Veterans Day provides a dedicated time of the year for everyone to remember all those in their lives and communities who have served. Russell Lunsford and Ronnie Holt of Columbia’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post say that it should be used to remember to support veterans throughout the year.
Sometimes, however, it can be challenging to know how to help.
“Most veterans, they’re not going to tell their story in most cases to a non-veteran,” Holt said. “They will talk to us. But they aren’t going to talk to people in the community about it in most cases… Most veterans do not want to toot their own horn, as the saying goes.”
However, the lack of openness from those who have served can sometimes cause issues.
“If I have a problem, for example, PTSD, who am I going to talk to about it? And there has been such a stigma about it in the past about PTSD, and in some sense, it’s embarrassing to say, ‘I need help.’ There are cases like that. But that has changed tremendously,” Holt said.
Some analysis indicates an upward of 20 veterans per day commit suicide.
For the community to help rectify this and hopefully reduce these numbers, Lunsford says the best thing is to be “a good neighbor. If you see the signs that, you know, somebody is really struggling or depressed… it’s just like any other sign of depression.”
Another way to help is to refer veterans you know to groups like the VFW who focus on assisting vets.
“(The military is) a fraternity, basically,” Lunsford said. “And some guys, they go the rest of their life and they never speak out about (what they’re going through), that never ask for help, and that’s what the Post is there for. If they need help, we want to help them… People say the VFW is where old veterans go and drink beer and smoke cigarettes… No, we don’t allow drinking. But people have that image of the Post. They do bingo, they do dances, they do this and that, so they have that image. But that’s not what we’re about.”
If anything, he believes this image is harmful because it trivializes a resource for a group of people who already struggle to reach out for assistance.
Where the VFW hopes to intervene is to meet veterans through the community (events like Downtown Days or references from friends of these veterans) and then help identify what they need, be it another veteran to talk to or help navigate VA bureaucracy and signing up for healthcare.
Holt stressed that even if someone is in completely perfect health, “You still need to enroll in the VA healthcare system… you have earned that.”
In worst-case scenarios, the VFW can even help get those in need in touch with the VA or their representatives and senators in Washington, D.C. who can often pull strings to ensure the veteran is taken care of.
The VFW is also there to guide and support others who need it, such as widows of fallen soldiers or spouses who serve as caretakers for injured veterans. Holt described being the family of a veteran or a soldier as often being, “One of the hardest jobs in the military.”
For veterans who need assistance with any part of their service, they can contact VFFW Post 6097 in Columbia at 270-384-3988. If a veteran is in urgent need, they can call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. They can press 1 to and connect directly to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
