This story has been updated with Quentin Brown’s correct place of deployment.
“Memorial Day and Veterans Day aren’t the same,” Quentin Brown, veteran, firefighter, and former Community Support Services (CSS) intern shared with me when we spoke about the upcoming holiday. “Veterans Day is meant to thank those guys and gals who have served in the military. Memorial Day is meant to remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, their lives. They’re not the same, but both have purpose.”
Veterans Day was established to commemorate the armistice following World War I. Memorial Day began as a movement to remember those lost in the American Civil War and to emphasize the true cost of war.
Quentin began his career in the military with an ROTC program while attending Akron’s East High School. He admired the leadership portrayed by his commanding officers and wanted to build those skills in himself.
While in the Marines, Quentin continued the journey he began in ROTC, strengthening his tools of relationship building, decision making and crisis management. Those are skills Quentin was eager to share with recruits as he rose in rank to staff sergeant.
“The military is a leadership factory,” Quentin told me. “You build the skills needed not just for in the military, but what you need in life.”
During his eight years in the marines, Quentin served one deployment in Iraq, two deployments in Afghanistan and more. So many deployments to volatile locations led to losing several friends and those he calls “brothers.”
One brother in arms was Corporal Derek Wyatt, a dear friend of Quentin’s who was killed in action just one day before his child was born.
It is for Corporal Wyatt, and the countless other brave men and women who never made it home, that we observe Memorial Day. As Quentin reminds us, these service members willingly signed a blank check to their country, payable with their very lives, for a purpose greater than themselves.
But for the veterans who do return home, the transition back to civilian life brings an entirely different kind of battle — one that is often fought in silence.
During his time as an intern with us at CSS, Quentin saw firsthand the unique mental health hurdles our local veterans face. Many young service members enter the military straight out of high school. They transition from adolescence into an environment where every meal, uniform and directive is provided for them. When they leave the service, they are suddenly tasked with navigating adulthood for the first time.
Quentin observed that the path to healing for struggling veterans relies on a few critical pillars:
To any veteran in our community currently struggling with loss, depression or the heavy weight of memory this Memorial Day, Quentin offers this powerful advice: “It’s okay to mourn, but don’t sully the life you’ve offered as collateral by quitting. There is someone who has been where you are, and help is available.”
At Community Support Services, we want every veteran in Summit County to know that you do not have to carry this weight alone. Your community is here for you, your struggles are valid, and dedicated help is always within reach. Let us honor the fallen by ensuring we take care of the living.
If you are a veteran struggling with mental health challenges or transition trauma, please reach out to Community Support Services (330-996-9130) or contact the Veterans Suicide & Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1.
Laura Villwock is director of development for Community Support Services, helping all to achieve a healthy mind, healthy body and healthy life. A former University of Akron Zip and Ohio University Bobcat, Laura lives in Green with her husband. She’s the proud mother of two and a grandmother of four.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: There’s a path to healing for veterans who experience loss | Opinion
Reporting by Laura Villwock, Guest opinion / Akron Beacon Journal
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