Sending love and honor to all my military friends and family this Memorial Day. I wanted to share my brother John Sakmann's service records as a reminder that there are real superheroes out there. The people who fight for our country and freedoms are incredible humans. After John served his four years in the Army he stayed in the Reserves for another four to continue to help. Even before service, on September 11, 2001, while others were running for safety, he ran downtown towards the danger and spent the day helping where he could at Ground Zero. Seeing that he could make a difference, his first thought after 9/11 was to join the military. John served in the US military, he was an Army Ranger Medic from 2002 through 2006. He rose to the rank of Sergeant, but was known as “Doc” to his battle brothers. He served 2 tours of duty, one in Afghanistan “ Operation Enduring Freedom” and one in Iraq “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. Even after his service, he volunteered to help in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, where he used his medical training from the military to give back to those he knew desperately needed help at the time. He wanted to use his training and medical knowledge for more than war. On Memorial Day, we honor those who served and fought for our freedoms - but we also honor and mourn military personnel who served our country and died by suicide. The mental and physical toll military action has on the human psyche stays with these soldiers for the rest of their lives - and too often it becomes too much to bear. 17 to 22 times a day too often. And that is only Military related Suicides. In the U.S. alone there are an average of 134 Suicides a DAY. That is 4,092 a MONTH. That is 49,104 a YEAR. It’s OK to have emotions, it’s ok to talk about things - don’t hold it inside until it’s too late. Reach out to friends or family, or give me a call! It’s a crazy world out there and we’re all in this together…Sending love and strength to all!! #17to22 #17to22adayisnotok #stopsoldiersuicide @wwp @stopsoldiersuicide (at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPj6tCMl2mE/?utm_medium=tumblr