Many veterans deny they need help because there can be a stigma involved, former President George W. Bush said Monday while discussing his new book, "Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors."
"It starts with — and this is why these vets are very important — vets saying, 'I've got a problem,''' Bush told NBC's "Today" anchors Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie. "There's a lot of denial because there's a stigma. Our message is that it's courageous to talk about it and seek help."
The book combines paintings from Bush of several veterans, along with stories about how they persevered after returning home from war while suffering from both visible wounds as well as invisible trauma such as PTSD.
Bush plans to donate part of the book's proceeds to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a non-profit organization formed to help post-Sept. 11 veterans and their families successfully make the change back to the civilian world.
The book, which comes out on Tuesday, can be ordered through Bush's book website, and will also be available through Amazon.
Four of those appearing in the book, Army Sgt. Major Christopher Self, Army First Lt. Melissa Stockwell, Army Sgt. First Class Michael Rodriguez, and Air Force Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro were on the "Today" show with Bush to speak about their lives, and how Americans can help returning veterans.
"They don't need a handout, they don't want favors — they want opportunities,'' Self commented. "They're out there, give them the opportunity."
"First of all, I want to sell a lot of books to raise money for helping our vets," Bush commented. "Secondly, I got to know all four of them pretty well, and I felt great pride. People [are] asking me, 'do you miss being president?' Not really. But I miss saluting people who volunteer to wear the uniform. And all four of them did."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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