We’ve been there and done that and we’d like to share our advice, and reflect, on what military service means to us.
Modern Day "Monk" Helps Other Vets
By Michelle Galvez
In Indianapolis a man who goes by the single name of Silouan is dedicated to improving the lives of veterans. He is a former Marine Corps fighter pilot who had to save himself after his jet crashed and then embarked on his own journey of recovery. He named himself Silouan (pronounced sil-oo-ahn) after his patron saint, St. Silouan, a Russian monk who found his own enlightenment after ending a period of military service.
The modern day Silouan suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, after he was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1996, he turned to writing, music and sharing his story to help other veterans. After collaborating for several years with the Department of Veteran's Affairs and veterans from many different eras, he started meeting a lot of veterans who had recently returned from Iraq and were dealing with drug issues and PTSD.
"I realized I wanted to work with them before that happened," Silouan explained, "I decided I wanted to travel to bases with combat units and try to give guys and their families hope to see through the struggle."
This summer Silouan will travel to Fort Drum, Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg and Fort Hood to meet one-on-one with those he hopes to inspire with his story.
"To me, the most rewarding part of the military is the band of brothers," Silouan said, "I'm not an outsider. My motivation is to break down some of those barriers and I want to build the trust of the bases, the soldiers and the families."
Through networking and phone calls to set up his base visits, Silouan found Blue Star Families.
"I've worked with vets from WWII who came home to communities and hometowns that took care of them," Silouan said. "The problem today is families are spread out and communities are broken down. Blue Star Families is an amazing, exciting thing that sheds light on how important it is to take care of each other and for communities to take care of service members."
