We left veterans on wrong side of heaven and righteous side of hell

UPDATE FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Exceeds Fundraising Goal For '5FDP4VETS No One Gets Left Behind' Campaign

In tandem with the video's premiere, the group ignited a special crowd-funding campaign for a jersey entitled 5FDP4VETS "No One Gets Left Behind" on Indiegogo. The campaign's goal of raising $50,000 was bested by double in less than two day's time — exceeding $100,000. The campaign continues to run and the proceeds will benefit organizations that joined forces with the group to raise awareness for veterans suffering from PTSD. read more here

They have some of the numbers wrong. For a start, the number of veterans committing suicide every day is over 22. That means over 8,030 a year. That does not include the hundreds of active duty military also leaving us because they could not find hope enough to live one more day.

The part that is even sadder is, most made it out of combat, living long enough to get their buddies back home before their ended the same pain they had while they served right next to them. Imagine that. Imagine what it was like for them to push past all that emotional pain because someone needed them only to not be able to find someone there for them to help them live.

This has to be one of the most powerful videos I've seen in a very long time.

Wrong Side of Heaven and Righteous Side of Hell
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Five Finger Death Punch

"I'm no hero and I'm not made of stone."

The video, written by the band and directed by Nick Peterson is intended to increase knowledge about the plight of veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its larger repercussions for our country by way of affecting their mental and physical health, family life, assimilation back home after service and garnering quality job placement, among many other issues.

"What have I done and who have I become?"

I heard the voice of God in the tears of a Marine blaming himself for the death of another member of his unit. He was too sick to go out on patrol in Iraq one night. Another Marine took his place. When the unit returned, that Marine wasn't with them. He had been killed sitting where the sick Marine would have been. They told the sick Marine it should have been him. He returned back home with his unit but he was an outcast. He blamed himself and didn't think he was worth help.

I heard the voice of God in the cries of a National Guardsman after his second attempt at suicide. He blamed himself for opening fire on a car in Iraq while on patrol, the last of a convoy. It was a family of five, Dad, Mom and three kids in the back seat. He couldn't look at his own children and not see their faces. He couldn't hold his own wife and not see the Mom and he couldn't stop blaming himself for killing them.

I heard the voice of God when an Army Ranger had trouble finding the words for how he felt after he switched seats with his buddy in the Humvee right before a bullet struck his buddy's head, right where he had been sitting. His held his buddy in his arms as he was dying, looked up and said, you know this should have been you."

So many times I heard the voice of God through their pain and it worked out for all of these and more because they just found a way to forgive themselves, others and see themselves for what they actually were. Rare in this world. So rare they cared so much they were willing to die for the sake of someone else.

When we let all of this happen to veterans we are saying to God, they just don't matter as much to us as they do to Him.

I've been doing this for over 30 years because I met one of them when I was young, only he served in Vietnam. It was the same for him and thousands of other Vietnam veterans. I fell in love with the man I saw under the pain because I knew why the pain was there. Next month, we are having our 30th anniversary.

Watching the video, there is a moment when a man comes up to a homeless veteran. The veteran is not sure what is going on until the man sheds a tear. He picks him up and walks him away from the street he called home.

Too many times I cried watching this and then watching it again. It is about as real as it can be and this group, God bless them for doing it!