Tough Old Soldier Battles New Enemy: Suicide Epidemic -- McClatchy News
WASHINGTON — Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Rhodes keeps pictures of the dead in his pockets.
They're the faces of young soldiers whose eyes stare out resolutely from photocopied pages worn and creased by the ritual of unfolding them, smoothing them flat and refolding them.
They're the faces of men who, haunted by problems at home or memories of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — the dead children, the fallen comrades and the lingering smell of burnt flesh — pressed guns to their heads and pulled the triggers or tied ropes with military precision and hanged themselves.
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My Comment: This problem is probably just the tip of the iceberg .... and one thing that I have learned about vets is that these problems surface up years after they have left the service.
My God-father was a World War II vet, but he committed suicide in 1963. His family and my father always referred to his war experience as the main reason why he had committed suicide .... but the official record was that he accidentally shot himself.
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