"There's somebody out there to help you. Reach out. And let somebody else talk you through what you're going through."
Nicholas Vaughan
In the days leading up to Veterans Day, WNPR brings you stories from veterans and those in their community.
Nick Vaughan served with the U.S. Marine Corps and is an Iraq War veteran.
"I think the first time I really, really had a sense that my actions had consequences that mattered was when I deployed for my first time. You can鈥檛 screw up. You can鈥檛 slack off. Like you need to put all of your effort into everything you do.
"My first two deployments were from 2004 to 2005 and then 2006 to 2007 both in Anbar Province and at that point I had come to the end of my enlistment.
"But with the way that the cycle had worked, there was nobody experienced that was going to be going back for the next deployment. Because I had those two tours' worth of experience, I extended my enlistment for another year just so I could go back and provide some leadership and experience to the people that were going over for their first time.
"I think I experienced some of the frustration that everybody else experiences as a veteran when you come back and you鈥檝e put in all of this work and you see what you鈥檝e accomplished and those skills aren鈥檛 understood in the outside world. And pretty much you鈥檙e starting from the same starting line as some 19-year-old kid that just graduated high school. You have to go through college and go through the whole process all over again.
"I was very lucky in that when I got out, I chose to move in with friends from the Marine Corps who鈥檇 gotten out a little bit before me. So I was able to take some of their experience and they鈥檙e like, 鈥淟ook, what you鈥檙e feeling is normal. Like, don鈥檛 worry about it. Don鈥檛 fret. There鈥檚 ways around it.鈥� It was a combination of those friends helping me wrap my head around the way my life worked now.
"First and foremost you鈥檙e not alone. There鈥檚 somebody out there who has gone through, if not exactly what you鈥檝e gone through, something very similar. Don鈥檛 hesitate to reach out. One of the things I鈥檝e noticed about all the veterans that I've met since we鈥檝e been out is we鈥檙e very eager to help people that are getting out. We don鈥檛 want people to struggle. There鈥檚 very much an attitude of 'we take care of our own.' There鈥檚 somebody out there to help you. You鈥檙e not alone. Reach out. And let somebody else talk you through what you鈥檙e going through.
"So for me, Veterans Day is a chance to reconnect to the people I served with, and kind of remember the good and the bad of our old times together."
