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These men are heroes not just for what they survived. They are heroes for living through fifty years of civilians who don’t understand them and loved ones who walk away in tears from actions and responses that, to these men, seem completely normal.

You need a mission. So says Sergeant Bill "Big Sarge" Hansen, a former Marine and a current mentor with the Wounded Warrior Project®. Today Sgt. Hansen has a clear mission: to provide mentorship and support to young veterans carrying the physical and emotional scars of war.

"PTSD is cyclical. It moves in waves. It's always present, but for us and our situation, there seems to be ups and downs."

The last thing Samuel Console, a retired Pennsylvania Army National Guard lieutenant, remembers after the explosion in Iraq was an orange flash of light. It wasn't until six years later he was diagnosed with brain injury.

The story of one Marine's job retrieving and examing the remains of fellow soldiers lost in combat and the crippling psychological toll this experience took once she was stateside.

The breaking point came when Sandra Rivera found their 9-year-old son backed against a wall with his arms over his face, shielding himself from her husband’s screaming.

It took almost nine years for Marine Michael Grywalsky to get the help he needed for TBI and PTSD. Without the tenacity of his wife, he may never have gotten it.