9-11 & PTSD: Can We Still Be Traumatized?
by Welby O’Brien
Love Our Vets

It was bedtime as usual on the night of September 10, 2001. Little did we know that by the next morning, countless Americans would NEVER again be the same! And maybe you and your loved ones are more impacted than you realize.

Since 9-11, an astounding number of people have been afflicted with or re-activated by PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), a condition that can affect anyone who has been exposed to a traumatic or life-threatening event. It has been described as a “normal reaction to an abnormal event.” Continue reading →

House passes State Representative John Huffman’s resolution designating Oregon a Purple Heart State

On June 3 the House unanimously passed a resolution designating Oregon as a Purple Heart State. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. John Huffman (R-District 59) and others, honors the service and sacrifice of those men and women in uniform who have been killed or wounded in our wars. 6,022 Oregon vets were killed in combat and approximately 15,050 vets were wounded during the five major wars from World War I to the present. This means that over 21,000 Oregonians have been eligible for the Purple Heart award. Continue reading →

Veterans across Oregon will work together to raise the necessary funds to place and maintain the markers for the three highways newly designated as Veterans Memorial Highways and the Purple Heart Trail. When the project is completed, Oregon will have named highways honoring the vets who served in the nation’s five major wars, beginning with World War I. The veterans have already raised the funds and placed 34 markers honoring those who served in World War II (US Hwy 97) and the Vietnam War (I-84). Now they will raise about $40,000 for markers to honor vets of World War I (Hwy 395), the Korean War (I-5), and the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars (US Hwy 101). I-5 will also become a Purple Heart Trail, completing the trail that stretches from southern California to northern Washington.

“Veterans groups will all get together and find the money,” said Dick Tobiason, the vet who first approached Rep. John Huffman to ask him to sponsor a bill that would create Veterans Memorial Highways. “They can find the money amongst themselves or they can go ask county commissioners or ask businesses or find individuals or they can have spaghetti feeds, steak fries—whatever they want.”

Tobiason said there is a possibility that they might be able to take advantage of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department grant fund, which would pay 80% of the cost. Details have yet to be worked out.

Once the necessary funds are raised, ODOT will make and install the signs.