‘I Wasn’t Afraid to Die. I Was a Soldier’: Veteran Asks Heart Surgeon to Save Sentimental Tattoo During Transplant
Before his heart transplant, Louis Smith was prepared for death. In Saudi Arabia right after the Gulf War, the 66-year-old veteran helped lead a missile platoon that guarded aircraft. He served his country for more than two decades in the Middle East, South Korea and Europe. “I wasn’t afraid to die. I was a soldier,” […]
Trump Impeachment Whistleblower Vindman Wins House Seat in Veteran vs. Veteran Race
A Democratic Army veteran who rose to national prominence for his role in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial will be joining Congress at the same time Trump is set to return to the White House. Retired Army Lt. Col. Eugene Vindman, the twin brother of one of the main witnesses in Trump’s first […]
UK D-Day Veteran George Chandler, Who Escorted American Troops to Normandy Beaches, Dies at 99
LONDON — D-Day veteran George Chandler, who sought to counter sometimes glamorous depictions of the landings by recalling the horrors he witnessed escorting U.S. troops to the beaches of northern France as a young Royal Navy gunner, has died, his family said. He was 99. Chandler, who served aboard a British motor torpedo boat during […]
Army Veteran Found Guilty in Wife's 2021 Strangulation
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jurors deliberated less than three hours Thursday morning before finding Lee Cuellar guilty of first-degree murder for strangling his wife in 2021. The 2nd Judicial District Court jury reached the verdict following eight days of trail before Judge Britt Baca. A first-degree murder conviction requires Cuellar, 45, to serve at least 30 […]
Bush Fellow Aims to Challenge Ideas About What It Means to Be a Veteran
Amber Zora is a United States Army veteran advocating for peace. The interdisciplinary artist based in Rapid City received a Bush Fellowship she’ll use to challenge some dominant, widespread narratives about militarism and war. “How did the military get so overgrown? How did it become the thing it is today? At what point is war […]
An Alaska Veteran Is Finally Getting His Benefits — 78 Years After the 103-Year-Old Was Discharged
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 103-year-old World War II veteran who’s been paying his medical bills out-of-pocket is finally getting his veterans benefits from the U.S. government after 78 years. Louis Gigliotti’s caretaker says the former U.S. Army medical technician has a card from the Veteran Administration but he never realized he could use his status […]
St. Louis Veteran, Once a Bank Robber, Works to Find a New Life After Prison
ST. LOUIS — Kirk Hough enjoyed his first cup of Starbucks coffee in 16 years. The store on South Grand Boulevard was out of the dark roast he craved, so the barista gave him another coffee for free. He put $3 in the tip jar. Hough doesn’t have many vices. He doesn’t drink or smoke […]
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Army Veteran and Longtime Military Advocate, Dies at 89
OKLAHOMA CITY — Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, a conservative firebrand known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change, has died. He was 89. Inhofe, a powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for over six decades, died Tuesday morning after he had a […]
Case Against Army Veteran Charged with Killing a Homeless Man in Memphis, Tennessee, Moves Forward
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A U.S. Army veteran who served in the war in Afghanistan pepper-sprayed a homeless man and got into a confrontation with him before fatally shooting him with an automatic rifle in Memphis, a security guard and a police investigator said Tuesday. The guard and the police sergeant testified during a preliminary hearing […]
Coroner Names Veteran Shot 9 Times in Officer-Related Shooting in Wyoming
The name of an Army veteran killed in an officer-involved shooting on June 6 has been released. Trae Stewart Spurlock, 26, of Casper, was shot nine times at The Ridge at Blackmore Apartments on Thursday night in the 5000 block of Pay it Forward Drive, according to a press release and preliminary report obtained from […]