By Jim Heffernan
I’ve been thinking a lot about suicide these days. It’s not personal. I’ve lived a charmed life and call myself very happy for someone who is almost as old as Trump.
But for my fellow veterans, men and women who were willing to give up their Constitutional rights to defend that Constitution, it’s too often a different story.
I never really gave it much thought until I joined the American Legion. The American Legion is an organization of veterans and is dedicated to furthering the welfare of all veterans. Suicide prevention is high on their list of priorities.
Between 2011 and 2022, 5,997 service members died by suicide — more than six times the number killed in combat during the same period.
There seems to be a link between exposure to explosive blasts and suicide rates. In the civilian world (and for Air Force veterans) the suicide rate is about 14 per 100,000. Explosive ordnance disposal team members, who disable roadside bombs and routinely train and work around very large blasts, had the highest suicide rate — 34.77 deaths per 100,000 people per year — followed by infantry and special operations forces; armor crews; and artillery troops; whose rates are closer to 30 deaths per 100,000.
The Legion has a program to prevent the tragic loss of life that suicide brings. It’s called “Be The One”. https://www.legion.org/betheone I don’t know much about it yet. I’ve registered at the web site and I am scheduled for zoom training in September. The idea is that troubled veterans on the verge of suicide might be saved if they just had some ”one” to talk to.
If the “Be The One” program doesn’t appeal to you, think of joining the Legion if you’re a veteran or maybe just making a cash contribution.
Expect to hear more about this. As always, discussion is welcome at codger817@gmail.com.
There is hope and help – are you or someone that you know needing some support? Here are some resources in Tillamook County and online:
