“To those soldiers who bravely fought our nation’s battles but lost their own.” You have a stunning way with words to share your own loss and draw attention to an important issue. God bless you and your family, Max.
Absolutely beautifully written...cried during most of my reading....truly touched my heart. I think your idea is great. I hope you are able to try and get this accomplished. Your family should be so proud of you...you took a very painful subject, wrote about it so clearly that even someone like myself that never experienced a suicide of someone close, could feel your pain and hope at the same time. Looking forward to some more of your writings :))
I’m sorry for your family’s loss. Your dad and his family deserved better. All our veterans deserve better. War is a slaughter house and we ought to think harder and longer than we do about sending our citizens into harms way.
One of my acquaintances has triplets. All three recently joined the military after graduation from high school. Each in a different branch of the service. Their parent is very proud and very anxious.
I don’t want my kids to enlist. The US government is an incompetent and malicious embarrassment, and a war mongering, profiteer as well. The military leadership is pathetic. Their performance in my lifetime is pathetic. People are concerned that Tommy Tuberville is holding up promotions. Fire all the bums on the general staff. The war in Afghanistan, the pathetic withdrawal, the same crap in Iraq, the idiocy of Ukraine. Fire these bums.
I know what it is like to lose a parent to suicide. The people left behind continue to suffer for a long time.
You can’t ask people to go do rough, dangerous jobs and then beat them up for doing it. That applies to the military, the police, and anybody who puts their life on the line. PTSD is real and pervasive. It’s made worse I believe from the lack of respect shown for what we ask these people to do. On top of that the VA is a corrupt, incompetent, wasteful mess and has been for decades. Nothing gets better because nobody is accountable and bureaucrats like it that way.
There is some interesting and potentially useful work on treatment for PTSD using psychedelic compounds according to colleagues in the field. Let’s hope that it pans out.
Oh, knowing our government, we are at war somewhere. If you don't think the spec forces are in Ukraine or Syria, then it's because they don't advertise.
What would be more accurate to say is, "We aren't in a declared war."
Not only is this a great idea on its own, but I think it in keeping with the emerging mission of the VA, which will be to restore the mind body and spirit of veterans and their families. Homelessness among veterans, domestic violence and police interactions — by any metric, we need to stand alongside these men and women in the midst of their personal battles. Well done, and thanks so much for this wonderfully written piece!
“To those soldiers who bravely fought our nation’s battles but lost their own.” You have a stunning way with words to share your own loss and draw attention to an important issue. God bless you and your family, Max.
Beautiful piece
I love the idea of a memorial specifically to honor the soldiers like your dad succumb to despair and hopelessness. We owe them so much more.
Absolutely beautifully written...cried during most of my reading....truly touched my heart. I think your idea is great. I hope you are able to try and get this accomplished. Your family should be so proud of you...you took a very painful subject, wrote about it so clearly that even someone like myself that never experienced a suicide of someone close, could feel your pain and hope at the same time. Looking forward to some more of your writings :))
The suicide statistics sound to me like Trump gave veterans hope, and Bidet took away that hope.
How many Veterans being treated by the VA were prescribed Psychotropic Drugs when they committed suicide?
I’m sorry for your family’s loss. Your dad and his family deserved better. All our veterans deserve better. War is a slaughter house and we ought to think harder and longer than we do about sending our citizens into harms way.
One of my acquaintances has triplets. All three recently joined the military after graduation from high school. Each in a different branch of the service. Their parent is very proud and very anxious.
I don’t want my kids to enlist. The US government is an incompetent and malicious embarrassment, and a war mongering, profiteer as well. The military leadership is pathetic. Their performance in my lifetime is pathetic. People are concerned that Tommy Tuberville is holding up promotions. Fire all the bums on the general staff. The war in Afghanistan, the pathetic withdrawal, the same crap in Iraq, the idiocy of Ukraine. Fire these bums.
I know what it is like to lose a parent to suicide. The people left behind continue to suffer for a long time.
You can’t ask people to go do rough, dangerous jobs and then beat them up for doing it. That applies to the military, the police, and anybody who puts their life on the line. PTSD is real and pervasive. It’s made worse I believe from the lack of respect shown for what we ask these people to do. On top of that the VA is a corrupt, incompetent, wasteful mess and has been for decades. Nothing gets better because nobody is accountable and bureaucrats like it that way.
There is some interesting and potentially useful work on treatment for PTSD using psychedelic compounds according to colleagues in the field. Let’s hope that it pans out.
Thank you Max. You’re a gem.
Oh, knowing our government, we are at war somewhere. If you don't think the spec forces are in Ukraine or Syria, then it's because they don't advertise.
What would be more accurate to say is, "We aren't in a declared war."
To remind us that lives are to be treated with utmost care - not squandered.
Not only is this a great idea on its own, but I think it in keeping with the emerging mission of the VA, which will be to restore the mind body and spirit of veterans and their families. Homelessness among veterans, domestic violence and police interactions — by any metric, we need to stand alongside these men and women in the midst of their personal battles. Well done, and thanks so much for this wonderfully written piece!