Honoring those we lost, on & off the battlefield

My military career was bookended by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq which began in response to the attacks on September 11. Many of us who served in that time lost friends on the battlefield or in support of combat operations.

Sadly, many of us also lost friends to suicide.

I remember learning of the suicide of my shipmate almost 18 years ago. I was still a fairly young Navy Lieutenant, having only read about the impacts of suicide in the military, and attending briefings on it at safety stand downs and annual training. But this was different. This was my shipmate, a fellow aircrewman, someone I deployed with, joked around with, worked with. He was, in simple terms, a great man and a great sailor. Over the next 10 years, I would personally know four more veterans and service members who would make the decision to take their own life. Sadly, that number is lower than many other veterans I know.

Hoosiers are veteran-friendly and pro-military, and we have higher numbers of veterans in our state than most – 9 percent of Indiana residents are veterans compared to 7 percent of the total U.S. population. Not only do we have more veterans per capita than about 30 states, we also have more monuments to veterans than any other state, with only Washington, D.C., having more. Sadly, we also have a per capita veteran suicide rate that is higher than many other states. The numbers are especially alarming for Hoosier Veterans aged 18 to 44, almost triple that of the civilian population in Indiana.

In 2019, then-President Trump signed the “governor’s challenge” to end the epidemic of veteran suicide. Indiana did not begin implementing the program until 2023, despite having a veteran suicide rate that is higher than the national average, and the highest in the Midwest, and a recent study showing that Indiana ranks near the bottom of the country for quality of life for veterans.

Honoring our veterans is more than statues; it means being committed to providing the infrastructure we need to thrive in society, from mental healthcare, to outreach, to education and job opportunities. This Memorial Day, while we honor those who lost their lives in service to this country, let us also commit to doing more for those who are still with us. We owe it to those we lost – on and off the battlefield.

Matt McNally is the Senior Vice Commander of Carmel VFW Post 10003, a retired military pilot, Afghanistan veteran, and advocate for the prevention of veteran suicide.