Image from the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit at San Francisco�s City Hall. It was displayed on 19 March 2012 to mark the 9th Anniversary of the War in Iraq.
�Suicides are surging among America's troops, averaging nearly one a day this year � the fastest pace in the nation's decade of war.-Robert Burns, Military Suicide Rate Surges To Nearly One Per Day This Year.
The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan � about 50 percent more � according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.�
In April Nicholas Kristof documented the broader issue of veteran suicides.
�More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year � more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.�This Poem, published by the Warrior Writers Project, hints why.
I AM WHO SURVIVED
I am a Christian
who survived 9 commandments but violated one
Thou shalt not kill
Plain and simple right?
It's more complicated than that
I followed my leaders with a long black crucifix in my hands
I loaded proverbs into magazines and shot them out of my crucifix
I carried bibles in my grenade pouches.
Forgive me father, for I have sinned
I have allowed bearers of false witness to burn you in an oil fire
I have allowed false idols to drop you on innocent victims, killing some, and disfiguring others
I have killed and allowed killing
I shall never kill again
I shall never get lost in the sandstorm of lies and shoot my way out.
Who survived?
I might have, but my faith didn't
by Cloy Richards
What you can do
Iraq Veterans Against War seek to address this issue through operation recovery.
AFSC Resource | The War Within: The Veteran Suicide Epidemic