I was honored to speak today at my father's memorial service. He motivated me to join the military and deserves every honor I can give him. Please read this and pass it along to your friends and family if it inspires you the way John Henry Wiggins inspired me. Thank you and God Bless our military service members and their families.
Sam
Who am I? To John, From his son, Sam 03/31/11
Who am I? Surely you must recognize me…
We have spent countless hours together on good days and bad.
I am your Brother; your Father; your In-law; your neighbor; and friend.
Every time we see each other, something is right again in this world.
The other day you saw me by the curb… I had found a washer; a screw;
A nut or a bolt… I picked it up and put it in my pocket and smiled.
I collect life’s lost or broken objects and return them to a purpose; a project;
Or something you needed to be repaired.
There is no hour of the day you cannot call on me…
Yes neighbor; Yes Son; Yes Brother and friend, do call…
I’ll be ready with my tools; my expert advice;
My opinion; or my shovel and pail… I will be here for you.
I have never judged you; by all means you know I have never said I am perfect…
Yet I seek perfection in all things. My standards are very high for myself and for you.
I may have rolled my eyes; I might sneer or frown; but we’ll step off together,
And I’ll see your problem through as though it were my own. We’re family, right?
You have called me many times without hesitation;
Maybe when there was no where else for you to turn…
You have lived in my house until you found a new home;
I might have given you $5 or $500, no matter… there is no debt to be repaid.
We laughed, Oh how we laughed at all hours of the day;
Sometimes laughter was all we had.
I might not have cried with you, as I am the strong silent type,
But my eyes have been wet with your pain.
I am so stubborn you almost can’t stand it. Really, I’m so painstakingly stubborn,
Sometimes I can’t even stand myself; yet you shrug it off,
And you still love me as I have always loved you.
I am part of you and you will always be part of me;
Our secrets will be safe forever; unshaken by the test of time;
I’m sure we will see each other again.
Has the Son become the Father?
Can you see the Father in the Son?
Yes, you recognized me today. I am John Henry Wiggins.
Or at least Mr. Wiggins will always be free to live on in me.
I am certainly better as a person, just to say I have known him. Rest in peace Dad.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
It is time to sell books and raise money for Phila area Vet charities
Follow along as we begin the journey of caring for our area Veterans together.
I've purchased 625 paperbacks valued at $19.99. You can purchase up to five, author signed copies, directly from me using the "Buy Now" PayPal button on the book web site. Each book has the potential to raise up to $11.20 for Philadelphia area Veteran charities. Please pass this information along to any Vet or Veteran family member you may know!
Please visit www.serviceandsacrifice.net
Sam
I've purchased 625 paperbacks valued at $19.99. You can purchase up to five, author signed copies, directly from me using the "Buy Now" PayPal button on the book web site. Each book has the potential to raise up to $11.20 for Philadelphia area Veteran charities. Please pass this information along to any Vet or Veteran family member you may know!
Please visit www.serviceandsacrifice.net
Sam
Monday, March 7, 2011
VA issues key report to Congress on Homeless Vets
These statistics are staggering, but who will take action? Guard and Reserve suicides are double the 2009 rate, but who will take action? We must rally behind our Veterans and their families NOW. If you can participate in just one Vet charity, one family support event, or donate to a worthy charity like the Liberty USO, the impact will be real. Please consider doing what you can. God Bless our Service Members, their families, and our displaced or under-served Vet population.
Sam
On a single night in January 2009, 75,609 veterans were homeless; 57 percent were staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program; and the remaining 43 percent were living on the street, in an abandoned building, or another place not meant for human habitation (i.e., unsheltered).
Veterans are overrepresented among the homeless population. At a point in time in 2009, approximately 12 percent of all people (and 16 percent of adults) experiencing homelessness identified as a veteran, as did 10 percent of those homeless over the course of a year. Less than 8 percent of the total U.S. population has veteran status.
An estimated 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. This accounts for 1 of every 168 veterans in the U.S. or 1 out of every 10 veterans living in poverty.
Just over 96 percent of sheltered veterans were individuals, and just less than 4 percent were veterans who were a part of a family.
While homeless veterans make up less than 1 percent of all veterans, within the poverty population veterans are at greater risk of homelessness than non-veterans. Ten percent of veterans in poverty became homeless at some point during the year, compared to just over 5 percent of adults in poverty.
http://www.military.com/veterans-report/va-issues-homelessness-report?ESRC=vr.nl
Sam
On a single night in January 2009, 75,609 veterans were homeless; 57 percent were staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program; and the remaining 43 percent were living on the street, in an abandoned building, or another place not meant for human habitation (i.e., unsheltered).
Veterans are overrepresented among the homeless population. At a point in time in 2009, approximately 12 percent of all people (and 16 percent of adults) experiencing homelessness identified as a veteran, as did 10 percent of those homeless over the course of a year. Less than 8 percent of the total U.S. population has veteran status.
An estimated 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. This accounts for 1 of every 168 veterans in the U.S. or 1 out of every 10 veterans living in poverty.
Just over 96 percent of sheltered veterans were individuals, and just less than 4 percent were veterans who were a part of a family.
While homeless veterans make up less than 1 percent of all veterans, within the poverty population veterans are at greater risk of homelessness than non-veterans. Ten percent of veterans in poverty became homeless at some point during the year, compared to just over 5 percent of adults in poverty.
http://www.military.com/veterans-report/va-issues-homelessness-report?ESRC=vr.nl
Monday, February 28, 2011
PhillyDotCom - Officials seek ways to stem increasing military suicides
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110228_Officials_seek_ways_to_stem_increasing_military_suicides.html?nlid=3530828
Another relevant article about suicide in the military. We must continue to focus and collaborate on this subject. The result of not being diligent on the subject will be death for our comrades. Remember, PA Army National Guard Specialist Ivan Jose Lopez completed his suicide on January 28, 2011 nearlly two years after he returned from Afghanistan. Please read this and send me back your findings, thoughts, concerns and analysis.
"By Edward Colimore - Inquirer Staff Writer - When Army Sgt. Coleman Bean left Iraq to resume his civilian life in New Jersey, he was a changed man. No longer as outgoing, he appeared subdued and unfocused after two combat deployments. He also began drinking too much.
"I thought he just needed to unwind," said his mother, Linda Bean of East Brunswick. "I was just so grateful to have him home in one piece."
A few months after his 2008 homecoming, Bean couldn't deal with his feelings anymore. He wrecked his Jeep one night, was charged with DUI, and took a cab to his apartment in South River, Middlesex County, where he fatally shot himself." (end of clipped article text)
Sam
Another relevant article about suicide in the military. We must continue to focus and collaborate on this subject. The result of not being diligent on the subject will be death for our comrades. Remember, PA Army National Guard Specialist Ivan Jose Lopez completed his suicide on January 28, 2011 nearlly two years after he returned from Afghanistan. Please read this and send me back your findings, thoughts, concerns and analysis.
"By Edward Colimore - Inquirer Staff Writer - When Army Sgt. Coleman Bean left Iraq to resume his civilian life in New Jersey, he was a changed man. No longer as outgoing, he appeared subdued and unfocused after two combat deployments. He also began drinking too much.
"I thought he just needed to unwind," said his mother, Linda Bean of East Brunswick. "I was just so grateful to have him home in one piece."
A few months after his 2008 homecoming, Bean couldn't deal with his feelings anymore. He wrecked his Jeep one night, was charged with DUI, and took a cab to his apartment in South River, Middlesex County, where he fatally shot himself." (end of clipped article text)
Sam
Thursday, February 24, 2011
"Service and Sacrifice" book released February 17, 2011
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/2/prweb8151122.htm
www.serviceandsacrifice.net is the dedicated book web site.
From author Army National Guard Lieutenant Samuel J. Console comes a gripping story of men in combat. Made available through Xlibris, Service and Sacrifice will help Veteran’s families understand what their loved ones have faced overseas and how it affects them now.
The author – a platoon leader in Charlie Company, 103rd Engineers – and his men were mobilized in 2004 by the 28th Infantry Division and assigned as part of Task Force Dragoon, a battalion-size task force of close to eight hundred troops made up of infantry, armor, and engineer soldiers. In this bold and daring account, Console weaves his personal experiences, how his intrepid and brave group of combat engineers discovered, defused, and destroyed IEDs, saving countless lives of the US Armed Forces, Iraqi military, and civilians.
Filled with flashbacks and a lot of combat action, Service and Sacrifice also explains the inner strength among the men of the Charlie Company and their stories of personal triumph. Furthermore, it graphically explains the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that most soldiers have encountered.
“Service and Sacrifice defines the willingness of a people to volunteer during a time of need. Thousands have made the ultimate sacrifice. Many more were injured or changed forever. Writing about Iraq has been healing for me. I’m positive it will be healing for others,” the author remarks.
For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.
Service and Sacrifice * by Sam Console, 1st Lieutenant
Memories of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a Veterans Mental Health and Resource Guide
Publication Date: February 17, 2011
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 312 pages; 978-1-4568-6812-3
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 312 pages; 978-1-4568-6813-0
eBook; $9.99; 978-1-4568-6814-7
www.serviceandsacrifice.net is the dedicated book web site.
From author Army National Guard Lieutenant Samuel J. Console comes a gripping story of men in combat. Made available through Xlibris, Service and Sacrifice will help Veteran’s families understand what their loved ones have faced overseas and how it affects them now.
The author – a platoon leader in Charlie Company, 103rd Engineers – and his men were mobilized in 2004 by the 28th Infantry Division and assigned as part of Task Force Dragoon, a battalion-size task force of close to eight hundred troops made up of infantry, armor, and engineer soldiers. In this bold and daring account, Console weaves his personal experiences, how his intrepid and brave group of combat engineers discovered, defused, and destroyed IEDs, saving countless lives of the US Armed Forces, Iraqi military, and civilians.
Filled with flashbacks and a lot of combat action, Service and Sacrifice also explains the inner strength among the men of the Charlie Company and their stories of personal triumph. Furthermore, it graphically explains the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that most soldiers have encountered.
“Service and Sacrifice defines the willingness of a people to volunteer during a time of need. Thousands have made the ultimate sacrifice. Many more were injured or changed forever. Writing about Iraq has been healing for me. I’m positive it will be healing for others,” the author remarks.
For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.
Service and Sacrifice * by Sam Console, 1st Lieutenant
Memories of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a Veterans Mental Health and Resource Guide
Publication Date: February 17, 2011
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 312 pages; 978-1-4568-6812-3
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 312 pages; 978-1-4568-6813-0
eBook; $9.99; 978-1-4568-6814-7
Saturday, February 12, 2011
For the Soldiers, the grief process continues, today's Memorial Service
Sam
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Memorial for PA National Guard Specialist Ivan Jose Lopez
Please visit my Facebook page for more information. It is very late and the death of this Soldier has drained me. God Bless the troops of C-Company, 55th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (Engineers).
Ivan made the decision to go home. God rest his soul. For those experiencing grief, you are not alone. I have decided to tribute Ivan in my book chapter "Before It's Too Late". We must cast a wide net and watch for the signs of suicide. We must unite to prevent further events.
God Bless America and our Troops, wherever they are and especially if they are alone tonight.
Sam
Sam on Facebook
Ivan made the decision to go home. God rest his soul. For those experiencing grief, you are not alone. I have decided to tribute Ivan in my book chapter "Before It's Too Late". We must cast a wide net and watch for the signs of suicide. We must unite to prevent further events.
God Bless America and our Troops, wherever they are and especially if they are alone tonight.
Sam on Facebook
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