‘It wasn’t Ryan anymore’:
Three months after his death, Ryan Nelson’s suicide resonates with loved ones, law enforcement, veterans officials
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2013
JUSTIN GLAWE
BEMIDJI PIONEER
A single shot.
It was the only sound that came from 417 Central Ave. SE on the night of Feb. 9, after an hours-long standoff. And other than his own thoughts, it was the last thing Ryan George Nelson heard before the bullet pierced through his chest, killing the 34-year-old U.S. Navy veteran.
The shot came from his own gun and Nelson himself pulled the trigger. It marked the end of a life that saw the birth of two children, the end of a relationship with a fiance, the end of a neighborhood disruption and, perhaps, the beginning of a discussion. Nelson had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I don’t know what we could have done differently,” Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin said a little more than a month after Nelson’s death. “Through our training we have to establish contact somehow. We can’t just leave him there.”
Beltrami County Veterans Service Coordinator Scotty Allison wondered if having a veteran available to talk with Nelson on the night of his death would have been an asset to police, and a life-saver for Nelson.
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Thursday, May 9, 2013
The rising number of veteran suicides
While this is a great article it does not include Army National Guards and Army Reservists. Every month the DOD releases the number of Soldiers committing suicide and then there are the Citizen Soldiers. The truth is "96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve" for 2012 that were not included in the total the press released.
The rising number of veteran suicides
News Register
05/08/2013
By Bruce L. Nunes
Staff Writer
The veteran suicide rate in the American military has reached an all-time high in the past year, with 182 reported suicides compared to 176 combat deaths in the Army branch alone, according to an NBC News story.
The other branches of the military fare no better, as the figures from the Department of Defense show a 16 percent increase in veteran suicides from 2011 to 2012, and still rising. But why do these men and woman, most of whom have served in defense of our nation, end their own lives?
“The numbers for 2012 were a record high,” said North Lake College Veterans Affairs Coordinator Corinthia Acevedo. “As a veteran, as a former student and as someone who works with these guys everyday, it just breaks my heart to know about these numbers.”
The total number of service members to take their own lives during 2012 in all branches was 349 compared to 311 military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to iCasualties.org. Although the source of such actions may stem from a variety of origins, North Lake counseling intern Stephen Floyd gives one that clarifies to non-veterans what happens in the mind of these men and woman.
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Alarming trend of military family members committing suicide
Survivor Suicides
News Team 4
Alarming trend of family members committing suicide after service members die in battle
By Tisha Thompson and Rick Yarborough
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Bill and Christine Koch had it all.
“I would describe us as the all-American family," Bill said.
Good jobs. Three kids. Family vacations.
Christine Koch agreed. “I would do it all over again. We had a fairytale life.”
Until a year into their youngest son Steven's first deployment in Afghanistan. Christine said she can still remember how he admitted on the phone for the first time to her that he was scared with the increasing number of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
"He said, ‘I don't know how much longer my luck is going to hold out,’” Christine explained. “He actually said that to me and my heart sunk."
A month later, with just a few weeks to go before returning home, the Kochs heard their doorbell ring.
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News Team 4
Alarming trend of family members committing suicide after service members die in battle
By Tisha Thompson and Rick Yarborough
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Bill and Christine Koch had it all.
“I would describe us as the all-American family," Bill said.
Good jobs. Three kids. Family vacations.
Christine Koch agreed. “I would do it all over again. We had a fairytale life.”
Until a year into their youngest son Steven's first deployment in Afghanistan. Christine said she can still remember how he admitted on the phone for the first time to her that he was scared with the increasing number of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
"He said, ‘I don't know how much longer my luck is going to hold out,’” Christine explained. “He actually said that to me and my heart sunk."
A month later, with just a few weeks to go before returning home, the Kochs heard their doorbell ring.
read more here
WWII POW Veteran killed by bus
Veteran struck by T bus mourned
CBS Boston
Thursday, May 9, 2013
By:Richard Weir
The American flag flew at half-staff yesterday outside Melrose Towers, where residents mourned the death of a longtime neighbor, an 88-year-old World War II veteran and former prisoner of war killed Tuesday when he was struck by an MBTA bus while walking to a meeting at his local VFW Post.
“I am kicking myself that I didn’t give him a ride,” said Marilyne Wild, 71, who was returning home when she saw her friend, Minor McLain, heading out of the front gates of their condo complex, walking with his cane.
“I said, ‘Gee, maybe I should offer him a ride.’ But I thought to myself, he always turned me down in the past, he’ll probably turn me down again.”
read more here
CBS Boston
Thursday, May 9, 2013
By:Richard Weir
The American flag flew at half-staff yesterday outside Melrose Towers, where residents mourned the death of a longtime neighbor, an 88-year-old World War II veteran and former prisoner of war killed Tuesday when he was struck by an MBTA bus while walking to a meeting at his local VFW Post.
“I am kicking myself that I didn’t give him a ride,” said Marilyne Wild, 71, who was returning home when she saw her friend, Minor McLain, heading out of the front gates of their condo complex, walking with his cane.
“I said, ‘Gee, maybe I should offer him a ride.’ But I thought to myself, he always turned me down in the past, he’ll probably turn me down again.”
read more here
Finally the right answer for PTSD veteran gun owners
Finally the right answer for PTSD veteran gun owners
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
May 9, 2013
When Congress passed the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act, it did more harm than good because they did not understand what they were doing. This bill ended up keeping many veterans from seeking help. Why? Because gun owners thought they would have to give up their guns if they sought help.
I was speaking to a group of veterans in 2009 when this was more important to them than anything else I had to say. I wrote that Suicide prevention bill prevents veterans from getting help
This morning I was reading Panel Votes To Limit Veteran Submissions To Gun Registry
This is a great step in treating veterans with respect and fairly. The means by which they commit suicide is not as important as the reason. If they take away one way to do it but leave the problems unaddressed, they just find another way to do it. Having PTSD does not mean they are all suicidal or dangerous. We don't treat any group the same way just because some members of the group do something. Giving the authority to a judge puts this where it belongs, on a case by case basis.
If a veteran is a danger to himself or others, then just like everyone else, he should have his weapons removed but the fact is, most are not dangerous to anyone. Once they are treated properly and no longer suicidal, then they should be able to go back to court to have their gun rights restored.
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
May 9, 2013
When Congress passed the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act, it did more harm than good because they did not understand what they were doing. This bill ended up keeping many veterans from seeking help. Why? Because gun owners thought they would have to give up their guns if they sought help.
I was speaking to a group of veterans in 2009 when this was more important to them than anything else I had to say. I wrote that Suicide prevention bill prevents veterans from getting help
"If this part of the bill is not removed then we will keep losing more and more veterans to suicide and see their lives slip away. One more thing if you still don't understand what this did. Some troops deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. They have guns. Some police officers have PTSD and serve on the streets everyday. They have guns. Do you think they could do their jobs without them? Do you see them all committing suicide or domestic violence with them? Taking away guns when they seek help is an easy answer to a very complex problem and was in fact the wrong answer."
This morning I was reading Panel Votes To Limit Veteran Submissions To Gun Registry
Lawmakers said veterans who are not a threat to harm themselves or others should not be denied a constitutional right to buy and possess guns.
This is a great step in treating veterans with respect and fairly. The means by which they commit suicide is not as important as the reason. If they take away one way to do it but leave the problems unaddressed, they just find another way to do it. Having PTSD does not mean they are all suicidal or dangerous. We don't treat any group the same way just because some members of the group do something. Giving the authority to a judge puts this where it belongs, on a case by case basis.
If a veteran is a danger to himself or others, then just like everyone else, he should have his weapons removed but the fact is, most are not dangerous to anyone. Once they are treated properly and no longer suicidal, then they should be able to go back to court to have their gun rights restored.
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