By Jena Seidemann
Managing Editor
@jena_seidemann
http://youtu.be/kJEaqeulSbo
After six months of planning by the Coppell YMCA Christian Emphasis Community, the first ever Prayer Breakfast to honor Veterans was held on Nov. 10.
Spearheaded by Executive Director of the Coppell YMCA, Gayle Westapher, the Y wanted to honor the veterans of Coppell with a nice breakfast while emphasizing the Christian values laid in their mission statement.
“This is a Christian organization and we are trying to emphasize the C,” Westapher said.

It was a time to celebrate what it means to be American and a veteran.
“We lose the idea of what it really means to be free until you see the rest of the world, and you then you realize how good you have it,”
Vietnam veteran Joe Woziak said.
The intimate ceremony had 85 guests, which included 15 veterans. Coppell High School 2001 alum Corporal Jacob Schick was the keynote speaker.
Enlisting before he graduated Coppell High School, Schick is a third generation Marine through his grandfather and uncle. His grandfather served in World War II as a sniper and his uncle was a gunner in Vietnam. Since the tender age of 8 years old, it was his dream to continue the family legacy.
“We are about to start our work up,” Schick said. “I knew I was going to see combat long before I saw combat because of 9/11. I shipped out the next month.”
In 2004, while in the Sunni Triangle, Schick sustained multiple injuries as a result of a triple stack tank mine that blew up underneath him. Leading up to the injury, he had a gut instinct something was not right. It was his responsibility as the React Team leader to protect his fellow Marines.
“I had nine families I assured their sons would come home,” Schick said.
The gut instinct also told him to make his men wear the neck protector, shatterproof goggles and any other protective gear they owned despite the 100-plus degree heat.
“I got this feeling up in my throat,” Schick said. “By the way, you’ll see this feeling I am
talking about is God.”
Schick also had a feeling he needed to take one of his soldier’s places in the front seat of the vehicle. He was right where he needed to be.
“I jumped into the front seat,” Schick said. “The driver was a really good friend of mine and still is. I remember he was irritated with me because he was the driver and that was his job and I looked down and I winked at him and said ‘you’ll thank me later.’”
When he was waiting to be picked up by the Blackhawk, he was undoubtedly in excruciating pain, but it paled in comparison to the thought of dying in front of his comrades.
“I remember talking to God while I was spaced out on the deck and said ‘just let me make it till the bird gets here,’” Schick said. “Don’t let me die in front of my guys. Just let me make it to the blackhawk, and then I am yours.”

His recovery started in Bethesda for three months. 15 total months, 46 surgeries and 23 blood transfusions later, he was released from rehab, and even though his body was recovered, the hardest battle was still waging six inches between his ears.
“When you leave the military you lose that purpose, you lose that sense of identity,” Schick said. “You have to redefine yourself. Who are you going to be now? Are you going to be a firefighter or a police officer? What are you going to be? What are you going to do? It doesn’t matter what you do, you feel as though your best days are behind you.”
Luckily, his wife understood his battle. She was an intern in the Navy when Schick met her in rehab while in Bethesda.
“She knew this was going to be a marathon not a sprint,” Schick said. “She knew that my physical wounds were one thing but the wounds six inches between my ears would take a while.”
Of all the things Corporal Schick wanted the attendees to understand is that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the greatest afflictions for returning vets. He did not believe in it until it had happened to him.
Every day in America, it is estimated 22 troops commit suicide because of PTSD. California and Texas do not report those types of deaths. According to Schick, there is a need for accountability, which is something the government should do for the soldiers after all they have done for their country.
“The worst part is that I know more warriors that have died by suicide than through combat,” Schick said. “I have been to far too many funerals for a 32-year-old. You see these men and women who have gone through so much and I do not understand why they do that, because to me, it is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”
What is worse than PTSD is suffering with it alone. As a soldier, he wanted to face the issue solo, but it was miserable. Schick eventually found a place that helped him cope with the trauma, but it took the love and support of his family and community to bring him through.
“A community like Coppell that is tight is huge for guys like me,” Schick said. “Trust me, I would not have been where I am without it. My faith has made me strong. My family that I have around me, my friends and my community I have around makes me strong and makes me move and push through, which is why I am so lucky.”

Westapher hopes that events like this will be a continued, annual tradition at the Y, and when it is not Veteran’s Day, she hopes to help the military and their families in as many ways as possible.
“We do have a program for free membership for active duty members and their families,” Westapher said. “We want to do anything we can do to help.”
She also hopes the YMCA begin and implement more programs for Veterans and their families and is open to suggestion. For Coppell Family YMCA Board of Management Chair George Ritcheske, the community is more than willing to help, but they need to be educated on how.
“Coppell is a terrific community that comes around each other,” Ritcheske said. “We need to encourage [veterans] to go get help because the community is more than willing to help.”
Schick believes that citizens should not say they understand what the troops are going through, but to just be there for them. He also encourages people to do research and get involved in the charitable organizations supporting the troops, but to also research each organization’s credibility.
He works closely with charities such as Carry the Load, Honor, Courage, Commitment, Hope for Heroes, Heroes on the Water, Sons of the Flag and assists Equest with their therapeutic horseback riding.
Above all, understanding the troops means understanding their trauma and not seeing them as a disease.
“I do not believe in the D for disorder [in PTSD],” Schick said. “It is just a label. I look at disorder and you are labelling someone. Society labels someone. Why label when you can empower?”
Through all the struggle, trials and tribulations, Schick is more determined to live life to the fullest and with a purpose.
“I learned the hard way that I am living on borrowed time and if I am breathing you can bet I am going to do something to help someone somewhere,” Schick said. “We are all living on borrowed time, but I get to win everyday. Make no mistake that I am not the victim, I am the victor.”