When we think of who we honor on Memorial Day, we think of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield. And we should.
But…we have to also consider these numbers, which you’d have to assume the general population is not aware of…and candidly, I didn’t know these numbers until I did more research, recently. The US military has been keeping records on suicide since 9/11/2001:
Suicide in 2021 for active duty and veterans hit an all-time high and has been increasing over the past five years at an alarmingly steady pace. In 2021, research found that 30,177 active duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 have died by suicide – compared to the 7,057 service members killed in combat in those same 20 years. So, since they’ve been measuring, military suicide rates are four times higher than deaths that occurred during military operations.
Don’t want to get too deep into this one bc those numbers alone say so much…so will only say this: with how much we have learned about trauma in the past five years, and how much trauma impacts a nervous system (but can be impacted positively by community) – if each one of us went to one more member of the military we saw over the next year, and thanked them for their service – and told them – we appreciate them for all they did for us and ALL they risked….and we are proud of them…think of the ripple effects.
Welcome them into a larger global community that appreciates them all and makes them feel welcomed & honored & cared for.
