Arizona women going topless for PTSD awareness

PHOENIX, AZ - In April, Ashley Wise took her shirt off and had a friend write a message on her back.

The words read "Broken by battle, wounded by war, my love is forever to you this I swore. I will quiet your silent screams, help heal your shattered soul until once again, my love, you are whole."

Wise wrote the words to her husband Rob who, after three tours in Iraq, now suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But after she uploaded a picture to Facebook, the words took on a life of their own.

"I felt hopeless," said Wise. "As a coping mechanism I started sharing my story. I found out hundreds of wives weren't getting the assistance they needed."

The picture went viral and soon Wise started hearing from military wives all over the world.

Many of them copied Wise's words on their own backs and posted pictures online.

"I had put into words in the pledge what they hadn't been able to formulate into words for years," said Wise. "It just blew me away.  We really quickly realized what a huge need there was."

Within weeks, Wise founded Battling Bare , a non-profit aimed at providing a support system to those affected by PTSD.

Wise hopes it forces military leaders to deal with the problem of our troops returning home with PTSD once and for all.

"For the most part it seems like people really want to help, they just don't know how," said Wise.

For women like her who have loved ones struggling with PTSD, Wise wants them to know they need to be silent no longer.