ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - With Veterans Day parades and celebrations around the state, it’s also a time to stand in solidarity with the former soldiers who returned home to lives vastly different from what they left behind.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs exceeded its annual goal by over 16 percent this year, marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since before COVID. But for many veterans experiencing what mental health professionals refer to as “moral injury,” life becomes a solitary path, a choice for independence that makes holidays like Veterans Day all the more significant.

In the secluded woods of St. Charles County lives Ray, a veteran who once proudly wore the uniform, serving overseas with a dedication only fellow veterans understand. Now, after returning to a world that felt foreign and sometimes indifferent, he’s chosen to live among the trees.

“People give up… I ain’t gave up yet. I’ve always been a survivor,” Ray says.

Ray had always dreamed of becoming a diesel mechanic, a goal that inspired his military service in the first place. But life and war had other plans. He recalls his injuries vividly.

“One through the pelvis... two in the flat jacket; it threw me back into the hummer,” he said. Returning home also brought its own battles. “It was coming back to nothing... I didn’t know who my mother and father were. I didn’t know who I was. They said I was no longer fit for command.”

Unhoused veterans represent about six percent of the U.S. homeless population. For veterans like Ray, issues like stigma, limited access to mental health services, and the challenges of reintegration complicate an already difficult journey. He says his disability benefits have been cut for years.

“It’s supposed to be a free country, but it’s not really free… living out here like this… they hate you being off the grid,” Ray says.

Now, he gets by on his resourcefulness, his love for nature, and the kindness of fellow Americans.

“(To heat the tent) I got two propane tanks full, one in there full… two empty ones. Five should get me through the winter. Thanks to the good people who do help, I got that,” he says.

St. Charles County offers several assistance programs specifically focused on unhoused veterans. Just last month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that nearly 50,000 veterans experiencing homelessness have been housed across the country this year.

Locally, the St. Charles County VA Clinic in O’Fallon, a branch of VA St. Louis Health Care, connects veterans with resources such as homeless shelters and faith-based organizations.

“No veteran should experience homelessness in this nation they swore to defend,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough says on the website. “We are making real progress in this fight, and we will not rest until veteran homelessness is a thing of the past.”

Heroes to our country but victims of the national housing crisis, veterans like Ray remind us why honoring them is so important.

For unhoused veterans seeking assistance, the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans provides support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 877-424-3838.