LEWISTON — Over the past year, retired U.S. Army Col. Jack Mosher ran the Boston Marathon, the U.S. Marine Corps Marathon, marathons at Sugarloaf, Mount Desert and in Portland, and participated in the Pineland 50K trail race.

Then, he suffered an acute ischemic stroke.

During his entire 22-year Army career, this ultra-marathoner worked to raise awareness of veteran wellness, and in particular about the suffering of those afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

On Tuesday, Mosher — who lives in China with his family — was the guest speaker at the Auburn Exchange Club’s annual Veterans Luncheon at the Green Ladle.

“I never feel more at home than when I’m with fellow veterans,” he said to a room full of veterans, their wives and Exchange Club members.

Mosher said he never fully appreciated the pain, fear and suffering of PTSD and TBI patients until after he suffered his stroke.

The much-decorated Mosher, who is a Pershing Award recipient and holds two bronze stars for valor and service, among other honors, “had to learn to walk again. Talk again. Run again. Play the guitar again,” he said.

Mosher is now a regular therapy patient at the Lewiston Veteran Center.

At the time of his stroke, Mosher said he was running 100 miles a week as part of his ultra-marathon training regimen and working 50 to 60 hours a week as chief of staff of the Maine National Guard. He literally crashed, wrecking his car when the stroke struck, he said.

“I’m glad to be here,” he told his fellow veterans, not only because he wanted to talk about how to recognize PTSD and TBI and get help for veterans, but because he is truly glad to still be alive.

There are 320,000 veterans currently suffering from TBI and another 300,000 suffering from PTSD in this country today, Mosher said, numbers so great that these afflictions became the subject of a Rand Corp. study titled “Invisible Wounds.”

“These two maladies have come to define a generation,” Mosher said. “My generation of veterans.” 

There are 37,000 veterans now living who were deployed five or more times to Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, and the current veteran pool contains a large contingent of reservists who have been deployed one or more times from their civilian jobs over the past 10 years.

An estimated 18.5 percent of veterans suffer from PTSD, and 19.5 percent have suffered a TBI from an improvised explosive device, he said.

Of returning veterans, 50 percent who are screened have some form of PTSD and 43 percent suffer from TBI. Of those, Mosher said, less than half receive adequate care.

“We have a generation of veterans who are undertreated for PTSD or TBI,” he said, and suffering the consequences, struggling with addiction, divorce, homelessness and suicide.

Suicide now kills more veterans than accidents, illness and war injuries combined, Mosher said, with incredibly painful consequences to veterans, their friends and families, equaling a $6.2 billion loss to the workplace in productivity and other losses.

Mosher encouraged business owners and others to become familiar with the symptoms of brain injuries and to reach out to help veterans.

He read a message from U.S. Marine Corps Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers of Auburn, who was twice wounded in Fallujah and received the Silver Star in 2006, one of the military’s highest honors. He has also been awarded three bronze stars and suffered a TBI while disabling an improvised explosive device very near his head.

In his message, Desgrosseilliers wanted the community to know:

• your brain doesn’t work the same after an injury;

• you suffer a great deal of fatigue;

• you live with irrational fear and anxiety;

• you are in chronic pain; and

• you feel isolated and alone.

And, Mosher said, when people feel this way and aren’t properly treated, they often fall into depression and struggle to maintain a job and stay connected with their families.

There is something everyone can do to help, though, by learning to recognize these symptoms and encouraging veterans to get help, Mosher said.

The Rand study, after an exhaustive project to study the problem, has made a number of recommendations for the nation to improve care. They are to:

• increase the capability of the mental health system to treat veterans;

• change the culture and public policies to encourage veterans to seek care;

• deliver quality care in all settings, including veterans hospitals, clinics and elsewhere; and

• invest in research to better treat PTSD and TBI.

In addition to Mosher, the Auburn Exchange Club welcomed guests Lewiston Mayor Bob Macdonald and Auburn City Manager Howard Kroll, both veterans, along with Auburn Assistant City Manager Denis D’Auteuil.

The club’s Veterans Luncheon for 2016 will be held at the Green Ladle on Tuesday, Nov. 8.