Men and women with military sexual trauma,

I think the time has come for us and the world to acknowledge what we really are: we are veterans of a war. It was a silent war and a war we did not sign up to fight, but it was a war none the less, and we fought honorably and deserve to be recognized for our fight. We need to acknowledge those soldiers who are the bravest of all – the ones that have had to fight and defend themselves against their own United States armed forces. We need to acknowledge the persecution we experienced when we reported sexual trauma (or the fear we experienced when we knew we could not talk about it), and acknowledge that we remained honorable even as we were reprimanded, removed from service, and murdered for reporting the crimes committed against us. We need to celebrate ourselves -- not for what we suffered, but because we are still here, and we refuse to give up.

What I'm suggesting is for the very first time the veterans of military sexual trauma march in a Veterans Day parade, and then let us honor each other in a ceremony dedicated to each other for our strength and our courage.

The Veterans Day parade in Auburn, Washington is the largest Veterans Day Parade west of the Mississippi. This year it is going to be on Saturday, November 7th. We are formally inviting you to join all the others with MST in marching together, and then honoring each other afterwards for surviving the war we fought in.

It is frightening to think of marching before thousands of people. I am frightened, but I know if we can stand up and acknowledge the full truth of what happened to us -- yes, we were victims, but now we are warriors -- we can encourage so many others with MST to break their silence and shame. They can't acknowledge what happened to them until we do it first, so we must have courage for them, even if we may not have it for ourselves. I know this too -- if we march, we are going to be honored the way none of us have ever been honored before. We are going to be cheered by thousands who will be astounded at our courage, and love us for our strength. We are all at the forefront of a new era of warriorship and power, and the whole nation will soon honor us for our strength. We have deserved this for so long, and this November it is finally going to happen.

Please respond to Kira at kira@packparachute.org if you want to participate in this monumental event.

Kira Mountjoy-Pepka
Director, Pack Parachute Charity

Susan Avila-Smith
Director, VetWOW