Memorial Day, when America honors the sacrifice of members of the military who have lost their lives in the service of their country, is also a time to remember those who have died of suicide as a result of the spiritual, mental, and emotional wounds they brought home, John Byrnes, a strategic director for Concerned Veterans for America, told Newsmax, Sunday.
Byrnes, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend" that he fought in the global war on terror, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he lost friends, and that he also was on hand at ground zero in New York City the day of the 9/11 attack.
But he said that one of the most disturbing things he's learned about combat service in the last two decades has been that "we've lost more folks back home" to suicide.
"The statistics jump out off the page," he said. "In the general global war [effort] they say about 8,000 service members died overseas in combat theaters. In that generation, 30,000-plus have taken their own lives since coming back from combat, so we have a suicide epidemic."
With Mental Health Awareness Month and Military Appreciation Month both being observed in May, and with the month wrapping up with Memorial Day, "I just want Americans to remember to honor not just those who fell in combat, but those who died of wounds, died of spiritual, mental, emotional wounds after they returned back home," said Byrnes.
Byrnes, meanwhile, commended President Donald Trump for his address to West Point graduates on Saturday and for his commitment to caring for veterans and getting them better care.
Trump is also committed to risking fewer American lives overseas, said Byrnes.
"I think every president going forward should think about Memorial Day before they take any military action overseas," he added.
Meanwhile, he encouraged Americans to enjoy their Memorial Day weekend, but "spend a couple of minutes thinking about somebody who fell, even if you don't know anybody who fell. Just say a prayer, give a thought to those who have sacrificed so we can have a great weekend and a great summer."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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