News : Remembering Dan: Flaughless 5K honors local soldier, raises PTSD awareness

Charley Cronk, a CC teammate of Dan Flaugh, wore one of Dan's shirts for the Flaughless 5K.

This group 'rucked' the 5K, carrying 20- or 30-pound backpacks.

Dan's cousin, Hannah Timmerman, finished first in her age/gender division in the 5K.

Kathy Flaugh reads a letter Dan wrote to a VS elementary student years ago.

Craig Walker joined the ruck by walking the route in his firefighting gear and oxygen tank.

Lisa Horak releases balloons in honor of Dan Flaugh before the annual Flaughless 5K.

The ruckers did several push-ups after finishing the course.

Young children rode strollers as their parents walked the Flaughless 5K route.

A letter Dan Flaugh wrote from Iraq to a Vinton-Shellsburg elementary student who is now a high schooler, and the cross country T-shirt he wore during the home meet at Rodgers Park a dozen or years ago were among the special items that helped his friends and family remember him during the third annual Flaughless 5K on Saturday.

While the event is not on the Vinton-Shellsburg calendar, countless V-S alumni, especially those who went to high school and ran the streets and hills of eastern Iowa during four years of cross country, gathered at Riverside Park for the event. The 50+ volunteers and 500 or so runners and walkers helped organizers Lisa Horak and Georgia Meeker Sysouchanh raise another $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project.

But the most important purpose of the day was to remember Dan Flaugh, and to raise awareness of the struggles that many soldiers face when they return home from war.

After graduating from V-S, Dan joined the U.S. Army and eventually chose one of the most dangerous combat positions, that of Calvary Scout. As a SPC-E4, who went to Iraq as part of what is now called the “surge” designed to defeat insurgents, Dan and his unit would patrol areas of that country in eight HUMVEES six out of seven days each week, says Dan's brother, Ryan.

“He chose combat,” says Ryan. “He wanted action.”

Yet, says Ryan, he does not know exactly why Dan chose to be a scout.

“I wish I knew,” he said.

The Go Army web site offers an idea of just how dangerous being a scout can be:

“The cavalry scout is responsible for being the eyes and ears of the commander during battle. They engage the enemy in the field, track and report their activity and direct the employment of weapon systems to their locations,” reads the job description on that site. A scout unit's job duties include:

· Secure and prepare ammunition on scout vehicles;

· Perform navigation during combat;

· Report information on terrain, weather and enemy;

· Collect data to classify routes, tunnels and bridges.

Another definition from the http://usmilitary.about.com site offers even more information about the dangerous job: “Scouts engage the enemy with anti-armor weapons and scout vehicles in the field, track and report enemy movement and activities, and will direct the employment of various weapon systems onto the enemy.”

Dan and the other future Scouts participated in an intense 16-week training course focusing largely on battle training and war games.

Dan returned home from Iraq without any physical injuries, but two of his comrades died there, one when an IED exploded, flipping the HUMVEE and trapping the soldier inside. Dan's family had learned of the frantic struggle to save that soldier. Other members of Dan's unit were severely injured during that tour of duty.

There's one more unique comment about the job of an Army Scout on the Army's web site: “There is no direct job equivalent in civilian life.”

Dan came home after an honorable discharge in 2008, and began his job search. He took scuba training and earned a degree in conservation wildlife from Kirkwood. He went to work at Parker Hannifin in Hiawatha.

But like many soldiers returning from war, Dan was suffering silently from PTSD. He didn't say much about his pain, but after struggling for three years, he took his own life the day after Christmas in 2011.

Now, Homecoming Week, known for its days of laughter and silly costumes, fun traditions like parades and window painting, also includes for many VS alumni and local residents, a morning of mourning, a day to remember Dan and discuss the continued impact of PTSD on soldiers.

The Flaughless 5K takes place on the Saturday morning of VS Homecoming Week, and the fourth annual event in 2015 will also occur between the Friday night game and the Saturday night dance, although organizers must wait until they find out when Homecoming is before announcing the exact date.

Kelly Steffen celebrated Homecoming this week as both a mom of a senior and a teacher at VSHS. She has also welcomed veterans into her classroom to talk about war and its impact on those returning. And, she has seen many of her students chose a soldier's life – and has witnessed the struggles many face upon their return to civilian life.

“For me, the hardest thing to see is PTSD affecting one of my "kids" – my former students,” says Steffen. “I know Dan is not the only one of our students turn soldier who suffered with PTSD. We need to constantly be aware of the struggles our veterans may face when returning from war and be prepared to meet their physical and mental needs.”

American society, says Steffen, has gotten better at recognizing the impact of emotional and mental trauma on a former soldier's life.

Yet, she says, that's not enough.

“Those who have served our country, as well as their families, deserve the best the medical community can offer to help treat PTSD. Working with veterans, in and out of my classroom, I have heard them say that talking to the students is the first time they have opened up to anyone about some of the things they witnessed,” says Steffen.

The teacher also thanked the Flaughless 5K organizers for what they have done for Dan, his family, and the military community.

“I am so proud of Georgia Sysouchanh and Lisa Horak for finding a positive way to remember their classmate through the Flaughless 5K. By working with the Wounded Warrior program, Georgia and Lisa, along with the Flaugh family, have shown how action can help bring about change and aid in the healing process,” she says.

One of the veterans who has spoken to Steffen's class is John Gualtier, who served as a medic in World War II. There, before his 20th birthday, Gualtier had to determine which injured soldiers could be saved, and which were going to die from his wounds. He saw countless American soldiers as they died, and later was among the first Americans to see first-hand the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps.

Gualtier was called a liar by a military expert when he responded truthfully to the question, “How many dead bodies have you seen at one time?” with the answer: 3,000.

For years, Gualtier struggled with severe PTSD that affected his life, job and relationships and was very reluctant to talk to anyone about his trauma. Now, however, he is a frequent speaker at area schools, including V-S.

“Talking to the students helped me more than years of talking to the psychiatrists,” says Gualtier.

A letter an and old T-shirt

Many of Dan's former cross country teammates have become regular Flaughless 5K runners, including Charley Cronk. A year ahead of Dan, Charley is also a close friend of the Flaugh family. Sitting along the route at the end of the race, Charley points to the shirt he was wearing, a souvenir of the home cross country race at Rodgers Park in 2002 or 2003.

“This was Dan's shirt,” he said, explaining that after Dan's death, his family let Charley keep some of his cross country shirts.

Several people also participated in the event while “rucking,” or carrying backpacks. With 20- or 30-pound weights, they walked the 5K route and jogged toward the finish line, as a tribute to soldiers and their difficult training.

Then when they finished the route, they formed a circle and did several push-ups.

One woman among the ruckers, Stephenie Miller, approached Kathy Flaugh after the race with a small note in a plastic zip-lock bag. It was a letter Dan had written to her daughter, Rhea, several years ago. Rhea and her classmates had written to Dan, and he replied.

“Is this your Dan?” Stephenie asked Kathy, who replied with a tearful “Yes.”

In addition to the Flaugh family, another family has made the drive to Vinton from the northeast Iowa town of Edgewood in Clayton County, in honor of Marine Eric Ausborn, another suicide victim among soldiers returning from Iraq.

Eric's mom, Jolene Niehaus, said that while society is making progress in confronting PTSD, the number of soldiers it is affecting, and PTSD-related suicides, remain the same.

See many more photos on the Vinton Today Facebook page HERE.