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WEST PARK - Gerald Hardy served six tours of
duty in the Gulf War and in Iraq and would have
re-enlisted and done another if the U.S. Army
had not discharged him last December.
Hardy is among about 40 former military
personnel seeking help from the Veterans
Stone of Hope Project, which helps
veterans who served in every war since World War
II. The group meets Tuesdays at the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 8195 in West Park.
The VFW Stone of Hope Project is
sponsoring a free veterans home buyer seminar
and expo Saturday at the post to show veterans
how to use the GI bill to buy homes and seek
other available assistance, such as Veteran
Administration medical benefits.
Since returning home, Hardy has found a job but
has a difficult time there. He is beginning to
understand with the help of other vets that he's
suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
"I blank out," he said. "My mind goes. I get
angry for no reason." Hardy is one of about 40
veterans who attend the weekly meetings with
people who understand what he's going through
because they've been through it themselves.
Many veterans experience difficulty adjusting to
civilian life after having served in combat. The
veterans told the story of a Vietnam veteran who
eats his meals separate from his family because
he was a sniper and trained to be alone.
"The reason I go there is to let it out," said
Rudi Towns, a veteran of the Korean War. "When
you let out that stress and anxiety, that's damn
good therapy. Now maybe they can talk to their
wives."
The post started Stone of Hope
four years ago. Besides group readjustment
sessions, the project offers individual and
family counseling, and refers veterans to
agencies that can help them with benefits
assistance and job placement. Vietnam War
veteran Carrington Scott, who lives in Pompano
Beach, said he was exposed to Agent Orange. He
had been fighting Veteran Administration
officials for years, seeking full medical
benefits, which he recently won with the help of
VFW counselor Danny Shannon and Bobby Scott,
Stone of Hope's director.
"I've been fighting for my rights since 1992,"
Carrington Scott said. "I am thankful to God for
putting them in my life."
The Stone of Hope Project, which
partners with other programs and services,
introduced Scott to V. Elaine Stevens, a real
estate agent, and as a result he has purchased
his first house in Tamarac.
Scott's success story gives other veterans hope.
But as they discussed their concerns this week,
they told sad stories laced with anger and
frustration at the system.
Retired Navy veteran Alex Cassell worked in
intelligence during the Vietnam War from a top
secret operation in a submarine in the depths of
oceans.
"There's no record of it," he told his fellow
veterans. "I'm very frustrated. If I didn't get
shot in the butt, I'm not in a war zone."
Cassell suffers from high blood pressure and
other ailments that are associated with post
traumatic stress disorder. "The bottom line is
it comes down to proving where you were," he
said. "When the nature of your business is you
weren't there, what do you do? It's confidential
classified material." As veteran after veteran
told his story, it didn't matter if they had
fought in World War II or the Iraq War. "The
horror stories continue," Cassell said.
The group's psychologist Dr. Patrick Dixon, who
sits in on the lively open session, is
supportive of the guys but every once in a while
injects a sense of reality.” That was then," he
says, "this is now." The South Florida Veterans
Multi-Purpose Center is a supporter of the
Stone of Hope Project. |
