today we honor all veterans and today was a very close attention to the st responders the united states coast guard are always out there ready protecting our shores on land and sea along with the emergency services the new york city police department and all the other law enforcement and the new york city fire department st responders and we really god bless america because terrorists who attacked our nation and murdered thousands of people who reminded again freedom does not come cheap god bless america and happy veterans day this is billy on veteran united states navy the annual veterans day parade larch is up th avenue here in new york city there's over two hundred and fifty groups more than forty thousand veterans participating from all arrows this year commemorates the th anniversary of nine hundred and eleven and the united states coast guard is a military branch that is featured this w war was taught all over again i used to pray my silent prayer then pray to god i wouldn't dare and i ask myself how many children with guns that i killed today and who in god's name will have to pay you see they must be fighting for a cause children just don't go around starting wars no it's all a government stat starts to was then use them men like to dot all is so i told myself i was fighting for the red white and blue and killing all my enemies with the thing i had to do but when the war was over and i came home i found out i was that all alone nobody welcome me home would have shades of good will they all want to know how many children i kill and then they all say that they understand but somebody made me feel even less than a man well now i'm in jail and i don't know why i just sit and watch the time go by it seems i even had a friend done moms and sometimes i wonder just who i am and thank god i have a family that gives a damn i ever get to heaven saint peter was surely you know this man is said in vietnam in the post traumatic stress clinic i work with saw iraq veterans vietnam veterans korean veterans and some world war two veterans who are struggling with post traumatic stress disorder i do individual work therapy with them and group work too so we're very busy these days with the iraq war we're getting a lot of new veterans in from both iraq and afghanistan usually in combat although it doesn't have to be combat but usually in combat experiencing what trauma where your life is threatened or you may get wounded or even the fear  factor in combat all can contribute to post traumatic stress disorder so many many guys and women as well come back from the combat zone with p t s d and cannot really resume their civilian life right away they need to they need to go for treatment they need to go for therapy some even take some medications that can help with depression depression these are the kinds of symptoms that a lot of the veterans have when they are diagnosed with p t s d and but we are seeing some remarkable progress i have been at the v a for thirty years and i have seen myself some remarkable progress over the years many of the veterans i work with many of them have resumed a life maybe not the kind of life they would  like totally but they are having a better quality of life they're back with their families with their kids with their grandchildren they are functioning much better on a daily basis so we're very proud of the work we're doing at the v a and we want to continue doing this work as long as we are needed to do this work and how do they downstairs near the emergency room not in the emergency room but there's a tree ice area then they would be referred based on what their aliments are if it's made if it's a major medical element they will be referred to the medical clinic if it's p t s d they will be referred to the mental hygiene clinic where where i am and then we do an evaluation an intake evaluation and if they're diagnosed with  d we we're friends them to a group or individual therapy and or medication with a psychiatrist yes so we are saying told veterans who are struggling  when they come back from combat and i just want to add this actually that we have substance abuse issues as well alcohol and drugs is a way that many veterans with p medicate and treat themselves to escape to escape the symptoms which are very painful so we treat these veterans for substance abuse as well for drugs for alcohol so  is a multifaceted approach to treatment for p t s d and sometimes it does take time before we see results but we stick with it and the veterans stick with it and they get better better getting better that's what it's all about that's what we're dedicated to working in the v a certainly it's what i am dedicated to doing is making them better and making their yes well i just want to shout out to all of veterans out there on veterans day and hey listen guys if you and gals if you need help assisted assistance don't hesitate come down to the v steve is a great man and thank you for your service a way this is joe graham president of the vietnam veterans association manhattan chapter one hundred and twenty six and the letter ins day tell us your thoughts on on today and how the pra we stepped up for us and we're grateful for that and we anticipate within the veterans community that we will be treated fairly and it's all looking good for us and it was a great day and thank you at thank you terry one that has supported us and supported our veterans community it's all about duty honor and country which is the way we live our lives  my sisters this to me is the most fabulous day of the year because i'm with the people that really really really lay down themselves in some points unfortunately down their lives for this country you know to be a veteran today it's something special because we just finished a presidential election and very truthfully it's not the politicians that gave us the right to vote but it's the veteran that gave us the right to vote the protester he didn't give us anything they just gave us a little bit of misery but the veterans and their veterans today guaranteed a freedom and liberty throughout the world that you and i now enjoy i tell everyone there told everyone today and  even days and back is to thank a veteran and thank the veteran for the liberty and the freedoms that you now enjoy thank you veterans thank you thank you i'm krista hart reporting from midtown new york city this is veterans day two art exhibition opening in the coast guard our program uses fine art as an outreach told to educate diverse audiences about the u s coast guard with this care and lo and worth this audience st of all what is co get up as an acronym for the coast guard art program and we are group of volunteers from around the country that donate our time our talent and our art  you thank you thank you for this i didn't imagine more perfect than i like this great postcard look at what you're surrounded with as far as a place you are but also the history of this location and it's related if you're not aware is actually shipped all around the major units and those are this is displayed to our stakeholders all our members in the coast guard so they know that people care about them but it's not only documenting them it's also an artist really their passion their skills the artist comes out in each one of these and we were part of the journey and we were commenting earlier that the personality of artists is captured in the works of art so when these are accepted in the united states  saving was the inaugural exhibition of collection two thousand and seventeen so tonight these thirty three paintings were donated on behalf of the artists by the president selma gandhi club to the coast guard and they were accepted by recognize our great coast guard men and women who do so much for this nation every day who sacrifice so much for our service since ensure their safety and security those are that's highly number one and i like number two is the artists the artists to through their own labors and all volunteer have allowed us to recognize our coast guard men and women from all that they do for the american people every day those are the highlights of my evening in some of the painting here i guess this is sort of got the job that the coast guard does you want to tell our audience what some of the jobs are the coast guard oh boy the coast guards got lots of jobs and that's why we have so many jobs sometimes it's hard to tell our story but each one of these paintings captures a different mission of the united states coast whether it's search and rescue which were very well known for drug interdiction protecting the nation against terrorists or other actors she tried to do harm to our citizens protecting the marine environment protecting the fisheries working in the poll  making sure that we've got environmental protection these are the missions of the united states coast guard and every single one of these paintings captures those missions and i'm krista hart reporting on the coast guard our program here in new york