(gentle music) - [Jim] It began as Decoration Day in Civil War cemeteries and those veterans continued to play a role in Memorial Days for a very long time.

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11 last year, every flag on Art Hill had a story and one man unexpectedly found an old friend.

- But when I plant the flag, I thought, "he is next to me."

- [Jim] The story of how a full-sized replica of the Vietnam War Memorial ended up in a cornfield in Perryville, Missouri.

- So, you know, I thought maybe we would just have a welcome center or museum or something like that, but I never dreamed that we'd have a Vietnam Wall replica of the one in Washington, D.C. - [Jim] And a story that might be titled, "Thank you for your service dogs."

The extensive training that can bring so much to veterans in need.

- [Christy] Very good!

- I don't know, he feels it and next thing I know he is on my lap or he's flipping upside down on his back and doing something stupid and making me laugh.

- It's all next on "Living St.

Louis."

(upbeat music) I'm Jim Kirchher.

And when I was a kid, I remember just about everybody on the block putting out an American flag on Memorial Day.

Now, maybe that still happens in some places, but I don't think it's nearly as common.

But I think back then maybe Americans with all their disagreements and divisions still thought they were all on the same side.

And it wasn't until I was much older that I realized just how recent World War II was back then.

Or that when my parents were growing up there were still Civil War veterans marching in Memorial Day parades.

Memorial Day traces its roots back to a time when the North and South had fought a terrible civil war, and the tradition of placing flowers on the graves of the war dead, Union and Confederate, gave rise to what would be called Decoration Day, May 30th, later Memorial Day.

But even well into the 20th century with new wars and new graves, the Civil War veterans played a prominent role.

Here they are in a parade downtown at the head of a procession of soldiers returning home from World War I.

And on Memorial day of 1936, five members of the Union Veterans Group, the GAR, the Grand Army of the Republic, placed reeds at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery.

The youngest was 86-year-old WC Pfeifer, who had served as a drummer boy.

But memories of the Civil War would soon be nearly gone, and perhaps in this era of world wars, nearly irrelevant.

On Memorial Day 1945, there was victory in Europe, but casualties were still being reported daily from the Pacific.

In St. Louis there were parades and church services and ceremonies at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery.

But "The Star Times" 77 years ago noted that perhaps by oversight, St. Louis's last two surviving Civil War veterans, a 96-year-old Union soldier and a 98-year-old Confederate, did not participate.

These are home movies from the first post-war Memorial Day in Venice, Illinois in 1946.

Memorial Day was beginning to look more like the holiday we know.

There was a parade and food and beer.

It was a time of peace.

Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, they were still ahead.

And the flags would come out again.

Last summer Kara Vanika reported this story from Art Hill.

- For some people they may be just flags, but behind every flag, there is a story.

The story of someone loved.

- [Kara Vanika] When Bacha Wali Bacha agreed to help place the Flags of Valor on Art Hill in 2021, he had no idea that one of those would include part of his own story.

- This is my friend, Rob Miller.

- [Kara Vanika] In 2008 Bacha was serving in the Afghan army and worked closely with US Special Forces in the fight against the Taliban.

And that's how he met Army Staff Sergeant Robert Miller.

- He was the youngest man in the team, he was 24.

- [Kara Vanika] A Green Beret, Miller had been awarded for his bravery several times, but on January 25th, 2008 he offered the greatest sacrifice for his fellow soldiers, both American and Afghan, when they were ambushed during a patrol.

Miller told his comrades to fall back as he ran forward to draw enemy fire and continued to fight, killing 16 insurgents and wounding many more, ultimately saving the lives of seven members of his own team and 15 Afghan soldiers before he lost his own.

Bacha and his men had arrived his backup and once the firefight was over he helped to recover Miller's body.

- And that was very, very heartbreaking thing for me to see him, see the guy with who you just 2, 3, 4 hours ago you were talking, you drink chai, laughing with them.

- [Kara Vanika] Over 7,000 flags were placed to honor service members who lost their lives in the war on terror since 9/11.

It just so happened that Bacha was assigned the row that would include Robert Miller and he was able to place his friend's flag himself.

- First moment was very hard to see his picture and everything.

But when I plant the flag, I thought, "he is next to me."

When I hugged the flag, "I thought I'm hugging him" - [Kara Vanika] Though Bacha made many friends during his time with US Special Forces, it was only after he immigrated to America in 2018 that he understood how much they were leaving behind.

- Now, I realize that how good life they have here and how hard life they lived there when they were deployed.

They are all our heroes, they fight for us.

- [Kara Vanika] In 2010, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Miller's parents.

11 years later in the midst of a sea of snapping flags, he was remembered not just as a soldier, but as a friend.

(somber music) - Our next story is about basic training, but not for new military recruits.

This is designed to help veterans with a variety of disabilities.

And the training is much more than basic.

Brooke Butler on what it takes to become a service dog.

- [Trainer] Yes!

- [Brooke] There's no denying the joy we feel when we interact with a dog.

Sure, they slobber and shed, but it's worth it for the unconditional love.

In fact, having a pet is so comforting in 2019 there were nearly 200,000 people seeking registration for their pet to be considered an emotional support animal.

But these dogs, as much emotional support as they do give, are actually highly trained official service dogs.

They train for up to two years to support victims of post traumatic stress disorder through the organization "Got Your Six Support Dogs."

- We just got asked yesterday, like somebody coming in, they're like, "What is Got Your Six?"

What does that have to do with dogs?"

- [Brooke] Executive Director Nicole Lanahan explains the phrase "got your six" comes from World War II when fighter pilots would give their location in terms of a clock.

When someone was at your six o'clock, that meant they had your back and the slang stuck, not just for military, but also for first responders.

- And so we knew I wanted something that military, law enforcement, first responders would know.

"Hey I know that slang, this organization is for me.

It's this is my organization."

Honestly, in the beginning, which is so funny, I was the biggest skeptic of PTSD service dogs.

I was thinking, "Okay, you guys, you just want to take your dog on an airplane."

- [Brooke] Nicole has been training dogs for over 20 years in various capacities, from narcotic dogs for the military to diabetic and mobility assistance dogs.

But after several people contacted her with requests for PTSD support dogs she started to investigate the details.

- And so to understand what the dogs do you really have to understand PTSD and how it affects your brain.

- [Brooke] Historically referred to with terms like shell shock or battle fatigue, PTSD has been affecting soldiers since the creation of war.

In fact, references to symptoms of PTSD even date back to survivors of saber-toothed tiger attacks.

But the problem is in a world where saber-toothed tiger attacks are pretty few and far between, the psychological responses are still the same.

- For example, I was supposed to do an interview with somebody who applied for a service dog and they never showed up.

About an hour after they missed their appointment I get a phone call and it was them sobbing saying, "Look, I tried to come in, I really did.

I need this dog, but I saw a cardboard box on the side of the road and I had to turn around."

You and me were like, "cardboard box?"

But to them, they know that over in the desert, that's where they would hide bombs is in trash.

And so they're driving past the trash and frontal lobe says, "Hey, we're in America, there is no bomb in that box," but the amygdala list speaks up and says, "Hey, do you wanna risk it?

Is it worth risking your life?"

And ultimately, no.

"So, I'm gonna turn around and go home where it's safe."

- [Brooke] But even with understanding the science and logical explanation behind PTSD, there was still the question of how a dog could be of assistance.

- Are they just dogs that make you feel better?

It has to be more than that because the Americans with Disabilities Act says a service dog has to be able to perform a medical task in order to be a service dog.

So I'm thinking, what is this task?

They have to do something.

- So we're just doing nothing while that cat walks around.

So I like to say that training is actually quite boring because teaching neutral is doing nothing in the face of a distraction, right?

And that's the first thing we start with is solid, pristine obedience.

From there, we move into their anxiety alerts which include a lower body alert such as a foot tap.

Yes, what a good girl!

If I'm crying (sniffles).

Yes, very good!

(laughing) Very nice.

And they do nightmare interruptions, and they retrieve items for us.

And one more!

- [Brooke] So the simple answer is PTSD service dogs pay close attention to their owners, and when they notice a nervous behavior, such as foot tapping, knee bouncing, or sighing, they alert their owner by interrupting the nervous behavior.

But of course, with the complexities of PTSD the relationship between the dog and the owner is a little bit deeper.

(gentle music) - Sometimes I have emotions that I don't even know how to categorize them.

Like, I'm not mad.

I'm not sad.

But I feel something and I don't know how to verbalize it or I don't know how to how to get somebody to understand how I feel like.

And Arkhum just gets it.

I don't know, he feels it and next thing I know he is on my lap or he's flipping upside down on his back and doing something stupid and making me laugh.

- [Brooke] Coming from a long line of Navy veterans, Andy Canning took a while to realize he needed help managing the difficulties that come with returning home from service.

- And I did therapy and things like that.

One of the first things I told my therapist was I don't want to be on medication.

I wanna feel and I want to feel those things and emotions, but I wanna learn how to control them.

He said, "Well, if you can find somewhere that'll do it, I think a support dog would be a great thing."

So I did some research, did some research, and ended up finding out that a friend of mine from school was a trainer here Got Your Six Support Dogs.

The first thing you have to fill out the application it's like 20, 25 pages long.

And you first printed out and you're like, "Oh my gosh, this is gonna take forever."

Well, it was that way for me personally.

It's that way for a reason.

To even get started in the process you have to want to get better, right?

So you gotta do the legwork.

- [Brooke] That legwork includes references and insight from your therapist, a primary care physician, your spouse and or family members, and after the application is received and approved, there's about a year long wait list to get matched with the dog.

But once you're in Got Your Six provides more than just the dog.

- So we make sure with our applicants that they are ready.

One of our requirements is they're already participating in therapy, but when they're here, one of the things, again, that makes us different, is they get a two week trauma resiliency program with the service dog.

- [Brooke] This 14 day trauma resilience program includes a 24/7 therapist onsite, workshops on mindfulness and stress relief techniques, and of course, lots of interaction with your dog.

And all of this is at no cost for the veterans.

- So when they're here we cover the cost of their meals, their hotel.

We also make sure that they have all of the supplies they need for their dogs, the dogs care for the entire year.

And all of that costs us, when it's all broken down, it costs $25,000 per dog.

So since we are a nonprofit, we have to fundraise all year in order to make sure.

Last year we placed 10 dogs.

We always like to increase.

We haven't been able to increase because of COVID.

COVID was rough.

But we're thrilled to say we haven't had to decrease either, which was a scary possibility.

- [Brooke] A lot of their support comes from donations, both monetary and supplies, but Got Your Six is a big advocate for the PAWS Act, which provides government funding for pairing service dogs with eligible veterans.

- Ever since the PAWS Act happened, unfortunately, we've seen a lot of backyard garage organizations pop up hoping to get some government money for training a dog and we've already seen and heard horror stories.

So we wanna make sure that anybody that's looking for a service dog, even not through us, just making sure that the organization that you go look is accredited.

- [Brooke] These non-accredited organizations are most likely offering services because the demand is just so high.

And it's predicted that the demand will only increase with the effects of the pandemic on first responders.

But looking at the transformative results, it's a worthy demand to supply.

- When I start like feeling stuck and I feel surrounded, he'll kind of bump me and say, "Hey, we're all right, let's do this."

He keeps me in the moment and lets me enjoy my life the way I want to.

Prior to this and prior to getting help, I probably wasn't the best human to be around.

Just like somebody, not that my family didn't and not that my therapist didn't, but somebody that I have never met before in my life cares enough to give me a chance.

(upbeat music) - One of the most powerful war memorials lists the names of the men and women who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

Of course, it's in Washington, DC.

But if you can't get there the next best thing is in Perryville, Missouri.

Here's Anne-Marie Berger.

- [Anne-Marie] This is Jim Eddleman.

He and his wife, Charlene, are lifelong resident of Perryville, Missouri.

Jim is a third generation Perry County farmer and former meat cutter.

- This was my grandfather's farm and I'm the third generation.

(gentle patriotic music) - [Anne-Marie] He's also a Vietnam veteran.

(gentle patriotic music) How many years were you there?

- [Jim] I was there for one year.

- One year, that was enough.

- Yeah.

(gentle patriotic music) - [Anne-Marie] In 1968, Jim fought heroically during the Tet Offensive and unlike many of his friends and fellow Americans, he made it home.

- I was in my bunker at 10 o'clock at one night and a Sergeant come there and said, "Eddleman, you've got one hour to go get packed up and get ready to go.

We got a bus going to Bien Hoa, we're gonna get the first flight out of Vietnam since the Tet Offensive started."

When we got on that plane and we started taxiing down there there started mortar coming in and I was sitting right on the window, looking out off the wing.

And there's mortars coming in there, and I thought, "Oh man, I've made it this far and now I'm not gonna make it."

But we did make it out there.

And I got letters back from guys that was still over there and they said that another three weeks before another flight went out.

So, you know, I was lucky that I got out.

(gentle patriotic music) - [Anne-Marie] Lucky and grateful.

Before he left Vietnam Jim made a promise to himself that if he made it home alive he would do something to honor his fallen comrades.

- In the early days I really wasn't financially able to do much but I really wasn't nothing come up that I really wanted to do.

And finally, I just thought of something on my own that if we build some kind of veterans memorial.

(gentle music) - [Anne-Marie] Jim gathered the right people together and more than five decades later, after he and Charlene donated $2.5 million and 47 acres of his family's farmland, he broke ground on that promise.

(gentle music) - You know I thought maybe we would just have a welcome center or a museum or something like that.

But I never dreamed that we'd have a Vietnam Wall replica with the one in Washington, DC.

- That's right, rising out of the middle of a cornfield, Jim and his friends erected an exact replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

(gentle patriotic music) Built with granite from the same quarry in India as the original wall.

It bears the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives during the Vietnam War.

(gentle music) This isn't a tribute to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC.

It's not just a little taste of it, it's an exact replica.

Every little detail is the same, even the mistakes.

- There's names in Washington, DC that are spelled wrong.

And we know that, but we had them spelled wrong on this wall so we could say that we have an identical wall.

- If you build it, they will come.

- [Anne-Marie] Nancy Guth is the executive director of Missouri's National Veterans Memorial.

The Memorial officially opened on May 18th, 2019.

And it's off the beaten path location of Perryville, Missouri has not deterred visitors.

- We have probably increased almost 500% since our grand opening.

We have people from California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Wisconsin.

What I didn't expect was the emotional experience that I'd be going through with all those veterans.

It just blew me away.

The appreciation of what we're doing for them was just overwhelming.

Every day I get a story.

- I come down here just to see if I can console myself once in a while.

There he is, Dewayne Taylor.

Sergeant Taylor, Second Battalion 14th Infantry, 25th Division.

He was something.

Carried a pineapple all the time with him.

A regular at eating pineapple.

And he always used to tell me, he said, "There ain't nobody, Rhea, gonna get this pineapple."

And I guess they didn't.

But he was a good soldier.

(gentle patriotic music) - [Anne-Marie] Missouri's National Veterans Memorial doesn't stop at the Vietnam Wall.

There's a welcome center, a military museum, and an honor flag memorial.

- When I started this, I said that we have to honor all veterans.

It's just not gonna be one veterans, Vietnam veterans, it's gonna be all veterans from all wars.

- [Anne-Marie] You look out to where your farm is and you see that wall with all those names on it.

How do you feel?

- Well, it brings back flashbacks and memories.

I'm proud that I can go down there and look on that wall.

And I've got a lot of friends on that wall.

I've got two classmates on that wall.

And they've got six from Perry County here that's on that wall.

Just something that you, hard to tell what kind of feeling it is.

(gentle patriotic music) - The Soldiers Memorial here in downtown St. Louis has been a landmark for a long time.

But let's face it, it's one of those places we mostly just drive by.

But if you haven't ever been there or haven't been there in a while, it's worth a visit.

A few years ago it underwent major improvements under the guidance now of the Missouri Historical Society.

A lot was done on the building itself, but it was also the exhibits that underwent major changes.

There are still plenty of military artifacts but a greater emphasis was placed on the personal stories of the people who have served our country, which is why it was built in the first place.

And why so much time and money was spent to bring it up to date.

- On behalf of the Missouri Historical Society, welcome to the grand reopening of St. Louis Soldiers Memorial Military Museum.

- [Jim] The plan was always to be opened by November 11th, 2018, the centennial of the end of World War I, what was once called Armistice Day, now Veteran's Day.

They made the deadline and held the grand opening on November 3rd with a crowd outside on the newly redesigned outdoor plaza.

- [Ceremony Speaker] Loyalty and sacrifice.

And you will see each of those values reflected.

- The Soldiers Memorial was originally built by the city to honor those St. Louisans who died in World War I, but it would take years to get it done.

President Franklin Roosevelt came here in 1936 for the groundbreaking ceremony.

And at the reopening retired Army Colonel Judith Hanses read from his remarks that day.

- "Here will rise a fitting structure, a symbol of devoted patriotism and unselfish service.

We in America do not build monuments to war.

We do not build monuments to conquest.

We build monuments to commemorate the spirit of sacrifice in war."

(gentle music) - And that's "Living St.

Louis."

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Jim Kirchher, and we'll see you next time.

- [Announcer] "Living St. Louis" is made possible by the support of the Betsy and Thomas Patterson Foundation, the Mary Ranken Jordan and Eddie A Jordan Charitable Trust, and by the members of Nine PBS.

(upbeat music)