Colonel Reid Novotny with the U.S. Air Force, joins Gayle Guyardo the host of the nationally syndicated health and wellness show Bloom with his personal stories of seeing first hand the devastating effects of veteran suicide and how we can reduce these horrific numbers to best help all our veterans this Memorial Day.

Colonel Novotny told Guyardo, “there are many ways to recognize our military men and women this Memorial Day, both those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom and those who continue to serve.”

Here’s a list of what you can do:

Never forget: There are many ways you can honor our fallen men and women this Memorial Day, but the most important thing you can do is make sure their sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

Never take your freedom for granted. Carry on their legacy by sharing their story with friends, family and on social media this Memorial Day.

Place an American flag in your front yard this day and every day.

Attend a Memorial Day remembrance service.

Spend some time with a living veteran and listen to their stories.

Thank a fallen soldier’s family and let them know how much their loved one meant to you.

Hire a veteran: Many veterans struggle to find employment when returning to civilian life. If you want to help a veteran this Memorial Day, hire them or help them find a job. They have tremendous skills that transfer from their time in the military like commitment, service before self, loyalty, leadership, team building skills and so much more that any company can benefit from.

Be Aware of Veteran suicide: Losing a soldier in active duty is devastating, but one of the biggest problems we continue to face is veterans taking their lives after they are out of the service. It is estimated that between 6,000-7,000 veterans commit suicide each year for various reasons.

Bloom airs in 40 markets across the country, with a reach of approximately 36 million households, and in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Madison, WI.

You can watch Bloom in the Tampa Bay Market weekdays at Noon on WTTA: Spectrum 1006; Frontier 514; DirecTV 38; Dish 38; Comcast 43, and look for Bloom early mornings on WFLA News Channel 8.