Petition: Barack Obama, seen here departing for France today, is under renewed pressure to ditch the controversial practice of not sending letters to suicide soldiersObama Urged To Ditch Policy Of Not Sending Condolence Letters To Military Suicide Families -- The Daily Mail
President Barack Obama is under pressure to scrap the policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of servicemen who commit suicide.
Currently military men and women who kill themselves receive full military honours, but their families are not sent the traditional condolence letter from the President.
But in a petition signed by 10 democrats and one Republican senator, the President was urged to drop 'this hurtful policy'.
The call comes as military officials told a U.S. Senate committee the suicide hotline got its highest number of calls ever in April, a total of 14,000.
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My Comment: I have mixed feelings on this issue. On the one hand I believe that there should be two letters .... one for those who are killed in combat, and another for those who committed suicide and/or non-combat death. On the other hand, a person who is killed in an accident in a combat zone should receive the same full honors as one who was killed by the enemy.
As I said .... I have mixed feelings (and ideas) on this topic.
I come from Israel where enlisted men and women receive the same recognition whether they died in combat or an accident, on or off duty.
ReplyDeleteThe logic is that their untimely demise almost certainly is linked to their service to their country.
I think military suicides are a result of circumstances that are related to the fallen's service. Suicide victims' parents meanwhile, are not not comforted by the sense that their child was a hero.
I believe that full recognition to servicemen and women who committed suicide is called for. They faced their predicament because of their commitment and sacrifice to their country.
Thank you QuasiPundit for your comments. You are making some very good points.
ReplyDelete