PTSD veterans gain strength from eagle's broken wing

Isaiah 40
29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Vet saved on the wings of an eagle
written by: Joe Fryer, KARE 11 News,

MINNEAPOLIS - To many veterans, the original copy of the Declaration of Independence, on display at the Minnesota History Center over the summer, is more than a piece of paper.

"It's a document that goes right down into the heart," said former Marine Mark Lauer. "It just reminds me of why I served and why I was proud to do it."

To vets like Lauer, it's a symbol of freedom - like an American flag, or a bald eagle.

So when Bob Snitgen actually brought an eagle to the History Center, you can imagine the reaction.

Of course, to Bob, Harriet the eagle is more than a symbol of freedom.

"To me, she's a lifesaver," Snitgen said with a smile.

As a young man in the early 1960s, Snitgen joined the Navy. He spent two years on riverboats in Vietnam.

Those two years haunted him for many decades. Like so many vets, Snitgen suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"I would lay there crying because I couldn't get my husband to even talk to me," said Liz Snitgen, Bob's wife. "He would stay hidden in a room."

It was so bad seven years ago, doctors at the V.A. Medical Center in Minneapolis labeled him "homicidal/suicidal," and locked him up for months.

After Snitgen left the hospital, a friend suggested taking him to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. click above for more