09/19/2014 06:34 PM
09/19/2014 07:27 PM
HAGERSTOWN, Md.
- Twenty-five incarcerated veterans at the Roxbury Correctional Institution
took part in the nationally recognized POW/MIA recognition day on Friday.
"You have inmates that served in all branches of the service so they all come together and basically pay respect to the prisoners of war and those missing in action," said Sgt. John Worgul, liaison for the Incarcerated Veterans Of Roxbury (IVOR).
According to officials with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the recognition day ceremony hosted by the local incarcerated veterans group is the only one of its kind in the country. IVOR has hosted the hour-long program for six years, and boasts an array of supporters, including Edward Chow Jr., Secretary of Maryland's Department of Veteran's Affairs.
"They still have that bond that we all had when we were in service together and they're demonstrating that today," Chow said.
Dustin Griffin, who served in the army from 2003 to 2009, says his troubles, like many other veterans, began when he returned home. As a medical logistics specialist, Griffin witnessed the graphic horrors of deceased or critically injured soldiers on a daily basis and eventually struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"When I came back to the states and got out of the military, I started using drugs and eventually robbed a cab driver to get money to use drugs," Griffin said.
With the help of IVOR, Griffin's life has changed for the better.
"Each and every one of us can lean on each other for anything that we are going through," Griffin said. "It's an honor just being in the military itself but to be a part of POW/MIA ceremony, it just means the world to me."
"You have inmates that served in all branches of the service so they all come together and basically pay respect to the prisoners of war and those missing in action," said Sgt. John Worgul, liaison for the Incarcerated Veterans Of Roxbury (IVOR).
According to officials with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the recognition day ceremony hosted by the local incarcerated veterans group is the only one of its kind in the country. IVOR has hosted the hour-long program for six years, and boasts an array of supporters, including Edward Chow Jr., Secretary of Maryland's Department of Veteran's Affairs.
"They still have that bond that we all had when we were in service together and they're demonstrating that today," Chow said.
Dustin Griffin, who served in the army from 2003 to 2009, says his troubles, like many other veterans, began when he returned home. As a medical logistics specialist, Griffin witnessed the graphic horrors of deceased or critically injured soldiers on a daily basis and eventually struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"When I came back to the states and got out of the military, I started using drugs and eventually robbed a cab driver to get money to use drugs," Griffin said.
With the help of IVOR, Griffin's life has changed for the better.
"Each and every one of us can lean on each other for anything that we are going through," Griffin said. "It's an honor just being in the military itself but to be a part of POW/MIA ceremony, it just means the world to me."
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