Dear Editor,
I am totally against the idea of flying this flag, as a Veteran who served as a medic in the Air Force during the Korean War and for twenty years in Nassau Hospital, then went to seminary and was ordained as a minister; as an ordinated minister, serving in the American Legion as Chair of the Suffolk and District 10 PTSD committees working with Veterans since 2012. We have trained over 100 Veterans on how to help their fellow Veterans and helped train fifty clergy on how to work with Veterans on these problems.
To better understand the problem, we need to first look at suicide, as to why and how they occur. As the article, “County Legislature Debates Flying of SAR Flag, Consults with Veterans”, The Messenger, 4-17-2025, correctly states, the Veterans Affairs did not track Veteran suicides until 2005. This is due to the fact that prior to the Vietnam War, the suicide rate of military and Veterans was about the same as that of the civilian population. Prior wars were fought mostly on battlefields where the enemy was hundreds of yards away. The Vietnam War was different, in that it was more a guerilla-type war where the enemy was very close by and often in civilian clothes.
In addition, the military personnel did not know why they were there, and our civilian population was against the war. Thus, when they came home, they were spit on and called baby-killers. Then, we had the Afghanistan War, where the enemy was not only dressed in civilian clothes, but now included women and children with explosives attached to their bodies. After about twenty years of war, we unconditionally surrendered, causing the suicides to rise to about forty per day both in the military and Veteran populations. Thus, many more personnel developed PTSD and Moral Injury that led to the high increase in number of suicides. That number is not twenty-two per day, which is the number reported to the VA, but is closer to forty per day as many of those Veterans reported as dying from an overdose of drugs – which are suicides.
A Veteran or military person suffering from PTSD or Moral Injury often suffers with guilt and shame that keep them away from seeking professional help. Instead, they isolate themselves, self-treat with alcohol or drugs, which only strengthen guilt and shame, so they can take the final step. Having helped Veterans with PTSD and Moral Injury for the past twelve years, and actually helping prevent eleven suicides, I am afraid the flag may have the wrong message.
“Honor the fallen”, as is written on the SAR flag, may actually help those considering suicide that it is right thing to do. Instead, we need to tell them why it is absolutely the wrong thing to do, how it hurts the family and friends left behind alive. It is important to tell them their shame and guilt can be eliminated, with a little help. The Veteran organizations using the buddy system can be a great help and will keep your problem between you and the Veteran helping you. The clergy can also be a great help and will also keep it confidential; however, some are not sure how to help, but can help find the ones who can help you.
So please, let’s spend our time helping those Veterans and saving lives, by helping them know that they can be helped. Instead of the flag, let’s put out signs where the Veterans should go to for the help they need. Veteran organizations, if you can help our Veterans, please put out a sign saying so, or where else they can go for help.
Sincerely yours,
Frederick Miller, Ph.D.
Shirley
