Florida Public Television produces documentary on PTSD Combat Medic

Former Army medic from Stow featured in PTSD documentary
Conway Daily Sun
Published Date: Wednesday, 05 June 2013

STOW –A former Army medic from Stow, Maine, who is grappling with demons of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, has been sharing his story with a documentary filmmaker who has created a series called "Saving America's Heroes."

Saving America's Heroes are special reports that have aired on one of Florida's Public Television Channels called WXEL. The films were anchored by award winning journalist Tim Malloy who has embedded with soldiers in the Middle East multiple times.

"It's a program about a very difficult subject – the terrible injuries both physical and mental that are the legacies of the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan," Malloy tells his viewers at the start of one of the documentaries.

According to the National Center for PTSD, PTSD is a mental health problem that impacts some people who have been through a traumatic event such as combat, a natural disaster or an assault. It can cause flashbacks, depression, the jitters and other symptoms.

One of the soldiers Malloy interviewed was Travis Drew, of Stow, Maine. Drew served as a helicopter medic in the U.S. Army. Malloy notes that PTSD caused Drew to struggle to adjust to civilian and family life after spending two years in Iraq.

"One of the first of the 9-11 generation to drop everything to sign up and fight, Drew is as rock solid and rugged as the New Hampshire Hills where he grew up," Malloy said. "As an army medic, he was on the ground under fire in the heat of the fighting in Fallujah."
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Feb 18, 2013
Tim Malloy a former reporter for WPTV Channel 5, produced this new 2-part documentary for WXEL on the medical evacuation teams in Afghanistan and Iraq and post traumatic stress disorder in the armed forces.

Part 2 of the documentary examines the toll of PTSD on veterans of war. The show focuses on raising awareness for proper treatment when America's heroes return home and find themselves fighting an even bigger battle.

Published on Feb 19, 2013
Tim Malloy a former reporter for WPTV Channel 5, produced this new 2-part documentary for WXEL on the medical evacuation teams in Afghanistan and Iraq and post traumatic stress disorder in the armed forces.

Part 1 of Saving America's Heroes gives detailed footage and interviews of the medical teams responsible for saving the people fighting for our country. In the show, Tim Malloy details his experiences with an Air Force medevac team charged with picking up wounded soldiers and rushing them to surgical centers for immediate care.