Democracy for Vancouver

Nobody seems surprised. Not the physicians and therapists who treat returning veterans. Not the veterans themselves.

When told of recent data that appears to show that Oregon troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to die of suicide than in combat, they nod their heads, as if saying they’ve known all along.
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The numbers are stark, and staggering:

• In 2005, the last year for which complete Oregon data has been compiled, 19 Oregon soldiers died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. That same year, 153 Oregon veterans of all ages, serving in various wars, committed suicide.

• The rate of suicide among Oregon men who are veterans is more than double that of Oregon men in general — 46 suicides out of every 100,000 compared to 22 out of 100,000 — according to the Oregon Department of Human Services Center for Health Statistics.

• Nearly one in three Oregon suicides, according to Kaplan, is a veteran.

Medford resident Stacy Bannerman, whose husband, Lorin, is expecting to be deployed soon for a second tour of duty in Iraq, has become an outspoken advocate for military families. She says she has heard from more than 100 families whose veterans have attempted suicide.

“Based on what we’re seeing already, this country hasn’t seen anything yet in terms of the severity of combat trauma and veteran suicide rates,” Bannerman says.

More Vietnam War vets have died by suicide then died in combat in Vietnam, and veterans of our invasion and occupation of Iraq are committing suicide at rates that will exceed combat deaths in Iraq if nothing is done.

It seems that after the Korean War, we stopped caring for and supporting our veterans - perhaps because every war since Korea has bitterly divided the country. When the country is divided, it’s easier for those in power to get away with shortchanging our vets, because there is no critical mass of Americans demanding better care.

BushCo has been better at this than most: by hiding the coffins returning home, denying benefits to vets by categorizing PTSD as pre-existing personality disorders, and by the simple fact that this war has been fought by true citizen soldiers - National Guard and Reserve - who get dispersed back to their rural communities on their return, hidden from the majority of Americans.

I have to believe that a President Obama would lift the ban on press coverage of coffins returning to Dover Air Force Base, and would place someone at the head of the VA who actually gives a shit about veterans (Paul Hackett?).

But this is not enough. We have to push - all of us, not just the families of vets or the vets themselves. Because while this country may have treated its vets with care after WWII and Korea, we have a habit of forgetting those who have risk all and lost much fighting in the U.S. military - the Bonus Army being just one example.

We cannot make the vets fight this battle alone. They’ve fought long and hard enough.