PTSD Gulf War Veteran Gets New Wheels

Valley vet wins vehicle for heartwarming life story
KPHO News
By Jason Volentine
Nov 26, 2015

PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) - A Valley veteran got an early holiday surprise after a string of bad luck and a battle with addiction.

He's turned his life around and won a car for his efforts.

“Oh my goodness.Yeah! Alrighty!” said Douglas Jackson, starting his new car for the first time.

The sound of the engine turning over was the sound of a page turning in Jackson’s life. “My children are just going to be so happy. They've been having to go around on buses and riding bikes and everything. It's going to give me a whole new life with my children,” he said.

The U.S. Marine veteran served in the first Gulf War. He helped sweep mine fields so troops with heavy equipment could make it safely from the bases in Kuwait to the battlefields in Iraq.

But years after the battles faded from the headlines, the things Jackson experienced remained unforgettable. Post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism sent him into a spiral that cost him many things, including a place to live and a car to drive.
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