RD201906

Planting Hope

By Andy Simmons

L

eave no one behind” may be

the rule soldiers live by on ac-

tive duty, but after the military,

many of them have to face their

demons alone. Chris Brown

has found an unusual way for veterans

to connect beyond the battlefield. He

gets them together on the vegetable

field.

Brown is the cofounder of Growing

Veterans, a nonprofit farm that helps

former soldiers transition to civilian

life by growing squash, carrots, beets,

and more alongside other sympa-

thetic troubled vets. As Navy veteran

Kenny Holzemer told the American

Legion magazine, “If you share the

deepest, darkest concerns of your soul

when you are out among the rows of

radishes and sweet corn, you know it

will stay there.”

Working a nearly three-acre farm in

Washington State, Growing Veterans

unites more than 500 volunteers in a

variety of earthy tasks, from planting

and harvesting the crops to selling

them at farmers’ markets or donating

them to local food banks and schools.

They even produce the very punny

“PTS-Tea,” an herbal blend intended

to help with anxiety, and a hot sauce

made from homegrown ingredients

called Fire in the Hole.

To Brown, this is therapy at its most

basic: “You are bringing life into the

world and using it to sustain your

own life,” he told the American Legion

Two of the hundreds of former soldiers working the field together. “Being around other

veterans helps us feel like we belong back home,” said one vet.

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National Interest