Connecting Warriors and Healers Nothing New

Great idea but far from new. That is why the Nam Knights did it back in 1989.

In the summer of 1989 a small group of Harley-riding combat vets of the Viet Nam War, who were also police officers, banded together to form the Nam Knights.

The Club was founded in New Jersey by Jack Quigley, now retired Undersheriff of The Bergen County Sheriff's Department. Jack served as a platoon sergeant with the 11th Motor Transport Battalion, First Marine Division.

As Jack has said: "The club was formed to recapture the brotherhood its founding members shared while serving in Southeast Asia, and to help other veterans of all wars who are unable to physically or financially help themselves."

Armor Down looks to connect "warriors" and "healers" through The Honor Brigade
Pentagram
By Hannah Troyer Editor
January 13, 2017

Hannah Troyer
At an Armor Down event January 10, a display for meditation and a moment of mindfulness featuring the battlefield cross was available for attendees to use

Memorial Day may not be for months, but Armor Down Founder and Iraq War Army veteran, Ben King, is hard at work to grow his organization and its purpose. King, along with 100 other people, gathered at the Mazza Gallerie in Washington, D.C. Jan 10 to create a new connection – a new community of what he calls “warriors and healers.”

The group came together to watch a screening of “Thank You for Your Service,” a gut-wrenching documentary by Tom Donahue that discusses the failed military mental health policies and their consequences. The documentary follows four Iraq War veterans as they face a new war within themselves and figure out ways to heal.

The mental health crisis facing the military is nothing new, but King believes there is a new way to approach it. By uniting the “warrior” community – active duty military members, first responders, veterans and their family members with the “healer” community – yoga therapists, mindfulness practitioners and friends, King believes a new conversation and form of healing can begin.

“We know warriors recognize the value of honoring the fallen and then there is the healer community and this mindfulness community, and we know they value honoring the fallen,” King said. “So, we figured why not create a conversation around honoring the fallen that both of these communities can totally get behind and feel authentic about. We just needed something to start the conversation and Tom Donahue’s film came up on my radar, and we started there.”
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