By: Lanetra Bennett I Eyewitness News

January 6, 2020

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- As U.S. troops are deployed to the Middle East, veterans in our area are reminded of their time served.

Tallahassee resident Matt Willard is a U.S. Navy veteran. He's been deployed twice. The first time was to Iraq and Iran. The second time was during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Willard says now that troops are currently deployed , it's time for Americans to put their political and personal differences aside.

He says support is what the troops and their families need.

"I'm keenly aware of what happens to a lot of people when they come back from deployment. Their lives are forever changed," he says. "Their families' lives are forever changed. They come back with some wounds that are visible and some that are invisible that would take years to get better, or never.."

Willard says he was overwhelmed by community support when he returned from his last deployment in Desert Storm.