Sad Statistics for Vets

I read a newspaper opinion piece I found to be disturbing and disheartening. The headline read: "Stop the suicides among our wounded warriors."

The article was written by John Roberts, executive vice president of the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization whose mission is to "honor and empower wounded warriors."

Roberts, who noted that he's also a wounded warrior, referred to a recent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs that found vets "are taking their own lives at a rate of 22 each day, or one suicide every 65 minutes." 

He also noted that there were more suicides among soldiers than combat deaths in 2012 -- 349 to 295.

As a citizen and a veteran, I find those figures to be totally unacceptable. These men and women are sent into harm's way for a variety of reasons, and then we leave many of them without the safety nets they need in their readjustment to normal life.

I recall stories about suicide rates in the National Football League, especially after the death of Junior Seau in 2012.  The NFL recently teamed with GE to look into developing a safer helmet to prevent and improved diagnosis of  traumatic brain injuries. They're spending $40 million on the project.

According to the Twilight Language blog, there have been 12 reported suicides in the past 25 years. 

That's not a misprint. Twelve in 25 years involving NFL players. And we're losing 22 vets EVERY DAY to suicide.

I'm not trying to diminish the deaths of those pro athletes. They left behind family, friends, and teammates.  And I'm glad that measures are being taken by the league to address the problem of head injuries.

What I'm saying is that vets also need our compassion and support. The mental battles for some don't end when they return home. And these vets --who are not high-profile athletes -- also have family, friends, and loved ones who care deeply about them.

As Roberts pointed out, post-traumatic stress syndrome and other "war-related mental health conditions can be successfully treated. It is my hope that we as a nation start to take this seriously."

Roberts closed by writing: "This is a problem for all of us and together we can help those who served our nation."

Amen.

Until the next time...

Make It Special

Last weekend my wife and I attended an excellent production of “Lombardi” at the Kentucky Repertory Theatre at Horse Cave.

Greg Johnston had the role of the legendary National Football League coach and Donna Freeburn played his wife, Marie. They were superb as were the supporting-cast members. We thought it was one of the best plays we’ve seen at KRT, and we’ve attended quite a few in the past 15 years or so.

The performance, which ended July 29, had been extended an extra week because of popular demand. We saw the Saturday matinee, which didn’t attract a large audience. In fact, I counted only 14 people in the audience. I hope there were more folks in attendance for the evening performance and Sunday’s finale.

What impressed me, and the reason for this post, was the professionalism of the actors. They performed with so much verve that you would have thought it was before a packed house. They made it a special experience for this theater-goer.

As this blog is generally about writing, I think it’s important for writers to give their readers their best effort regardless of the size of the reading audience. Make it a special experience for the reader.

Until the next time…