Media

On a beautiful day last week, our community was struck by tragedy. It was the last day of class at my alma mater, UNC Charlotte. Seniors were preparing for graduation and underclassmen were anticipating the summer break when suddenly gunshots rang out.

A deranged 22-year-old shot six students, killing two: 19-year-old Ellis “Reed” Parlier of Midland and 21-year-old Riley Howell of Waynesville. Reed was a smart, driven, and passionate student who was studying computer engineering and IT. His friends described him as an “empathetic, caring person who was always willing to talk.”

Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal survived three combat deployments to Iraq and even an enemy bullet through the chest. But now the dying Purple Heart recipient says he's enduring one of the toughest fights of his life: the right to sue the U.S. government for medical malpractice.

A bill named after a Fort Bragg soldier is making its way through Congress after he testified this week that he can’t hold the doctors who misdiagnosed him accountable for his terminal cancer.

Rep. Richard Hudson, whose congressional district includes Fort Bragg, is a co-sponsor of the bill which would allow service members to bring claims against the federal government in cases of medical malpractice or negligence.

Hudson first met Sgt. 1st Class Richard Stayskal in 2018 after the soldier received the cancer diagnosis.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVD) -- Despite being told he has less than a year to live, Fort Bragg Green Beret Richard Stayskal is fighting to the end to make a difference for not only himself and his family but for all military families.

This week in Washington DC, the Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal Military Medical Accountability Act of 2019 was introduced.