Military Near-Death Experiences: A Guide for Veterans and Families

This page is a plain-language guide to military and veteran near-death experiences (NDEs): what people report, why service culture can make these experiences hard to talk about, what aftereffects are commonly described, and where veterans and families can look for informed support.

It is educational information and personal testimony. It is not medical diagnosis, mental health treatment, counseling, or crisis care. If you are in crisis in the U.S., call or text 988.

A near-death experience is a set of perceptions some people report around a close brush with death or a serious medical crisis. Reports vary widely from person to person.

Military near-death experiences are not a separate diagnosis and not a distinct medical category. What people describe is broadly similar to what civilians describe.

The military context matters for other reasons: service culture, identity, disclosure fears, chain-of-command dynamics, and reintegration into civilian life. Those factors shape whether a veteran talks about the experience at all, and how they are received when they do.

Service culture often prizes stoicism, mission focus, and fitting in. An extraordinary experience can feel unsayable in that environment.

Rank, career progression, security clearances, and unit trust can all make disclosure feel risky, even when no rule forbids telling the story.

Many veterans also learn to file experiences away and keep moving. That habit can help in the moment and cost something later.

Reintegration adds another layer. A person may come home changed in ways they cannot explain to family, coworkers, or themselves.

Common reasons include fear of judgment, fear of being disbelieved, worry about being seen as unstable, concern about career consequences, and the fear of being reduced to a diagnosis.

Silence is not the same as denial. For many veterans it is a practical decision about safety, work, and belonging.

Chase kept his own experience private for about 12 years for reasons like these. Time did not erase the experience; it only postponed the conversation.

If any of this sounds familiar, you are not unusual and you are not alone.

People commonly describe shifts in values and priorities, a changed relationship with death (reduced fear for some, increased fear or distress for others), changes in spirituality or meaning, and changes in relationships.

Others describe heightened sensitivity, a stronger sense of purpose, difficulty with small talk or competition, or a feeling of not fitting back into the life they left.

These are patterns commonly discussed in near-death studies literature, including work associated with IANDS and researchers such as Bruce Greyson, whose NDE scale is a widely known research tool in the field.

This list is not a checklist, a test, or a diagnosis. Aftereffects vary, and some people report very few. If aftereffects are distressing or disruptive, a qualified professional is the right next step.

Not every near-death experience is described as peaceful. Some people report frightening, void-like, or deeply confusing experiences, and some come back with more questions than comfort.

Distressing experiences are part of the record and deserve the same respect and care as the ones that sound beautiful.

Recovery can be complicated. A person may feel grief, anger, guilt, or isolation alongside anything else they felt.

Please do not spiritual-bypass someone's pain. Telling a veteran that their experience was a gift, or that they should feel grateful, can shut down the conversation they finally worked up the courage to start.

If distress is heavy or persistent, support from a qualified professional matters. In the U.S., 988 is available 24/7 by call or text.

Listen first. A veteran who shares an experience like this has usually thought about it for a long time before saying a word.

Try not to rush to explain it away, and try not to push a belief onto it. You do not have to agree with someone to be kind to them.

Please do not pathologize it immediately. Treating the story as a symptom is one of the fastest ways to end the conversation.

Ask what they need. Sometimes it is company, sometimes it is quiet, sometimes it is help finding informed resources.

If they want more support, IANDS offers information and community, and a qualified professional can help when distress is present. In the U.S., 988 is available 24/7 by call or text.

Listen with humility. A veteran telling you about a near-death experience is offering testimony, not requesting a verdict.

Please do not dismiss it out of hand, and please do not treat the account as a symptom by default. Screening for real clinical concerns is appropriate; assuming pathology is not.

Language matters. Words like delusion or hallucination, used casually, can end years of trust in a sentence.

Refer to appropriately qualified care when distress, trauma, grief, or mental-health needs are present, and stay involved as a source of steady, non-judgmental presence.

This page is not a protocol and not clinical guidance. It is educational context written from a veteran's perspective, and clinical decisions belong with qualified professionals.

I am Chase Skylar DeMayo, an Air Force veteran. In 2008, at Langley, I went into cardiac arrest, and what happened during that time changed how I understand my life.

I did not talk about it for about 12 years. I had the usual reasons: I did not want to be doubted, and I did not want to be treated as a problem to be solved.

I share it now because I have met too many veterans who assumed they were the only one. Being the only one is almost never true; being the only one who says it out loud often is.

This is my experience, not a template. I do not speak for every veteran, and I am not a clinician. What I can offer is a firsthand account and the reassurance that talking about it is survivable.

Veterans did not start talking about near-death experiences yesterday, and Chase is not the first person to raise the subject.

Diane Corcoran has long been associated with advocacy for veterans who have had near-death experiences, including the argument that many veterans have had no informed place to take these experiences.

Lilia Samoilo has also been part of the conversation about military near-death experiences and the gap in care that veterans can fall into.

IANDS, the International Association for Near-Death Studies, is a longstanding organization that has gathered accounts, education, and community around near-death experiences for many years.

Researchers such as Bruce Greyson are widely known in the field, and the Greyson NDE scale is a familiar research tool referenced in near-death studies.

No dates, titles, or claims are invented here on purpose. If you have a correction or a source that should be credited, please reach out and it will be reviewed and fixed.