I am writing to comment on Bill Shull’s excellent report titled, “Ceremony closes out field of crosses near Lewes” in the July 11 edition of the Cape Gazette.
It was a month-long memorial at St. Jude Church to raise awareness about veteran suicides. The national organization known as 22aday.org, with spokesman Jon Luker, takes 660 crosses around the country to build awareness and help save lives. It was the first time that the group came to Delaware.
The article paid respects to Joe Hanley’s son, Nathaniel, an Army Ranger who died from suicide three years ago.
It also reminded me of a letter that I sent to the Cape Gazette in June 2011, commenting on a suicide drowning attempt in the ocean off Dewey Beach by another veteran named Theodore Davis. It was quoted in the paper that, “He kept identifying himself as a Gulf War veteran and saying he was sorry.”
It seems that Theodore Davis and Ranger Hanley both battled the same war demons that others do every day. Thankfully, Theodore Davis survived.
The group 22aday.org’s mission statement says: “When we started doing this in 2019, the Veterans Administration estimated that every day, 22 American veterans lost their lives to suicide."
But in "the most recent estimate ... the number is at least double and is under reported.”
It was also mentioned that, “Since 9/11, we have lost more military service members to suicide than to combat.”
My take is that once you get beyond the slick military recruitment ads, stadium flyovers and TV commercials begging for donations to support our maimed soldiers, we should realize that the underbelly of war is catastrophic. We should also remember Marine Gen. Smedley Butler, the most highly decorated soldier of his time, and his book from 1935, “War Is a Racket,” and take note.
Lastly, I found it disappointing that there was no mention of attendance or statements from our federal politicians, Sens. Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Rep. Sarah McBride, to respect our military suicide victims mentioned in the article. Doesn’t that say it all?
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
