Authors Looking For Near Death Experiences Of Combat Vets

Two former U.S. Army Medical Command civilian employees are looking for troops and veterans to share something they may be reluctant to discuss: near-death experiences.

Not "near-dying" events like when a service member was nearly killed and saved by advancements in combat medicine.

Rather, they're looking for the kind of episode in which a service member was badly injured and died, or came very close to it, before being revived — and in the interim had some sort of experience, like hovering over their own broken body, seeing a bright light or meeting a dead relative or even Jesus Christ.

You know, that kind of near-death experience.

San Antonio residents Genny Krackau and Jan Justice have launched "Light Stories: Beyond the Explosion" to solicit anecdotes from combat veterans who underwent a near-death experience, or NDE.

The two believe that by providing a platform for these troops to share their unique stories and aggregating them, they can help them feel less isolated, and consequently promote mental healing.
Krackau said the opportunity could help troops understand what they went through and how they can learn from it.

"Once they feel comfortable talking about their NDE and read other similar stories, they will realize they are not alone. Often, they don't want people to know what they went through because they may think they are weird or mentally messed up. That's unfair," said Krakau, a retired researcher and health systems specialist. Read more at Military Times