For many returned service men and women, coming home is when the battle really begins.

Read the deeply personal and often hidden stories of 16 special men and women, including Vietnam veterans, peacekeepers, first responders and relatives, whose greatest struggle has been the return to everyday life after service or dealing with the loss of loved ones who lost that battle.

Among them is Paul Stewart, whose brother was one of five journalists killed in Balibo while covering the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, Black Hawk helicopter crash survivor Gary Wilson, and Janny and Hugh Poate, whose son was killed by one of the Afghanistan troops he was mentoring. For John Bale, a retired army captain who served in Afghanistan where his friend Lieutenant Michael Fussell was killed in an explosion, the aftermath of war service led to him co-founding Soldier On, an organisation that supports those who have served to assist with their physical and mental health.

These are the stories of those who’ve seen it all, and fought to find a way to live with the aftermath of their experiences.

Royalties earned from the sale of Gimme Shelter are being shared with Soldier On.

Paul Field