Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 21, 2015 Page: 3 of 40
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NEWS
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
A3
May 21, 2015
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Victim’s Family receives Purple Heart
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Visitors to the CRDAMC Health and Wellness Information Fair Monday sample food from PureFit
Foods, one of the many Fort Hood and local community resources at the fair highlighting the wide vari-
ety of services available to Soldiers and their Families that can positively impact their overall health,
well-being and personal growth.
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Photos by Sgt 1st Class Ben Houtkooper, Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs
ABOVE, Adam Vanderwal, a Minnesota National Guard Survivor Out-
reach Services coordinator, presents a Gold Star pin to one of Pfc. Kham
See Xiong’s children during a Purple Heart presentation ceremony in St.
Paul, Minn., May 14. RIGHT, Adam Vanderwal, a Minnesota National
Guard Survivor Outreach Services coordinator, presents a Gold Star pin
to one of Pfc. Kham See Xiong’s children during a Purple Heart presenta-
tion ceremony in St. Paul, Minn., May 14.
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commander of the 36th
at Fort Hood during the
BY 1ST LT. MELANIE NELSON
Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs
BY PATRICIA DEAL
CRDAMC Public Affairs
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STAFF SGT. KEVIN LEWIS
1st Cavalry Division
Staff Sgt. Kevin Darnell Lewis, 29, whose
home of record is listed as Plano, died May 14
from an apparent gunshot wound in Killeen.
Bell County Justice of the Peace Garland Pot-
vin pronounced him deceased at 8:20 a.m.
Lewis entered active-duty service in January
2005 as an indirect fire infantryman. He was
assigned to 3rd Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regi-
ment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, since
January 2014.
Lewis deployed in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom from April 2007 to June 2008
and from August 2009 to August 2010. He
also deployed in support of Operation Endur-
ing Freedom from November 2011 to May
2013.
Lewis’ awards and decorations include five
Army Commendation Medals, two Army
Achievement Medals, three Army Good Con-
duct Medals, two National Defense Service
Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with
campaign star, Iraq Campaign Medal with
two campaign stars, Global War on Terror-
ism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Offi-
cer Professional Development Ribbon, Army
Service Ribbon, three Overseas Service Med-
als, NATO Medal, Multi-national Force and
Observers Medal and Combat Infantry Badge.
The incident remains under investigation
by the Killeen Police Department. For further
details on the investigation, call Carroll Smith,
KPD public information officer, at 501-8807.
was able to get help. I still see a
counselor - I call it ‘Life Mainte-
nance.’ So don’t get concerned with
stigma. Regardless of job or posi-
tions of responsibility, you need to
take care of you. There are many
people who will help you.”
Retired Command Sgt. Maj.
Richard Cayton, former Forces
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witness the Purple Heart Ceremony.
Savre, with assistance from the Minnesota
National Guard casualty assistance office
and Survivor Outreach Services, presented
a Gold Star lapel pin to Xiong’s parents,
Chor and Pa Nou, his wife Shoua, and their
children, Kaylee, 9, Devyn, 7, and Jonah, 6.
“By order of the president of the Unit-
ed States of America, the Purple Heart
- established by Gen. George Washington
- is awarded to Pfc. Kham See Xiong for
wounds received in action on Nov. 5, 2009,
at Fort Hood, Texas,” was read from the
stage as Savre presented the Family with his
award.
Xiong was one of 12 children of Chore
and Pa Nou, who came to America from
Laos when Xiong was just 11-months old.
“His grandfather, father and uncles served
with the United States during Vietnam,
fighting for democracy and the freedom of
Killeen native Tommie Harris,
Jr., former NFL defensive tackle,
and other prominent guest speak-
ers delivered a powerful message of
overcoming stigma associated with
behavioral health and seeking help
to heal invisible wounds at Carl R.
Darnall Army Medical Center’s 4th
annual Health and Wellness Infor-
mation Fair Monday.
“I’m not going to sit back and
act like things don’t bother me just
because the world wants me to be
OK. I’m not OK. I’ve decided to
unveil my wounds. No matter how
painful, unveil your wounds. Let
others see and talk about it. When
you can do that, that’s when things
start to come together,” Harris said.
“If you keep a wound covered, it will
affect the whole body. Let it air out.
Admit that you need help. The more
you talk about it you will realize
you’re not the only one. Once you
do that, you’ll see that the situation
becomes just a scar that doesn’t hurt
anymore.”
The senior-enlisted adviser for III
Corps and Fort Hood also empha-
sized that people should not be afraid
to speak out and get help. While
introducing Harris, Command Sgt.
Maj. Alonzo Smith shared his own
story where he tried to deal with
physical and invisible wounds he
sustained in a complex ambush dur-
ing a deployment.
“I thought nothing could shake
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me. My resiliency level was a 10, I’m
fine. But you know what? Years of
experience don’t equate with solid
resiliency. I wasn’t fine. I couldn’t
handle this on my own. If I didn’t
want to be a statistic on the wrong
end, I would have to reach out,”
Smith said. “Through a cocktail of
different agencies and programs, I
FALLEN J
WARRIORS
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the Hmong people,” Savre said.
Three of Xiong’s brothers are
the U.S. armed forces today.
His assignment as a mechanic with the
Forward Support Company, 20th Engi-
neer Battalion, 36th Eng. Bde. was Xiong’s
first Army assignment. In preparation for
a deployment to Afghanistan, Xiong and
his comrades were completing a Soldier
Readiness Processing event when Maj. Nidal
Hassan opened fire in the medical building,
killing 13 people and wounding 32 in the
attack. Xiong was one of the 13 who did not
make it out of the building alive.
Hasan was convicted in August 2013 of
13 counts of premeditated murder and 32
counts of attempted murder.
“His loss will never be forgotten by the
Xiong Family, nor the Hmong community,
and our nation will forever be in his debt,”
Savre said.
*
Visitors to the CRDAMC Health and Wellness Information Fair Monday gather information from one of
the many Fort Hood and local community resources at the fair highlighting the wide variety of services
available to Soldiers and their Families that can positively impact their overall health, well-being and
personal growth.
TAMA
Photos by Patricia Deal, CRDAMC Public Affairs
Killeen native Tommie Harris, Jr., former NFL football player, delivers a powerful message of overcoming stigma and heal-
ing invisible wounds at CRDAMC’s 4th annual Health and Wellness Information Fair Monday.
Command and III Corps and Fort
Hood senior-enlisted adviser, also
told his story of how getting help
for alcoholism and other negativity
in his life.
The speakers’ words resonated
with the theme of this year’s fair,
“Overcoming Obstacles, Restoring
Balance and Building Resiliency.”
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CRDAMC Health and Wellness Fair promotes overcoming stigma
Many behavioral health resources
from Fort Hood and local commu-
nities were on hand to highlight the
wide variety of services available to
Soldiers and their Families which
can positively impact their over-
all health, well-being and personal
growth.
In addition to the many resources
and services at the fair to help with
depression, alcohol and substance
abuse, suicide, post traumatic stress
and other behavioral health issues,
there were also representatives from
colleges, chiropractic care, massage
therapy and other health and well-
ness organizations. Beauty school
students provided free haircuts and
manicures to attendees. PureFit
Foods gave free health food and
drink samples. There were other
live demonstrations, free samples,
and giveaways throughout the day.
“The intent was to increase peo-
ple’s awareness on overall health
and wellness and the importance
of achieving balance and building
resiliency. The whole idea is that
your wellness involves every aspect
of your being - spiritual, physical
and mental. If one of those areas
of your life is out of alignment,
it impacts your overall wellbeing,”
said Col. Sharette Gray, chief,
Department of Behavioral Health.
“We want everyone to know that
there are just so many resources
available to help you in all areas of
your life. The important thing is to
be willing to seek help when you
need it. You just need to ask.”
ST. PAUL, Minn. — More than five years
after Pfc. Kham See Xiong lost his life in
a mass shooting at Fort Hood, the Xiong
Family received his Purple Heart in a cer-
emony during Hmong American Day in St.
Paul, Minnesota.
“Kham was an American Soldier, a
Hmong-American who raised his right hand
and swore to defend the constitution of the
United States, a hero,” said keynote speaker
Brig. Gen. Kent Savre, Fort Leonard Wood
commanding general.
Savre served as
Engineer Brigade
attack.
Four hundred members of the Hmong
and St. Paul community crowded into the
Harriet Island Pavilion as rain fell May 14 to
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Pruden, Todd. Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 21, 2015, newspaper, May 21, 2015; Fort Hood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1205096/m1/3/?q=%22Places+-+United+States+-+Texas+-+Bell+County%22: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.