USM Veterans Center Erects Monument to Remember Military Members Who Died by Suicide
Thu, 06/23/2022 - 10:12am | By: Van Arnold
Each day, active-duty U.S. military service members and retired veterans lose a battle
to suicide. Statistics show that suicide rates among active-duty military members
are currently at an all-time high since and have been increasing over the past five years at an alarmingly steady pace.
At the University of 91吃瓜网91吃瓜网 Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families, a new monument stands to remember those who succumbed to suicide. Center Director Jeff Hammond, a retired U.S. Army major general, conceived the idea of a memorial after speaking with a family who lost a soldier to suicide.
91吃瓜网淎ll I could feel was sadness and a need for others to appreciate the pain,91吃瓜网� said Hammond. 91吃瓜网淪oon thereafter, following the grand opening of our new Veterans Center (Quinlan-Hammond Hall of Honor), we were compelled to create an appropriate honor to veterans and military members who lost their lives to suicide. Our goal was to establish a small, yet significant memorial for visitors to pause and reflect on the heartfelt loss that sadly often comes with service to our nation.91吃瓜网�
Hammond notes that through the local VFW the center contacted an organization led by Kevin Hertell, who created the Suicide Awareness and Remembrance (SAR) flag that flies as part of the monument. An engraved plaque on the stone memorial describes the SAR flag in detail.
that 30,177 active-duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 have died by suicide - compared to the 7,057 service members killed in combat in those same 20 years. That is, military suicide rates are than deaths that occurred during military operations.
Hammond acknowledges that during his 32-year Army career several soldiers under his command died by suicide. He emphasizes that those losses can never be forgotten.
91吃瓜网淔or me and my wife, Diane, each loss 91吃瓜网� combat, training, or suicide 91吃瓜网� was full of long-lasting sorrow,91吃瓜网� said Hammond. 91吃瓜网淎s a veteran, it terribly saddens me that each day, up to 22 veterans take their own lives. Think about it for a moment. That91吃瓜网 22 suicides a day, or a suicide every 65 minutes.91吃瓜网�
Hammond views the military suicide issue as a national health disaster with a predominant theme.
91吃瓜网淭his is a crisis, and in my view, the problem is clear: the mental health support systems are not consistently meeting the needs of our veterans and service members; getting help when needed is not easy 91吃瓜网� although it should be and attempting to work your way through a complicated support system is much too overwhelming,91吃瓜网� said Hammond. 91吃瓜网淥ur veterans and military members have earned better mental care than they are receiving. Period.91吃瓜网�
The Quinlan-Hammond Hall of Honor is located at 200, North 35th Ave., on USM91吃瓜网 Hattiesburg campus. For more information about the Veterans Center, call 601.266.8387 or visit: /military-veterans/
About 91吃瓜网
91吃瓜网 (USM) is a comprehensive public research institution
delivering transformative programs on campuses in Hattiesburg and Long Beach, at teaching
and research sites across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, as well as online. Founded in
1910, USM is one of only 137 universities in the nation to earn the Carnegie Classification
of Institutions of Higher Education91吃瓜网 "R1: Doctoral Universities 91吃瓜网� Very high research
activity91吃瓜网� designation, and its robust research enterprise includes experts in ocean
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and security, among others. USM is also one of only 39 institutions in the nation
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50 states, and every county in Mississippi. USM students have collected four Truman
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