U.S. Death Toll in Iraq for August Already Tops July -- As Two More Soldier Suicides Reported
When the U.S. military death toll in Iraq dropped to 13 last month it received wide attention. But now, midway through August, the toll this month has already topped the July rate. Meanwhile, two more Iraq vets have killed themselves here at home.
A U.S. marine killed by gunmen in Fallujah west of Baghdad on Thursday became the 15th American to die in August. A troubling seven had died in noncombat incidents. The 15 tally tops July by two.
And the war at home? Each week -- some time each day -- brings the report of another Iraq vet suicide. One of today's stories appears in the Mansfield News Journal in Ohio., and concerns Derrick Hendon who was buried in Rittman after suffering from severe 'behavioral problems," according to those who knew him.
He died at home in Akron, three years after leaving the fighting. But he was one of the war's casualties. ''I think our whole family was a casualty of war,'' ex-wife Maya Hendon said in an e-mail from Israel, where she now lives. Derrick Hendon, 25, was found in the early morning of July 31, hanging by an extension cord in the garage of his North Akron home. ''I'm just tired,'' the Ohio Army National Guardsman wrote in a suicide note.Both Maya Hendon, who moved to Israel in 2007 with the couple's two children, and Tina Evans, the soldier's sister, say Hendon was changed by the war. They believe all returning servicemen and women should be required to get psychological counseling.
''I think he died in Iraq,'' Evans said.
Then there's this:
Hendon opposed war. Maya Hendon said her ex-husband got an early discharge from the National Guard because he opposed the fighting, even though he had great love for America and initially supported the war. From the moment he was sent to Iraq, she said, ''he was trying to get out. I know he went through some traumatic experiences, but he didn't really want to talk about it.''She said after he returned home, Hendon, whom she had met in an Akron clothing store in 2001, never sought help. ''Derrick was the love of my life,'' Maya Hendon said.
Also, the Leaf Chronicle in Clarksville, Tenn., reports the suicide of Spc. Carl B. McCoy, 23, a likely PTSD victim who had problems with alcohol. His wife, Sgt. Maggie McCoy, said he didn't get adequate help from the military after two deployments to Iraq. He saw friends lose limbs and die next to him during the recapture of Fallujah.
"He saw a lot of things that he didn't care to go into detail about," Maggie McCoy said. "He couldn't hear the fireworks go off at the Fourth of July. ... He'd have nightmares about this and that."
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Greg Mitchell's new book includes several chapters on soldier suicides. It is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. He is editor of Editor & Publisher.
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I know the amount of soldiers that have died in Iraq, but what I dont know is the amount of soldiers this country as lost due to Suicide. Can somone tell me the number, or a respected site I can go to find out.
This truly is sad, if our govt bothered to help our troops, maybe we would not have lost so much.
The worst thing about all this is that in Iraq, when all is said and done, and we eventually withdraw, virtually nothing will have changed in Iraq except that the oil will be owned by western oil companies. Otherwise, there will be a dangerous, oppressive government in Baghdad, there will be Kurdish unrest and there will be violence between Sunni and Shia.
Nothing will have changed except all those American families with an empty chair in the dining room, and unimaginable personal wealth for Bush, Cheney and all involved in this crime.
There was no sense in this war, and there will be no victory and there will be no closing. There will only be a national scar, and the trauma of tens of thousands of American families.
I hope, some day, to see George W. Bush in jail.
In the immortal words of Dick Cheney, when a a reporter quizzed him on the number of troops being killed, he said "THEY VOLUNTEERED".
Republican Conservatives reek with the "survival of the fittest" mentality and the vertical scale society where you protect those who rule and to hell with everyone else.
This war would have been mass protested and over by now if the caskets of those dead soldiers coming off those transports was available to the media.
At the risk of sound platitudinous, war is a manifestation of insanity. Pure and simple. Really. No matter what you call it for political purposes. It's war. It starts from insanity and it breeds insanity in the hearts and minds of all those contaminated by it.
Can you imagine having to fight for a cause you do not believe in but do so because you pledged to?
Can you imagine killing or maiming children because you are ordered to? Or do so, because the perceived enemy uses children as weapons and you're forced to kill them out of self-defense?
Can you imagine watching as others are beheaded?
Can you imagine killing people because you are assigned to protect an oil field?
Can you imagine leaving the US as a teenager with no skills and no employment opportunities and returning with "trained killer" as the only skill on your resume and seeking employment in a tight economy?
I can only imagine what these people experience. And I imagine it's way worse than anything I've seen in a movie. And I imagine, from what I've read about the medical care they receive when they return home, mental health care is practically non-existent.
Proof that all means of diplomacy and negotiation should be exhausted before any war is enacted.
Proof that JOHN McCAIN SHOULD NOT HOLD OFFICE AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Well said
PTSD prolongs the war in the hearts and minds of the soldiers who suffer from it and also their families and friends. My dad committed suicide long after WWII was over; the war killed him as surely as a bullet in the heart. I grieve for all those who fight in Iraq and Afghanistan and for the terrible toll to their psyche that is being taken. There is no way to return from war undamaged. Impeachment of Bush and Cheney might just give a future president pause before committing similar crimes in the future.
The only way we can possibly come close to making it up to these soldiers who have been so damaged is to make sure that those who sent them to this "Illegal War" are punished. Send Bush, Cheney, and all their henchmen to the Hague, and let them reap their just reward.
What is the ultimate punishment for War Crimes???
They deserve nothing less!!!
they were sent to a war that in no way shape or form needed to be started.
therefore they were premeditatedly murdered by george w. bush and richard b. cheney and they henchmen and women they trotted out to lie this war into existence.
You're a fool. Why do liberals ignore history? We didn't start this war. Saddam did by failing to abide by the terms that ended the First Gulf War. Maybe you should try doing a little reading.
So why did Bush wait until after 911 to go after Saddam, why didnt he go after him on day 1? If Saddam was such a threat to us, and Bush knew it then why did he wait? Either Bush sat on his butt for nine months, doing nothing while Saddam and the Super Power of Iraq was building his bombs everyday to attack us. Or Bush and company are talking out of their butts, and you are fell for it.
From what I remember this war was never started on your BS of the UN terms, it was on WMD's, then it was bc Saddam was behind 911, next it was that Saddam had ties with Al Quaeda, (all which was proven false) then it was for Democracy, then it was if we dont fight them over there, we do it here. Now it is you cant cut and run.
One point though. If Saddam was not complying with the UN resolutions? Would it not be the UN's job to go and take care of it? The Nations within the UN as well, with the UN's authority? But yet we went into Iraq, against the UN.
You need to read on your history just a bit. The UN sanctions is just another exscuse, if it wasnt then Bush would have dealt with it first thing, not after 911.
This has to stop. How many more will Bush and McCain let die?
This is such sad news. So many of our soldiers are on 2nd and 3rd rotations and so completely stressed out. How many more brave soldiers have to give up their lives in this senseless war before it's ended?
Such a terrible sad loss. Everyone loses in war. Everyone.
I just pray for his family. As a matter of fact I pray for all of the families that have people serving over there. My brother is getting ready to deport to Quwait, and, I imagine it will be to long before they find a reason to send him to Iraq. So please pray for my brother, his wife, and his little son. Thank you.
what a sad disgrace! bush, cheney & thugs could care less
The very worst legacy of GW B.ush is how he used these men and women like socks. He threw them away. Not only did he never consider post-war Iraq, he also never considered (or even now considers) the "gift" he has given these kids for the rest of their lives, that is for the ones that make it home.
These troops did not have the help they truly needed to rebuild their lives after Iraq. This is why so many Troops will be voting Obama in Fall. The entire administration and Party has given them a filthy illigitimate war with tours of duty lasting way to long and they would still contemplate staying their if Barack Obama was not insisting of withdrawal.
These families were not given the resources or funding needed. Shame on you McCain. Your heroism does not come close to what these troops have sacrificed. Shame on you.
Iam surprised this is even posted this Admin. does not want the public to see this, my brother Is there In Iraq, He has a Shi**y boss, I love my Bro. and hate this war
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