The young dead soldiers do not speak.
Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses:
who has not heard them?
They have a silence that speaks for them at night
and when the clock counts.
They say: We were young. We have died.
Remember us.
They say: We have done what we could
but until it is finished it is not done.
They say: We have given our lives but until it is finished
no one can know what our lives gave.
They say: Our deaths are not ours: they are yours,
they will mean what you make them.
They say: Whether our lives and our deaths were for
peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say,
it is you who must say this.
We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We have died; remember us.
~Archibald MacLeish
Driving through Wyoming last month, our family stopped off for the night in a small town with a main street lined with flags on both sides. As I marveled to my husband about the apparent patriotism of this town, my words came to a pause as we noticed the large flag at the end of the street flying at half-mast. Knowing that the POTUS and other political officials were alive and well last we heard, we knew what that flag most likely meant: another young person had been killed in combat. As we often do when we hear of a service member who has been killed, MovingTarget and I searched with Google to find the name and face of the one who has left too soon. This puts a name and face to Casualty #X. They are one of “our boys”. Their families “one of us”. And while we may not know the dear soul who has been lost, we grieve for them just the same.
Our grief is not reserved solely for troops killed in combat, but also for those who lose their lives when they bring the war home with them. The demons of combat experience do not go away when a soldier deploys home. They can’t be left back in Iraq or Afghanistan as the other unpleasantness can be, but rather the memories and upset come home right alongside the tattered ACUs and well-worn desert boots. Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan through the summer of 2009, the Army has lost 761 troops to combat in that country and 817 due to suicide. In January of this year, 24 soldiers are believed to have killed themselves during that month alone. It’s safe to say we have a serious problem on our hands. Many of us would call it an epidemic.
The reasons given for the rising suicide rate are numerous. Everything from multiple deployments and an inadequate amount of dwell time to an overtaxed mental health system and a stigma against accessing such services is being blamed. Whatever the culprit may be, this is an issue that must addressed by military officials and one for which the public needs to be aware, for without this knowledge we cannot hold our elected officials accountable for providing our returning soldiers and veterans with the care they need. Our soldiers have served nobly and deserve the support they need to heal from whatever demons they may face, reintegrate back into their families and communities, and have a functional mental health support system at the ready when life seems to tough to bear. Battlemind may be a start, but this program does not have all of the answers to the crisis the Army is facing.
The young dead soldiers do not speak. Neither do those in too much pain, be it physical or mental, to speak for themselves. We need to be their voices and serve as advocates on their behalf.
