FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)- For some combat veterans, the July Fourth holiday can be a stressful time with fireworks bringing back memories of war.
According to Angie Pratt, director of Soldier on Service Dogs, there are 14,000 veterans in Northwest Arkansas who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Retired Army Staff Sgt. Brandon Hughes lives in Fayetteville. Hughes served multiple combat tours in Iraq from 2003-2010.
"Fireworks with no sound or smell would be great, because we all love the lights but it's the other stuff that really gets us," Hughes said.
He said when he can anticipate the explosions, he can handle the anxiety. Hughes said the smell of gunpowder brings back memories of combat.
"There's just certain things that have a certain smell that go with stuff that you'll never forget," Hughes said.
Retired Army Sgt. Spencer Offenbacker said he has learned to cope with his anxiety over the years. He retired in 2008, and said his first few holidays at home he wasn't able to handle the loud noises.
"The meaning behind all of it is being able to set off fireworks and celebrate our independence, but sitting at home and hearing them fired off randomly kind of startles me and gets me on edge," Offenbacker said.
He said he has talked with his neighbors to give him a warning before they shoot off fireworks, and he urges others to keep that in mind in their neighborhood as well.
"They just got to be understanding what we've gone through, kind of take that into account and if you're going to shoot off fireworks just let us know instead of startling us, tell us you're going out front or out back do fireworks so we know and can be prepared," Offenbacker said.
According to Pratt, 1 in 5 veterans in the U.S. has post-traumatic stress disorder.