Gulf War Veteran With PTSD Reaches Out to Others

Gulf War Veteran Suffers from PTSD
Marco Soto started a non-profit to help veterans
KRGV ABC News 5
Aug 12, 2015

After an argument with his wife, Soto locked himself in his bathroom. Marco Soto, a husband and father, soaked in a tub with a gun in his hand and wanted to die.

MCALLEN
Marco Soto is a Gulf War veteran who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He said he found a “Buddy,” so he doesn’t have to go through it alone.

“I was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC,” Soto said.

He served four years of military service with the Air Force, in the Gulf War and on a medical readiness team.

“We saw all things,” he said. “From extracting bodies in pieces to putting them back together, to suturing, to trying to find out if there were any survivors at all. So that wasn't anything very pleasant to see.”

The Mission native served from 1994 to 1998. Soto said his life seemed fine until 2011.

“I was T-boned by a lady in a Chevy Cavalier, when the cars were made of metal,” Soto said. “It was like a 1984, or something; she T-boned me in my Harley Davidson.”

The father of four was hospitalized for six months. He survived 13 surgeries.

“I have a titanium rod from my knee to my ankle, and I've got a reconstructed hip,” Soto said.

The pain, smells from the crash and his injuries triggered the trauma of war.
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