Less than 1 of americans have carried an unbelievable burden. Today, msnbc kicks off a year long testament to the american veteran. We have a terrific hour ahead of us. First up is a story of a great american. Shane is the first in a come peming film series entitled wounded the war back home provided by the Wounded Warrior project. I hope this will help illustrate the challenges facing veterans as we come back home. There comes a point in time where everyones human. You know your Attention Span on what is going on shifts to the more immediate. Certainly when the wars wind down, you can forget that there are still warriors who are out there that fought for our freedom, that were injured, that need help. Theres nothing more injuring than to think their community has forgotten about them. We can really never let that happen. Its almost like my rebirth. I havent fought in a year but i feel better than i ever have. I just keep coming back. They couldnt break me and they never understood why. I have a whole other drive in life. I work out so much because it actually calms me down. Some of the stuff that i experience in my life is extreme edginess, extreme. One minute i can be your best friend. All of the sudden you just say hi to me and i want to tear your head off. If i drink a coffee i feel like my hearts going to explode because im already like, you know, its like a machine gun, but its my heart. I cant sleep at night. If i get over four hours of sleep at night, something is wrong. Ill see bikes leaned up against telephone poles. I think, oh man, is that going to blow . Thats what an ied is. You never know. Ptsd is a chemistry change in your brain. You sit and think about all the bad times. Its like replaying a bad movie in your head over and over again. Hits the end, rewinds and just plays again. Its hard to explain the pain ive already endured in my life. I went to iraq in 2003 and our unit was a part of the initial push in. One of the hardest things was seeing children suffer. Im very family oriented and i remember just seeing kids just next to death at times. You cant do anything for them. And if you say that to your unit, youre weak because now you want to help somebody. I saw a father get killed even though he was an enemy combatant. It hit real close to home because his wife and kid were crying. To endure so much death, carnage, destruction, the things ive seen the things ive done the things ive witnessed. And i was 17 seeing this. I was having nightmares. I asked for help and i was known as a weakling. I went into the division site. Next thing you know im getting letters from the marine corps telling me youre not allowed to handle weapons, youre not allowed to wear uniforms. I didnt get any severance check. There was no help. I got no job placement. Literally, i was an ostracized like, individual. I remember going into the va to check in. They didnt even know how to handle it. There wasnt many guys getting out that had already served in iraq. So when i walked in i was like yeah, i have ptsd this says. Theyre like oh go see this psychologist. He put me on nine different medications in the first month. That started to be my downfall. The first time i ever fought i was actually not even intending to fight. My buddy said oh, you want to go see some mma . Didnt know, didnt have a clue what mma was. He said its kind of like boxing but way cooler. At the time i was heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol. This guy walks up to me. He goes wow, youre a pretty big dude. Ill give you a bar tab if you get in the cage and fight. I got in there and actually fought. It was pretty horrible. That was my first ever fight. Mma stands for mixed martial arts. Its professional fighting that includes the standup portion of fighting like boxes and muay thai. The wrestling portion and the open and both pressed against the cage or ropes and the ground portion like jujitsu so that you have submissions and punches on the ground. It allows us to see all those things combined like whos the most complete fighter. You cant hit to the back of the head. You cant gouge the eyes or fish hook. The spine is off limits. You cant break individual fingers. You cant headbutt. When you have a grounded opponent you cant kick or knee him to the head. Besides that Everything Else pretty much goes. I drove to california on a whim. I had 5,000 in my pocket and a lincoln continental. I was like you know what im going to train serious, thinking, oh, im going to be some famous fighter. It didnt turn out that well. I was drinking a bottle of jack damages or a bottle of vodka a day. Probably polish off over 12 if not two 12packs a day. This is when i found cocaine. Cocaine and ptsd wow, you want to talk about a fuel and an engine that makes it run even harder. It got really bad. I got very violent. My life was crap. It was going down the drain. I was just another veteran that had some sob story that nobody cared about. So i was like well screw it. Im going to run this thing until the wheels fall off. I started drinking more. Next thing you know im homeless and living in my car. June 14th, 2009, i decided that was the day i was ending my life. I remember buying a bunch of cocaine and spent all my money on it. I was only getting 700 a month. Took 700 bought all cocaine. I bought a bunch of billspills. I didnt know what they were. I remember starting to snort one after another after another. I couldnt feel my face. I couldnt breathe anymore. I was literally taking cocaine, handfuls of it and throws it in my mouth. I was drinking popping these pills. Next thing you know, im waking up in a pool of vomit to my door being kicked in by a police officer. When you have a warrior struggle so much with what they lost, what they saw, what they did in combat and they dont feel like theres any other option but to take their own life, there is no greater loss than that. When you have last year more suicides than combat deaths you have to ask yourself, what are we as a country doing wrong . How can we do a better job of letting warriors know that its okay that they are not alone, that their worst day today that theyre feeling will get better tomorrow and how do we get to them at that right moment that you can make that change in their life. No matter what anybodys religious believesfbeliefs, i believe everyone has a Guardian Angel that comes into the world. I met mine at a surfing event. He reached out to me and he just embraced me. My life was spiraling dangerously out of control, and i blew off norby a lot. He would just keep calling me. The day i tried to kill myself when i came to there was more messages from norby. He was like hey, marine i dont know why youre not answering. You know youre loved, bro. If you dont answer your phone, im going to come down there, im going to kick your door in. I was like all right. Hello, norby. No, he didnt know what had happened. It was almost like he knew in his heart that something was wrong. Norby saved my life. You know showing me that people do love me and people do care and theyre not giving up on me. Since that day, i havent touched a single drop of narcotics, pills, nothing. I found mma. I found working out is my medicine. I havent taken any medication in over four years. I realize that theres better ways to deal with ptsd than doing drugs. Im more in control of it these days. I lost a few really close friends. You know my drive in life is them. The guys in my back are from third battalion fifth marines. I got the that too on my upswing. Im sober. I know why im sober. I need to not let my brothers down. Its hard to know that people you served with, you know, theyre never coming home. I do have a lot of weight on my shoulders, it feels like because of that tattoo. I have 19 guys that have my back 24 7. I know if they were here they would push me. If i fail im going to let them down. Im not about to do that. Good. Keep your hands up. Same thing. Its a session where the fighter will work with his coach and the coach wears mitts on his hands or pads where the fighter can strike. I started training and i took this fight in january 2010. Now eight fights later, were still going. Damn looking good,man. We might have to change our strategy. Im tended to as a professional fighter. Whatever you were thinking there, keep thinking that. Watching him fight and watching both the improvement in him as a professional athlete and also in his personal life. You know seeing the transformation hes made from being young and freshly out of the military an messed up from being injured over there to being healthy, both physically and mentally now and having a pretty awesome life. Hes the last three years managed to get two college degrees, won ten professional mma fights and got married. Its pretty cool to watch, you know. Coming up part two of shanes story. Later, well discuss how the government is managing the tens of thousands of soldiers when they come back from war only to find out the system has left them behind. So join us and tweet, email and facebook a veteran to say, thank you. Use takingthehill. To all the veterans. No longer in uniform but still serving. On the job and in our communities. Whose dedication and commitment to excellence continues. In every mission, whatever it may be. Affecting our lives every day. For your continued service, we salute you. 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As weve seen for many returning soldiers the battle back home can be long and difficult. For those who saw extreme action in iraq and afghanistan, the wounds beneath the surface are all too real. In shanes case ptsd led to a life of drugs, alcohol, and depression. It took an organization outside of government to help him see that his life still had meaning and that there is a road to recovery. For shane, that road led to the ring where fighting with his fallen brothers on his back gave him focus and determination to continue. Here now the continuation of shanes story, produced by the Wounded Warrior project. Whered your stick go . When i met christine, it was literally love at first sight. He was so funny and just so natural that i just felt compelled to, like want to know more about him. She kind of contradicts the ptsd. I do everything adrenaline based. She does everything peaceful based. We were always a we from the begin. Through his loyalty, i just know hes always going to have my back. I think my favorite thing about christine is her backbone is titanium. Its crazy. She has to hold me up half the time. I love that about her. I have a surprise for you. Let me guess, youre pregnant. Some people probably look at us like, i dont get these two. We get why were together. Thats all that matters. Were going to single up again. Come on. Go around and introduce ourselves again. Military, its a specific culture. A lot of times warriors dont feel like civilian folks. Understand where theyve been because we havent been there. You bring warriors together they speak the same language. Kyle, navy, 2012. Danny, navy 2002. Were all veterans of different branches of the service. We work out together. Its more than that. To me its more of a brotherhood beyond the brotherhood. All these guys have gotten out of the service, but none of us are taught what to do once youre done. Its being around likeminded people to help you out. Any time i can come in and volunteer any time any questions you ever have ptsd help, trust me. Its not worth hurting inging yourself. Its not worth killing yourself. Ive been there. I tried to kill myself and its not fun. You feel really stupid after doing it. So grab a partner. Its a way to give back to veterans. Thats why i love my involvement in it. Keep going, john. Turn, turn turn john. I come in and give these guys any insight i have. When your friends say, oh lets go for a drink. All right, cool cool. Walk into the bar with a protein shake. Trust me. After a while, youll smell beer. You dont even want to get near it. My facebook my phone are open networks for any veteran ever in need. Call me. Im the same way with the p. O. W. Program. I tell these guys that. One, two, three, brotherhood when we were choosing to get married, shane did lay out a couple things that i have to accept because these are lifelong things. And the very first thing he said was ptsd. I honestly didnt really understand it. But definitely after we got married, i could see a lot of things coming out that i wasnt equipped for. Some of our warriors who are dealing with Mental Health issues isolate themselves. Youre seeing Family Dynamics that are broken as a result of that ice latesolating themselves. Anger issues as a result of Mental Illness and as a result of hyperindividualvigilance. No one wants to live their lives walking on egg shells. Thats what these families deal with. I push the ones i love away. When hes in those moments of pushing me away, i give him his space, but i dont make him feel im not ever coming back. Because he doesnt really want me to go away. Its the Little Things that always put me back in a good mood. My wife is currently pregnant and were expecting our first baby. Its a girl. Its exciting to have a girl and create another cool force in this world. To have a baby girl with my wife the woman i love and the woman i cherish, the littlest things make me the proudest in the world. Through time and trial and error, weve started to figure out what are the best ways to handle his bad days. But its never going to go away. Each day is different. Weve got 41 fights on the card tonight. Just like we did 1,000 times before. Its weird to make a date to fight somebody. I want to see shane come out and do what hes continued to do for the last two years. Just impress the heck out of myself and the rest of the coaches. I want to see him come out there and do exactly what we talked about. Touch gloves, circle twice to the right, close the distance with punches, pick the guy up punch him until he chokes him. When i start praying before a fight, i pray for the brothers on my back and that theyll watch over me and not only myself but my opponent doesnt get seriously injured. When i feel okay is when i quit praying, but i wait for that feeling. Its almost just like almost unity. All right, its time. When shane goes in the cage, i feel anxious because i know he puts his heart and soul into everything. Emotionally, any kind of misstep on his part would be more devastating to him than to get a broken eye socket because thatll heal. When the cage door closes boom, im ready. You know . Its different shane. This man stands in at 61. He weighs in at 155. Please give a warm welcome to shane [ cheers and applause ] when the cage door closes you hear the click behind you. Click. It happens really fast. All of the sudden the referee is asking, are you ready . And ding. All right now we press. Get up your winner fighting out of the red corner shane i want to say thank you to all the Service Members everywhere in the world. We got a group of Wounded Warrior project alumni over here. Purple heart guys. Show them some love today. Thank you all for showing up. And this update. Since the film was shot shane is now 112 with three knockouts. He also won a championship in his weight class. You can follow him on twitter skrutchenmma. Shane is one story of thousands of returns vets. Later well talk about the major aspect from shanes story, including how the government, private sector and military could better Work Together to fill the gap returning troops have with their physical and Mental Health needs. Youre watching taking the hill on msnbc live from the 9 11 memorial. If youve got copd like me hey breathings hard. Know the feeling . Copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Spiriva is a oncedaily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours. Spiriva helps me breathe easier. Spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fastacting inhalers for sudden symptoms. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. These may worsen with spiriva. Discuss all medicines you take even eye drops. Stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens your throat or tongue swells you get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine. Other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. Does breathing with copd weigh you down . Dont wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. Welcome back to msnbcs veterans day special taking the hill, live from the National September 11th memorial. Just a short time ago, the memorial had a wreath laying ceremony to honor our nations veterans. Its part of a weeklong series of events here leading up to the holiday tomorrow. Next on taking the hill, ill talk with Wounded Warrior projects director on how the program is filling the gap and helping our nations heroes when they return to civilian life. Also, the view of a nurse who has spent 23 years working on the front lines at a va clinic. Hell tell us if things are Getting Better or worse for our combat veterans. And later, one young Army Captains story of coping with the loss of her husband in iraq by asking to be deployed herself. Its a tale both heartbreaking and uplifting. [ male announcer ] the original salon genius changed hair design forever. Vidal sassoon volume collection gives you ampedup shape zero weight. Foaming air mousse boosts and lifts for up to 24 hours. Vidal sassoon volume. Salon genius. Affordable for all. Welcome back to taking the hill. We just heard the story of shane, a marine corps veteran of the war in iraq who was diagnosed with ptsd. Unfortunately, shanes story is all too common. Countless veterans have found while their service may have ended, their battle back home has not. My next guests are working to close the gap between what our nations veterans need and what the government is doing. Joining me now is Wounded Warrior projects maggie lah row can, my friend a former colleague in congress and in the army, congressman tom rooney, a retired captain, and jay david cox, a chairman of the aflcio veteran council. David was a va nurse for 25 years. So thanks so much, everybody, for joining me. Maggie that was an incredible story about shane and the Wounded Warrior prompt. Tell us what the Wounded Warrior project is. Absolutely. The mission of the Wounded Warrior project is to honor and empower wounded veterans. Our vision is to have the most successful, welladjusted generation of veterans in this nations history. Shanes story really embodies everything that we do. Our 19 programs and services we offer to the warriors and the families as they return home. Shane is such a courageous example of this and how Wounded Warriors feel every day. Hes able to talk about the physical impact and what he was able to find within mma and how that completely changed his life. His wife christine talks about how she was able to change the support that she offered him to make sure that he felt empowered. And he talks about the importance of peer support. So one of our amazing outreach coordinators on the west coast never gave up on shane. He made sure he was connected to those resources. And that has really allowed him to successfully readjust. That was a powerful line to say the worst thing that could happen is you think society or community is not there for you when you come back home. Absolutely. Tom, let me go to you. We served in the army together in congress. Thanks for being here. What are we doing as a government, and what more can we do . We can do a lot more. Obviously, one of the issues were facing now is just with the, you know, government not being able to function correctly between the republicans and the democrats. Unfortunately, some of the people that are feeling the brunt of that are the people that George Washington said we shouldnt. If we cant take care of our own veterans, what does that say about us as a country . Right now its not very much. You and i have worked on legislation together when you were in congress. One of the things that were trying to wrap our hands around is with the returning war fighter now suffering from things that we hadnt measured as much in the past like traumatic brain injury or ptsd, how can we evolve as a Congress Like oneonone Mental Health counseling, whats the best way to approach and diagnose and if need be medicate . Were going through a lot of mistakes and trials when it comes to how to treat these returning war fighters. And the biggest thing for me is im sure our next guest will say is having a seamless transition from active duty to becoming a veteran and not having there be too much of a gap. Jay david, youre president of the afg, which is the largest and head of the aflcio veterans council. You were a va nurse. Talk about that seamless transition. Patrick, that seamless transition began several years ago with va components being readily available at military bases when the people are discharged to at least start moving the medical records right into the Va Health Care system making the military and those people being discharged readily available and aware of the facts of the services that the va provides. And i think one of the major things that we can do is continue expanding the va with greater outpatient treatment, outpatient clinics. People do not want to drive 500 to 1,000 miles to seek treatment. They like communitybased treatment. The va is doing a great job of expanding those treatments throughout the country. I think thats very very important. You know its interesting. You bring up the communitybased treatment. Tom, you had a bill that i know you were working hard on. Can you tell us about that . In 2011, we did get language into a National Defense authorization act which allowed people that were suffering from ptsd or other Mental Health issues to be able to use tricare and use it in a communitybased setting. I come from a very rural district now in florida where maybe traveling to a va hospital isnt as easy as it would be to just go somewhere down the street and be able to use your tricare to be able to see a Mental Health specialist there. So we are lucky enough to get that language included but theres a lot more that needs to be done. Jay david, let me go back to you. You were on the front lines of a va hospital over two decades ago. Whats the difference between what it was like then and how its like now . Today we are treating more than just symptoms. Years ago people used to come in and we treated symptoms. Today were actually diagnosing treating the problems, and were treating the whole person. Many times people show up complaining with their knee their shoulder Something Like that. But it doesnt take long at all to realize theyre suffering from posttraumatic stress or depression, other Mental Illnesses that they dont speak of as readily as theyll tell you something is wrong with their knee or shoulder. A lot of these heroes coming back from iraq and afghanistan, a lot of times theyll survive some of the wounds losing a limb that they would have not survived if it was korea or vietnam. Maggie, how about the Wounded Warrior project . You take care of veterans that even if they lost a limb or anything and what are some of the things you do as far as initiatives to let veterans know what youre doing . Absolutely. One of the best things we can do is to raise awareness about the reintegration challenges warriors face. Theyre coming back to economic uncertainty, possibly job loss the complexity of having to deal with the invisible wounds of war. We know that as the 1. 2 million Service Members return home, theyre not returning to a base. Theyre returning to a community. So our goal is to make sure that the public is aware of what those challenges are and that we are out there spreading the word to make sure that no warrior falls through the cracks. And thats so important because you look at these warriors coming back 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Tom, how about when we talk about that leaving the department of defense and then you go in either the va or the department of labor, how that transition what are some initiatives the federal government is doing that are positive, or what more could we be doing . I serve on the subcommittee for military construction. We are one of the and thats an appropriations committee. We spend the money. One of the things weve tried to get the general and dod to come together on is to try to do where if im on active duty and im getting evaluated with a certain disability while im still on active duty so when i get to become a veteran or i go into the civilian life theres not this huge gap and then you have to reinvent the wheel again when you become part of the va. So weve appropriated money. Theyre still not there yet. Theyre not there on the database they have going from dod to the va. Its what a lot of people have a fear of, government bureaucracy at its worst. I do think that the general gets the message from us when we sit across from each other on that committee. That its not acceptable. He understands that. So times running out, though. Hes got to get it right. And i know when we were in congress serving together when i left iraq ten years ago, i left to go back to bucks county pennsylvania. I didnt have any training. But theres more to be done. We need to incorporate, as you know, private sector and the Public Sector as well. Jay david, what do you think some of the challenges ahead of us are moving forward, as far as budgets and when it comes to our veterans . I think clearly a challenge of funding the va funding the federal government. I agree with the congressman. We need democrats and republicans to join together and to properly fund the va. We ask men and women to go to war, to sacrifice, to put their lives on the line. We have an obligation and a responsibility as a nation to fund the va provide those services. I believe that every man and woman who has ever served this country honorably that has paid their Health Insurance premiums in full for the rest of their lives. God bless you. I agree with you, jay david. Jay david, thank you so much. Tom, thanks so much for being here. Maggie, so great to have you here onset. There are more stories to be told on this edition of taking the hill. One of the special stories is personal. Im one of the lucky ones. 19 power troopers in my division did not make it home alive. For those who did not make it back, so much could go wrong. Ill tell you what i did to try to make it right. And make sure you join the conversation. Use takingthehill. This is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. Its not the limit the cash i earn every month card. Its not the i only earn decent rewards at the gas station card. Its the nogames, nosigning up, everydayrewarding kungfufighting silverlightninginabottle bringinghomethebacon cash back card. This is the quicksilver card from capital one. Unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. So ask yourself, whats in your wallet . Were here today at the 9 11 memorial, where the worst attack on u. S. Soil took place just over 12 years ago. At that time i was an army captain, teaching up at west point. Months later, i deployed with the 82nd airborne division. I was one of the lucky ones who made it back home but 19 of my fellow paratroopers didnt. I thought the decision to go into iraq was wrong, so i ran for congress to make it right. The mission then is the same as the mission now. This country has an obligation to those who serve in uniform. They dont make the decision to go to war, but theyre charged with those policies and nobody does it better than the United States military. We here at taking the hill believe that we have a duty to make sure those men and women are taken care of not only in the theater of war but when they come back home. Make no mistake, weve done some good things were winding down another. But theres still much more we need to do. Unlike in a previous era, the United States has embraced these heroes upon their return in their communities. Veterans are now recognized as civic assets as business leaders, as mentors, as brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and as citizens willing to sacrifice for our freedom. While we have made great strides, theres much work left to be done. Suicides joblessness, homelessness, ptsd health care education. These are issues that plague all americans, but the rates in returning veterans are far greater. We must do better. We can leave no one behind. Laundry, and i do the cleaning. Theres only two of us. How much dirt can we manufacture . More than you think. Very little. [ doorbell rings ] [ lee ] lets have a look, morty. Its a sweeper. Whats this . Whats that . Well well find out. Well find out. [ lee ] it goes under all the way to the back wall. I came in under the assumption that it was clean. Ive been living in a fools paradise oh boy. There you go. Morty just summed it up. The next 44 years well be fine. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits. Delicious, but say i press a few out flat add some beef sloppy joe sauce and cheese fold it all up and boom delicious unsloppy joes perfect for a school night. Pillsbury grands biscuits. Make dinner pop. Welcome back to taking the hill, live from the 9 11 memorial and museum. As we honor our nations veterans, its fitting we should be on this hallowed ground. Many of the newest veterans enlisted because of the events that took place here that day 12 years ago. We said we will never forget. Now we extend that simple slogan to the millions of men and women who answered the call to arms. Its a mission my next guests are dedicated to. Joining me is joe daniels, president and ceo of the National September 11th memorial and new see yum and u. S. Army captain jenna, who founded the veterans project in honor of her husband, who was killed in action in iraq. Guys, thank you so much for being here with us today. Joe, tell us about the memorial but also what youve done leading up to veterans day here this weekend. Well, we wanted to acknowledge just like you said on this very sacred ground where 2,983 names are around the 9 11 memorial pools. We wanted to acknowledge the sacrifice of veterans. So many of which signed up for the military as their response to 9 11. This whole week weve been welcoming them. Weve been welcoming their families. The number of First Responders who were veterans who chose to continue their service as a police officer, as a firefighter. Its been great to see tens of thousands of the general public come here and pay their respects to our veterans. Yeah and you get about almost 20,000 people visit here a day. Exactly. Weve been open about two years. We opened on the tenth anniversary of 9 11. Weve had 10. 5 Million People visit in that time. All 50 states more than 175 countries. It really has become the physical embodiment of the coming together that we saw after 9 11 itself. Its been really really tremendous. Yeah, one of those veterans we talked about enlisting because of that day is jenna. You signed up when you were a freshman at Johns Hopkins university. Can you tell us your story . Ives i was a senior in high school when the attacks happened. It got me thinking about what more i could do in the future to contribute to this country that actually is not my own by birth. I came to the United States when i was 10 from scotland. I became a citizen a few years after i started college so that i could contract and become an officer in the army. It was there that when i was going through training in rotc that i met my husband. We got married shortly after i graduated from college. He was three years older and was on his second tour in iraq when he was killed in action. You know the reason that im here today is in large part because of all of the things i was fortunate enough to learn from him. I developed, i think, into much of the person i am now because of the lessons he taught me and the things that when i was that young. I mean, 18 years old. The things that i learned. What year was it he was killed . It was april 7th 2007. I decided thereafter to change some things i was doing some things at the time. I was in law school on an educational delay but getting ready to go in the army myself. I decided i wanted to do that sooner rather than later. I withdrew from school at the time. I went on active duty deployed to iraq and later just this past summer to afghanistan. But even then i still felt there was more i could do. Thats where i founded the captain Jonathan Grassbaugh veterans project at the Ohio State University college of law. Thank you for flying in to be here today from ohio. What does that project do . What were doing is essentially helping veterans that are coming back to ohio. Ohio has 900,000 veterans over 900,000 that are currently in the state, which is the sixth highest in the country. A lot of them have significant legal issues that they dont have any other place to turn for advice when they come home. So what were doing is taking law students pairing them with practicing attorneys, many of whom are in the Ohio National guard as jag attorneys, and those students are working with those lawyers to provide veterans with Free Legal Services in landlord tenant disputes, credit card issues all these things that can cause such a stress. Really, if we can just address them earlier in the process, it can become a much better situation for everybody involved. That veteran can go on to do greater things with their life. Yeah thats awesome. Real quick, joe, the yellow roses. Can you explain to the audience what they are . Sure. We had an idea that on this special week we would acknowledge the veterans who died on 9 11 with yellow roses placed in their names. You can see theres a particularly high concentration. That section over behind my shoulder is the section of the pentagon where so many active duty military were serving. Down farther on the south pool is the 440 First Responders that died on 9 11. A tremendous amount of which were veterans. Its important to recognize their sacrifice beforehand as well. And how about the museum . When will this open . Well open this in the spring of 2014. What people will see is not just a history of what happened on the day of 9 11 but how people came together. Particularly for those, for our military, we will show what the sacrifices that have been made over in afghanistan and iraq and other places around the world and people will understand that 9 11 was an incredibly pivotal event that affected millions of peoples lives. Jenna, your transition back from iraq and afghanistan, how was that . I think i was one of the lucky ones. I had the family support. I had the friends that would put up with me when i had maybe a rough day. A lot of that had to do with the fact that i didnt deal initially perhaps in the way that i should have with some of the fallout of losing jon. Certainly it made going over there difficult. It made coming home from there difficult. But ive been fortunate to have their support. The thing is i know that not everyone is so lucky. That, to me is one of the biggest reasons why we need projects like the Wounded Warrior project and why i decided to take what was the insurance money from jons death and use that as the endowment money to fund the project at osu. To me, theres nothing greater that money could ever buy. Well both of you, thank you so much. The story is so powerful. Were honored to have you here today. Thank you. That wraps up this hour of taking the hill. One final note before we go. Tomorrow, as you know, is veterans day, a time to honor americas living heroes. Some from past wars some now just returning from active military theater. They may be your brother or sister, father or mother son or daughter even your neighbor. If nothing else tomorrow give their sacrifices a thought or two. Give them a moment of appreciation for the freedoms that you have which they have fought so valiantly for. In the past hour i thought we shed light on some of the hardships these veterans face when they come back home from war and perhaps we can all provide some solutions and ideas and assistance to veterans so they dont have to take the hill here at home alone. Thanks for joining us. Im patrick murphy. Up next is weekends with alex withwit. Mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. Afghanistan in 2009. On the u. S. S. Saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once its earned, usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy. Get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. [ rob ] our daughter is all kate. Same grin, same walk. And the same beautiful hair. 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