Four members of the Forward Veterans Group were honored Monday for their years of work on behalf of American Indian veterans and others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The four — Paul and Karen Ridley, Violet Stratton and Wendy Ell — operate from an office behind the Griffith Avenue home that Stratton shares with her husband, Gunney Stratton, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam.

Mike Gregoire, husband of Gov. Chris Gregoire, and John Lee, director of the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs, presented certificates of appreciation to the four in a surprise ceremony at Forward’s headquarters.

The group began in 1980 as an all-volunteer, self-funded support group for Vietnam vets. Today the group gets financial support from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.

Lee said the Forward group’s work will be even more important in the years ahead as returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets seek help overcoming the emotional legacy of their war experiences.

Volunteers like Ell, Stratton and the Ridleys are available to help veterans cut through red tape to get veterans’ and Social Security benefits, and unsnarl legal problems such as suspended drivers’ licenses.

The Strattons also have provided a fully equipped auto mechanic’s shop and woodworking equipment, giving troubled veterans a chance to use their skills or learn new ones as they work to get troubled lives back together.

“All your years of magnificent service — they cannot be overstated,” Lee said.

Violet Stratton said she and others are available to help people around the clock, and she gets her reward when she sees a troubled, homeless veteran get on the road to recovery.

“It is such a pleasure to work with these guys,” she said. “I just love ’em all.”

Karen Ridley said she was pleased to see that Washington state has set up programs to have help at the ready for the newest generation of returning vets making their adjustment to civilian life. Vietnam vets often didn’t get help until they hit bottom, she added.

Lee said Washington is one of three states that have set up a program to offer help with post-traumatic stress issues for veterans.

The state Veterans Affairs department now has two staffers assigned to Fort Lewis, and every veteran will get a personal interview as he or she leaves the Army, as well as two years of follow-up monitoring after discharge.

Paul Ridley, a Vietnam vet who fought his own battles with war-related stress and alcoholism after his discharge, said the members of Forward have learned that post-traumatic stress disorder is not limited to combat veterans. Anyone who has suffered extreme stress, such as victims of domestic violence or rape, can face similar stress-related issues. Forward is ready to help them too.

“We learned 30 years ago when you go out looking for veterans, you find all kinds of people you can help,” Ridley said.

Vets like Ridley and Gunney Stratton, who got help with their own problems, now find meaning in helping others.

“What this does for us is gives us something meaningful to do,” Paul Ridley said.