'Holding Their Breath For Months:' CO Veteran Discusses Fireworks

LAKEWOOD, CO — While many Coloradans are busy planning parties and excursions for the 4th of July weekend, other Coloradans are preparing in a different way.

Don Maloy, a former U.S. Army Ranger and Green Beret who was deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, said veterans often spend weeks mentally preparing for the holiday.

“This time of year is interesting for a lot of veterans. A lot of my veterans have a difficult time finding ways to cope," Maloy said.

"They want to be a part of the family, festivities and holidays. But there’s also a piece of anxiety, an anxious moment that they know is coming up, and so it becomes challenging to find some of the coping skills they need to keep their nervous system online.”

Maloy is a readjustment counselor at the Denver Vet Center and clinical director of Warrior Now, a nonprofit helping veterans readjust to civilian life.

“A firework at an unanticipated time, screams at an unanticipated time put them in a position where they are not able to come back to the here and now, get stuck in the past, and sometimes it can take a period of days to get that person to come back,” he said.

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Maloy is featured in a city of Lakewood PSA that aims to help spread awareness of the impact of illegal fireworks use.

In the video, he encourages celebrations that include everyone and allow community members to "connect in a way that you can stand side by side with all of your neighbors.”

"When fireworks go off at any time of day from the beginning of the summer until after the Fourth of July, we’re missing the opportunity to create structure,” Maloy said.

“Structure is so incredibly important [for veterans]. Nobody can anticipate holding their breath for months on end.”