Jake was, to me, my “older brother”, as he would call me “lil’ sis”. We met in the schoolyards of 6th grade at Woodward Academy and instantly became inseparable. He was my homecoming date in 7th grade and my best friend for life. We agreed we would get married to each other at the “old age” of 30 if we had not yet found a spouse. When he switched high schools in 10th grade, I soon followed and switched to the same school. At one point, as kids do, we made a plan to run away together to Clearwater, FL. Though that never did happen, Jake and I did make a memorable road trip to our childhood dream destination when we were old enough. There are so many memories I have with Jake, through so much growth and figuring out who were as people, there is no way to sum up the positive impact he had in my life, and those who were close to him would say the same. He would lift anyone up who was down without discrimination. I remember driving him to Fort Benning, GA and dropping him off for training. I remember hugging him so hard and crying when he got back, just from training, “I don’t know what I would ever do if I lost you”. After Jake was deployed from Afghanistan and returned to Georgia without bodily injury, everything seemed great. I had, at this point, moved to New York where he would come visit me when he could. We would Skype until 4 AM, talk on the phone for hours, and laugh as we had since 6th grade. He never spoke much about his time serving. I was unaware there was anything wrong until after his passing. Although I cannot save Jake now, my blue-eyed partner in life, I can do my best make a difference, to open up dialogue between family and friends, and to raise the awareness that what our troops go through is intense, real, and does not end after coming home. The fight that ended Jake’s life on American soil was due to PTSD, and it was a fast spiral downward. There were a few fights that occurred the last few months he was with us. He was struggling with all aspects of his life and was diagnosed with PTSD, however the support came too late. I could no longer reach out to him because he became so distant so quickly. The last thing I was able to say to him was over Facebook messenger: “You know I love you Jake”, to which he simply responded “I love you too”.
As a result of Jake’s passing along with the pain and regret that I could not save him or help him better cope with the effects of PTSD, my partner, Ron Perrone, and I have set out to complete Operation Jake. Operation Jake is a bike ride we are undertaking, unsupported, from Atlanta, GA to New York City. Jake’s family still lives in Atlanta where we will have a small memorial ceremony, and then begin our journey.
The mission of Operation Jake is to raise awareness for PTSD as well as to create a documentary, interviewing active duty personnel, veterans, veterans’ families and friends. The raw footage we gather will be given to our team member, the director of Hofstra’s Phd. Clinical Psychology Department, Dr. Mitchell Schare. Dr. Mitchell Schare will use the footage to help better diagnose PTSD, treat PTSD, train students, and build better programs for veterans. (See Documentary tab – bio about Dr. Mitchell Schare) Riding on bicycles is meant to be symbolic of the challenges and triumphs that our military personnel go through day in and day out. They serve for us, and it is our turn to serve for them.