A southern Indiana couple is raising awareness about how fireworks can affect military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Their Evansville-based nonprofit group, Military with PTSD, has distributed thousands of yard signs to people around the country. The signs say: "A combat veteran lives here. Please be courteous with your fireworks."
Explosions on the Fourth of July can trigger anxiety, panic and flashbacks in veterans with PTSD. Evansville Army veteran Scott Thompson says he tries to stay indoors to avoid the noise, which can remind him of incoming gunfire.
Justin and Shawn Gourley are the founders of the group distributing the yard signs. They tell the Evansville Courier & Press they're flabbergasted by the demand for the signs. The group mailed 8,000 signs this year.