When we think of casualties of war, we generally think of the thousands of brave men and women who courageously fought and died in the numerous wars and conflicts this country has been involved in. We often visualize the wounded veteran in the hospital suffering from an injury. We are bombarded with pictures of soldiers, sailors and marines with missing arms or legs. These images touch all of us dearly and we empathize with these wounded warriors. Monetary foundations are created in their honor. They receive “The Purple Heart” medal for sustaining an injury in battle. Generals, heads-of-states, and even presidents line up to shake their hands. The media brings massive attention to their stories and deservingly so. Their lives will forever be affected by the sacrifices they’ve made and by what they’ve gone through. We salute them and call them “Heroes.” However, there are other casualties of war that we don’t hear about as often. They don’t receive the massive attention that is lavished on the others. There are generally no Purple Heart medals waiting for them and no one is lining up to shake their hands. As a matter of fact, we call them by a different name. We call them “Lucky”. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, more commonly known as “PTSD” affects thousands upon thousands of veterans across America. It is not as easily recognizable as a missing limb, but as you can see by Mike’s story, it has a lasting effect on those who suffer from it. From migraine headaches to divorce, Mike can tell you better that anyone that he is indeed a casualty of war. I think that part of the problem is the fact that those in the military (especially men) are trained to be “hard”. They are expected to be “hard”. When you see your buddy killed in front of you, or when another friend loses his arm or leg, it seems like whining to complain about headaches, nightmares, cold-sweats and a short temper. You really do start to see yourself as lucky. Now don’t get me wrong. I think that Mike was very blessed to have returned home with his body intact but he did not return home unharmed. His condition affected everyone around him greatly which eventually led to the demise of his marriage and the estranged relationship with his children. Speaking from a personal note, I have seen first hand what I believe are the results of PTSD. My father served as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Although I was young when he left, I still remember the big smile on his face when he played with my sister and I. He always had time for us and I remember feeling safe and secure when he was around. I also remember the smile on my mother’s face when we were together as a family. I guess it was about two years later when he returned. Although he was happy to be home, I could see that something was wrong with my daddy. He didn’t seem to have much to smile about anymore. He was distant and didn’t want to be bothered with small things. Unlike before when he was involved with everything my sister and I did. Every little mistake that we made as children do, seemed to irritate him. His words were a little harsher, his temper was a little shorter and the spankings were more often than before. At the time I can remember thinking that it must be my fault. Maybe I had done something to make him not like me anymore. The smile from my mother’s face was now gone and I hungered for his love and affection. I wanted my daddy back. Eventually he and my mother divorced and she moved us out of state. Although we spoke on the phone from time to time, It would be years before I saw my dad again. We had grown apart and I was now a grown woman serving in the military myself. At age 40, I still find myself hungering for that affection that I was robbed of when my dad went off to war. I am truly grateful that he returned to us unharmed. After all, he was one of the lucky ones. Right? PTSD not only harms the individual suffering from it, as you can see in Mike’s story (and mine) it has a lasting effect on the families. Unfortunately the children are affected even more because they don’t have the understanding to know that daddy or mommy is suffering from an injury sustained from a traumatic event. The one thing that all children want more than anything (even more than an XBOX 360) is to receive unconditional love and affection from their parents. They hunger for it. And when they don’t receive it, it affects the rest of their lives. There are more people in this world with “mommy and daddy” issues than you can shake a stick at. In most cases it’s not that the parent didn’t want to provide that much needed affection, it’s because they didn’t know how or in this case were unable to do so after suffering from PTSD. It is a real problem that deserves more attention and greater help finding a solution. There are far too many “Mikes” walking around today. I applaud the “Take a Soldier Fishing” experiment. Fishing is quiet, relaxing and rewarding (when you catch a big one). Programs like this show the veterans that you care about them. As I drive through my city I see homeless people with signs asking for food and money. Too often the sign reads “HOMELESS VETERAN, ANYTHING WILL HELP, GOD BLESS”. I learned from a news reporter that spent a week with the homeless that most homeless veterans suffer from PTSD. They are unable to make the transition back into society when they return home. They now lack the social skills and temperance needed to obtain and maintain a steady job. They lack the patience needed to seek and obtain help from the government. These homeless veterans are all across America. I know we all have seen them and turned a blind eye. I believe that the only difference between these veterans and Mike, or these veterans and my dad is that Mike and my dad had a support system. Mike’s wife Dena held on as long as she could and tried to get him the help that he needed. Eventually it became too much for her and the marriage ended. Then along came Anndra. Since she had been previously married to a Navy veteran, she was somewhat familiar with what he was experiencing. Had it not been for this support system, Mike probably would have had to make his own cardboard sign. The first key to achieving anything in life is education. Then comes action. We as a nation need to be educated on PTSD. It needs to be brought to the forefront and dealt with, with as much vigor and attention as other injuries sustained from war. Until this is done, more veterans will end up on a street corner. More military marriages will end up in divorce and more children will have those “mommy and daddy” issues. PTSD is just as serious as sustaining a bodily injury in war. And until we are ready and willing to admit to it and seek help for it, the cycle continues. I praise our armed forces for their toughness. We see commercial after commercial about being “Army Strong” or “The Few, The Proud, The Marines” and of course the “Navy is not just a job, it’s an Adventure.” It was the commercial that got me to sign on the dotted line. Our toughness is the reason that America indulges in the freedoms that we have. But If I could implement one thing into the training that takes place on every military facility around the world, it would be to incorporate these three powerful words. I NEED HELP!