Posted on Jul 17, 2016
Majority Of Veteran Suicides Are 50 And Older And We Don’t Know Why
1.52K
34
17
8
8
0
These are deeply disturbing statistics, especially for the Vietnam cohort.
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.
While the new data certainly evokes deep personal emotions for me, the reality of those numbers is that our Vietnam vets still constitute the great majority of veteran suicides. But we knew that six years ago from the VA’s 2010 suicide report where it showed that 73% of veteran suicides occurred in the cohort aged 50 and older, even with a smaller-sized sample of data from only 20 states. Why have so many of us been taking our lives?
Related: The Shifting Public Perception Of America’s Veterans »
Some say that it’s because Vietnam veterans are just getting older and suicides are increasing among older Americans. But they miss the fact that since 2001, even as U.S. adult civilian suicides have increased 23%, veteran suicides have risen 32% during the same period. So let’s not fool ourselves with an easy answer.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been expended by the VA, DoD, by private foundations, research institutions, universities and other agencies, all trying to gain insights into veteran suicide, but I know of none that focuses exclusively on our aging veterans. Why not? If we can’t discover the “why” for Vietnam veterans, how will America be able to help the younger generation?
After more than a decade of advocating on this issue, I hope the new VA data will direct more focus by everyone to the very serious problem of Vietnam veteran suicides. Until all Americans realize this and act upon it with a coordinated effort, there is absolutely no doubt that this country will remain in the midst of a public health crisis with veteran suicide.
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.
While the new data certainly evokes deep personal emotions for me, the reality of those numbers is that our Vietnam vets still constitute the great majority of veteran suicides. But we knew that six years ago from the VA’s 2010 suicide report where it showed that 73% of veteran suicides occurred in the cohort aged 50 and older, even with a smaller-sized sample of data from only 20 states. Why have so many of us been taking our lives?
Related: The Shifting Public Perception Of America’s Veterans »
Some say that it’s because Vietnam veterans are just getting older and suicides are increasing among older Americans. But they miss the fact that since 2001, even as U.S. adult civilian suicides have increased 23%, veteran suicides have risen 32% during the same period. So let’s not fool ourselves with an easy answer.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been expended by the VA, DoD, by private foundations, research institutions, universities and other agencies, all trying to gain insights into veteran suicide, but I know of none that focuses exclusively on our aging veterans. Why not? If we can’t discover the “why” for Vietnam veterans, how will America be able to help the younger generation?
After more than a decade of advocating on this issue, I hope the new VA data will direct more focus by everyone to the very serious problem of Vietnam veteran suicides. Until all Americans realize this and act upon it with a coordinated effort, there is absolutely no doubt that this country will remain in the midst of a public health crisis with veteran suicide.
Majority Of Veteran Suicides Are 50 And Older And We Don’t Know Why
Posted from taskandpurpose.comPosted in these groups: 
Suicide
Suicide
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
7
7
0
I am not surprised that the majority of veterans suicides are committed by veterans over 50 yeas old SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
Depression is debilitating and as we age we tend to see much of what we valued die or leave. By the time we are in our fifties we have known many others who died.
When you are clinically depressed life can seem utterly hopeless. Some veterans are in constant pain and each day takes significant effort to make it through.
Those of us who have been clinically depressed and yet have not killed ourselves can testify to how draining long-term depression can be.
By God's grace I survived my clinical depression periods. I hope that friends, relatives and caretakers of clinically-depressed veterans will have compassion for these men and women.
This is an interpersonal issue more than a systemic issue. Systems don't help people - people do.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SSG Leo Bell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SGT Robert George SrA Christopher Wright Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM
Depression is debilitating and as we age we tend to see much of what we valued die or leave. By the time we are in our fifties we have known many others who died.
When you are clinically depressed life can seem utterly hopeless. Some veterans are in constant pain and each day takes significant effort to make it through.
Those of us who have been clinically depressed and yet have not killed ourselves can testify to how draining long-term depression can be.
By God's grace I survived my clinical depression periods. I hope that friends, relatives and caretakers of clinically-depressed veterans will have compassion for these men and women.
This is an interpersonal issue more than a systemic issue. Systems don't help people - people do.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SSG Leo Bell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SGT Robert George SrA Christopher Wright Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM
(7)
(0)
SGT Robert Hawks
I agree with you on this a lot of veterans over fifty have been in combat and many deployments from home. I know guys that joined at 18 in 1983 eight years in they where in Kuwait and Iraq twelve years later getting ready to retire stop loss off the Iraq come back then off to Afghanistan finally get back you now have twenty four years and you can finally retire so now it's 2007 and your 42. Fast forward to 2016 your now 51 a combat veteran from the gulf war, Iraq and Afghanistan and you have spent 42 months deployed in combat zones. You have pain in your body from all the abuse over the years and your mind is screwed up you have seven friends and fellow soldiers die and or get mutilated right in front you. that's just a guy I know from when I was in then service. My Dad who's in his seventies is a Vietnam veteran and he has friends and comrades that didn't make it home. He also has friends that made it home physically but never mentally. My Grandfather a WWII veteran was stationed in Phillipines when it was over ran and hid out for over 18 months. He came home to his family but he eventually killed himself in 1966. People didn't understand or even know they needed help back then. There are way to many veterans killing themselves that we know of I would just pray that anyone who needs help will seek help.
(2)
(0)
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
LTC Stephen F. Here is a great example of my father-in-law - May he rest in peace!
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/did-you-know-this-is-the-reason-a-work-hard-for-veterans-my-family-lost-a-brother-veteran-father-and-husband-yesterday-to-suicide
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/did-you-know-this-is-the-reason-a-work-hard-for-veterans-my-family-lost-a-brother-veteran-father-and-husband-yesterday-to-suicide
Did you know this is the reason I Work hard for Veterans - My Family Lost a Brother, Veteran,...
Did you know this is the reason I Work hard for Veterans - My Family Lost a Brother, Veteran, Father, and husband Yesterday to Suicide? This is one of the many reasons - there are thousands more out there needing our help! RP Members we lost another Brother, Veteran, Father, and Husband to Suicide yesterday in Killeen, Texas. This was my wife's father who served and fought in Vietnam as a Sniper and who came back to this nation with severe...
(1)
(0)
4
4
0
I don't drink. I barely drank a 6 pack of beer in a month. I met my Wife and half her family were problem drinkers. My wife belonged to AA. I stopped drinking altogether.
I broke my ankle in Afghanistan and I went to JTB Lewis McCord. I went to an AA meeting for the hell of it. There, I saw a former Air Force Sergeant that was kicked out for getting two DUIs. It killed her career. She drank a bottle of wine just to get going every morning. I met a Master Sergeant E-8 who was command directed to go. Others gave their stories of the culture of drinking at the base. Most were there by choice. The first step to recovery is to admit it! My sister was a chronic drinker and she felt that if she drank beer, she was not an alcoholic. That is not true. Alcoholism and pain killers did not help her when her husband filed for divorce. She did not seek help, she just hung herself.
If you have issues, call your AA chapter in your area. There are meetings everywhere and its international. You can look up meetings in the phone book.
I broke my ankle in Afghanistan and I went to JTB Lewis McCord. I went to an AA meeting for the hell of it. There, I saw a former Air Force Sergeant that was kicked out for getting two DUIs. It killed her career. She drank a bottle of wine just to get going every morning. I met a Master Sergeant E-8 who was command directed to go. Others gave their stories of the culture of drinking at the base. Most were there by choice. The first step to recovery is to admit it! My sister was a chronic drinker and she felt that if she drank beer, she was not an alcoholic. That is not true. Alcoholism and pain killers did not help her when her husband filed for divorce. She did not seek help, she just hung herself.
If you have issues, call your AA chapter in your area. There are meetings everywhere and its international. You can look up meetings in the phone book.
(4)
(0)
SGT Philip Roncari
As a recovering alcholic since July 1977 one day at a time I would like to thank you MAJ Stephen Conway for such a powerful and moving post,and would hope many people suffering right now get the help they need again thank you Sir.
(1)
(0)
LTC (Join to see)
I thank you Phillip for sticking up for me and AA. The problems that are mentioned here on RP and in the media avoid the elephant in the room. I see drinking and Alcohol as a major factor in so many problems of today that is not discussed enough.
(0)
(0)
LTC Stephen Kubiszewski
Good point. Now where does one find real peer support meetings for PTSD, etc.
None exist! We still only assist at the clinical level!
None exist! We still only assist at the clinical level!
(0)
(0)
3
3
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google