DTE VETS Energy Group helps Air Force veteran left with burn pit breathing injuries

FOX 2 (WJBK) - It’s a gift that has a ripple effect.

"We are receiving a donation from DTE for Burn Pit 360," said Kevin Hensley, state legislative director, VFW Michigan, Burn Pits 360.

The nonprofit has a dedicated mission to improving post-deployment medical outcomes for current and former military personnel.

So when the organization found out they were receiving a monetary donation from DTE's VETS Energy Group, they decided to pass it on.

"Today we will be receiving $5,000 it’s such a blessing," Hensley said. "It means so much to us. That donation will be earmarked for a veteran from Woodhaven."

Meet Philip Brooks, who served his country as a member of the United States Air Force.

"Life-changing, it made me be a man," Brooks said.

But his patriotic service also left him injured.

"PTSD, along with some breathing issues with my lungs - I am a severe asthmatic borderline COPD, and emphysema," Brooks said. "The burn pits messed me up."

A burn pit is an area of a military base in which waste is disposed of, by burning.

"For most of us, me included, it’s just kind of the price that you pay for doing your part," he said.

"Those are invisible wounds," Hensley said.

Hensley can identify, because he was also injured during his military service. But he found relief using a hyperbaric chamber.

Military veteran Kevin Hensley with a hyperbaric chamber.

"It replenishes the red blood cells in your body and the tissues in your brain and like I said before, if you heal the brain, you heal the body," he said. "My cognitive function has increased."

Hensley said the nonprofit will use the money from DTE to buy a chamber for Brooks.

"And for them to step up and do something like this, it is so selfless it means a lot," Brooks said. "I can’t wait. It will help fix a lot of things."

DTE made the donation at this event on Wednesday which also honors military veterans who are now employed at DTE and are the force behind the donation.

"I find veterans,  myself being one, have a natural willingness to serve, and have a natural concern for others," said Pete Dietrich, senior vice president & chief nuclear officer, DTE.

As these veterans help one another, many say we can all find a way to show gratitude to our military veterans.

"We carry the scar so others don’t have to," Brooks said.

"That’s how veterans view things, we go forward to serve and we find ways every day and that’s what we do to find an opportunity to be able to serve others," Dietrich said.

Air Force veteran Philip Brooks