Stepping up for veterans

SPIRIT LAKE — Hal Glover spent 22 years in the military.

“I saw a lot of people die,” he said as he shuffled along Highway 41 in Spirit Lake with daughter Tracy Stokes.

They were joined by about 15 others Saturday morning in the Walk for Vets. The 2.2-mile route started and finished at Spirit Lake City Park.

Glover served in the Navy. Like many veterans, he said adjusting to civilian life was hard as he tried to put what he saw behind him.

"When you come back, I don't care what you say or what you do, you're different,” he said. “You’re different when you’re done with combat."

The Walk for Vets organized by veteran Rob Street was part of the Armed Forces Day Celebration in Spirit Lake. It included a Color Guard, a Missing Man ceremony, service booths for veterans, music, games, food and drink at City Park.

Street said the walk, in its second year, was to raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder and veteran suicide.

“The issues that veterans who come back from war go through, the typical, normal, everyday person doesn't understand or really grasp,” Street said.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are about 20 veteran suicides per day in America.

Street says he will do what he can to change that.

“Whether they're from Vietnam, Iraq or Baghdad, there's too many of our veterans that take their lives,” said Street, who served a year in the Army.

He came to know veterans who needed someone to talk to, sometimes right away, but were left alone.

“They don't know how to reach out for it,” he said.

A few years ago, Street was invited to Georgia for a walk to benefit veterans. That inspired him to start one in Spirit Lake, where he grew up.

“It’s about veterans taking care of veterans and somebody to talk you down from taking your own life," he said. "I've been there myself."

Kyle Olmstead of Spirit Lake was walking with wife Rena and son Dexter. He has served with the Army Reserves since 1985 and has been deployed three times in the past six years.

His tours of duty have taken him to the Middle East, including stints in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Kyle Olmstead said he went through a rough patch about 20 years ago after serving in Baghdad.

“I was a little angry when I got home,” he said.

But he came to terms with his experiences.

“He’s better now,” his wife added.

Glover, a cryptanalyst in the military, said having someone to listen to him, who understood his feelings, was key to recovery. His family was part of that.

He was glad to have his daughter alongside him on Saturday, and said he considered his family veterans, too.

“They spent a lot of time taking care of things when I was gone,” he said.

Tracy Stokes was happy to support her dad and other veterans and sensed a camaraderie during the walk.

“They all have a commonality,” she said.

Rob Street said most people don't understand what veterans are dealing with when they come home.

“So this is just to bring awareness and support to let them know, call. Make that call," he said. "It saved me. I made that call. And that's why I'm doing this.”

He said veterans are heroes.

“Heroes to me and hopefully, heroes to everybody else," Street said. "Because if it wasn't for our veterans, active military, you know this country wouldn't be the country that it is. We need to show them that respect and honor.”

His mother, Carla Street, was an organizer for the Armed Forces Day Celebration and is also with Spirit Lake Troop Support, which sends packages to vets overseas.

During Saturday’s Walk for Vets, Rob Street was smiling and upbeat as he set the pace and cheered others on.

“I feel good," he said. "My heart's right. My head's getting better."