Thursday, October 8, 2015

Vietnam vets suicide rate- Mason DeJarnette

Veterans from the Vietnam era have a higher suicide rate than any other war in the history of the United States. One of the biggest factors for suicide to blame is PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and not being treated for it once they got back from war. The veterans of the Vietnam war were treated the poorest of any war when they came back home from war, in the history of the United States. The veteran crisis line has received more than 250,000 calls a year from veterans and active military personnel. The Vietnam conflict extract data file states that a total of 58,220 people died in the Vietnam war. It is hard to find any for sure facts on how many people died after the Vietnam war due to the fact that you cant tell whether or not the reason which the person committed suicide is due to the trauma after war. But it was proven that the suicide rate of were not higher from vets over non vets. Suicide rates of Vietnam veterans has been rumored to be between 50,000 and 100,000. At any during the Vietnam war, there were 37 million age 18 to 35 year old males. Of this group approximately 2.6 million served in Vietnam. Of the entire 37 million male population there have been about 152,000 suicides.

12 comments:

  1. Good choice of picture, that memorial is so powerful. I knew Vietnam was one of the most infamous wars for the United States but I had no idea how high the number of casualties was. I also did not realize how greatly soldiers could be affected by this war and continue to commit suicide several years following the war, feeling that it is the only way to relieve them of the traumatic stress that they continue to feel after the Vietnam war.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another factor that makes the number of suicides among Vietnam Veterans difficult to calculate is the actual recognition of suicides themselves by health officials. It’s been speculated that the number of suicides across the general population may be much higher than what’s currently recorded, because a good portion of suicides are miscategorized as being “accidental” or “unintentional” deaths.

    Source:

    Rockett IH, Caine ED. “Self-injury Is the Eighth Leading Cause of Death in the United States: It Is Time to Pay Attention”. JAMA Psychiatry. N.p. 16 September 2015. Web. 8 October 2015

    ReplyDelete
  3. With the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. it is so powerful to be able to see how many people actually died during the war. Seeing the memorial it puts a perspective on how many people die from war every single day. I never knew how high the suicide rate was of Vietnam Veterans, it blows my mind to think that thousands of people that were in any war, chose to take their own life, then to deal with the nightmares or thoughts that they have.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's honestly sad how many lives were lost during the war and how many lives were taken after the war. Veterans should never be treated poorly so seeing in your research that Vietnam veterans were treated worse than other veterans after other wars just upsets me. After everything they went through, they should never be treated harshly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Suicide in the military is unreal two of my best friends have committed suicide. The Vietnam veterans experienced a lot during that war that most of us can't even fathom. Then they came home and got spit on and treated like they were nothing and didn't get the help they needed. It is sad that anyone would have to deal with this let alone someone who just fought for their country.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is awful that the idea that more people have committed suicide after the war than the number of those who were killed in combat. People in America could not relate to the Vietnam Veterans because they themselves had really no idea the horrors that occurred in Vietnam. The Vietnam war was also one of the most protested wars in history and I wonder if that had anything to do with the Vietnam Vets being left to fend for themselves when they came home. In the Vietnam War there was really no clear victor unlike previous American Wars. It is awful how the Vietnam Veterans were treated and I hope that our country learned from the mistakes that were committed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I also think your choice of picture is really good. The memorial shows lives that were lost in the war, and the Vets that committed suicide were indirectly lost in the war as well. I think it's so sad that they were treated so bad when they returned. I think if they had been treated better, there would be fewer suicides. They were dealing with the horrors they witnessed in war as well as being hated on by their own country and for a lot that was probably too much to handle.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The people of America need to find a better way to deal with war and deal with the aftermath. Going into the war, nobody was talking about the effects it would have on the soldiers that survived and came back home. America needs to use this as a learning tool because not only will soldiers die in war, but soldiers will die at home. There needs to be a better system for veterans because they are sacrificing their life fighting for our freedom. When they get back, all they have is family if they are lucky enough. In my opinion this is one of the biggest issues America is facing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. People who disagree with war just need to realize that this will always go on. Treating people who fought for our country poorly is just so mind blowing to me. These veterans have witnessed and been through things that we can't even imagine and just by that they are going to have trouble sleeping at night. Then they come back and are treated like they are the villains? its just terrible to know that americans treated heroes that way.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Understanding what war veterans are going through is very difficult because most people haven't fought in a war. This is why I believe that more people need to help war veterans. The suicide rates are way to high for something we can help control.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love that memorial and when you step into it, it really takes you a different place that requires a lot of deep thinking. After reading this post and connecting it to Norman's suicide in The Things They Carried, I can really understand more how big of an issue the suicide rates are. It's emotionally hard to take in.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I plan on going to the memorial next summer because that war has generated multiple veterans in my family and I feel bad i haven't seen it already. Truly a remarkable piece of history and a unique story as to how it became about.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.