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Martha Josey Prayer Request
for Neighbor in Texas


May 2006
Dave Mattern

After the Martha Josey Reunion race we thought it would be nice to get Martha online to talk about the race.  She agreed, and answered questions by phone while we typed.

Martha started talking about the race, then told us about Jamie Alford.  It went like this:

  "We had 430 riders we had good help and the ground was great.  It was a fantastic weekend.  

At the fish fry auction we sold a breeding to Harvey for $2,500 and the money went to Jamie Alford a Green Beret and former Josey student.  His father was in the military and so was his mother.   He came home from the service with mad cow disease after eating a sheep brain in a village he helped rescue.  Jamie is in a coma.   I believe in miracles so please pray with me for him.   It was the highlight of my weekend to be able to help.   He was the kind of boy who could do anything he wanted.  He was that kind of boy.  Jamies Dad got a standing ovation at the Fish Fry.  It made me cry and we are so glad to help."

Martha's ending comments about the fish fry made me curious to do further research and I found the following article about her neighbor, Jamie Alford:

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Staff Sgt. James Alford received a Bronze Star for heroism in Afghanistan as a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. Apparently while he was in-country, he contracted either a form of Mad Cow Disease, or else a rare form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is a fatal brain disease similar to Mad Cow. Symptoms began to manifest themselves after his January arrival in Kuwait in preparation for the attack on Iraq. Apparently Alford knew something was wrong, and he masked his symptoms, concealing from his superiors that something seemed to be happening with him.

At first, it was simply forgetfulness, and Staff Sgt. Alford was counseled and told to carry around a notepad to keep track of orders and assigned tasks - a not unusual way many military people keep track of things.

But it didn't stop there.

By March of 2003, Alford was seriously neglecting the very things that had made him a hero only months before. He was cited for dereliction of duty, larceny and lying to superiors. And to add insult to injury, he lost his gas mask.

When Alford went back to Kuwait for more serious counseling, the Army physician who examined him concluded that he was faking it. That apparently was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Finally in April, Lt. Col. Christopher Conner of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group Headquarters in Kuwait, ordered Alford back to Fort Campbell to be court-martialed with the words: "Your conduct is inconsistent with the integrity and professionalism required by a Special Forces soldier."

Alford was busted to Sergeant, but - fortunately - before the Army could court martial and discharge him, doctors finally discovered what was really wrong with him.

The Army cannot take credit for this, however.

Alford's parents were alerted to an apparent problem by a neighbor, and they drove the 600- mile distance to discover their once heroic son in what appeared to be the final stages of dementia. They rushed him to the emergency room, and then through several doctors, where the correct diagnosis finally was made.

At first there was a certain amount of foot-shuffling and finger-pointing, especially by the Special Forces Group's command staff.

Then Bill O'Reilly presented the case to the nation on his Fox News Channel program, "The O'Reilly Factor." on December 4, 2003.

Things happened quickly after that.

On Monday evening, Dec. 8, 2003, Alford's father, retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Alford, reported to O'Reilly that on Monday afternoon, his family was visited by eight senior Special Forces members.  The men were there to apologize to the parents about how they treated their son. James Alford had his full rank restored, with all back pay, all medical benefits, and all of the honor due a true American hero.

 When it is all said and done, the Army Special Forces takes care of their own. This was a case of terrible medical misdiagnosis, and a significant example of the poorest judgment. 

Staff Sgt. Alford has his honor reinstated, and even if these unfortunate events had not happened, he still would be oblivious to them, because he will die soon, a victim of a rare, always fatal, incurable disorder that may or may not have been caused by something he ingested in Afghanistan. It wasn't his fault, nor the Special Forces', nor the Army's.

Civilian specialists have even come to the defense of the Army doctors who missed the original diagnosis. According to these experts, diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually takes eight or more months - just like it did here. The staff sergeant got a tough break, but his superiors made up for it, and the command sergeant major himself is satisfied that they finally did the right thing.

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Now the rest of the story:

After I read the article, it appeared this happened several years ago, but the disease is usually fatal after only a few months.  After coming home in 2003, the doctors were convinced Jamie would not live to see Christmas.

 It's now May of 2006 and Jamie has seen three Christmas's.  I was a bit confused.

So I called his parents, Gail and John Alford this morning in Karnack, TX. 

Both parents were very gracious and happy to have us reprint the story about their son on Barrel Horse World.  As for the length of time Jamie has been able to survive, Gail & John couldn't guess as to the purpose God had in mind.

But they did tell me they considered every day they got to walk into his room and see him was a blessing to them. 

After all, he's their boy and they don't want to see him go.

Fighting back my own emotions I remember mention of a horse on the ranch.  I asked his mom, "Did Jamie have a horse?".  She said, "Oh yes. In fact while he could still communicate, one of  his last words was a request that we keep Apache for him."

There was a short pause then his mom told me, "Apache is still here.  He will be buried on the ranch."

I didn't know what to say at that point. And this story is tough to write.

Please . . . . Martha has asked us to pray for this family. 

They will appreciate it.

If you need to contact someone on how to help the family financially, try calling the Josey Ranch directly at 903-935-5358.  The Barrel Horse World community has contributed from the donation fund.

Dave Mattern

Jamie and Apachie