Wounded veterans eat free at farmers market booth

Three veterans? organizations formed a booth at the farmers market in Washington where they sold meals to raise money for American Legion Post 29 and the English River Outfitters. The third organization was the Wounded Warrior Project, which is a worldwide veterans group that focuses on helping post-9/11 disabled veterans. The Wounded Warrior Project supplied the food for the event but asked that the money raised go to the other two veterans groups at the booth.

Barb Duder of Washington works with both the American Legion and the English River Outfitters. She said Thursday?s event was an opportunity to inform the public about what the three veterans? groups do and especially to inform the returning soldiers.

?In 2010, we had the largest deployment of Iowa National Guard troops since World War II,? Duder said.

To show their appreciation to returning veterans, the Legion gave a free meal to post-9/11 veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or higher. The Legion served hamburgers, bratwursts, hot dogs, chips and soda pop.

Aaron Olson served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. He suffers from traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress (PTS). He joined the English River Outfitters and is now responsible for guiding its hunts. The English River Outfitters have a resort for veterans five miles south of Washington. The resort offers veterans and their families a place to camp, fish, hunt and hike, all at no charge.

?We have seen so many individuals who are happy to see a place like this, where they don?t have to worry about the public view, where they can be themselves and just relax,? Olson said. ?They love it, and I do too. All I do now is spend time outdoors. I couldn?t think of anything better to do.?

Olson said he is struggling with his post-traumatic stress. He said he went to a PTS clinic in Minnesota this week where he has learned coping skills.

?I?m learning how to live life as it is now and not how it was in the past,? he said. ?You?re a different person when you come back.?

Olson said he knows of several resources for returning veterans that he is able to point them toward when he meets with them. He said many veterans are uncomfortable talking about their experiences. He said he knows not to pressure them to talk.

?They talk if they want to talk,? he said. ?We?re just buddies out there.?

Andrew Music of the Wounded Warrior Project traveled to the market all the way from Downer?s Grove, a suburb of Chicago. Music is a veteran of the Iraq War who served in Fallujah.

?We help the wounded vets transition into civilian life,? he said. ?Everything has changed for them. On top of their injuries, they have to deal with a changed environment. The stresses are different. In the military, there is a definite right and wrong. You know what to do in certain situations. In the military, they hand you a manual and say, ?This is how you deal with that.? When you come home, there is not a handbook that tells you what to do.?

Music said he graduated from high school and within a month was enlisted in the Marine Corps.

?When I got out, I didn?t know anything but the military,? he said. ?We have a ?Warriors to Work? program. We help veterans with résumés, the interview process and all the way to job placement, helping them find a job. We also help them with the benefits process through the Veterans Administration. If you don?t know what you?re doing, you can miss out on a benefit that you are entitled to.?

Music said his goal, and the goal of the Wounded Warrior Project, is to make this generation of wounded veterans the most successful ever.

?We want to empower them economically, mentally, physically, spiritually or to help them do whatever they need,? he said. ?We have events where guys come out and we go to a ballgame or we play pingpong. It may not have anything to do with awareness. We just want to make sure these guys don?t become hermits, staying in their shell. I know that when I came home, I didn?t want to do anything or go to the doctor. I didn?t want to go see my friends. It?s a large hill to get over and it almost seems it?s too high to climb. I wish that when I came home, someone would have come up to me and said, ?I know what you?re going through. You?ll be all right.??