Chris Smoak was one of the twenty two veterans we lose to suicide every day. He served with my son as a combat soldier in Iraq.
Chris’s fellow military friends, his battles, will post their memories on Facebook today and mourn his loss but the general public will not be informed of his passing. Nor will his death be figured into the Iraq war casualties.
22 per day.
Multiplied by 365 days per year.
8030 per year. Gone.
We are failing them and more needs to be done. It starts with increased funding to allow the VA to hire more personnel to counsel our veterans. Their care is a cost of war.
I want Chris to be remembered today. He was young and had his whole life ahead of him. His inability to cope with his experiences has taken him away from his family and friends.
I pray that as a nation we find the number 8030 unacceptable and resolve to not turn our backs on our veterans. I pray that Chris’s battles, and all our veterans, don't look to suicide as a solution to a deep psychic wound, yet reach out for help instead. But most of all I pray that Perpetual Light will shine upon him. I pray that his family and friends will find peace in their time of unbearable loss and grief.