- After returning home from Vietnam in 1969, Kent Hall fought an invisible battle with PTSD.
- Now, Hall and the group Honor for All are restoring a trail area in Williamston to provide others with a space for healing and reflection.
- Video shows Hall sharing his experience, as well as explaining the mission of the trial.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
June 27 is PTSD Awareness Day, bringing attention to some of the hidden battles many across the nation are fighting each day. And in Williamston, neighbors spend the day working on a project to provide those in the neighborhood with a safe, peaceful place to reflect.
A sight now uncommon in American small towns like Williamston. Here, along Putnam Street, a memorial to those who have paid the ultimate price. Names of neighbors who could not return home from serving their country.
But those who did return still fight their own battle.
"I left Vietnam in 1969," Kent Hall said. "But Vietnam never left me."
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says in 2021, an average of nearly 18 Veterans died by suicide each day. Kent Hall was nearly one of them.
"I didn't know what was going on," he said. "I had a beautiful wife. Three beautiful kids. And I didn't want to live any longer."
But now, tucked along the Red Cedar River at Memorial Park, Kent and other veterans with the group Honor for All are using their experiences for good in the community.
"We would like to see it as a place of healing," Hall said. "Not just for grieving and so on. You can do that if you'd like. And we'd like it to be a peaceful place."
As work continues along the river, Kent says they hope this trail will open conversations about mental health.
"That's what you need to do because you can start to heal yourself once you start doing that," Hall said. "And if you're a friend to someone like that and they start talking, shut up and listen."
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