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PARKERSBURG - The road to healing for a number of area veterans passed through the nation's capital recently as a support group, made up of mostly Vietnam veterans, visited a number of memorials, including the famous Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to help deal with a lot of the feelings their memories of the war still invoke.

Ten veterans, part of the Mid-Ohio Valley Veterans Support Group, made the trip to Washington the last weekend in September where they saw sights, including many of the war memorials and had their own remembrance ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to honor their fallen friends.

''We have been doing this for the last five years,'' said John J. Danielski, a U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran. ''It is a part of our treatment.

''A lot of guys, myself included, came back from the war with survivor's guilt. I couldn't understand why I wasn't killed but my buddy was. He had a family and I didn't then.''

Some veterans tried to find some kind of escape through drugs and alcohol, many ended up homeless and many felt alienated from society as the Vietnam War was viewed unfavorably by many in the United States.

''We weren't really recognized as fighting a war,'' Danielski said. ''It was a completely different war than Korea or World War II.

''I was spat at in Los Angeles when I was coming home. People just didn't care for us.''

Rick Stanley, a local counselor who works with veterans and went on the trip, said many veterans who experienced war-time duty on the battlefield have had to deal with post traumatic stress disorder.

''It has been around for a long time,'' he said of the condition referred to as soldier's heart in the Civil War, shell shock in the first World War and battle fatigue in World War II and Korea.

Some of the symptoms include an exaggerated startle response where loud noises could have them diving for cover as if they were still under fire; survivor's guilt where they wonder why they are still alive while their buddies did not survive; and re-experiencing events from the war where they play it over and over again in their minds.

Some have turned to drugs and alcohol to cover the symptoms up, some experience poor interpersonal relationships and others have sleeping problems, Stanley said.

During World War II many units were made up of guys from the same area who trained together, traveled overseas together, fought together and came back together.

''A lot of those guys traveled by ship for 40 days,'' Stanley said. ''When they came home, they had the time to talk about what happened and had some time to deal with what happened together.''

The process is referred to as ''debriefing,'' he said.

During the Vietnam War, soldiers had one year of battlefield service and then brought home. Individuals were often replaced in units and many lost the sense of comradery that others had in previous wars.

During Vietnam, soldiers came back on a plane with a mix of others who did not have the same experiences and did not have the time to be able to talk about it.

''They did not have the time to debrief,'' Stanley said.

Also the unpopularity of the Vietnam War back home did not help the veteran's ability to cope.

As many came home, there were no services available for them to help them deal with what they experienced in the war, Danielski said. After many years, a number of Vietnam veterans nationwide noticed many similar problems among other veterans and began speaking up to seek help for themselves and others.

Danielski was homeless for awhile, in trouble with the law and had problems with alcohol. He was married for a little while, but it did not last. He was having nightmares. He eventually sought help, thanks to a man at the unemployment office who recognized some of his symptoms and helped get him into a veterans hospital and into some programs. Danielski has been turning his life around for the past few years to the point he now owns his own house. He continues to work with veterans as a service officer for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post to help them get their benefits, other compensation and needed help.

Danielski said many people in their group are seeing a lot of veterans from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are facing a lot of the potential problems many Vietnam veterans faced. He has also noticed this with some Gulf War veterans and their support group now has three people from that conflict.

''Our group is open to any war veteran,'' he said. ''It can be for any war.

''We have been where they are from saying 'I don't need any help' to everything else. They need to get help. It really can help them.''

Danielski was a radio operator who had to call in a lot of medivacs and he always wondered if he did enough to help those soldiers who were injured that he was calling in the help for.

For some, a smell, sound or image can trigger a reaction as the event reminds someone of something that happened during the war.

''It is something some of us have been living with for years,'' Danielski said, adding he still reacts to loud sudden noises. ''By going to group, we are able to recognize this and that is what helps us out.

''We realize that was part of our training and that we are in America now and the war is over with.''

By sharing experiences, they are able to deal with what they went through and what they are still going through.

Going to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is part of their process in dealing with their war experiences.

''It is a wall of healing,'' Danielski said. ''We can see our friends' names on there and realize they have passed away. It gives us a chance to grieve.''

It gave many of the vets a chance to say goodbye to their fallen friends, something they have not had a chance to do before, Stanley said.

''It is part of the healing process for them,'' he said.

While at the wall, the local veterans noticed a woman with two boys looking at a name on the wall. The soldier they were interested in was from West Virginia and went to school with a couple of veterans from their group.

''We got them together and they started talking,'' Danielski said. ''We learn something every time we go there, something about ourselves and others.''

Many of the veterans felt honored when they held a small remembrance ceremony at the Wall and the crowds acknowledged what they were doing.

''The crowd was really respectful,'' Danielski said. ''They stood back and waited then they applauded when it was over.''

He has studied a lot about post-traumatic stress disorder to understand more what was happening with himself. He still has trouble going to a store during the daytime because of crowds and the different noises that can trigger a memory.

In Washington, they had to ride the metro train with a lot of people, but he was better able to handle it because of their purpose of being there.This was Danielski's third trip to the Wall.

''Each time I go there, I feel better,'' he said. ''Each time is still emotional.

''We learned a lot about each other. There were sad times, but there were also good times.''