SALINAS, Calif.- This weekend we're honoring veterans for their sacrifice to our country. But are they getting the support they need after returning home? We sat down with one veteran, to hear about his struggles with post traumatic stress disorder.
"I have my pride, I can honestly say a lot of soldiers have their pride and say I don't need help. But the reality is a lot of these soldiers do need help," said Iraq veteran Jose Reyes.
Jose Reyes is a father of two and spent 15 years in the infantry division in the Army and a trip overseas has left him in a tough spot.
"Military is all I knew, I lived that life for so long that structure, I miss it," Reyes said.
Reyes spent a term in Iraq and since then he suffers from PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
"It's nightmares, having to live a certain traumas that happen, flashbacks. Not only have I struggled with it but my wife, my children, it's an every day battle," Reyes said.
After his deployment, Reyes ran into trouble and even found himself in jail. But since then, he's cleaned up and is in school earning his GI bill of rights funds. But Reyes will graduate and hopes to have a job. But if not, he doesn't know what he and his family will do.
"My husband fought for this country and for you to say he's been denied, that hurts me because I live with him and I see the struggles," said wife Monique Reyes.
Reyes said even though he keeps to himself now that he is out of the military, tomorrow is still a special day.
"Heck, I wish it could be Veteran's Day every day, people should remember," Reyes said.
Reyes said he and his wife attend therapy regularly and that he is excited to graduate from college.
