The common belief is that any day we can wake up to is a good day. While that is true, it’s not the way some veterans feel all of the time. Veterans have a tremendous nationwide support system. We can reach out to our brothers and the VA for help in many ways but sometimes death wins. An unreported number of vets have justifiably taken a life. We wake up some mornings reliving the visions and feelings that we initially experienced after watching people die. There’s always an empty seat next to us.

Today didn’t start out as a good day but writing this page was only possible because (today) I got past my own issues. Every veteran struggling with death probably has a different method for getting past the pain. My way starts with forcing myself to make a pot of coffee. Then I try to remind myself that I still have a responsibility, a duty to keep it moving. Some days this method fails me and I’m not successful.