Welcome, troops

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December 12, 2011 — As American servicemen and women return from Iraq, they bring with them stories of combat and a life we cannot understand. Some now live with emotional and physical wounds. Many will need help finding work and adjusting to new routines established in their homes while they were gone. What do they need from you and me? Maybe it starts with ‘thank you’ –followed by understanding and compassion. Dr. Dan Gottlieb talks about welcoming home and supporting those who’ve served with guests Lt. Samuel J. Console and Lori Maas.

Lt. Sam Console is an author and veterans advocate. He’s a former Pennsylvania Guard Officer and Army Combat Engineer Officer and alumnus of the Wounded Warrior Project. He’s written Service and Sacrifice: Memories of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a Veterans Mental Health and Resource Guide. Lori Maas, LSW, manages the Philadelphia VA Medical Center’s Returning Combat Veterans Program.

Following the airing of this edition of Voices in the Family, we heard back from our guest Lt. Sam Console, seen posing for a photograph with his children in the above slide show.  He shared with us a personal message of how his appearance on the show led him to some deep reflections on his war experiences and on how much his life has changed since becoming a soldier. View his letter to Dan Gottlieb »