CAPTAIN FRANCIS 'FRANKY' KIM
Operation: Heal Our Heroes was established by Everett Weston and Patrick Bolchoz, in memory of our beloved friend, former Army Captain Francis ‘Franky’ Kim.
Operation: Heal Our Heroes (HOH) was born in tragedy, after one of our nation's heroes, CPT Francis 'Franky' Kim, succumbed to his 2-year battle with mental health. After leaving the Army, Franky struggled transitioning back to his 'normal' life, and had difficultly obtaining the adequate support he needed to escape the psychological burdens he carried from his time in service.
HOH was founded by Everett Weston and Patrick Bolchoz when they were united at Franky's funeral. As a tribute to their friend and to the thousands of other brave men and women like Franky, they vowed to make it their mission to do everything in their power to try and prevent any further unnecessary loss of life on the homeland among our nations' veterans.
Everett Weston served in the Army for nearly 5 years, during which he was promoted to the rank of Captain and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service while deployed to Iraq. Everett and Franky became close friends while they were stationed together at Fort Lewis, WA before both later moving to New York City post-military.
As the son of a West Point Grad and US Army Colonel, Patrick Bolchoz spent his youth growing up on military installations. Through those experiences, he became well-acquainted to many of the issues faced by our veterans. Pat and Franky met in New York City and became inseparable friends and roommates up until the time of this death.
Post Traumatic Stress (PTS)
Combat veterans and survivors of violence, natural disasters, and terrorism have often experienced disturbing events that may lead to psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTS). Approximately 18.5 percent of U.S. servicemembers who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq currently have post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.