by Travis Partington | May 12, 2018 | Podcast
Episode 92 – 21 Years a Folded Flag
I met with Richard Fitts Jr. and Rudy Childs on a cold April Sunday. Believe it or not it can get really cold and nasty during Spring in New England. We were meeting to talk about his documentary, “21 Years a Folded Flag”. Looking at the trailer got me interested in this story because I feel that Vietnam Veterans and Gold Star Family Members still get shut out compared to other wars and conflicts.
This documentary is about Richard Fitts Sr. who was a Green Beret in the Army. He lost his life in Laos on November 30th 1968 during a top secret, classified mission.
Richard was two years old at the time, and never got to know his father. Sitting there listening to him talk, I couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. It wasn’t until over 20 years later that the Fitts family got to find out what had happened to Richard Sr.
Richard wanted tell this story to keep his father’s memory alive. Rudy Childs started working on this film project and it became a labor of love. Richard and Rudy entered this film into a festival in Maryland and it almost won. They are proud of their work and I am looking forward to seeing the finished product. Check out their fundraiser (Fund my story/”green beret father”), and consider donating to help get this story told.
Check out the Sneak Preview to “21 Years a Folded Flag” on YouTube
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM3vZLQu_BY[/embedyt]
Richard Fitts Jr. and Rudy Childs will be presenting a sneak peek at the final unfinished version on May 29th, 7:00 PM at the East Bridgewater, MA Library.
The Library is located on 32 Union Street East Bridgewater, MA 02333. I will be there.
Richard Fitts Drive in Abington, MA.
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by Travis Partington | May 4, 2018 | Podcast
Episode 91 – Dirty VA Hospital Room
Question of the Week
Question of the Week is why do I crochet? Simply put, I crochet because I made a promise. A listener needed yarn to make hats and gloves for Veterans. I asked a group with Project Linus if they had yarn they could donate.
The group leader said yes if I learned to crochet. The image on the left will be my next blanket. It is a corner to corner blanket. I like doing this because it is something to do with my hands. Also the finished product goes to Project Linus (http://projectlinus.org/). I will keep them coming.
The Word
I was interested in the story that broke about a veteran’s father who took pictures of a hospital room that was, in a word, filthy. It is my understanding that hospital rooms are supposed to clean. Looking at the photos it seems that this room was dirty for a while. Stephen Wilson – The Father’s Twitter Page
My question is this. After all the outrage over a Master Sergeant who re-enlisted with a sock puppet on her hand, where is the outrage over this room? Where is the brass coming down hard on this? Where are all the Facebook Veterans who rail against the injustices of the world? Where are they? What are they doing? They would rather make noise over a sock puppet and get two people kicked out of the military than keep the heat on a VA Hospital that services Veterans. I don’t get it. But by all means, get angry over things that don’t really matter.
Upcoming Events
- June 10th, 2018 – #teamdarrah is having a cornhole tournament at the Avon VFW. This is to raise money for Veteran’s Causes
- July 28th, 2018 – Burnouts 4 Veterans will be at it again on July 28th at the Brockton VFW.
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by Travis Partington | Apr 20, 2018 | Podcast
Episode 89 – Jody Part 3
Norma Early III After 3 Marines worked this Jody over….
Take a good look at the image on the left. This is Norman Early III. Norman is a Jody who was having an affair with Diana Reyes, who was the wife of Marine Lance Cpl. Sergio Medina. When he found out is wife was having an affair he and two of his fellow Marines beat up Norman. You can read about the story here in the Washington Post Article – (Marine Veterans Sentenced).
Wes and I want to be clear. We can certainly understand how this Marine felt, and we can empathize with his situation. Jody was doing what used to be a crime, and got caught. If you read the article, you will see that Norman got a beat down. There is no sympathy from us for what happened to this guy. Married women are never a good risk for a fling. However, we simply cannot condone using violence to resolve a situation like this one. It never works.
Here are somethings we feel you should not do if you find out that Jody has been coming around like the cockroaches they are. I say they and cockroaches, because we understand this affects both men and women in the service.
1. Do not use physical violence to retaliate. These Marines destroyed their lives in 30 minutes.
2 . Do not speak, text or email threats of any type to Jody or your X. No soon to be X, just X. They are gone, goodbye
3. Do not try to take this out on Jody. As messed up as it seems, your significant other betrayed your trust. Jody was there to help.
That is about as K.I.S.S as we can make it for this month. Next month, we will go over what you should do. Thanks for listening.
Contact Emails
If you have comments, questions, or think we are just plain wrong, contact us.
- Wes – wesley.mullings@gmail.com
- Travis – travis@oscarmikeradio.com
Jody and Jodie Podcast Links
I will add the episode links so you can get caught up. This is a year long series, so buckle up
Links to Jody/Jodie Past Podcasts
- Episode 81 – Jody Part 1
- Episode 85 – Jodie Part 2
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by Travis Partington | Apr 6, 2018 | Podcast
Episode 87 – Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes 2018
Horses. Beautiful, majestic, peaceful creatures that most people do not know can help Veterans with PTSD. I talked to Julie Lovely last year, check out Episode 52 here – (Oscar Mike Radio Episode 52).
I met Julie on her farm and set up to begin talking with her. Note to self: Make sure I have headphones whenever I go remote. Snow had made scheduling challenging:)
We were in her barn, and to me this is the best part of doing this episode. Here we are sitting in a barn, outside on a cool spring day talking about what Julie is doing with Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes in 2018.
There is a lot coming up this year. First there is the Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes 2018 Benefit Dinner on April 21st at the Easton, MA Country Club. This benefit dinner and silent auction is to raise funds that Wild Hearts will use to provide equestrian therapy classes to Veterans.
2018 marks the first year that there will be two sessions for the Veterans. There is the Spring Healing through Horsemanship Veterans Program. Based on the need, Julie decided to have a fall session. Her program is growing, and I am happy that Veterans find this valuable.
Talking with Julie, I could see the excitement in her eyes as she was talking about working with Veterans. Even with all the work required to get the paddocks, barn, and training area ready all while preparing for the benefit diner, there was this undercurrent of energy that is contagious. I can’t wait to come back and talk with her and the whole crew this summer. I can’t say this enough, people who serve in this way deserve our support.
Information
Contest!!!!
I have two tickets for the 2018 Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction. Here the rules:
- Drop me an email – travis@oscarmikeradio.com or a Facebook Book Message and tell me how I met Julie.
- I will put all the people who put in the proverbial bowl.
- I will do a drawing on Facebook Live on Sunday, April 15th, 2018.
- The winner will receive two tickets at Will – Call if needed to come to the event.
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by Travis Partington | Mar 23, 2018 | Podcast
Jodie or the Family Court System
SITUATION
Matthew Hindes & his daughter. Navy Times
Wes and I have found that there have been situations of blatant hostility toward fathers in the military. Since we are trying to avoid anecdotal evidence, I found the story of Naval Submariner Matthew Hindes. Judge Margaret Noe had threatened Matthew with jail time and reverting custody of his daughter back to the mother. Matthew’s lawyer cited the ServiceMembers Civil Relief Act Subchapter II, Section 3931, Subheading 4D – Stay of proceedings – Link to the document is here -> UNITED STATES CODE Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Accurate as of March 6, 2016 .
Judge Noe, literally said she would not honor or respect Federal Statute, and threatened jail time for contempt of court. She also said she would take Matthew’s daughter away from him and giving her back to her mother. I got upset that people don’t think this kind of thing happens. Read the following links and you tell me if this is fantasy.
Navy Times Story about Matthew Hindes – National Parents Organization Write Up about Matthew Hindes
MISSION
Wes and I wanted to start framing these episodes with the concept of SMEAC, or the Five paragraph order: Situation, Mission, Execution, Admin/Logistics, Command and Signals. This way we can provide some ideas on how to deal with both Jody and Jodie from a warrior’s perspective.
Execution
We want you all to execute some self learning, and start arming yourself with knowledge. These are the links that Wes referenced in this podcast.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/child-support-process-administrative-vs-judicial.aspx
Admin/Logistics
Wes and I are not probate lawyers nor are we military law experts. You should always consult an attorney before making any kind of choice that could have an negative impact on your case. Also reach out for help from fellow Veterans if you are in a hard time. 22 a day is still a reality.
Command and Signals
As Wes said over and over, you must keep yourself under control in the courtroom at all times. You must try to master your feelings and emotions. If you think of this as battleground, it is easier to take those negative emotions out of the equation.
Contact Emails
If you have comments, questions, or think we are just plain wrong, contact us.
- Wes – wesley.mullings@gmail.com
- Travis – travis@oscarmikeradio.com
Jody and Jodie Podcast Links
I will add the episode links so you can get caught up. This is a year long series, so buckle up!
Jody Part 1 – Episode 81
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