Poor Johnny came home
but he'll never be the same.
The things he'd done
in the war
will never go away.
He said they were
trained to kill;
the enemy was not man
but an animal
that needed to be
sacrificed
for the country's safety.

When Nate came home
the dreams wouldn't stop;
he couldn't tell real from fake.
He attacked a taxi driver
with a gun
because he thought
he was back in Iraq.
Now Nate is doing
six years hard time
as a thank you
for our freedom.

Jack read the headline
"Veteran Suicide
Averages Two a Day"
and took to the bottle,
the alcohol his only escape.
The bruises he left on
his children's faces
a black-blue memory
that'll never fade.
It's been twenty-five years
since he last saw his son's
but at least now
they can be safe.

Our soldiers come home
beaten and broken
but we can only heal
the physical wounds.
These men and women were
fighting for our freedom
and now they're fighting
for their own.
They may have come home
in one piece but I promise you
they all died in that war.

Every day we lose twenty veterans to suicide. The loss of even one life is too many. We as a nation need to do everything we can to help support those who give their lives to protect ours. Organizations such as www.inspiringourheroes.org provide information and support to veterans struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depression.