When Independence Day comes around each summer, this extravagant holiday is largely celebrated across the nation with red, white and blue decor, sparklers, hot dogs and hamburgers, outdoor family fun and, of course, fireworks.
Despite the patriotic intentions of marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, unexpected booms of fireworks around the Fourth of July make the holiday “the worst time of year” for some Front Range combat veterans.
U.S. Army veteran Lee Cooper, Larimer County’s veterans service officer, said he’s had panic attacks triggered by fireworks, and he’s aware that his experience is shared by other veterans.
“Those large fireworks, when they surprise me, sound a lot like a mortar going off, and it triggers a physical and physiological response,” Cooper said. “I tend not to have problems with the public displays when I know it’s coming, but the fireworks in the neighborhood that will wake me out of a deep sleep can be very distressing.”…