WSET.com - ABC13The Invisible Veteran Part 2: Veterans Fight Mental Health

Reporter: Mark Kelly l Photojournalist: Sally Delta

Lynchburg, VA - Post-traumatic stress disorder has gotten more attention in recent years, but the condition is nothing new. Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan feel it; Vietnam-era vets have felt it for decades. Many came home from war angry and they acted out. But for thirty years, they say, their mental health was ignored and went untreated.

And just when these Vietnam vets got the tools to tackle their mental health, they say, the tools were taken away.

Bud Perry remembers what Vietnam did to his mind. He took a job at a prison, but says he should've been locked up.

"You didn't think about what you were doing. You just wanted to do something, or a crazy idea came up or somebody got you mad, you let go," said Perry.

Perry says PTSD took over him and many fellow vets.

Dr. Thomas Eldridge credits Vietnam vets for shedding light on PTSD.

"The Vietnam era veterans brought this to our attention," said Dr. Thomas Eldridge, Associate Chief of Staff for Primary Care in VA in Salem.

And the VA works to treat it. To save Lynchburg Veterans a drive to the VA hospital in Salem, they brought both mental and physical healthcare closer to home. The community-based outpatient clinic, CBOC, was built on Lakeside Drive in Lynchburg. It provides basic medical care to treat conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis.

Vietnam Veterans say CBOC gives the physical healthcare they earned. But when it comes to mental healthcare, the Vietnam generation is being pushed aside, just as progress is being made and support groups are gaining ground.

"You're starting to talk to other people about your problems and listening to theirs and you're realizing the problem you have or the actions, they're not just you," said Perry.

CBOC holds a PTSD support group for all Veterans. But, Perry says, the Vietnam-era vets were asked to leave while the younger vets can stay - an unfair policy, he says, that puts younger and older vets in an uncomfortable position.

"We can't be greedy and say, we still need more help. The hell with the new guys coming in," said Perry.

Defending its support group policy, the VA says: The PTSD Support Group has maximized the therapeutic benefits of the support group and it is time to graduate the group so a new group can be served. We are also offering alternatives for those who will be graduating, such as one-on-one counseling, and suggesting they consider getting involved with local VSOs (Veterans Service Organizations such as VFW, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, etc.).

The VA admits demand is high at CBOC. For mental healthcare, CBOC has just a handful of staff to run these support groups.

"At the moment we are full, so we are looking to increase our capacity," said Dr. Eldridge.

"Our Vietnam veterans have been put on the backburner for our new Veterans coming along," said Judy Doering, who started her own support group for wives of Vietnam vets.

The wives meet once a month at Doering's support group. Their husbands are dying off at a rate of 380 a day, and their mental health, without treatment, is slipping even faster.

"There are just too many veterans out there who need help," said Doering.

If you are interested in joining Judy Doering's support group, they meet once a month at the American Legion on Greenview Drive in Lynchburg. To join, call Doering at (434) 665-4693.