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Writer's pictureCol (Ret) Mikel Burroughs

Talk About Them. Be Proud of Them. Losing a Courageous Battle Didn't Make Them Weak!

Updated: Sep 8, 2021



On 8 December 2015 - 5 years ago Bella Burroughs and Robin Lawrence lost their father who died from suicide. He was a Marine, a Brother, a Veteran, a Father, a Grandfather, and a Husband. When a family member takes their life, it wasn't because they were weak. It's because they tried to be strong for too long. Veteran Cpl Loren Leon Hazedahl Jr. fought in the Vietnam War, a Marine Sniper who suffered with PTSD and many other invisible disabilities who was buried with honors at the Central Texas State Veterans cemetery in Killeen, TX.


In honor of Cpl Loren Hazedahl Victory for Veterans, Inc and the CEO & Founder Steve Durgin will be leading a group of local volunteers and sponsors by placing a Flower on Every Grave in 2021 at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery.


I share this family loss with the Veteran and Military Service Community because we have to all work together to try and reduce this loss of lives due to PTSD, TBI, MST, severe wounds and other physical and invisible disabilities; along with unemployment, and homelessness for our veterans that are struggling. There are so many and I'm sure that all of you have been affected by this in one way or another. We have seen many of our close friends in the various services, family members, relatives, and those we have served alongside end their lives in this manner.

"Those that lose their battle to suicide are not cowards. They just did not have the strength to keep fighting against their mind, making them feel worthless."


Five years ago, I founded and started "Warriors for Life" (WFL) previously call "Sponsor a Vet Life" to honor the life of Cpl Loren Hazedahl and to reach out to veterans and service members to provide "Sharing and Caring" and "Peer-to-Peer Group Support. Warriors for Life (WFL) is there to help save lives, provide the necessary support to educate, and build strong bonds and friendships among those suffering from PTSD, TBI, MST, and other physical and invisible disabilities. We cannot forget any of our veterans and service members and we can't leave those that are suffering behind.

We have since expanded our groups to first responders and caregivers who need our support as well and I gifted the Warriors for Life (WFL) Group Support program over to Victory for Veterans, Inc.

Within our hearts, Loren lives forever as a warrior.

COL (Ret) Mikel Burroughs

For more information on Warriors for Life (WFL) you can reach out to COL (Ret) Mikel Burroughs at: mikelb@victoryforveterans.org and for a Flower on Every Grave please visit the VFV Website:https://www.victoryforveterans.org

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