--- title: Memorial Day: Remembering Veterans Who Committed Suicide description: 40% of veterans have known at least one Iraq or Afghanistan veteran who committed suicide. canonical: https://time.com/4346890/memorial-day-veterans-suicide/ author: Supriya Venkatesan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-26T11:00:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:02:35.145Z og:title: Here's How We Can Honor the Veterans Who Lost Their Lives to Suicide og:description: This Memorial Day, pick a flower for a veteran og:url: https://time.com/4346890/memorial-day-veterans-suicide/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ce26378c6a4418f/698894b2524fc03d92df823d/veterans-soldier-war-memorial-day.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Small American flags on a cemetery og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How We Can Honor the Veterans Who Lost Their Lives to Suicide twitter:description: This Memorial Day, pick a flower for a veteran twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ce26378c6a4418f/698894b2524fc03d92df823d/veterans-soldier-war-memorial-day.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How We Can Honor the Veterans Who Lost Their Lives to Suicide by [Supriya Venkatesan](https://time.com/author/supriya-venkatesan/) ## Supriya Venkatesan May 26, 2016 11:00 AM UTC  Small American flags are placed in front of graves at the National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts. Small American flags are placed in front of graves at the National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts.Getty Images by [Supriya Venkatesan](https://time.com/author/supriya-venkatesan/) ## Supriya Venkatesan May 26, 2016 11:00 AM UTC Before I deployed to Iraq as a U.S. soldier, I naively thought I would come back home not much different than who I was before I went overseas. But [war changes you](https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/04/06/how-meditating-in-a-tiny-iowa-town-helped-me-recover-from-war/)—there is no way that witnessing something so extreme, as I did for the 15 months I was deployed, can _not_ impact the human psyche. The Veterans Affairs (VA) reports that, every day, [22 veterans commit suicide](http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/21/us/22-veteran-suicides-a-day/). I personally have known more soldiers who committed suicide than who were killed during deployment. A 2014 [survey](http://media.iava.org/IAVA%5FMember%5FSurvey%5F2014.pdf) conducted by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America showed that 40% of veterans have known at least one Iraq or Afghanistan veteran who committed suicide, and 31% have thought about taking their own life since joining the military. The same survey also reported that three out of four members said they have a mental health injury and are seeking help. To be an effective soldier, you have to have a certain level of emotional numbing. But this conditioning is hard to shed post-deployment. The act of _feeling_ takes a lot of courage, and to say you need help takes even greater courage. I salute those who seek it. **_Read more_**_:_ [_How to Improve the Lives of Female Soldiers_](http://motto.time.com/4232409/military-women-in-combat/) I am proud of America for stepping up to the challenge of helping veterans who come home—and for listening to their stories. In 2012, President Obama [signed an executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/31/executive-order-improving-access-mental-health-services-veterans-service) designed to prevent suicide among the veteran population. He increased the availability of the [Veterans crisis hotline](https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/) to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via phone, text or online chat. He stated, “long deployments and intense combat conditions require optimal support for the emotional and mental health needs of our service members and their families.” **_Read more:_**[_Marine Veteran: Drafting Women is Key to Ending Gender Discrimination_](http://motto.time.com/4234492/draft-women-military/) In 2013, he [committed $107 million dollars](http://www.stripes.com/news/4-takeaways-from-obama-s-speech-to-veterans-1.234953) for mental-health treatment for veterans with PTSD. This Memorial Day, I honor my brothers and sisters in arms who have given their life in and out of war—and those who struggle with their demons and have the courage to seek help. On May 30, flowers all over the nation will be in blossom; pick one for a veteran who sacrificed their life to keep you safe. [_Supriya Venkatesan_](http://www.supriya.ink) _is a freelance writer and a U.S. Army veteran who served six years active duty._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4346890/memorial-day-veterans-suicide/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4346890/memorial-day-veterans-suicide/"},"headline":"Here's How We Can Honor the Veterans Who Lost Their Lives to Suicide","datePublished":"2016-05-26T11:00:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:02:35.145Z","description":"'I personally have known more soldiers who committed suicide than who were killed during deployment'","url":"https://time.com/4346890/memorial-day-veterans-suicide/","keywords":["motto","Iraq War","Veteran"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ce26378c6a4418f/698894b2524fc03d92df823d/veterans-soldier-war-memorial-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Supriya Venkatesan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/supriya-venkatesan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ce26378c6a4418f/698894b2524fc03d92df823d/veterans-soldier-war-memorial-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Small American flags on a cemetery","caption":"Small American flags on a cemetery","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4346890/memorial-day-veterans-suicide/","name":"Here's How We Can Honor the Veterans Who Lost Their Lives to Suicide"}}]}] ```