Veterans blame war and military culture for increased suicides

Western Mass. veterans blame war, military culture on increasing number of suicides
The Republican - MassLive.com - Springfield,MA,USA
Saturday February 21, 2009, 2:00 PM
By FRED CONTRADA
fcontrada@repub.com

When Jeffrey M. Lucey returned from Iraq in 2003, he had a T-shirt from his stint with the Marine Corps that bore this message: "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body."

The 23-year-old wasn't home long before he plunged into emotional turmoil. At first he tried to medicate himself with alcohol. When the pain became too acute, his family brought him to the U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northampton. He was diagnosed with mood swings and alcoholism and discharged after four days.

A month later, on June 22, 2004, Lucey hanged himself in the basement of his parents' home in Belchertown.

Last month, the U.S. government agreed to pay Lucey's family $350,000 to settle a wrongful death suit and promised to make "important changes" in the VA system to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Also in January, the Army announced it would hold a "stand down" to address the skyrocketing number of suicides by active duty troops.

In January alone, according to the government's figures, there were 24 suspected suicides in Iraq and Afghanistan, a number that exceeded combat deaths in those theaters. The number of confirmed suicides in 2008 reached 128, a jump from the previous record year of 2007.
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