Dan Van Buskirk suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, the result of his service as a Marine in Vietnam. But everything changed after the 62-year-old picked up a guitar.
In December 2007, Van Buskirk began weekly guitar lessons with Patrick Nettesheim. After just one lesson, he noticed a surprising change.
“Taking guitar lessons helped me find calmness. I was able to sit still for longer periods each day,” says Van Buskirk. “It helped calm my anxiety because I had something soothing to focus on.”
The impact of these lessons inspired the pupil and his teacher to create Guitars for Vets, a local nonprofit that facilitates “the healing power of music in the hands of heroes.” In less than three years, Van Buskirk and Nettesheim’s group has served more than 500 vets in the metro area.
Any U.S. military veteran who’s receiving treatment at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is eligible to participate. Guitars for Vets provides six free guitar lessons. At the sixth lesson, each student receives a new guitar of his own.
The organization is totally volunteer-run and supported by private donations, fundraising events and merchandise sales. Since 2008, Nettesheim and Van Buskirk have opened chapters in Madison, La Crosse, St. Louis and Houston. Some 50 other VAs have also requested the program.
Nettesheim calls it “meditation in motion” for veterans still coping with the horrors of war. The soothing hum of chords on a veteran’s chest replaces the jarring throb of gunfire.
“The guitar brings out the soul of the vet,” says Van Buskirk. “It doesn’t take a lot to really benefit from playing it.”
Through Cream City Music, Guitars for Vets accepts donations of new and used guitars. If an old guitar cannot be repaired, it’s given to local artists who transform it into a work of art to be auctioned off.“You don’t have to support the war,” Van Buskirk says. “But you have to support the warrior.”
