LEXINGTON, N.C. — Today is Memorial Day, a day to honor the service members killed on duty.
It also happens to be the end of Mental Health Awareness Month and the start of PTSD Awareness Month, both impacting active and off-duty service members.
That's why a family in Lexington is using today to honor their son and also spread a message.
For the Maners, while their son didn't pass away during a battle, it was a different battle that took his life and it's one that deserves honoring this Memorial Day.
Stephanie Maner is the mother of Nickolas Maner.
"He was specialist Nickolas J. Maner, he was with the U.S. Army, 10th mountain division, 'Climb To Glory,' was their motto, he went in right after high school, but it's what he always wanted to do," said Stephanie Maner.
Nickolas Maner went from graduating boot camp to boots on the ground. He fought on the front lines part of the infantry division in the U.S. Army.
"He was in Afghanistan from January 2011 to October 2011, they lost people from their unit over there, so it took a really hard toll on him," she said.
Their division lost six members. Nickolas Maner honored each of them with a tattooed star on his arm.
Stephanie said when he got back, she could tell things were different.
"He was one of a kind, he made the best out of situations, and he made people laugh, but when he came back he was a totally different person," she said. "He was not my Nickolas anymore, he was hardened."
She said that her family tried to step in and help, constantly checking in on him, and letting him know he was loved, but it was difficult to get him to open up about everything he did, saw, and heard while overseas.
She said the Post Traumatic Stress from being on the front lines left an impact.
"We didn't talk a whole lot about it, he didn't want to, I think there were certain things he saw, there were certain things he had to do, he just kept it all bottled up inside," she said.
Her son carried on and she thought he was on the path towards getting better. Nickolas started working for the state, was still active military through the Army Reserves, bought a new car, and moved to Nevada with his friends.
Six years later, in 2017, she got a phone call she'd never forget.
"I got a Facebook message saying I needed to give them a call," she said. "I heard them say, 'We just found Nickolas and he shot himself and he won't survive,' and I just remember screaming his name and my phone hitting the floor and my husband and oldest son come flying in there."
Nickolas was an organ donor and on his final day, he once again was selfless and served a need.
Stephanie said she found out later on after her son had passed away that he started to get help through the military, but it was a process that started too late.
"Every day is Memorial Day for our family, but I just try to bring as much awareness as I can to 22-a-day," she said. "I bring awareness because they don't get the help that I think that they deserve."
Stephanie honors her son's legacy daily.
It can be seen in her memorial room for her son inside her house, through the flags that fly honoring him outside of the house, but most notably through her Jeep.
Her Jeep is named Nic Nack and named after the phrase 'Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,' because it's what they'd always say to Nickolas.
That bright red Jeep also has decals all over and it's won several awards at car shows.
The design is not just a cool flag display, but something much more.
All over you will find that it commemorates Nickolas and raises awareness about military suicides.
The number 22 can be found in about every corner of the car. It comes from the phrase 22-a-day.
This is a military suicide prevention movement to talk about the help needed for service members. The 22 represents the average number of veterans that take their lives every single day.
Stephanie said 22 a day is 22 too many. She doesn't stop there.
Outside of bringing her Jeep to events to spread the word and joining other non-profits in the effort to get help to those who serve our country, she also hands out ducks with mental health resource information and a picture of Nickolas.
She has a Facebook page called, 'Ducking for Awareness,' and it has resources there and on the cards she hands out.
It's with the goal to get the resource information out there and to help save one life at a time.
She said she will continue her son's legacy through awareness.
This Memorial Day, she also wants to remind people that every person that served deserves to be honored.
She said no matter how they passed away, the battle that was fought took a toll on those service members and it's all for us to have the freedom we have today.
"Anybody who served regardless of how they died, should be remembered," she said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing PTSD or other mental health challenges after serving in the military, here is a list of resources.