Stigma Free Vet Zone

Former Army medic Chris Swift has shared several podcasts with us. You will find his experiences leading up to this Friday August 12 episode on the podcast episode page of our webpage. Today we continue Chris' transition experiences after his 55 month deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan serving as a combat medic. After years of […]

  Veteran Brian Eisch of Luxemburg, WI, spent 20 years in the Army. He was wounded during an ambush in Afghanistan, which resulted in the amputation of one of his legs. Eisch is the subject of a documentary movie, “Father Soldier Son,” which was filmed over a 10-year period. While he laments the loss of […]

Mary Haupt is a readjustment counseling therapist at the La Crosse Vet Center in Wisconsin. She works with service members and veterans who have experienced trauma and other adverse experiences while serving in the military, including those who have experienced military sexual trauma. Extensively trained in trauma-informed therapy, she is also an EMDR therapist. Mary […]

Mike Gemignani is a U.S. Army veteran who spent two tours in Iraq as a 13F forward observer with the 1-502 Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He completed a short stint in college before his enlistment in 2004 and, after exiting the military, returned to school to pursue a career in biomedical electronics. […]

Lani Rethaber, executive director of Patriot K9s of Wisconsin, is a Marine Corps and Wisconsin Army National Guard Veteran. Lani has a passion for helping Veterans and in 2019 started as a volunteer at Patriot K9s. Patriot K9s, a Central Wisconsin-based nonprofit, raises and trains psychiatric service dogs for disabled veterans. He has since become the […]

  West-central Wisconsin veteran Amanda McCune Cassidy's U.S. Army service included a deployment to Afghanistan 2009-2010 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. During her deployment, she was one of a few females to do route clearance — working with explosive ordinance disposal technicians from different service branches to clear roads of improvised explosive devices; she […]

Wisconsin Rapids-area veteran Cory Poast joined the U.S. Army when he was 34 years old. He served in Hawaii, and then deployed to Mosul, Iraq, in 2008, and served a year in-country. He works to find personal peace through humor, music, nature and sarcasm — working to keep toxicity out of his life. He notes, […]

Sarah Blum has experienced first-hand the traumas of war, having served as a surgical nurse in the Vietnam War. She also has experienced another form of trauma faced by many veterans: military sexual trauma. Sarah wrote about MST in her book, Women Under Fire: Abuse in the Military, and continues to travel the nation advocating […]

Veteran Jim Osterman set out to make a difference in as many lives as he could. He embarked on a journey to do what he could to help prevent veteran suicide. He found an answer in the peace he knows beneath parachutes' canopies and, as a result, founded the nonprofit Veterans Skydive 4 Life. He […]

Ashley Spangberg, a veteran from Strum, Wisconsin, found that making art has been important in her transition from military life, which for her included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. She sells her art through the Patriot Beads and Brass business that she developed. Besides making her own art, she often does art workshops for veterans' […]

Charlotte Ayers wore the uniforms of three different services during her 89 years, and recalls the challenges of her U.S. Marine Corps husband's emotional healing after he returned from Vietnam. The healing has prompted Charlotte to urge veterans of all ages to seek help when it's needed. She was raised in Neillsville, WI, and lives […]

Eric Chandler is the author of Kekekabic (Finishing Line Press, 2022) and Hugging This Rock (Middle West Press, 2017). His writing has appeared in Northern Wilds, Grey Sparrow Journal, The Talking Stick, Sleet Magazine, O-Dark-Thirty, Line of Advance, Collateral, The Deadly Writers Patrol, PANK, The Wrath-Bearing Tree, Consequence Magazine, and Columbia Journal. Chandler was nominated […]

Vietnam veteran Doug Bradley is an expert on the way music affects service personnel during their active duty tours, during their transitions to civilian life, and beyond. He and UW-Madison Professor Craig Werner — with whom Doug taught a Vietnam War class at the university — interviewed about 300 Vietnam veterans to hear music-related stories, which they […]

Chris Pettis is executive director of The Highground Veterans' Memorial Park near Neillsville, WI. Chris discusses how veterans and their families stories of transition and healing at The Highground, and how he and The Highground's staff and volunteers handle the emotions of those stories. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 and in 2014 […]

Brian Jopek, reporter and news director at a newspaper in Minocqua, Wisconsin, is a veteran of the war in Iraq. His son, Ryan David Jopek, followed Brian into the Wisconsin National Guard and ultimately also was deployed to Iraq. Ryan David was killed in action in the same area where his father had served, making […]

Veteran Pam Graham of Osseo, Wisconsin, understands the importance of family in the world of military veterans. She also knows the importance of veterans' military families, along with the need for intergenerational communications between veterans. The daughter of two Marines, Pam enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1986 and reached the rank of E-7 – […]

Bonnie Pettis is the daughter of a Navy Vietnam Veteran, a Marine Veteran sister, wife (of 22 years), mother and mother-in-law. She served the family home-front with an infant and a toddler for 2 of the 3 career combat tours her husband experience and remained state side during his one year duty station in Okinawa. […]

Dawn Strobel grew up in Milwaukee and Cedarburg, WI. Her parents divorced when she was young. Dawns father is a Vietnam veteran who never spoke of his military experience and who Dawn did not have much interaction with while growing up. She would come to know him later in life. Dawn's mother remarried and yet […]

Former Army medic Chris Swift has shared several podcasts with us. You will find his experiences leading up to this Friday August 12 episode on the podcast episode page of our webpage. Today we continue Chris' transition experiences after his 55 month deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan serving as a combat medic. After years of […]

Bob Nevin is a native of Queens in New York. At an early age Bob, his parents and family moved to UpState New York. Bob's mom was home raising the family while his dad, a WWII veteran of the war in the South Pacific, built his career in aviation. Bob's dream of a life in aviation […]

Former Tech Sergeant Rebecca Peasley is a Desert Storm Veteran. Having served with the Army National Guard, the Active Guard Reserve and Air National Guard Rebecca entered United States military service at the age of 30. Rebecca joined the military to better understand her husdband, a decorated combat infantry Vietnam veteran and his punishing challenges […]

Jason Katchenago left his tribal home looking for hope, purpose and work. After joining the United States Army he went on to serve tours in reconnaissance both in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the military Jason would experience difficult and punishing challenges in readjustment to civilian life. Jason explains the healing methods that have significantly […]

Nancy Smith-Watson is an actor, a trauma informed somatic bodyworker and co-founder/director of Feast of Crispian (FoC). Ms. Smith-Watson has a BA in Drama from the University of Washington and did her professional training at Circle in the Square professional conservatory in New York City. While working as a professional actor, Ms. Smith-Watson also trained […]

Scott Schultz is a Marine Corps veteran who lives on a small farm near Osseo — in west-central Wisconsin's northern Driftless Area. He retired last year from a long career in print and broadcast journalism. Twenty-one years ago, Scott and his wife, Dee, founded the educational nonprofit organization, The Heartbeat Center for Writing, Literacy and […]

Born and raised in Mississippi, Charlie Walton enlisted in the United States Marine Corp in 1968 and trained as an infantryman. He witnessed his first war casualty before his feet even touched the ground in Vietnam when the man in front of him on the jet's stairway was shot and killed by a sniper. Despite […]

Today on the Stigma Free Zone podcast, we learn more about how those who have experienced trauma and rage, are discovering freedom from pain and turmoil thanks to their willingness to surrender.     Jon Christensen grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. He left school after two years at a small college in Nebraska to enlist […]

Jennifer Pankowski grew up in Milwaukee. She proudly served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard from 1992-1998, and was named Soldier of the Year for her battalion in 1994. The daughter of a Marine Vietnam Veteran, a loving mother and a supportive family. She also has several other family members who served in the military. […]

Dr. Michael Dailey is the co-founder of the Infectious Disease Society of Georgia and Co-President of the Infectious Disease Society of America, a foundation on a mission to reduce the burdens of infectious diseases worldwide.He is Board Certified in Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and has professional […]

Randy Zemel calls himself a “D-minus” student who had no interest in college. After graduating from his Chicago area high school, he enlisted in the Marines in 1965. He served in Vietnam from 1966-'68 and left the service in 1969 as a sergeant. Randy thought little about his Vietnam service after he returned home. Instead, […]

Mark was born and raised in central Wisconsin to a large family. Mark is the eldest male child of 14 total siblings – 8 boys and 6 girls. Mark graduated from Necedah High School in 1998 and joined the Marines in 1999 where he served 8 years of active duty and achieved the rank of […]

Mark was born and raised in central Wisconsin to a large family. Mark is the eldest male child of 14 total siblings – 8 boys and 6 girls. Mark graduated from Necedah High School in 1998 and joined the Marines in 1999 where he served 8 years of active duty and achieved the rank of […]

Otis arrived in Milwaukee “on a stick” and homeless . It had been over thirty years since Otis had accepted a mainline injection of heroin as payment fora debt owed him. people, places and things were hard to make sense of. He had grown up as one of only eight African American families in rural […]

In 1965, Campbell graduated from the Marmion Military Academy in Aurora, Illinois to begin his career in the military. He enlisted in the U.S. Army that December and served four years, including two tours in Germany with the 8th Infantry Division as well as a tour in Vietnam. Throughout his military career, Joe specialized in […]

Joe joins us today to share his experience of serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He explains why he chose to enlist in the Army instead of waiting to be drafted, why he was anxious to fight in the Vietnam War, and how the realities of war compared to his initial expectations. […]

In this segment of the Stigma Free Vet Zone, Vietnam veteran Joe Campbell reflects on his family's experience during his active duty and beyond. We hear how Joe's family grappled with the fear associated with not knowing where he was, what danger he might be facing, and if and when they might receive word that […]

With great pride and patriotism Erin Schraufnagel joined the United States Marines Corps after the 9/11 attack in New York City in 2001. Twelve years later, Staff Sergeant Schraufnagel left the military life behind her. She shares her expectations for deployments to Iraq, a marriage strained between deployments, the unexpected enemies in her own ranks, […]

Kaitlin Miller lives in Saint Louis and is the daughter of former guest, marine recon, and Vietnam veteran, Dan Van Buskirk. Dan recounted his war experiences, his participation in Guitars for Vets, and his work with training service dogs for veterans. Kaitlin grew up in Alsey, Illinois and went to school in Saint Louis and […]

Bob Nevin is a native of Queens in New York. At an early age Bob, his parents and family moved to UpState New York. Bob's mom was home raising the family while his dad, a WWII veteran of the war in the South Pacific, built his career in aviation. Bob's dream of a life in aviation […]

    CVSO County Veterans Service Officer. Who they are and who they work for. When leaving the military and searching for your next  mission or purpose, personal and family health should be the number one priority. The CVSO represents the veteran and not the VA / Veterans Administration. The primary work of the CVSO is […]

Angela Peacock, MSW served in the U.S. Army for seven years as a communications specialist. She deployed to Iraq in 2003 and was medically evacuated due to a non-combat, life-threatening illness. Angela Shares the years of profound life altering pain, loss of her marriage and other punishing reactions and effects of PTSD and withdrawal from […]

John D Mason was a combat decorated Vietnam Veteran. Back home he was a husband and hero to his children. To his friend Joe Tate John was also a hero and life long friend. John was a marathon runner and in all regards a respected disciplined man. The news of John D Mason “s suicide […]

CVSO County Veterans Service Officer. Who they are and who they work for. When leaving the military and searching for your next  mission or purpose, personal and family health should be the number one priority. The CVSO represents the veteran and not the VA / Veterans Administration. The primary work of the CVSO is to provide […]

Ben Singleton grew up in a small town in northwest Indiana. He says the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11, which he watched on a television in a high school classroom, ignited a zeal within him to serve his country. He was 18 when he enlisted in the Army after graduation. A year […]

David Carlson served two tours in Iraq, in '04 and '07, as an infantryman with the Army National Guard. His re-integration back into the community after his second tour presented many punishing challenges. Unbeknownst to him, his participation in combat exacerbated his underlying struggles in his childhood, presenting after Iraq in the form of addiction, […]

Scott Schultz grew up on a farm in Osseo, WI. Scott is co-founder, president and executive director of The Heartbeat Center for Writing, Literacy and the Arts, Inc. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he's worked as a reporter and editor in print journalism for more than 45 years He's also worked in radio and television […]

Dr. Chia Vang: Professor of History University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Teaching and researching the impact of the Vietnam War especially on refugees. Chris Pettis: Marine Veteran and Executive Director of the Highground Veterans Memorial Park at Neillsville, Wisconsin. Chris Swift: Veteran Combat Medic w/ 3 tours in Iraq and One tour in Afghanistan. Certified Peer […]

The Capt. John D. Mason Program aims to save lives by utilizing Veteran peers that go into the community and locate Veterans in need engaging them in VA health services, and other community resources, to live a healthy, productive life. Captain John D. Mason served in Vietnam with the Second Battalion, Twelfth Marines, Third Marine […]

A native of Grafton, Wisconsin, Joe Pospichal graduated high school in 1984. The events of 9/11 — along with other incentives — made his military enlistment an easy decision. Joe deployed to Iraq leaving behind a pregnant wife. Working the roads outside the wire would profoundly alter Pospichal's outlook on life with many nights the […]

In this segment of the Stigma Free Vet Zone, Vietnam veteran Joe Campbell reflects on his family's experience during his active duty and beyond. We hear how Joe's family grappled with the fear associated with not knowing where he was, what danger he might be facing, and if and when they might receive word that […]

Doug Sandberg and a friend combined their curiosity and creativity with electronic parts they bought at supply stores in New York city and built a small radio station when they were teenagers. Sandberg did not know then of the unique experiences ahead in his life. The Vietnam-era veteran served at Minot Air Force base in […]

With great pride and patriotism Erin Schraufnagel joined the United States Marines Corps after the 9/11 attack in New York City in 2001. Twelve years later, Staff Sergeant Schraufnagel left the military life behind her. She shares her expectations for deployments to Iraq, a marriage strained between deployments, the unexpected enemies in her own ranks, […]