubber bullet,' " Carroll says. "But he kept shooting and all of a sudden there was blood flying all over the place." (Article continued below...)

Carroll, a short, stocky soldier whose physique hints at his days as a high-school wrestler, dove to the ground face down. For the next several minutes he alternated between playing dead and scanning the horrified crowd for his friends. When the gunman wasn't looking, he pulled one comrade—who'd also been shot in the chest—out of a chair to the floor. Across the room, he saw another friend tangled in a bunch of chairs, screaming. With one eye on the gunman, who was still walking the room firing random shots, Carroll crawled to the other private. "Every time the major came in my direction I would stop moving, put my head down and play dead," he said. "And when he saw me move, he shot at me."

By the time he reached the other soldier, Carroll had sustained two additional bullet wounds: one in his left arm, one in his left leg. Still, when the gunman wasn't looking, Carroll scurried to untangle his friend from the mess of chairs. When he accidentally knocked a chair over, he froze. "I knew [the shooter] heard it, and I knew he was coming back to me," he says. "I was trying to pull my buddy out, but my leg wouldn't cooperate anymore." When the gunman fired a fourth shot at Carroll, hitting him in the right shoulder, Carroll fell to the floor. Soon after, Hasan turned his attention elsewhere, walking to the far end of the large room. Stunned and badly wounded, Carroll fled, half running, half stumbling through a nearby door. It would take another hour before medics reached him. Neither of the soldiers he tried to save would make it out alive.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/222007

In the days since, the young soldier has struggled to come to terms with the loss, and with his newfound status. "Everyone keeps calling me a hero," he says. "But I don't agree. If I was a hero, my buddies would still be alive." On Saturday, George W. Bush paid Carroll and his fellow soldiers a visit. The former president's first question: where was Carroll wounded? "When I told him, he said 'Wow! That'll show 'em it takes more than a few bullets to put a good soldier down.' "

Carroll had been out of boot camp for just over a year when last week's massacre claimed the lives of 13 soldiers. With multiple generations on both sides of his family having served in the armed forces, Carroll considers the military his family business. He describes the edict of "never leave a fallen comrade behind" as the most sacred of his duties. Friends and family describe Carroll as loyal, dedicated and eager to help others. He joined the National Guard at 17 but quickly decided one weekend a month was not enough. "I wanted to call myself a soldier," he says. "And I figured it was my time to honor the family tradition of military service." So when he turned 18, he joined the Army. Family and friends say it's the only plan he ever really had for his life, and recent events have not changed that.

"He's an unbelievable soldier, and he's in it for the long haul," says his mother, who flew down to Texas from her home in New Jersey immediately after the shooting, along with Carroll's stepfather and younger brother. "I couldn't be more frightened, but I couldn't be more proud."

Carroll was released from the hospital Saturday evening and is staying with his grandmother who lives near Fort Hood. He's received a steady stream of visits and phone calls from other members of his unit. He'll return to work after two weeks rest, and still hopes to be in Afghanistan by January. But while his doctors expect him to make a full recovery, they can't say for certain when he'll be ready for combat. "They won't give me any timeframe," he says. "I've still got a bunch of holes that need to heal up."

© 2009


He looks like one of my nephews.  an angelic monkey
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« Reply #609 on: November 10, 2009, 07:58:30 PM »

Heart Thanks for all the posts about the memorial today. I was able to catch bits and pieces, but where I was I had to read the screen to see what was being said. Thanks again. JSM  an angelic monkey
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« Reply #610 on: November 10, 2009, 07:59:06 PM »

Don't miss the Dana Pretzer show tonight at 9pm ET:

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Zoe you will always be in my heart and soul


« Reply #611 on: November 10, 2009, 08:03:38 PM »

Thanks Klaas
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« Reply #612 on: November 10, 2009, 08:39:00 PM »

Heart Thanks for all the posts about the memorial today. I was able to catch bits and pieces, but where I was I had to read the screen to see what was being said. Thanks again. JSM  an angelic monkey

You are welcome joesamas!
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« Reply #613 on: November 10, 2009, 08:41:22 PM »

Local soldiers react to Ft. Hood tragedy

Posted: Nov 10, 2009 6:59 PM CST

MADISON (WKOW) -- Two soldiers from the Madison-based 467th medical detachment were killed in Thursday's military massacre at Ft. Hood in Texas. Now members of the unit back in Madison are trying to cope with their loss.

The 467th is a combat stress unit aimed at helping soldiers deal with situations much like the Ft. Hood shootings. But with two of their own murdered at Ft. Hood, those who normally help others cope with trauma now need help coping themselves.

Sgt. Kara Hurtig first learned about the shootings through a text message from her husband.

"He said that he was caught in the middle of a fire fight -- a mass massacre -- and that the shooter was still on the loose," said Hurtig. "About 15 minutes later, I got another text message and he just said, 'I can't talk right now, I just want to let you know I love you and that we're not okay.'"

Hurtig's husband survived the shootings unharmed, but Hurtig is dealing with a variety of emotions. She was supposed to be at Ft. Hood, as well, but health problems kept her in Madison.

"Initially, you feel a sense of relief... you're happy that you weren't there. But then it comes down on you and you realize that those are your fellow soldiers that went down, and you feel a sense of 'I should have been there,' and maybe there was something I could have done," said Hurtig.

"This shouldn't happen on our soil," said an exasperated Cpt. Robert LaFountain, captain of the rear detachment in the 467th. "They were in a training area, they weren't in a war zone, so we are angry, upset, frustrated and confused. When we walk around and see the flag at half-staff, generally we know it's for a dignitary or a fallen soldier. But this is our fallen soldiers. It hits home and it's hard."

It's difficult for anyone to make sense of something so unexpected and tragic. Soldiers say the best way for them to deal with it is to focus on their next mission.

"We're going to heal our wounds and we're going to keep doing what we're doing, which for the 467th is taking care of the other soldiers," said Cpt. Corey Schultz, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Army. "So we're taking care of them so they can continue to take care of others."

With her medical problems resolved, Hurtig is determined to join her unit, and her husband, at Ft. Hood as soon as possible.

"I want to help my unit. I know I'm supposed to be there with them," said Hurtig. "We just have to drive on. We have to complete the mission and, you know, we get up every day and put the uniform on and that's what we do."

The Army has a number of services that offer counseling for anyone who is struggling with the Ft. Hood murders.

You can call its Military One Source hotline at 1-800-342-9647 or contact the Madison Veterans Center.

Follow Jamie Hersch on Twitter

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11481508
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« Reply #614 on: November 10, 2009, 08:49:53 PM »


In this Monday Nov. 9, 2009 image made from video, attorney Retired Col. John Galligan talks to a reporter in Belton, Texas. Galligan, the attorney for the Army psychiatrist accused in the mass shooting at Fort Hood said he found Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan to be 'coherent' when he met with him Monday.
(AP Photo/Richard Matthews)
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« Reply #615 on: November 10, 2009, 08:58:53 PM »

Don't miss the Dana Pretzer show tonight at 9pm ET:



CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO LISTEN:

http://scaredmonkeysradio.com/radio.m3u
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« Reply #616 on: November 10, 2009, 09:11:40 PM »

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/official-nidal-hasan-unexplained-connections/story?id=9048590

Senior Official: More Hasan Ties to People Under Investigation by FBI
Alleged Shooter Had "Unexplained Connections" to Others Besides Jihadist Cleric Awlaki

 By MARTHA RADDATZ, BRIAN ROSS, MARY-ROSE ABRAHAM, and REHAB EL-BURI
Nov. 10, 2009

A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had "more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI" than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon.

Nidal Malik Hasan, left, is seen in 2007 when he entered the program for his Disaster and Military Psychiatry Fellowship and an Oct. 2008 photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan had ?more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI? than just radical cleric al-Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon. Collapse
(Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences/Muhammad ud-Deen/AP Photos)

Questions already surround Major Hasan's contact with Awlaki, a radical cleric based in Yemen whom authorities consider a recruiter for al Qaeda. U.S. officials now confirm Hasan sent as many as 20 e-mails to Awlaki. Authorities intercepted the e-mails but later deemed them innocent or protected by the first amendment.

The FBI said it turned over the information to the Army, but Defense Department officials today denied that. One military investigator on a joint terror task force with the FBI was shown the e-mails, but they were never forwarded in a formal way to more senior officials at the Pentagon, and the Army did not learn of the contacts until after the shootings.

In Texas, an hour before a memorial service for the Fort Hood victims, four FBI agents showed up at the Killeen mosque where Hasan prayed and searched a trash bin outside. The mosque president was clearly upset when he had to return from traveling to the service to sign a document handed to him by agents, apparently authorizing the search.

The FBI would not comment on what the agents were looking for at the mosque a full five days after the shooting, but motivation remains the focus.

"Obviously, the key is did he act alone," former senior FBI official Brad Garrett told ABC News. "And secondarily is, what evidence might potentially be in the dumpsters or at the mosque."

"We're concerned any time a house of worship is searched in this fashion," said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group. "And we would follow up to see if there was probable cause for the search and if it was carried out in the appropriate and legal manner."

Agents had already seized Hasan's computer in a search of this apartment last Thursday night, and all of his internet contacts and writings are under examination.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation to fellow Army doctors in 2007 in which he said, "It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims." He recommended that Muslim soldiers be given the option of being released from the military as conscientious objectors to decrease what he called "adverse events." Under "comments," he wrote, "We love death more than you love life."
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« Reply #617 on: November 10, 2009, 09:25:08 PM »

Thank-you Heart for posting the President's speech. I felt he handled this well, and was impressed with this.            It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy.  But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor.  For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next.

Oh, the great Orator. He does a fine job reading off a teleprompter someone else's words that he didn't even see until right before the memorial. Yes, he did a fine job. Too bad you didn't watch the memorial to see the raw emotions. He did a fine job handling this..........and it is nice you were impressed.
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Jesus loves the little children, all the children in the world.
Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

 Words: C. Her­bert Wool­ston (1856-1927)  Music: George F. Root (1820-1895)
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« Reply #618 on: November 10, 2009, 09:27:44 PM »

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/official-nidal-hasan-unexplained-connections/story?id=9048590

Senior Official: More Hasan Ties to People Under Investigation by FBI
Alleged Shooter Had "Unexplained Connections" to Others Besides Jihadist Cleric Awlaki

 By MARTHA RADDATZ, BRIAN ROSS, MARY-ROSE ABRAHAM, and REHAB EL-BURI
Nov. 10, 2009

A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had "more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI" than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon.

Nidal Malik Hasan, left, is seen in 2007 when he entered the program for his Disaster and Military Psychiatry Fellowship and an Oct. 2008 photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan had ?more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI? than just radical cleric al-Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon. Collapse
(Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences/Muhammad ud-Deen/AP Photos)

Questions already surround Major Hasan's contact with Awlaki, a radical cleric based in Yemen whom authorities consider a recruiter for al Qaeda. U.S. officials now confirm Hasan sent as many as 20 e-mails to Awlaki. Authorities intercepted the e-mails but later deemed them innocent or protected by the first amendment.

The FBI said it turned over the information to the Army, but Defense Department officials today denied that. One military investigator on a joint terror task force with the FBI was shown the e-mails, but they were never forwarded in a formal way to more senior officials at the Pentagon, and the Army did not learn of the contacts until after the shootings.

In Texas, an hour before a memorial service for the Fort Hood victims, four FBI agents showed up at the Killeen mosque where Hasan prayed and searched a trash bin outside. The mosque president was clearly upset when he had to return from traveling to the service to sign a document handed to him by agents, apparently authorizing the search.

The FBI would not comment on what the agents were looking for at the mosque a full five days after the shooting, but motivation remains the focus.

"Obviously, the key is did he act alone," former senior FBI official Brad Garrett told ABC News. "And secondarily is, what evidence might potentially be in the dumpsters or at the mosque."

"We're concerned any time a house of worship is searched in this fashion," said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group. "And we would follow up to see if there was probable cause for the search and if it was carried out in the appropriate and legal manner."

Agents had already seized Hasan's computer in a search of this apartment last Thursday night, and all of his internet contacts and writings are under examination.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation to fellow Army doctors in 2007 in which he said, "It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims." He recommended that Muslim soldiers be given the option of being released from the military as conscientious objectors to decrease what he called "adverse events." Under "comments," he wrote, "We love death more than you love life."


I would like to know who his only visitor was at his apartment in Muslim garb the day of the shooting. I wonder if we will ever know. I doubt it.
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Jesus loves the little children, all the children in the world.
Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

 Words: C. Her­bert Wool­ston (1856-1927)  Music: George F. Root (1820-1895)
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Zoe you will always be in my heart and soul


« Reply #619 on: November 10, 2009, 09:34:34 PM »

Thank-you Heart for posting the President's speech. I felt he handled this well, and was impressed with this.            It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy.  But this much we do know -- no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor.  For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice -- in this world, and the next.

Oh, the great Orator. He does a fine job reading off a teleprompter someone else's words that he didn't even see until right before the memorial. Yes, he did a fine job. Too bad you didn't watch the memorial to see the raw emotions. He did a fine job handling this..........and it is nice you were impressed.
I was impressed and so were many others. I don't need to see raw emotions I am able to read and look at pictures to get a feel for things. The president did do a fine job, teleprompter or not. I seem to be in the majority on this, this is not a day to bring politics into this. This was a day of mourning not politics.
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