MORE DEATHS BY SUICIDE THAN COMBAT? AN OLD CONTROVERSY REVISITED

Early in my career, there were frequent flash points around the assertion by many vets and advocates that more vets died from suicide than died in combat in the American war with Vietnam. The controversy revolved around the traditional view that war is ennobling and to die in war was “heroic”. On the other hand, to have survived combat only to die at your own hands subsequently was a sign of weakness. Hard liners insisted that the “heroics” of combat are diminished if combatants die of what they deemed to be sketchy results from war.

The piece includes a detailed treatment of the dynamic between training for combat and post duty adjustment as well as interesting historical information about combatants in previous war eras. The author, Matthew Hoh is a former State Department staffer who resigned in protest to US war policy. He’s also an outspoken advocate for peace issues and services for veterans and other victims of war.

Click here for the article from Counter Punch.