Photo by Niamh Coomey Terry Wildman of Martins Ferry is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and has the ribbons and medals to prove it.

MARTINS FERRY — Terry Wildman will tell you that he believes he stayed alive in Vietnam because he still had a mission to fulfill — making sure veterans are remembered.

“I believe I got through for a reason,” Wildman said. “There was a reason for me to come home: to accomplish something.”

Today, over five decades since Wildman was sent off to fight in the Vietnam War, he sits in his living room, the walls filled with accolades and photographs. They are reminders of the 18 months he spent in combat — and the years after, which have been both plagued by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and filled with achievements.

Wildman successfully pushed legislators to rename a section of Ohio 7 “Ohio Valley Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.” He had a veterans memorial installed at a cemetery in Martins Ferry, and has worked to have other local veteran monuments cleaned regularly.

Above all, Wildman has been a steadfast supporter and advocate for fellow veterans in the Upper Ohio Valley in a time when he feels many people don’t have the respect for veterans that they once did.

Wildman was barely 18 when he enlisted in 1966 and began serving in the United States Marine Corps. He married young and when he left for basic training his wife was pregnant with their daughter, who in her early years would only know his face through a photograph.

He spent 18 months in combat in Vietnam as a forward observer, which meant he studied maps and directed the artillery on the front lines as a part of the 2nd battalion, 4th Marines attached to the 9th Amphibious Brigade.

Wildman was one of the Vietnam veterans who “walked the walk” so he can “talk the talk,” he often says. He watched many around him die. But the hardship didn’t stop when he made it back home in 1969.

He spent the next several years battling a drinking problem and in and out of the courts for fighting. Many disapproved of America’s involvement in Vietnam and weren’t shy about letting Wildman know how they felt, which upset him. At one point a judge told him he had a “certain reputation” in Belmont County.

He faced struggles in his marriage and attended counseling with his wife for a year before the therapist told Wildman he wasn’t sure how to help.

“I drank whiskey and stayed out late every night,” Wildman said. “I don’t know whether it was trying to make up time or just doing what I had to do.”

Wildman reached a point where he didn’t know how to deal with the PTSD symptoms and wasn’t getting the help he so badly needed. He loaded a shotgun and went down to his basement, intending to end his life. His daughter came running down the stairs screaming at him to stop. It was that moment that Wildman decided to turn his life around and never go back.

“The only reason I’m still here is because she got down those steps,” he said.

Wildman started putting his energy into helping his community. He quit drinking whiskey and joined the Martins Ferry Fire Department. He volunteered with the local Veterans Association. He served on two school boards, acted as the safety director for Martins Ferry, was a city councilor, a lineman for American Electric Power for seven years and an advanced EMT for 25.

“I just helped out veterans every chance I could, gave out flags, gave them help when they needed it,” he said.

He still battles the PTSD that plagues many soldiers who made it home alive. He still gets the memories, the nightmares. Little things still bring him back to his time in combat.

“Now I just continue to do what I can do but it’s still there,” he said. “I tell people I got home from Vietnam but I never left. I won’t leave till the day I die.”

Wildman suffered two heart attacks fighting fires. He’s fought cancer, had a tumor removed from his brain and two major back surgeries.

“I have guys tell me ‘you look so good’,” he said. “I say I’m like a ’57 Chevy — the body shines but when you pop the hood you can see the engine a little better.”

Wildman said there is more awareness about PTSD today than when he first came home from Vietnam. There are also more treatment options available, some of which he has tried. Wildman was also a part of a support group where he could talk openly with other veterans who went through the same things.

Still, many of his peers won’t open up about their time in Vietnam. He has lost several to suicide.

“A lot of them won’t talk about it today and I don’t blame them. It’s been 50 years since we got back,” he said. “But there’s a lot of them that still have the things I have, they still have the thoughts and the memories.”

Wildman will always be remembered as a leader in his community, not just for his many achievements, but for his strength and vulnerability in times of hardship.