They lived, but we let them die

They lived

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 20, 2019

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 King James Version (KJV)

Everyday the reports are written. "This one" is doing this stunt to make people aware veterans are committing suicide. "That one" claims the number to be 22, another one says it is 20, and someone else says, "one is too many."

"This one" takes a walk. "That one" runs, another one does "22 push ups" instead of doing the work to lead the way on how they can want to live.

Then, we have charity after charity, holding events like this one.

"The tournament, it's in memory of Patrick Werne who was a local Veteran," Kyle Jean, Section 1776 operations manager said. "He was battling with his PTSD. He lost the battle last year in early July so this fishing tournament is in memory of him and to raise awareness for the 22 Veterans a day that commit suicide." WWMT News

What are they raising awareness of? That veterans are killing themselves? Without mentioning that the number currently used was changed years ago?

They did not seem to even understand how many more are missing from the report, or the fact that all the talk about suicides, did not prevent the suicide of the veteran they are now having events for. This has been going on for over a decade!

Awareness events like that did nothing to come close to what veterans have been doing in VA parking lots.

"Nearly 30 veterans have taken their own lives on VA medical campuses in the last two years, a figure that has prompted lawmakers to request more monitoring of parking lots and public areas for signs of individuals in distress." Military Times

Then there is the fact among the known suicides, older veterans are the majority, as well as the ignored.

"The VA National Suicide Data Report for 2005 to 2016, which came out in September 2018, highlights an alarming rise in suicides among veterans age 18 to 34 — 45 per 100,000 veterans. Younger veterans have the highest rate of suicide among veterans, but those 55 and older still represent the largest number of suicides." NPR

To understand why all this awareness has not worked in the last decade, we have the more current Department of Defense reports on members committing suicide.

The Air Force is reporting a rise from last year's count, which was the highest on record.

"If airman suicides continue at their current pace, this year’s deaths by suicide in the service would far eclipse last year’s. In 2018, 60 active duty airmen, 17 Air National Guard and three Air Force reservists died by suicide for a total of 80 airmen, according to the Defense Suicide Prevention Office." Stars and Stripes

While over 47,000 American's committed suicide, it shows the lack of growth on the prevention side for civilians to stay alive. We also need to consider that 1.3 million attempted suicide. If suicide awareness worked, don't you think the civilian numbers would have gone down? 

The simple fact is, the rate of veterans committing suicide, is even higher. Female veterans committing suicide are 250% times higher than civilian women, just as there are more military males than civilians unaware that suicide is not their only way out of the misery they live with.

When there are more first responders committing suicide than ever before, added into all of this, we keep missing the most important factor of all. Every single one of them lived for the sake of others. None of them found a way to live for themselves. They lived, but we let them die.

Florida firefighter's widow wins $9 million after husband killed

Florida firefighter's widow wins $9 million verdict in pizza delivery death

Domino's Pizza plans to appeal
Florida Today
By Rick Neale
August 07, 2019

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - In January 2011, retired Brevard County Fire Rescue District Chief Richard Wiederhold swerved to avoid a collision when a Domino's Pizza delivery driver turned in front of him on State Road 50 in Christmas.

Wiederhold's Toyota Tacoma overturned on the highway — rendering him a quadriplegic with a fractured spine, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.

He died from medical complications 15 months later. After a lengthy legal battle, an Orange County jury awarded his widow, Yvonne, a $9 million verdict in mid-June.

The court case continues. Last week, Circuit Judge Renee Roche denied a request for a new trial by attorneys representing Domino's Pizza. The company is preparing to appeal the $9 million judgment, said Yvonne Widerhold's attorney, Mark Avera, a partner with the Gainesville law firm Avera and Smith.

"He was dependent upon a ventilator to breathe. Being rendered a quadriplegic when you're in your retirement and in your twilight years, enjoying life. ... I have represented clients such as Rich over the years — and to describe it as catastrophic is really inadequate," Avera said.

"To go from being able to do anything he wanted to do — flying planes, running marathons as a younger gentleman, hike, camp, enjoy his life with his fiancée, Yvonne — and to go to being bed-bound and be totally dependent on others," he said.

Wiederhold served with Brevard County Fire Rescue from 1988 to 2005, retiring as a district chief overseeing nine fire stations across the southern part of the county. He was one of six finalists in the city of Cocoa's 2007 fire chief job search.
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Texas disabled veteran feels loved by community in Gatesville

Local community gives back to veteran in need

KWTX
By Christy Soto
Aug 18, 2019

GATESVILLE, Texas (KWTX) A disabled Central Texas veteran struggling to do the little things in life like mowing the lawn receives generous gift from the community, Saturday morning.

Michael Holly served in the U.S. Military for 12 years. While serving he injured his foot and now suffers from a chronic pain in his foot which keeps him from doing the little things like mowing the lawn.

"I want to mow the lawn and be able to be independent and not have to rely on anybody else to do things that I should be able to do myself,” Holly said.

Adam Cook has been Holly’s best friend through many hardships in his life.

“Mike has been through a lot I've sit and watched him be so depressed that he couldn't even get up and move around all over mowing the lawn,” Cook said.

“It’s the little things like that we may take for granted and be nothing to us but to our veterans it means something.”

Diana Fincher work with the North Fort Hood Ministry and is a daughter of a World War ll veteran and when she heard Holly's story she immediately jumped into action, collecting donations though Facebook.

With the help of the Gatesville community, the Temple Home Depot and the North Food Ministry they were able to give Holly a brand new tractor with warranty, gardening supplies and a $400 Home Depot gift card.

“From my heart I wanted him to understand how much his service is appreciated,” Fincher said.
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Woman drove off after disabled veteran using walker was killed

Disabled vet killed in Riviera wreck couldn’t ‘come out of nowhere,’ family says

The Palm Beach Post
By Olivia Hitchcock
Posted Aug 16, 2019

Edward Alvin, who served in the U.S. Army, used a walker after injuries sustained in a crash years prior. He died in a wreck Aug. 9 on Silver Beach Road.

RIVIERA BEACH — Edward Alvin couldn’t “come out of nowhere” if he tried, his wife said.

The disabled veteran used a walker due to injuries sustained in a crash years prior. He needed multiple surgeries to his hips, knee and abdomen for him even to be able to do that, Sharell Alvin said.

Edward Michael Alvin, 40, was hit and killed Friday night while walking along Silver Beach Road. The woman accused of hitting him told a passerby that Alvin “came out of nowhere.”

Then the woman drove off.
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Col. Derek O'Malley on right path to helping Airmen heal

'Heartbroken' Air Force commander shocked and in disbelief as base suffers its third suicide this year

Business Insider
Ryan Pickrell
August 17, 2019

The Air Force is taking a hard look at itself as service suicides skyrocket. As of August 1, 78 airmen had taken their own lives since the start of the year. That is a 56 percent increase over the toll from the same time last year.

The US Air Force has seen 78 suicides so far this year, 28 more than this time last year. U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Staff Sgt. J.D. Strong II

A "heartbroken" Air Force commander expressed shock and disbelief after a South Carolina base suffered its third suicide in as many months.

"Here we are again. I can't believe it," Col. Derek O'Malley, the commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, said in a video on Facebook Wednesday. "We lost another airman yesterday."

"I wake up every day, my command team, we wake up every day to try to make this place a better place. There's so much we try to do, so much more we need to do. But none of that matters right now because we lost another one of our own."

US Air Force 2nd Lt. Christopher J. Rhoton, who served in the 20th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was found dead in an apparent suicide Tuesday, Maj. Allen Dailey with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office told WIS, a local media outlet.
read more here

Starting on the right path is what you just did.

Col. O'Malley, I grieve for you and everyone else in the military, as much as I grieve for our veterans.

I have watched and waited for someone to step up and speak loud enough to be heard. What has been done, has not worked. You just did exactly that.

Please reconsider "resilience" training, since that is part of the increase in suicides. It prevents them from seeking help because they think it is their fault for being weak instead of being taught what PTSD is and why they have it.

Telling them they can train their brains to become mentally tough, and all they hear is they are mentally weak if they end up with PTSD. Simple as that.

What has been said has done more harm than good. Just as all the suicide awareness has removed hope from their minds. You just gave them back hope.

For over 3 decades I have seen far more than my share of suffering, but I have also seen how magnificent it is when they open their eyes to all they can become, even with PTSD.

They need to see what is strong within them instead of being told what is wrong with them.

They need to know that it is the strength of their emotional core that allowed them to become a service member, but also caused them to feel all they experienced more than others.

For civilians, over 7 million of us, it is the "one" event that can cause PTSD. For service members, it is the "one too many" that inflicts pain beyond comprehension. 

So, thank you for doing the video and speaking out. You showed you care about those you serve with and that is the beginning of healing.

#BreakTheSilence

and

#TakeBackYourLife

Police Officer resigned after arresting disabled Navy veteran with PTSD and brain tumor

Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police body camera video: Officer Johnathon Silva's April 2019 arrest

KQED News

Newlon could not be reached for comment Friday at several phone numbers listed under his name. His landlord described him to police as a Navy veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain tumor, according to incident reports released by the Police Department, and the woman who called police said she only wanted him to get help.
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