My name is Terry Soloman. I am a member, and past historian, of Valhalla, New York, Post 1038. When I got out of the Army, I was diagnosed with severe PTSD. After being home a few months, my friends started telling me I was becoming more reclusive and drinking too much. I already knew this, but I really wasn’t comfortable in normal social settings after coming home.
I tried getting help from the VA Hospital, but I found getting drunk preferable to the strong drugs prescribed to me by the VA doctors. A friend, another Army veteran, saw that I was struggling and invited me to go with him on a metal detecting outing. That weekend changed my life. About 15 minutes into detecting, I wasn’t looking for snipers or bunkers anymore. I had no intrusive thoughts or feelings of dread. I was enjoying being outside again. After that weekend of learning about metal detecting, and finding my first gold nugget, I was hooked.
It has been 48 years since that outing, and I have been metal detecting and passing on the joys of the hobby to other veterans ever since. Last year I founded Metal Detectors 4 Veterans, Inc. (MD4V.org), with the vision of helping financially insecure veterans find some relief from their anxiety, depression and other conditions connected to PTSD.
Metal detecting can be therapeutic for veterans suffering from PTSD. It provides a way to distract from negative thoughts and feelings, reduces stress and improves mood. It encourages veterans to engage in a calming activity, gets them outdoors and provides a sense of fellowship, accomplishment and purpose. When combined with professional treatment and therapy, metal detecting can improve veterans' lives.
Thanks to a donation of 22 new metal detectors (valued at $10,000), from Minelab Metal Detectors, I hope to reach even more veterans in 2024. There will be local demonstrations, classes and instructional hunts. With a team of over 60 engineers, Minelab’s hand-held metal detection technology has been hailed as the world’s best for the last 35 years.
The services my brothers and sisters at Post 1038 provide to our local and hospitalized veterans in our VA Hospital, inspired me to reach out to veterans both locally and nationwide. If you are a veteran looking for help, or if you would like to volunteer, make a donation or learn more, please visit http://www.MD4V.org