A double-amputee. An Army Ranger. A Vietnam War veteran. An Air Force medic. And another Vietnam-era vet who never saw combat – but still struggles with PTSD.
For these former U.S. service members, and the millions of others like them, Veterans Day is a deeply personal time.
Each year on Nov. 11, people around the country take a moment to appreciate veterans. Whether it be a city-sponsored celebration or someone thanking a stranger for their service, American citizens celebrate Veterans Day to recognize those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
But for veterans, who comprise approximately 6% of the U.S. population, the day means something different for all. For some, it’s the one day a year they really feel appreciated. For others, it’s a call to action.
Here are some of their stories.
Davey Lind, U.S. Marine veteran
For 55-year-old Eastvale resident Davey Lind, it’s a reminder of the ultimate sacrifices people have made for the country.
“Freedom is not free,” Lind said. “I was doing my job at the pointy end of the spear, at the kinetic end of diplomacy, representing my nation and I paid the price.”
Lind was an active duty marine for 20 years, enlisting in 1989 when he was just 18. During his service, he was at Desert Shield Desert Storm during the Gulf War, in Afghanistan immediately following 9/11 and served three combat tours in Iraq.
During his last tour in Iraq, on June 14, 2007, a roadside bomb went off directly under Lind’s vehicle, rendering him a double leg amputee.
“We were starting combat operations and our vehicles were in convoy and for whatever reason, the five vehicles in front of me missed the device and my vehicle did not and it exploded directly underneath me,” Lind said. “I remained conscious the whole time. I became aware right away that I was missing my right leg.
“I extracted myself from the vehicle and when I did and I got on the ground, I tried to use my left leg to push away from the vehicle – we were very concerned about fire,” he added. “And when I tried to push with my left leg, I became aware that I was a double leg amputee.”
Lind was rushed to a nearby hospital before being medevaced to Germany, ultimately ending up at a hospital in Maryland.
“I went from jumping out of planes to not even being able to get myself to the bathroom,” he said, adding he never imagined this would happen to him. “I thought I’d live or die. I never thought I’d be seriously injured.”
But even before losing both his legs, Lind faced challenges as a Marine.
“As an older Marine, in 2001, combat was decidedly different,” he said. “I was married with kids. After the events of 9/11, deployments became much more aggressive, six and seven months in the combat zone. So it was very challenging at that time.
“The challenge became being away from the kids, your family,” Lind added. “It becomes difficult to miss everything. You missed every birthday. I missed all kinds of Christmases. Being called to do this job while simultaneously seeing the impact that it has on others was a pretty big challenge.”
On top of that, Lind said, the combat became more challenging and dangerous as the military began shaping what the global war on terror was going to look like. When it comes to the sacrifices he made – missing time with his family, seeing friends die and losing both his legs – Lind said it was worth it.
“Freedom is not free and this is a great nation,” he said. “It requires dedication and at times, sacrifices that are uncomfortable.”
Ryan Antes, 75th Ranger Regiment veteran
Long Beach resident Ryan Antes, a former Corporal in the 75th Ranger Regiment, said that he also felt this sacrifice while serving in Iraq.
Antes was deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 as an infantryman in the 75th Ranger Regiment and then in Iraq during the 2003 invasion as a corporal.
The 75th Ranger Regiment is a specialized Special Operations Forces unit, requiring intense training and skill, Antes said. For the most part, he said, his duties included an extensive list of direct action missions and airfield seizures
While in Afghanistan, Antes secured safe houses on the outskirts of the country and patrolled along the Pakistan border. In Iraq, however, Antes risked his life to save another’s.
“During the early part of the war, I got to participate in the Jessica Lynch rescue mission, which was the first successful POW rescue mission since WWII,” he said. “The night of the rescue mission, I was the radio operator for our company first sergeant. It was briefed as a suicide mission. We expected some really heavy fighting and expected not to be able to evacuate all of our casualties quickly.”
However, that ended up not being the case, Antes said. They successfully rescued Lynch – with no U.S. casualties.
“Veterans Day is a time to reflect on those who have served and what they’ve done for our country,” Antes said. “For me, it’s a day to remember my friends – some of whom are still with us and some who aren’t. Serving in the Army was probably one of the smartest decisions I made with my young life and I’m grateful for the lessons I learned doing it and I like to take (Veterans Day) to think about how grateful I am for the opportunity and the privilege to have served.”
But, Antes said, U.S. veterans do not have access to the services they need – especially when returning from combat.
“There isn’t necessarily the comparable level of attention paid to that transition back to civilian life,” Antes said. “And for a lot of us, it leaves us feeling isolated and like our military family is gone. And I think that loneliness of the transition back from service to the civilian world can be devastating for folks.
“Finding a way to reintegrate into the community is the big challenge,” he added. “That’s where you see some of the high rates of suicide.”
Nick Sramek, U.S. Army veteran
Eighty-two-year-old Army veteran Nick Sramek said he has seen – and felt – firsthand the difficulties veterans face acclimating after serving.
Sramek, also from Long Beach, served three years in the Army after enlisting in 1968 at 24 years old. Contrary to many at the time who were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, Sramek said he felt it was his duty to serve his country.
“It was my turn to serve my country,” he said. “I enlisted pretty well knowing I’d be going over to Vietnam.”
After enlisting, in fact, Sramek was supposed to be deployed to Vietnam.
“I was actually on my way to Vietnam and I said goodbye to my wife and family,” he said. “I went through the entire line, got all my gear and within two or three hours they stopped the process.”
As they began giving Sramek the vaccinations needed to go to Vietnam, he began having allergic reactions – and they could not deploy him. So he spent most of his time stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, working as military police.
Even though Sramek did not go to Vietnam, he said he suffered the criticism that all veterans faced at the time because of the war’s unpopularity.
“When I got out, you didn’t want to tell people you were in the service because there was so much animosity towards veterans who were in the service at the time,” he said. “I actually got turned down for a couple jobs.”
That reception, Sramek said, made him hide a part of his life.
“You go to support your country and try to do the right thing,” he said, “and you come back and people made you feel terrible that you even went.”
And veterans who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Sramek said, were not able to get the help they needed, leading to drug and alcohol abuse, depression and even suicide.
Even though he did not fight in Vietnam, Sramek said, he has PTSD.
“Almost every night on the TV they would list the names of people who had been killed in Vietnam,” he said, noting that he would watch the news each night, waiting to see the names of friends or neighbors.
And, oftentimes, that is how he found out they died.
“I have some neighbors and a lot of friends who didn’t make it back,” Sramek said. “I knew them, their families, and it’s really difficult. PTSD is real. It’s been 30, 40, 50 years and it’s there forever.”
When it comes to Veterans Day, Sramek said, it’s not only a day of pride and honor, but also a reminder of veterans who are suffering today.
“A lot of our veterans who are back here and have issues still don’t know how to go and get all the help that they need,” he said.
Frank Scotto, U.S. Army veteran
Torrance resident Frank Scotto said that he, too, had a complicated relationship with Veterans Day after serving during the Vietnam War.
Scotto, 78, was drafted in 1970 at 20 years old, and was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington. This was called the “overseas replacement station,” Scotto said, and his job was to help get people ready to go over to Vietnam.
“I was drafted the first month of the lottery and that was a really difficult time because in 1970, Vietnam was not a very popular war,” he said. “Vietnam was a very difficult time, but the most difficult was when we got out.”
After returning, Scotto said, he and fellow veterans received derogatory comments – and sometimes faced violence.
“We weren’t really accepted back with our fellow workers,” he said. “You were the bad guy. You were part of the military. And we had nothing to do with the war. We were representing the American people in a war that wasn’t popular, but it wasn’t our fault.”
It was also difficult to have served and return three years later to discover so many people he knew had died, Scotto added. In fact, most of his graduating high school class were killed in Vietnam.
“I have friends that it literally scarred them knowing people hated them for serving,” he said. “I know people that when they got out, they wouldn’t even tell other people that they were in the military. And that’s sad.”
However, Scotto said, this has changed. And now on Veterans Day, he feels proud to have served his country.
“People have finally come around to realizing that we weren’t the bad guys,” he said. “It makes me feel really great because now they accept us just as well as everybody that came back from World War II, the Korean War and more recent wars.
“We’re not singled out as someone (who was) part of a war that the American people didn’t accept,” Scotto added. “There’s a true camaraderie that we have knowing that we all were in the military doing different jobs and different things, but we all had the same desire to protect this country.”
It is important, he said, to educate young people on the fact that everything accepted as normal in this country is not free.
“People sacrificed their lives for this to happen,” Scotto said, adding that he thinks veterans deserve more help than they are getting.
“When they’ve experienced very serious things, we have to recognize that we have put them in that situation,” he said. “So it’s our responsibility as citizens to help them get through that.”
John Oppenheim, Air Force medic
U.S. Air Force veteran John Oppenheim, an 85-year-old Long Beach resident, enlisted in the U.S. Airforce in 1958. He was trained as a medic at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino. While the draft was still in place during the brief peace time between World War II and the Korean War, Oppenheim said he wanted to have control over his service.
He was training to be an independent Air Force medic that would be available to jump out of planes and help injured soldiers. Though he was never deployed, he trained in every department in the hospital and worked as an independent EMT in an ambulance.
Oppenheim was discharged in 1958 and left the military, going to school, starting his career and having a family. Years later, however, Oppenheim was fired and needed health insurance and was told to got to the VA Hospital, since he would qualify for benefits.
It was there that he saw veterans suffering — and knew he had to do something about it.
“I walked into the VA Hospital,” Oppenheim said, “and it was just like walking back into the military even though it had been years since I had been there.”
He knew he wanted to do something. So, since he was already a certified yoga instructor, he decided to teach yoga, tailored for those with PTSD at Century Villages in Cabrillo, a housing site for homeless veterans, and the VA Alcohol and Drug Recover Center.
“I got to know them pretty well and realized that they weren’t being taken care of,” Oppenheim said. “I started off as just somebody that cared and then I became an advocate for senior veterans.”
Nearly 50% of veterans are older than 65 years old, according to the U.S. census, and Oppenheim said that often, they struggle to access services or have someone advocate for them.
“Veterans – and as they age, their offspring – are looking for resources,” he said. “And they pick up the phone and call the VA and don’t get anything. Then, pretty soon, they get frustrated and just give up.”
So Oppenheim decided to create the Long Beach Area Veterans Collaborative, a nonprofit that supports community-based organizations that serve veterans, and connects veterans with the best resource for their needs.
It’s great that veterans are honored and celebrated on Veterans Day, Oppenheim said, but for many veterans, it’s purely symbolic — because “every day is a day that they suffer.”
Oppenheim said he didn’t used to include himself in Veterans Day, since he never saw combat. But then he realized the sacrifice of being a veteran is not only what he did, but also what he was willing to do.
“When I went to join the military on Nov. 18, 1958, I signed all the papers to join and one thing you sign, which is kind of a metaphor, is a blank check for your life,” Oppenheim said. “The government owns you. They can do whatever they want with you; send you where they want and have you do whatever is needed. So that’s a common bond, is that door we all walk through.”
And for Scotto, Sramek, Antes, Oppenheim and Lind, Veterans Day should service as a reminder the debt the country owes those who served.
Veterans Services
All five of these veterans have different stories and different experiences. Some saw combat and some didn’t, but the one thing they have in common was their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Throughout their journeys, they have all utilized and supported different veteran services. Here are some they recommend:
Semper Fi & America’s Fund: The fund provides support for critically wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and military families. After the explosion that left Lind a double leg amputee, Semper Fi & America’s Fund found him at his bedside, flew his family across the country, paid his bills, remodeled his home to make it wheelchair accessible and helped Lind acquire his service dog, Bane.
Long Beach Area Veterans Collaborative: Oppenheim created the collaborative and Antes serves as president of the advisory board. The collaborative has created a directory of all community-based organizations that provide services to veterans and works with these organizations to support their services.
American Gold Star Manor: This community, where both Antes and Sramek volunteer, offers affordable housing for both veterans and Gold Star parents – the parents of a military service member who was killed during combat.
New Directions for Veterans: This organization has provided services for the more than 4,000 homeless veterans in L.A. County, including Sramek’s friends. These services include substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment and connections to transitional, emergency and permanent supportive housing.