Retired Chicago police officer killed in Afghanistan…
Vietnam vet, Marine, Tom Boyle, 62, was training police in war-torn country. He retired from the Chicago Police Department in 2000. His wife says he was antsy after retirement, could not relax, and decided to see if he could be a contract instructor of local police overseas… Tom wanted to help people. He was in Afghanistan after working in Kosovo and Iraq. He gave all he was for the peace he believed was worth striving for for 30 years in Chicago and died in an attack in Afghanistan… A true Peace Keeper! Thanks Tom!!!
Retired Virginia Beach Police Officer found dead.
It is with deep sorrow to announce the death of Phillip Flanagan, 66, a retired Virginia Beach Police Officer. He was found deceased by a neighbor who called 911 on 06/19/12. Phil recently underwent colon surgery and also had several other health issues. Phil was hired in February of 1974 and retired on a job-related injury in March of 1995.
A True Peace Keeper… Thanks Phil!!!
3 U.S. troops, 26 Afghans killed in bomb attacks
KABUL — A suicide bomber targeted an Afghan-NATO checkpoint in the eastern city of Khost on Wednesday, killing 18 Afghans and three American troops, officials said. Two women, a child and at least two Afghan police officers were among those killed, the governor said in a statement. The Associated Press, citing information from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, said three U.S. service members and an Afghan interpreter also were among the dead. Thirty-five Afghans were wounded. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb detonated, fatally injuring eight Afghan civilians, four of them children.
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All Peace Keepers long for a world in which Peace Keepers and others do not have to die to secure life for their own loved ones and all other people. We dream of and work for a world of peace and prosperity that can live without violence and people conflict… Those of us that are also in the business of spiritual guidance know that the Book says that Peace Keepers in government service are there to bless the peaceful people and execute God’s wrath upon the wrongdoers. When we are called to that we can seldom rest a great deal, nor can we be at peace even when rules and law say we can no longer serve.
The spirit of the Peace Keeper will always be longing to be doing something that will contribute to the peace and safety of those whom they love and other people, even those whom they do not know. We do not rest well when retired, nor when we are hindered. Our minds are always zeroed in on the job and the people… On those rare occasions in which we are at rest and intentionally doing nothing, the job is one of those prevalent things to which our thoughts wander and often linger there.
Go to a gathering of retired Peace Keepers and see what is the topic of discussion most often… War Stories… Those things we did together or watched each other do, the things we overcame, the cohorts we miss who are not present… Even the friends we miss, sometimes whose names we cannot even remember. Many of us find humor in the retelling after the danger of the event has long passed. Watch and listen closely… We are most alive in actual service and in the retelling of those events that have comprised our career experiences that we can share with others… Of course all of us have some experiences that we cannot share for many reasons.
The wear and tear of the profession of Peace Keeping takes a while to develop for most of us. Usually because we are young and full of vinegar in the beginning… But when we start the degenerating process, at whatever point or age, from wear and tear or injury… We see the beginning of the long decline but we do not readily admit to it… We feel like we can go on forever and we try to keep projecting that image… Good men and good women are naturally like this…
But the ones called to Peace Keeping, the ones who cannot be alive doing anything else, we will not admit to any deterioration or depletion… We will not admit to slowing down… We will fight physical deterioration as long as we breathe and can move. Even when the body breaks down for some of us, it is so very hard to handle.
We go one of several ways when this condition strikes us and is something that we cannot deny and is seemingly unconquerable…
Some fight on no matter what, and sometimes we become difficult to live with… or…
Some climb into a bottle and try to drown it… Then again…
Some take chemical substances to try and shut it out…
Some are tempted to seek final solace in the use of our weapons upon ourselves to end the suffering…
Some seek spiritual change and ask the Creator to help them…
Some run everyone else away to keep them out of their misery and keep their presence from setting them off because we are ill and they are not ill, or maybe because they are also ill and neither can help the other…
Some retire, do not have any deterioration and get involved in some other field of useful endeavor.
Some go into seclusion and enjoy what they have earned.
Some never look back and never miss the job nor the people.
Anyone who has never been there has great difficulty comprehending the impact of these things! Those of us who have been there must be most careful that none of the negative ways of coping overtake us and destroy our remaining lives no matter how tough that life might be at any moment.
In my long journey of really tough spots I have suffered every kind of negative temptation that can be planted in the human mind. Some days have been a hard battle to just keep my mind clear of the negative temptations to run or die. Sometimes it felt as though I had no one to depend upon and was totally alone. Sometimes the pain was so great that nothing else could occupy the mind nor body.
In all of these temptations I cried out to God, my Commander-In-Chief. An answer, a help, a direction, a reminder, peace or an inspiration always came… Maybe not instantly, but assistance always came before whatever the temptation or difficult condition took over.
I clung to spiritual promises of the Scriptures…
Or I remembered something that could work in the situation…
Or I fell into a deep sleep that relieved me of having to do anything and awakened to a different and better situation.
It took me a while to be able to see the answers when they came… Sometimes I was expecting one thing and received another…
Sometimes I would complain that no answer had come and had to be shown that one did indeed come but I had missed it… When I put it to use the situation was relieved or changed so that I could handle it…
Since I learned to see and evaluate, I have always received something that would help in whatever the current situation was… Even if it was the worst kind we could experience… Even if the experience was death of a loved one or death of my career.
It took a lot of learning and time to build this kind of spiritual foundation. I have been doing this now for over 44 years of a personal spiritual relationship with the Living God that I call my Commander-In-Chief (Father), my Eternal Captain (Jesus) and my constant, ever present Helper, Teacher and Guide (the Holy Spirit)… And I am still learning daily!!!
Peace Keepers, I love you all… THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE AND FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING AND HAVE DONE FOR ALL OF US!!! BE EVEN GREATER BLESSED!!! “BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!” ALWAYS be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary. Take the very best care of you as you care for and about others. See to the strength and well being of your spirit as well as all the rest of yourself. Your spirit must be strong for you to be successful. All of this is by your own choice… He has made provision for you but it is up to you to learn it, take it and put it to use for the best results possible.
Call or write if I may be of any service… Or if you just want to encourage me… Feedback encourages all who write… It helps to know we are reaching someone who reads the message.
For Donna, they were able to punch through the huge blood clot on the 19th, install a stent and get the blood flowing. She has lost much of the swelling. They had to remove her access line in her chest and install a new one where they had inserted the Catheter through her upper right arm. The old one was involved in the clot. Her Sodium is still low and she is still in the hospital.
Son, Donnie, is still working sporadically.
I have had a good week with the good news on Donna. Yesterday I had to take my youngest dog for her annual vet visit. That is always a trying experience. The temperature was 96 yesterday with a heat index over 100 degrees. The heat and carrying her in the cage/carrier sapped my stamina. We were both glad to get back home and recover in the coolness.
I had a strange hunger for a special dish I make but could not find all the ingredients… I made it anyway and improvised with new ingredients and it was great… I ate the whole thing when usually the dish contains two servings, this time I was especially hungry and it filled that hungry need!
Thanks for all the responses, care, concern and prayers.
I have not heard from some of you in a long time. Let me know how you are doing!
As it has always been… So it still is!!!
“VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST…
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST…
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN.” Sun tzu
Training and practice are everything!
Without them, the best results are not obtained!
ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!
WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT…
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)…
BE SUCCESSFUL… BE SAFE…
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace... it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics... it means that if the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all the things and people that we hold dear.]
I represent, write for… and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live… with Him and for you I serve…
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not…
For God, Country and the Peace Keeper…
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers,
Surviving Peace Keeper,
Virginia State Police Alumni,
RETIRED Police Officer,
RETIRED Police Instructor,
RETIRED Chaplain Administrator,
Chaplain Emeritus,
Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety),
Virginia Beach Police Dept.
Blackwater Alumni
757-486-3881, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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All rights reserved. This Message:
Is for Peace Keepers and their loved ones and it may be forwarded with the complete message intact to individuals and web sites…
May not be duplicated in print nor publications without permission….
May not be used in any manner for personal financial gain nor profit
without permission.
Except for quoted material attributed to a specific source, all material in CHAPLAIN CORNER is my personal opinion gained from 49 years of working with people in peace keeping and is not to be construed to represent the policies and opinions of any department with whom I have served or am serving.
To subscribe to this free, weekly e-mail message for Peace Keepers,
write to Chaplain D. R. Staton at chpln1@verizon.net or at
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.
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