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MILWAUKEE - On distant battlefields half a world away, America's fighting men and women serve their country amid a deafening and terrifying cacophony of explosions and gunfire.  The hellish fury serves as a constant, unmistakable reminder that death could follow the next sound.

Long after many of these soldiers return home, though, the nightmares still echo in their heads in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder.  That's where the Milwaukee-based Guitars For Vets organization steps in.

"Our mission is to put the healing power of music in the hands of heroes," explains co-founder Patrick Nettesheim.  "We intend to heal traumatized and wounded veterans with the power of music."

Nettesheim founded the non-profit organization in May of 2007 after giving a guitar lesson to Dan Van Buskirk, a veteran of the Vietnam War who said music helped him work through his pain and gave him a sense of focus and purpose.  The two began talking and soon determined that other veterans would benefit from this sort of music therapy. 

"Dan suggested that we take it to the Zablocki V.A. here in Milwaukee," Nettesheim recalls.  "And it just sort of took off from there."

Veterans from across southeastern Wisconsin began flocking to the group, which provides them with free private lessons and their own acoustic guitar.

"The lessons obviously teach them to play the guitar, but the guitar is really just a catalyst for the positive human interaction between the teacher and the veteran.  That's why we start it off with private lessons, because it's very personal when you start playing an instrument can be embarrassing and we try to make it as easy as possible.  We find that in these lessons, very often the veteran will open up and start talking about their experiences."  

Once they do, the healing process begins and the veterans begin taking group lessons and performing with their comrades.

"Ask any veteran who's served what they miss most, and they'll tell you the teamwork, the camaraderie, the brotherhood, the sisterhood," offers Nettesheim.  "The group lessons are like a social group.  The veterans come together and can share not only their guitar-playing and what they learned that week, but also their stories and the human experience.  This is how we re-establish a sense of belonging and rebuild the community from which they have been divorced because of their pain."

Tonight, on Veterans' Day, that community comes together for a free concert at Mo's Irish Pub in Wauwatosa from 6:00pm until midnight.  For more information or to find out how you can help Guitars for Veterans, visit their website at www.GuitarsForVets.org.