By KIM LEDOUX
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
March 29, 2010 12:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — Thanking Vietnam veterans for educating America about how veterans of all eras should be treated was the mission Sunday during a Vietnam Veterans' Recognition Day ceremony held at Fort Taber.
"Vietnam Veterans of America was founded 32 years ago with the vow that never again would one generation of veterans abandon anther generation of veterans," said Mayor Scott W. Lang, recognizing how Vietnam veterans created awareness of the need for quality medical and psychological care for all who have served.
"We took veterans for granted until the latter part of this century when the Vietnam vets stood up and indicated that the men and women serving and their families are owed a debt of gratitude. ... They completely educated the public on what it means to be a veteran."
New Bedford Veterans Agent Donat "Dan" LeBlanc presented statistics showing how Vietnam veterans are dying at a rate higher than other Americans because of physical and psychological trauma that can be traced back to their service.
"Of the 2.7 million veterans who served in country in Vietnam, 800,000 are still alive today. ... We are dying at the rate of 349 a day. Using those statistics, according to the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, we will all be gone in five years," LeBlanc said, adding, "I don't plan on leaving in five years."
According to LeBlanc, many of the Vietnam veterans, a total of 130,000, have died relatively young from suicide.
Others have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder or cancers likely brought on by exposure to Agent Orange, a carcinogenic and teratogenic defoliant used by the military.read more here
I am not sure where LeBlanc got his suicide number from but studies over the years have place it between 150,000 and 200,000. Even one is too high just as with today's OEF and OIF veterans.
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