Retired Marine Matthew Brown will never forget the moment he was shot by a sniper while fighting in Fallujah.
“They weren't really sure where I was shot because there was blood everywhere. Sorry (chokes up) Little difficult to talk about sometimes.”
There were operations, there were months of rehab.
He learned to walk again but there was something else that wasn’t right.
Brown had post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Tom Tarantino is with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
“What we know is that a third of vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan aresuffering from some type of combat-stress injury.”
Now his group is helping Veterans like Brown cope with PTSD.
“No one can talk to a vet like another vet. No one can understand what's going through, what a combat vet is going through, other than someone who has also seen combat.”
They’ve launched a social networking site for veterans: communityofveterans.org, with forums about everything from GI Bill to coping with anxiety, and how to talk to friends and family about being in combat.
For Brown, talking to his fellow soldiers is already making a difference.
“I now realize I don't want to be another number on a piece of paper. I want to live to be 70 or 80.”
Click here to go to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America website
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