CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The United States Department of Labor reports that in 2023, there were more than 17.9 million veterans living as civilians and more than five million of them reported having a disability connected to their service.

Disabilities can range from tinnitus, which is the perception of buzzing in the ears when there is no actual sound present, hearing loss, PTSD, limited mobility range and even loss of limbs. 

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S Department of Labor says more than five million veterans report having a service-connected disability

  • The Pew Research Center reports that the Marine Corps has a higher percentage of disabled veterans compared to other military branches

  • Some disabilities can be recognized by the eye while others are hidden, like PTSD

  • Statistics recorded in 2020 by Veterans Affairs Research and Development found that the suicide rate for veterans was more than 57% greater than for non-veteran U.S. adults

The Pew Research Center has reported that the Marine Corps has a significantly higher percentage of disabled veterans compared to other branches of the military. 

North Carolina business owner and Marine Corps veteran Kyle Lingafelt has stayed in contact with fellow service members, Will and Gavin, who did not want their last names disclosed, since being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps several years ago.

“It’s always joked and said like it’s some of the best worst times ever of our entire lives, the most fun I never want to have again,” Lingafelt said.

Each of these veterans say the transition from their time in the service to life as a civilian was challenging. 

“[I remember seeing] the guys I went to high school and elementary school with, being in a room full of those people but somehow feeling so alone is a wild feeling,” Will said. 

Lingafelt, Will and Gavin were sent to southern Afghanistan for a 10-month deployment in 2013. Today they are each disabled, but Lingafelt said Gavin's disability is recognized by the everyday person, because he's an amputee. 

“I ended up getting my right leg below the knee cut off, because there wasn’t enough left to save basically,” Gavin said. 

During Gavin's deployment to southern Afghanistan, he stepped on an improvised explosive device. These types of explosives became increasingly common during the Iraq War that began in 2003, because they could be carried by a person, placed or thrown and even delivered in some cases, but terrorists would often conceal them along the roadside. 

While IEDs can be hidden in plain sight, Lingafelt said the same can be said of veteran disabilities. 

“The ones that are hidden, like when did the PTSD set in, when did the TBI (traumatic brain injury) hit, when did you know I am not physically [OK] ... one day you just wake up and you’re like, 'man, I am jacked up.' It’s one of those things it’s all gradual,” Lingafelt said. 

Veteran Affairs Office of Research and Development reports that in 2020, the suicide rate for veterans was more than 57% greater than for non-veteran U.S. adults. 

“I never lost anybody in combat, your [Gavin’s] injury was probably the worst out of the whole deployment. But I never lost one person in my deployments, but when I got back, I lost one after another after another,” Lingafelt said. 

Today, Lingafelt describes the battle of navigating through the physical and emotional pain he feels from his time serving in the United States Marine Corps to others. 

“There’s such a stigma with it, and I don’t care anymore like I openly talk about it, because I don’t care. I’ll talk about the missions, I’ll talk about how bad they were, I’ll talk about what happened, because I found that it just kind of helps. It’s better than bottling it up is what I’m trying to say,” Lingafelt said. 

All three men say they want to help others better understand disabled veterans and hope that by bringing awareness to their disabilities they’re able to contribute to that work.