27-05-2025
Texarkana Vietnam Veterans of America honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day
TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KSHV) – The Texarkana-area chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America hosted its annual Memorial Day ceremony. They read names of fallen soldiers, and this year also passed out dog tags as a physical reminder of the sacrifices so many made.
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'There's a kid out of New Hampshire, 12 years old started making dog tags of all the Americans that got killed. He's made 95,000 of them so far,' said Greg Beck, President of Vietnam Veterans of America #278, 'I've been doing this for 40-something years, and I never thought about dog tags, but he did.'
One local organization spoke about its mission during a quick break from its own journey to spread the message. The members of Ben's Heart Ministry spent the day walking 22 miles. 22 miles because 22 veterans die by suicide every day, according to a 2013 study from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Suzy Kroll started the non-profit group following the death of her son, a veteran who suffered from PTSD, and who took his own life. She has dedicated herself to helping other veterans fighting the same battles.
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'It's not a weakness at all. It's an invisible scar. It's an invisible wound from war. And my son came back physically, but he did not ever come back from Afghanistan. So I don't want that to happen to anybody else,' says Kroll.
They are walking to spread the message that 22 a day is 22 too many, and that we need to fight to help our veterans even after they have come home, just like they fought for us.
Ben's Heart Ministry is continuing its social media campaign through the end of the month, challenging others to find their own way to spread awareness.
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