A Naval tragedy reunion event coming to the Mall of America's Radisson Blu this weekend is championing veteran mental wellness.
Retired Navy Commander Bill Goins felt "survivors guilt" after narrowly missing the 1975 USS JFK/USS Belknap collision off the coast of Sicily that killed several sailors.
"It was a miscommunication and somehow managed to turn the Belknap into a direction of a collision with the Kennedy, and that did result in the deaths of eight men," says Goins.
He says this weekend's reunion will feature a free wellness expo with resources to help veterans dealing with similar trauma, PTSD, survivor guilt and substance abuse.
"We know we've got a terrible problem in this country with suicide rates of our veterans, both men and women," Goins explained. "We just need to put a dent in that."
He says he hopes sharing these stories will help confront the struggles facing veterans across Minnesota.
Goins was supposed to be on that ship that day but wasn't.
"That has weighed on me over the years and you know it even took a while before I really had a good definition calling it survivor guilt," Goins added. "In that time though, it's kept me close to some of the men that served with me."
He says the event will provide a space for sharing survivor stories from the 1975 disaster in hopes that it will help veterans confront and heal from their trauma.
The event kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday. More information is available here.