Healing the Wounded Soldier’s Heart

Spiritual restoration helps warriors find their resilience

In 1969, Vela Giri was drafted into the United States Army and sent to Vietnam. Trained as an infantry rifleman, he fought in the jungles during the war surrounded by constant attacks, death, and sheer “craziness.”

David Pierce joined the United States Navy in 1985. Two years later, he was deployed off the coast of Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. A gunner’s mate who specialized in weapons, his orders were to handle the ammunition and kill anyone who boarded the ship. For three months Pierce stared out into the waves worried that an enemy gunboat would attack.

Two different men, separate wars, yet their stories are strikingly similar. Neither man realized he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, until they met Edward “Ed” Tick, Ph.D., and his wife, Kate Dahlstedt, the founders of Soldier’s Heart, a group that at the time provided support retreats for active-duty troops and veterans.

Then, everything changed.

Tick’s passion for helping veterans started after Vietnam soldiers began returning home. He saw many of them in private practice and eventually began leading annual journeys of healing and reconciliation to Vietnam.

His 2005 book, War and the Soul, garnered him attention. Overwhelmed by the response to the book, Tick and Dahlstedt, his wife, started the Soldier’s Heart, dedicated to transforming the heart and soul wounds of war.

How PTSD Can Become a Soldier’s Reality

The number of veterans diagnosed with PTSD has dramatically increased since the Vietnam War. Many believe this shift is a result of veterans who feel betrayed by the very country that sent them to war.

Giri’s best friend, Jacob George, was one such veteran. After serving in Afghanistan, George was diagnosed with PTSD. Several years ago he took his own life.

Giri feels his friend might be alive today had he sought help. Although his friend’s death severely traumatized Giri, he channels his pain into positive energy to help other veterans.

For the warrior, these negative or morally questionable dimensions of military service can become opportunities for growth and restoration.

“There is a tremendous amount of need in the veteran community for help. I’ve gone through most of the hurdles and I’m at a place where I can be a helper, but it took me several years to get to this point."

Vela Giri

“After the war, I felt I was quite functional. I went to college. I had my own business. I was a leader in my profession as an arborist. I didn’t believe I had PTSD. I had returned to Vietnam several times on my own after the war and never had a strong reaction. I grew to love the Vietnamese people. They were no longer my enemies.”

But it was Giri’s last trip to Vietnam that led to a startling revelation. While there, a fellow veteran convinced Giri to go through the process of receiving government benefits for PTSD. Therapy unleashed his wounded soul.

“PTSD took hold of my life. I had no idea how deeply it was affecting me,” Giri said.

“For 40 years there was this shadow over me. The war really radicalized me. If I ever had an illusion of what America was about or believed in the American dream—or in the things we ascribe to like freedom—the war changed that. It didn’t serve those purposes at all.”

Becoming a Warrior: Healing Spiritual Wounds

“I think most people get confused on why we focus on the spiritual wounds. But, if you think about it, the battlefield is the most spiritual place there is,” said Dahlstedt. “You’re dealing with good and evil at its most profound. Life and death is in the hands of our soldiers and that makes it a profoundly spiritual experience.”

Tick and Dahlstedt believe soul wounds are sacred. Their work focuses on spiritual restoration, leading to knowledge and transformation.

“The archetypal warrior is not necessarily a fighter but someone who stands for truth and integrity, and protects and defends the people,” Tick said. "This is what many of our soldiers want to exemplify when they go into the military, regardless of why they choose to serve.

“The military code of conduct is one of great honor in doing the right thing. The problem is that when they are actually in certain circumstances, they’re faced with moral dilemmas that make it impossible to live up to that moral code.”

For the warrior, these negative or morally questionable dimensions of military service can become opportunities for growth and restoration. Activities include a “homecoming” ceremony to welcome the soldier back into the society. There is also a restitution ceremony where participants surround the veterans in a protective circle. This reverses the traditional warrior model where soldiers protect the people.

“This is restitution where the entire community carries the burden with the warrior rather than leaving it all on that individual to collapse in pain and dysfunction from trying to carry it alone,” Tick said. “It’s extraordinary how much lightness, hope, and connection the exercise brings to everyone. The warriors stand up proud and their eyes get bright.”

Everyone has an inner warrior, including active soldiers, veterans, and those who have never served in the military. What this ceremony does is bring that inner warrior to the surface.

Transformation for Soldiers and Beyond

The focus on spiritual restoration helps warriors find their resilience.David Pierce

“People who just weren’t okay with themselves suddenly feel alive, like they can finally breathe.

“As a soldier, you’re trained to not show weakness,” Pierce said. “If you cry, it would be the most shameful thing. But that’s the most essential thing to healing—being able to acknowledge that there’s strength in weakness.

“We all collect bad stuff inside,” he continued. “And when you let some out a whole bunch of good stuff can come in—more joy, happiness, peace, and serenity.”

This profoundly transformational process doesn’t only benefit the active participants. Healing has a rippling effect. For every veteran who’s helped and healed, a spouse is transformed, parents, children, and siblings change. Every person they say hello to in the community is touched.  

One change can impact an entire community.

Soldier’s Heart closed after 13 years when Tick and Dahlstedt returned to private practice. They left behind a legacy of “education, training and preparation to helpers, the military and the public, researched, developed and utilized spiritually- and culturally-based holistic healing, and nurtured a cache of experienced and younger therapist/veterans who are carrying this work into the future.”

Support for Veterans

If you or someone you know needs help, contact the Veterans Crisis Hotline. Support is available 24/7 by phone or text at 1-800-273-8255 or text 838255.