Veterans groups in the Shenandoah Valley are battling a silent killer of our soldiers.
The Staunton-based Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hosted a public forum on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Experts focused on helping friends, family members and employers recognize the disorder, and get treatment for those who suffer from it.
Organizers say PTSD is all too common among veterans, including those who've returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Sometimes veterans are in denial, they do not realize that they have PTSD," VFW Post 2216 Commander Joel "Mac" McCauley said. "It's manifested a lot of times by - number one - extreme stress, agitation, sometimes people who are veterans who are suicidal."
The Pentagon recently reported nearly a suicide a day among active-duty soldiers during the first five months of this year. Many of those are blamed on PTSD.
