Reporter finally remembers Vietnam Veterans

"Why Are So Many Older Veterans Committing Suicide?" By Jordain Carney on the National Journal deserves a lot of credit. She actually paid attention to Vietnam veterans and what has been happening to them. So few others have bothered.

This is the part everyone should read and let sink in.

Some veterans' advocates say it's easier for older veterans to feel America has forgotten their sacrifices.

"You know, 'We're just old guys, and we're going to die, so why pay much attention to them?' ...That's kind of the feeling that some of our members have," said Tom Berger, executive director of the Vietnam Veterans of America national health council.

But on Capitol Hill, efforts to combat veteran suicides—specifically among older veterans—are largely missing in the flurry of mental-health and VA legislation. Two omnibus veterans bills in the Senate include a provision to extend enrollment eligibility for VA health care from five years after the end of service to 15 years, which would account for possible delayed effects of war. Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., who introduced one of the omnibus bills, is the first Iraq War combat veteran to serve in the Senate.

But only veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars would be eligible for the 15-year deadline.

Berger, who served in the Navy in Vietnam, laments that expanding the enrollment eligibility does nothing for Vietnam veterans. But he added that the extension "would have made a world of difference" for veterans directly after the war, when suicide rates first tend to spike.

Berger credited the recent shootings on military bases for being "one of the things that has propelled the mental-health issue … to the forefront," but he added that the Vietnam Veterans of America has been "dealing with mental-health issues for a long time."

The VA estimates that 30 percent of Vietnam veterans suffer from posttraumatic-stress disorder, compared with 11 to 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Most of my friends are Vietnam Veterans and families just like mine. While my heart grieves for the younger generation, it grieves more for our group. We've been forgotten. Pushed aside by the VA because they didn't have enough to take care of the newer generation while the press was reporting on what happened to them. Fell into the backlog pile as the highest percentage VA Claims along with the newer claims. Not even considered in the "Caregivers" package even though we've been taking care of our disabled veterans longer.

In 2007 the Fresno Bee reported on the crisis Vietnam veterans were facing.

Up to 80% are older veterans who served in Vietnam and Korea and suffer from anxiety, anger or depression.

They did not seek treatment before because they didn't know they had the disorder or they didn't want to ask for help, say VA officials.

They believe the trend is seen elsewhere as well, and will continue as the war in Iraq progresses. Dr. Cara Zuccarelli Miller, a clinical psychologist at the Fresno VA, said many older veterans only become aware that they have PTSD because they recognize their symptoms in those returning from Iraq who have been diagnosed.

Turned out they were very close because in 18 months 148,000 Vietnam veterans sought help for PTSD for the first time.

What makes my heart grieve even more is that no one seems to care that we've been doing all of it longer and the younger generation can learn a lot from us. Learn for the Vietnam veterans that lived all these years with PTSD and still managed to end up on their feet strong enough, healed enough, to live better lives. Learn from the families and how our marriages lasted longer than the national average. Learn how we managed to join forces long before the Internet and Facebook. We could save them so much grief, save marriages and relationships that don't need to end but above all, save lives that should be putting flags on graves next month for Memorial Day instead of being in one.