The veterans from the Vietnam War have suffered on so many levels and most of society could care less……many suffered from PTSD….some from Agent Orange…..many fro night sweats….and from memories that will not die……but they are having to deal with one more situation……SUICIDES!
On July 7, the Veterans Health Administration released new data about veterans’ suicides, based upon examination of over 55 million veteran records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation and U.S. territories. While much of the buzz around veteran suicide has focused on veterans emerging out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this new report showed that 65% of all veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older. In fact, 45% of veteran suicides in 2014 were aged 60 and older.
These are deeply disturbing statistics, especially for those of us in the Vietnam cohort. As the executive director of the Veterans Health Council at Vietnam Veterans of America, veteran suicide is one of my professional and personal interests ever since losing a team member to suicide while on a mission together in northern I Corps Vietnam.
Source: Majority Of Veteran Suicides Are 50 And Older And We Don’t Know Why
Believe me…..Vietnam vets have suffered enough…..it is time for this country to actually care about these people and give them the help they richly deserve.
In closing….the VA has its problems also….
More than 70,000 veterans disability claims are currently backlogged in Veterans Affairs processing centers, seven months after department officials missed their public goal of getting the number down to zero.
VA Acting Under Secretary for Benefits Thomas Murphy said that figure includes a substantial number of claims left open longer than four months intentionally to ensure veterans are receiving all of the payouts they deserve. But he acknowledged his agency needs to drive that number down further.
Source: VA disability backlog tops 70,000 — 7 months after it was supposed to be zero
The news seldom improves…and that is truly sad.
Those soldiers were betrayed by their own commander-in-chiefs, JFK and LBJ, went through jungles of hell, drugs and prostitution was allowed to run wild. Military leaders of WWII repeatedly told Washington to stay the heck out of Nam, but noooo…….
The return home was also a betrayal…that is why most Viet vets will only talk with other Viet vets….
You’ve got that right!
I still hold a bit of a grudge….
Reblogged this on A Green Road Daily News.
TY and the re-blog is much appreciated…chuq
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH I don’t mean to be sarcastic … well actually I do.
Go to: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov and do something about it!
The Petition must be reviewed by the White House if it gets 100,000 signatures within a month.
ALL details about the process are available on the site.
Isn’t it time to take: ACTION?
Great link…..I do not hold much faith in petitions….but what could it hurt, right?
I currently had 7 different Petitions on the White House website. My belief is that ALL will fail.
No matter, I am in the process of creating them on a more engaging Petition website.
Stay tuned!
I agree…I feel they are just a feel good thing for us peasants…
The number of veterans committing suicide after long periods might have to do with the same backlog, and general indifference, which I’ve seen displayed all my life. Even the strongest will give up after too many years of futilely trying to obtain any help for their service related issues….
I also found the number quoted of the total number of veterans who had records in the 45 years of the study to be astounding! 55 million young men, sent to war, thinking they were protecting their homes, while, in truth, serving as enforcers for what has become obvious as a purely corporate/political agenda, using their self-sacrifice as propaganda tools, for the furtherance of avarice. This, upon reflection, would, I think, have a deleterious effect on many who fought, especially after many years.
55 million people, abused and manipulated, then cast aside…. And, that is just in THIS country… How many were killed on the other side of the conflicts?…. No one will ever convince me their deaths were justified, or necessary to protect liberty.
The human predators, who live to steal, in order to feel in control of their innate cowardice, have much for which they will eventually have to answer, whether it be to human justice, their own karmic destiny, or whatever hell they believe in comes to claim them when they die….
gigoid, the dubious
And, now I’m exhausted… I’ll catch up later, bro….
g, td
Very sad but true. None of my deployed brothers have comitted suicide however my Ex’s Great Grandpa did after his wife passed he was a ww2 Africa vet… I wish I woulda got to know him better and talk with him. But I had learned to cut off and distance myself.
Sorry to hear about your grandpa….after Vietnam it crossed my mind for about a year but I worked through it….thanx for the visit and comment….hope to see you again….chuq