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What to Say After a Soldier’s Suicide – Letters to the Editor, N Y Times
Tonight’s late edition of the New York Times is running a special series in the Opinion section that holds a collection of letters to the editor concerning soldier suicides per the wars in western Asia. It is a must read for veterans.
The article What to Say After a Soldier’s Suicide is insightful and shows that the American public is not as detached from this pain as we might think. It is a sharper image of the situation from the point of view of people who have dealt with it. It is realistic, sobering and valuable information.
I have some experience with Coast Guardsmen killing themselves and as a former Casualty Assistance Control Officer, I have a similar opinion as those noted in the article.
Regardless of what people in charge at various commands may think, there is no real way to stop a young person from killing themselves in the service once hope is gone. If they have set their minds to do it, they will do it. Sometimes supervisors can see it, sometimes not.
It is an ugly problem and where it concerns combat veterans who have literally been stretched to the breaking point for political reasons that have nothing to do with national defense, it is a national disgrace.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=9849
Posted by Veterans Today on Dec 20 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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NY Times Suicide Opinion 12-20-09
Peter Macdonald 465 Packers falls Rd Lee NH 03824 603-659-7217
Suicide by U.S. Military Active or Veterans is something people that have not been there cannot understand. I read the Article in the Veterans Today news posted by Tom Barnes about the NY Times “Suicide by Soldiers”. Great article on the subject to make others aware there is importance to the reason that suicide happens different in each one of us. Suicide can but does not always have to be an escape. I have explained in many of my letters my unsuccessful attempts since I came back in the middle seventies from the conflict. I woke up at 17 in a military hospital with no memory of just graduating from Parris Island and 7011 school. I had no memory at all and my life and my memory started from that day. I did the next 31 months overseas TAD in and out of a conflict. While stationed at Uborn Thailand I did eight convoys as an American Advisor across Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. I participated and lived through two Vietnam Offensives in a support area. I lived through a mortar attach and had a sniper bullet pass with in inches of my head. I killed with a bayonet and lay in a Benjo ditch waiting to die asking is this real. I have been blown off a runway and had hung ordinance nearly kill me. I ordered other Marines in my squad to do what would kill them with out consideration or emotions. I violated every rule that a civilized society lives by. The people back here in the “world” praise and celebrate our return but in their minds cannot accept the cruel and heartless actions that we lived by. I had no memory while over there to see the guilt that a normal human being should feel which allowed me to be dropped back here where I do not belong. Many U.S. Military with a memory see and understand the devastating conflict of our two worlds and want and need to take action to save you from what we are. Does that make any since? We take an oath of our live to protect and defend our nation and is that not what we do to save you from learning what we did? I have been lucky in every aspect of life. I have done thinks people back here cannot even conceive as possible. Back here I have lived through college and a great life of giving to help others out. I have a great wife and three great daughters to make what I have done worth doing it.
The article talks about how suicide is an extreme act or a path of pain. That to me is a reason to rationalize in a way making you believe that you understand. Expression of empathy does not encourage suicide. Suicide is our way of doing our mission to save you. Suicide is a terminal symptom of PTSD. This is the doctor’s way of making society see the casualties of war; it is kind of like the Marine that killed himself in the motel. The death was active duty for insurance reasons.
People make reasons to accept this does not explain the minds reason for traveling this road. Our mission is to defend and protect our constitution for you no matter where we are. It can be like the editors censoring my opinion because they believe it is their way of protecting society from people like this U.S. Marine.
Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper fi