COEUR d'ALENE - Al Holm's brother-in-law returned home from World War II a different man.

Before he left, he was charming and friendly, a nice guy. When he came back, he was withdrawn and didn't talk about anything, much less what he had seen and done in combat. He suffered bursts of rage.

"There were fits of anger that got pretty wild," said Holm, who was just a boy at the time. "Things would trigger him."

Holm's sister, fearing her husband, took their son and left.

He later remarried. But in the middle of one night, suffering from what was then called "shell shock," he snapped and killed his wife.

After serving time in prison in Deer Lodge, Mont., he was released and with nowhere else to go, turned to Holm's family and lived with them for a few months.

"We thought he was better," Holm said.

He wasn't.

The once-friendly man called "Mike," moved on.

Not much later, he killed himself.

For Holm, it was personal.

"I wanted to do something," he said.

The Coeur d'Alene man still does, and he is.

The Korean War veteran and chaplain with 31 years counseling experience is opening a free PTSD counseling service in Coeur d'Alene. Each Wednesday afternoon, he'll be available in an office at 501 Lakeside Ave. He'll do what he can for any veteran or active-duty member who comes in, and recommend people and places that might offer help, too.

To cover expenses, Holm is selling Hagadone Hospitality gift cards for $30 (he gets to keep $15).

"I hope to create awareness so the public knows what the hell is going on," he said. "The government is not taking care of our guys."

According to Defense Department statistics as of September, more than 2,200 active-duty military killed themselves in the past decade. By comparison, just over 6,000 service members died in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same period, and more than 30,000 were wounded.

According to the Marine Corps website, 230 Marines commited suicide since 2006, including a high of 52 in 2009. There were nearly 600 suicide attempts since 2008.

Holm said he was told that since January in North Idaho, three GIs with post traumatic stress disorder took their own lives.

"When soldiers return home from a tour of duty, they're not getting the help they need as they adjust to civilian life," he added.

The military is seeking a solution.

"Over the past several years, the Army has launched a major effort to institute new training to improve soldiers' ability to bounce back from stress, and setbacks in combat and in their personal lives," according to a Washington Post article. "It has hired hundreds of mental health and substance abuse counselors and has launched a push to convince soldiers that seeking help for mental health problems will not have a negative impact on their careers."

The service also has tapped the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct a five-year, $50 million study and statistical analysis of suicide in the Army.

Holm said answer might be difficult to find.

Men struggling to adjust to home life after being in war has been an issue since biblical times.

"I would imagine Cain had PTSD after he killed his brother," Holm said.

In World War II, the term shell shocked was used to describe those who struggled after returning home from seeing action.

For the Korean War, it was referred to as "combat fatigue."

For the Vietnam War, it was called PTSD.

"As long as humans have been involved with wars and killing each other, there's been PTSD," he added.

Holm still thanks God for the time he didn't have to kill someone.

One night when he served as a deputy reserve officer in Spokane County, he and several officers surrounded a home to arrest a felon. As Holm stood with his 12-gauge shotgun at his post near a back door, a suspect ran toward him, with something in his hand.

Holm yelled for the man to stop and drop what he was holding.

The suspect did as told, and Holm said a prayer of thanks.

"In that split second, I knew if he didn't drop it instantly, I would have killed him."

But combat vets can frequently find themselves in situations of kill or be killed. The result can be stress, trauma, severe disorders.

"It's kill or be killed that affects you mentally," Holm said. "That's what driving these guys. The veterans that see somebody killed, especially a buddy, that brings it on."

The ordained minister said more he studied PTSD, the more he knew he wanted to get involved in seeking a way to help those suffering from it.

The 76-year-old Holm runs down a list of PTSD issues that he said need to be addressed: marriage and relationship, substance abuse, guilt, abandonment.

All fall within his experience and expertise.

He believes the program he's calling "18-80 PTSD Support Service," can make a difference.

"PTSD doesn't go away," he said. "You can't cure PTSD. All you can do is hope to help the guy look inside of his life so he learns to live with it, subside a little bit, make it livable."

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