Vet riding across state to raise PTSD awareness

Vet riding across state to raise awareness
To honor a friend and raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, a Fargo man will ride from Beach to Fargo beginning Sunday.
By: Beth Wischmeyer, The Dickinson Press


To honor a friend and raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, a Fargo man will ride from Beach to Fargo beginning Sunday.

National Guard Spc. Dan Olson, 26, of Bismarck, now of Fargo, served with Staff Sgt. Joe Biel, a native of Peever, S.D., and they became friends while in Iraq.

On their second deployment, the two were assigned to trip route clearance, or driving routes used by U.S. forces in search of military weapons. They located over 470 weapons, but reported they felt themselves always on edge, worried about their safety and the safety of others in their unit.

Biel and Olson returned from duty in November 2006.

On May 1, 2007, Biel’s family buried him in Wilmot, S.D., after he committed suicide just a few days earlier, a result of PTSD.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents or military combat, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems and can be easily startled, according to NIMH.

Backed by the North Dakota American Legion’s “Courage Carries On” program, Olson hopes that his ride will help other soldiers affected by PTSD.

“We started ‘Courage Carries On’ a few years ago just because of this whole suicide issue, to bring awareness of the issue of the post-traumatic stress disorder and how severe that can get to the point where somebody wants to commit suicide,” said Jim Deremo, chairman of the American Legion Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation committee.
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Vet riding across state to raise awareness