Veterans ride for lost brother, Eric Hall

Maybe this post should be titled, Out of Hopelessness, Comes Miracles? It's really amazing what Eric Hall did after he suffered so much back home. The sadness comes knowing he was not here to see it. He is somewhere in Heaven looking down and has God's ear to help his brothers. How do I know? Because that is exactly what is happening.

Leonard “Taz” Leary became a Chaplain for the Vietnam Brotherhood after suffering from PTSD. Joe “Blooper” Tine, President of the local Leathernecks MC is talking about it. If these are not miracles, nothing is.

There have been other stories on this blog about the reporting on Eric Hall from the time he was missing and everyone was looking for him, to when his body was found and what came later. Deaths like his tug at the heart of anyone becoming aware of them. They happen all too often. Yet somehow out of tremendous grief and anger, families rise above their own pain for the sake of other sons and daughters in need of help to prevent another parent from feeling the same kind of pain. In the process, other lives are saved because they understand that PTSD does not mean the end of life. It means they need help to heal to have a better life. They understand that all of it has a reason behind it and that reason is not because they are flawed, but because they are caring humans, exposed to horrific events in combat and felt the pain of others.

If you are a newer veteran, I'm begging you to get help to heal. If any pin head utters one single word against you, tell them science has proven PTSD, but they don't have a cure for idiots refusing to learn anything. If you are a Vietnam veteran, I can assure you that it is not too late to get help. My husband did and he's living life again. He's a Vietnam vet too. With one out of five coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan right now, they need all the help they can get and who better to help them than you? First you have to heal yourself and then you can help them. Make some miracles for your own family and then you can make some for other families feeling lost, alone and afraid.

Veterans ride for lost brother, Eric Hall
By GREG MARTIN
Staff Writer

A memorial ride Saturday to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder in honor of late U.S. Marine Eric Hall may have been led by his cousin, Adam Birge.

But many of the veterans participating in the ride said they felt like Hall's brothers, because they, too, know the horrors of war.

The intent of the Home Front Fight Motorcycle Ride — the second ride to be held since Hall, 24, died in Deep Creek on Feb. 3, 2008 — was to raise funds for the Eric Hall Memorial Foundation. The organization is dedicated to helping military personnel returning from war with PTSD, said Hall's aunt, Marge Baker of Deep Creek.

The foundation's goal is to establish a safe house or two to provide a refuge for PTSD victims, Baker said.

“Our family feels that if there were something like that for Eric, we would have been able to save him,” she said.

About two dozen people participated. After an hour's delay due to a torrential downpour, the riders embarked from the Black Widow Harley-Davidson/Buell dealership in Port Charlotte.

Often, due to the nature of combat, soldiers can't react to trauma until years later, said Leonard “Taz” Leary, chaplain for the Vietnam Brotherhood.

Leary said he didn't become aware that PTSD was the cause of his own anti-social traits until after Hall's death compelled him to review his VA file.

“I owe him my life,” Leary said.

Joe “Blooper” Tine, president of the Port Charlotte Chapter of the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club, said he experiences PTSD as “a startle reaction.” It could be set off by the sound of a helicopter or a 21-gun salute, he said.

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Veterans ride for lost brother, Eric Hall