You can be a hero to heroes and help struggling veterans

The Combat Infantry Badge is awarded only to Infantry… in the “grade of Colonel or below, and Army enlisted soldiers … who have satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry unit…. A soldier must be personally present and under fire … engaged in active ground combat, to close with and destroy the enemy with direct fires.” “Satisfactorily performed duty,” and “To close with and destroy the enemy with direct fire,” are antiseptic descriptions of how an Infantryman, an 11B, earns this award. The award of the CIB was first made in World War II. When asked how infantry soldiers survive combat, Audie Murphy, America’s most decorated G.I., responded, “I don’t think they ever do.” On April 16, 2010, at about 3:45 a.m. Jesse Huff went to the V.A. hospital in Dayton seeking help. He left and came back about 5:45 a.m. He was an Infantry veteran of the Iraq War, combat wounded, and a holder of the Combat Infantry Badge. “When he came home, a friend saw him as a changed man, he had become very quiet. “He would never open up and tell you what was wrong.” Jesse shot himself to death on the front steps of the hospital. His death was described “as an unfortunate incident.” During the American Civil War, Dr. Jacob Mendez Da Costa believed there was a connection between the war service of his Civil War patients and heart problems. Costa termed the condition “soldiers heart” or “irritable heart.” These were men, many wounded, who stood yards from their enemies firing rifled weapons and under fire from artillery. John Hildt lost a limb at the Seven Days Battle and “then lost his mind” At the time notions of manliness and courage meant soldiers with mental illness were a source of shame. In the carnage of the First World War it was known as “shell shock,” and in WWII “combat fatigue.” Finally, in 1980 it got a name: PTSD. We now know that they were suffering PTSD and the relationship to heart problems was real. Veterans have a 57% higher risk of suicide than those that haven’t served. Women who are veterans, survivors of combat and sexual assault, have a higher risk of suicide than men. Since 2001, 125,000 veterans have died by suicide. It is the leading cause of death for veterans under 45. Suicide is a problem for active-duty soldiers. Research indicates that among 9/11 era volunteers, 30,177 active-duty soldiers have died by suicide. Military suicide rates are four times combat losses. You can help. Contact veterans’ organizations, like the VFW, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. DAV needs help to get veterans to appointments, file claims, home maintenance, run errands and other support activities. Provide a service dog for a vet. Contact the Dayton Development Commission’s Hometown Heroes and the Greater Miami My-Veteran Community. Volunteer at the Dayton Veterans Hospital. Vote for politicians who do something for veterans other than talk. Go to the VA and see the cost of war. No veteran is a loser or fool. They are all heroes. They are in need of our help. If you are a veteran feeling depressed, isolated, in family difficulties, thinking of hurting yourself: Call 988 and select 1.