Military/ Veterans

National Geographic in its February cover story takes readers through a visually striking, two-part reflection series about veterans coping with their own war beyond the battlefields.

"Sometimes you find yourself saying, I wish ... I would have lost a body part, so people will see — so they'll get it," says Army First Sgt. David Griego in "Revealing the Trauma of War."

The first part of the series — photography and audio by Lynn Johnson — follows veterans in an art therapy program at Walter Reed Medical Center who paint masks to help them cope with daily struggles.

"I think this is what started me kind of opening up and talking about stuff and actually trying to get better," says Staff Sgt. Perry Hopman of the painting therapy program.

National Geographic explores'invisible' war wounds