As we all go about merrily this holiday season I want to remind everyone of an unpleasant reality that will forever mar this season for an untold number of veterans' families - the veteran suicide epidemic continues unabated. In these 12 days before Christmas, 216 more veterans will commit suicide. On Christmas Day that number [...]
Tag: suicide
Sean Alexander Dacus
A 31 year old veteran committed suicide Tuesday outside Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He was a member of the 10th Mountain Family - he had served two tours in Iraq in his early twenties. The veteran's name - Sean Alexander Dacus. Sean's funeral service is tomorrow, Saturday, at 2 PM at the Amundson [...]
18 a day…do the math.
Let me say at the outset that I have heard nothing but positive things about the Veterans Administration (VA) Operation in Fargo. My son, my nephew and many of my students that are veterans tell me that they are treated well there. Having said that I have long been disappointed in the stories of substandard [...]
THE GREATEST INJUSTICE – VETERANS’ SUICIDES.
I am angry today having heard about the suicide of veteran advocate Clay Hunt (see the article here). This article was posted by a colleague on Facebook and it struck the same raw nerve that is hit every single time I hear of another veteran or soldier suicide (or worse, a veteran or soldier homicide/suicide). [...]
Suicide is never the answer.
Cheyenne is not all that big a fan of watching the Oprah show. It records to my DVR daily and then the episodes just pile up until Cheyenne is with her dad and I have the time to sit down for an Oprah marathon. Lately, to sit for even an hour to watch television seems [...]
It ends today…
I was going to provide you a pictorial update of my San Antonio shenanigans today, but instead I want to take this opportunity to urge you to watch a short YouTube video created by Bruce Kelly on his push for an anti-bullying law in North Dakota. In this video Bruce talks about Cassidy Joy Andel [...]
The depth of the wound…
I have a soft spot...okay...so I have a few soft spots, but let's not go there today. Today I want to talk about soldiers (probably my number one soft spot) and the impact their service can have on them (beyond the extended separation from family - which I think is, in-and-of-itself, tough). Specifically, I want [...]
THE NEW FORTY 