* She's a singer with the band
* Ob-la-di Ob-la-da * Life goes on
- Right now, Guitars for Vets
operates 60 chapters in 30 states.
We've given away over 2,000 new guitars.
We have over 200 volunteers nationwide.
And I can't even count the amount of volunteer hours.
[slow soothing guitar]
- I'm Patrick Nettesheim.
- And I'm Dan Van Buskirk.
[haunting guitar playing]
- I knew I wanted to be a musician and a guitar player,
probably back when I was four or five years old.
And at that time, I also thought,
I wanted to help heal people.
I met Dan in 2006.
- Something just told me that I should get a guitar
and not worry about how well I do,
but just get started.
[Patrick laughs]
- When Dan showed up to his first lesson,
he told me that he was suffering from PTSD.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- We just hit it off right away.
And the lessons were really meaningful,
because we were like a couple of brothers coming together.
- You keep going with that.
I'm gonna switch chords up a little bit.
- And we could just share so much with each other.
[explosion and gun shots]
- Patrick: I was not in the military.
I didn't know a lot about Vietnam.
And Dan opened up and he shared with me.
- I wanted to join The Peace Corps.
But my dad asked me to serve my country.
When I came back from Vietnam,
after spending a year
being chased
by enemy reconnaissance teams,
North Vietnamese,
Vietcong,
I saw man as a predator.
In civilian life, it only takes one traumatic event
to create PTSD.
In combat, a combat soldier might go through that
several times a day or several times a week.
So you can imagine, the urgency that I feel
in helping combat Marines or combat soldiers.
[sad guitar]
- Patrick: And when you put this guitar in the hands
of somebody that is sinking deeply into depression,
it opens up a window of serenity for them,
enough that they can understand
that they are capable of feeling good again.
- Dan: I think I knew we were on to something
from how it helped me to be with Pat
and play the guitar.
- Patrick: You just go on and on with that.
Just beautiful.
- Dan: When Patrick and I were taking lessons,
I enjoyed it so much, I suggested that we go to the VA
and reach out to the other vets.
- So, we did that.
To play for men and women in spinal rehab.
To perform for them.
- And that's how we got started.
We took the guitar through the units.
- And we'd put the guitar around them
and just reach around and play it,
while it resonated in the center of their being.
Guitars for Vets
is based on the notion
of guitars, music, comradery,
and helps veterans find some joy
in their journey towards recovery.
- It's an extension of the good things
I learned in the Marine Corps.
It's an extension of "I got your back" kind of love.
- Fifth string A.
- Patrick: The way the Guitars for Vets program works
is veterans are referred to us by their case workers,
in the VA medical centers.
- Teacher: Play A.
- After the tenth lesson, they graduate.
They're given a brand new guitar.
Here's our slogan here:
The Healing Power of Music in the Hands of Heroes.
- So, what a deal.
They get to start their music
with an instrument they worked for.
And they're learning how to play
and it can be with them the rest of their life.
* Ob-la-di Ob-la-da * Life goes on
- Patrick: After that graduation, they're encouraged
to return to group lessons, or group jams,
so we can continue to build that teamwork and comradery.
- Dan: They're not getting diagnosed.
They're not having to retell their story
over and over again.
It's a group of veterans, sitting together,
playing together, making music together.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
- We want to give these new guys,
more green lights than we had when we came home.
We wanna help them, we wanna mentor them,
we wanna make their life better.
We're taking them here and we're saying, you're wonderful.
We love you just the way you are.
Let's go with this.
Let's rock and roll and have some fun.