Suicide is painless

Suicide is Painless it brings on many changes and I can take or leave it if I please. So says the lyrics of the theme song to the movie and television show M*A*S*H* Ironic that this show was about the Korean War and a Mobil Army Surgical Hospital. Yet the song and the words still have relevance today. Today's men and women in the military are having trouble adapting to life outside the war zones. This is nothing new It has long been reported that in the first few years after returning from Vietnam, More American soldiers killed themselves than were killed in the war. The same can be said of today's soldiers. There have been somewhere near 6000 American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. and some 5800 veterans of those two wars have committed suicide. The reason for this can be explained by four letters...........PTSD Today's troops are always in harms way no matter where they are stationed in the war zone or in a safe location in Europe or the States. There is no truly safe location. as evidence of that i point to the recent shooting in Germany and the Fort Hood shootings. In addition the high level of alert that our soldiers are required to maintain to secure their own safety contributes to the inability to readjust to civilian life. Troops come home. Their friends and families notice changes in them. They themselves begin to isolate themselves from others. Thus is the way of a war veteran. What happens next depends on the individual and his/her mindset. Some are able to adjust adapt and overcome. Some self-medicate with drugs or alcohol. And some resort to the suicide route. We as American taxpayers who have sent these young men and women of to war and to be changed forever must do whatever it takes to help them adapt. As a PTSD victim, I can tell you that it isn't easy, Not for me nor any other PTSD victim I know. Nor is it easy for the family of a PTSD victim. I went through 3 wives and a liquor store before I realized my problems and sought help. My third (current and last) wife has been trough hell just living with me. My kids have be subjected to temper outbursts that are unprovoked and unwarranted. We must make it easier for our troops to adapt. Today in our VA hospitals nationwide 8 veterans commit suicide. EIGHT VETERANS A DAY COMMIT SUICIDE IN OUR VA HOSPITALS!

EIGHT VETERANS A DAY!!

Through the early morning fog I see

visions of things to be

the pains that are withheld for me

I realize and I can see...

suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please

I try to find a way to make

all our little joys relate

without the ever present hate

but now I know that it;s too late and

Suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please

The game of life is hard to play

I'm gonna lose it anyway

the losing card Ill someday lay

so this is all I have to say

Suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please

The only way to win is cheat

and lay it down before I'm beat

and to another give my seat

for that's the only painless feat

Suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please

The sword of time will pierce our skins

it doesn't hurt when it begins

but as it works its way on in

the pain grows stronger... watch it grin

Suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please

A brave man once requested me

to answer questions that are key

is it to be or not to be

and I replied"oh why ask me?"

cause suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please

and you can do the same thing if you please.

www.veteransandfamilies.org