SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Every day, the American Legion Post 104 in Sevierville helps East Tennessee servicemen and servicewomen living with trauma. Over the Fourth of July, it will offer those veterans a place to go and avoid fireworks, helping make sure the holiday doesn't trigger painful memories.
It will be open from 7 p.m. through midnight on July 3 and July 4, giving veterans a space where they can connect with other veterans.
"We are, I guess you could say without getting too emotional — we all took an oath, an oath that has bound us together," said James McLaughlin, Adjutant and 1st District Commander with the American Legion Post 104. "That bond is thicker than any blood, because one time we swore if we had to, we'd give our lives for each other."
McLaughlin served in the U.S. Army Airborne Division, and his job consisted of jumping out of airplanes. He spent seven years serving in the military, and he served in the Gulf War. He said holidays like the Fourth of July can reopen invisible wounds, triggering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and sending veterans back into war.
"Our Independence Day is supposed to be a happy celebration, but the noise effect can cause problems for these veterans, because the fireworks are very similar to the sounds we hear in combat, and it can bring you back to a place that you were, that wasn't a very comfortable place," he said.
He described the sound of fireworks as the sound of artillery going off.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, around seven out of every 100 veterans have PTSD. Around six people out of every 100 members of the general public have PTSD.
"Whether it's fireworks specifically or other issues that they have — that's a lot of military personnel that are coming home that brings the war home with them," McLaughlin said.