FAIRBORN, Ohio — A local veteran has gathered thousands of other veterans together online.
It creates a space for them to talk, share stories, and support one another.
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News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins was in Greene County, where she learned why every veteran needs to know they’re not alone.
For veterans, the flag can remind them of a time they sacrificed everything and bonded in ways most Americans will never understand.
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A Greene County man made a platform to bring veterans together and tell them you’re not alone.
“When they get out of the military, they look around them and they’re like, nobody understands me,” said Tim Wightman, Operation Intel Veterans Stories. “And they need to be around other veterans that understand them, because then once you get veterans talking, that’s when we start healing.”
Within 2 years, Operation Intel Veterans Stories has attracted over 10,000 followers.
Interested in hearing stories straight from Vets and connecting with nonprofits across the nation?
The group was created because Wightman knew there was a void.
“I started interviewing veterans that I went to Iraq with in 2006 and 2007,” he said. “And I realized that I wasn’t the only one struggling. “
According to U.S. Veterans Affairs in 2024, an average of 17 veterans died by suicide daily.
That statistic can be seen within Wightman’s community as well.
“One of our members in our community unfortunately took his own life about three weeks ago,” he said.
“This went from a hobby to get my mind off of things to something now that I found a passion in, and I found the purpose,” Wightman said. “It’s really helped me out.”
Despite fallen brothers, Wightman said his community has helped save veterans’ lives and he’s not planning on slowing down.
He has big plans ahead.
“What I am working on is something called the Generations of War,” he said. “I wanna sit down with a World War II vet, a Vietnam vet, all the generations of war so they can talk to each other.”
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