Story co-produced with Daniel Reid Marsha Lee Baker’s story reflects the side of the military community that supports from behind the scenes. The families of service members endures alongside them and their own unseen scars. When service members are battling their demons, their families battle alongside them. Marsha Lee grew up as what the military […]
Tom Baker: A wanna-be warrior
December 8, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Daniel Reid Tom Baker has suffered from PTSD for over 50 years. He enlisted in the Army and was overseas fighting in Vietnam at 19 years old. “Nineteen years old and you think you’re God’s gift to the war,” Tom said. “I wanted to jump out of airplanes. I wanted to get […]
Austin Summers: Overcoming Afghanistan and finding community
December 7, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Daniel Reid When people think of veterans, they think of people like Tom Baker. Yet combat trauma does not discriminate based on age. Austin Summers is a 25-year-old combat veteran. He served in Afghanistan for roughly six months and lost three of his friends. Austin enlisted in October 2016 and shipped out […]
The untold stories of PTSD: The veteran community at WCU speaks about their military experiences
December 7, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Daniel Reid Many holidays are set aside to honor, remember and celebrate the courage of military members, active, retired and reserves. From the civilian perspective, these holidays are three-day weekends off of work, cookouts with family and days to party. For the military community, these holidays have a deeper meaning. Memorial Day […]
Veterans Day lunch highlights the importance of camaraderie for WCU’s veterans
November 17, 2023 by
Story co-produced by Mackenzie Atkinson The WCU Office of Student Military Services celebrated Veterans Day by hosting a lunch in the Cardinal room of the University Center on Friday, Nov. 9. Over 30 WCU students and staff from all branches of the military attended the lunch. Not many know what it is like to have […]
Veterans speak about their unseen scars
November 17, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Ryan Mullis Story updated on 11.28.23 For most people in America, war is what we see in movies, video games, or on the news. We take for granted the bliss of never seeing the unprecedented horrors of combat. War comes with an invaluable loss of life and leaves deep wounds on the […]
