892

Broken...

I just finished viewing a film from 2021, based on the true life events of an honorably discharged marine, Brian Brown-Easley, called breaking. It's an all too familiar story of a neglected soldier who has been forgotten, overlooked and abandoned following their injuries, (mental and physical) after loyally serving their country.

Brian Brown-Easley, was a former Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps that struggled with financial hardship and psychological trauma following his honorable discharge in 2005. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and a back injury made him unable to hold down a job, which left him to depend on a monthly VA disability check. When the VA withheld his payment due to a disputed debt of $892 for college classes. Easley fearing he would be left homeless, panicked and became increasingly desperate. Driven to make things right, he calmly enters a Wells Fargo bank and stated to the cashier that he had a bomb. He cleared the bank, but held two women hostage. He struggles with his conscience as he asks the VA to give him his money and he would release the women. For three hours his cry for help was unanswered.

Over $892 dollars.

As it turned out, he did NOT have a bomb, and after calling to pray with his daughter, decided to release the women, apologizing to them for what he had put them through. But, before he could, he was taken down by a sniper.

The story goes on to inform us that the VA has still never returned the money he was owed.

Eight hundred and ninety two dollars was the price of his life.

And this is just one story.

How many times have you driven around your hometown and seen them sitting on the roadsides or parking lots of stores, holding those signs that read," God Bless You," signs begging to be noticed, longing to be remembered, crying to be heard. Simply wanting the "normal" they gave up so we could have our freedoms. Normal of which, they will never have again!

And to top it off, we drive by without the decency of looking them in the eyes, instead, we look the other way, shaking our heads and even muttering, "get a job," with no regard of the sacrifices they have made for us, total strangers.

We might even soothe ourselves by saying, "they'll just use it for drugs or booze." I know I've been guilty of their neglect. And although it is on a much smaller scale from what the government has made them feel. I suppose, it might even be worse. This is their hometown too....who do I think I am? I owe them so much more than a few dollars and moment of my time.

I owe them the eye contact. I owe them the respect of looking them in the eye and acknowledging what they gave to me. We all do!

But, know that this is a learned trait.

We learned it from the very government that they vowed to protect, even with their lives. Although, not all of them died. No, they live everyday with their continuous sacrifice, while we feel justified to look the other way.

Shame on us for being so selfish and self centered that we've forgotten what they have done. We've forgotten why we celebrate Veterans' day, the 4th of July and Memorial day. It's become another excuse for us to indulge ourselves and spend a day off work. But they remember.

They dream about it, they see it as if it is happening at that moment. They see it as they try to fit back into the "daily routines" of life. Never able to forget what they have seen. Never able to claim the innocence they once enjoyed. Something we could never understand.

And what's worse, we can't, we don't try to understand. It is a dark stain on the history of our country, on ourselves, to allow them to struggle physical and mental trauma without understanding. That pain, that PTSD should be a shared struggle, a nation's effort to normalize the changes war brings. They are not strangers, they are not outcasts and they should be made aware that they are not alone.

That vow they made to protect, should be placed in our hands the day they return. How many families and marriages and humans could we have saved if only we took the responsibility to bring them home to educated and loving arms.

Providing for them in the most basic of ways. Not just programs, but whole communities designed and equipped to reinvent what normal looks like. Introducing them to towns and loved ones whose sole concern is healing and peace.

Here are some staggering facts regarding veteran suicide rates from the Department of Defense:

Since 2005, veteran suicide rates have increased faster than nonveteran adult rates. In 2022, age-adjusted suicide rates were higher for both male and female veterans compared to their nonveteran counterparts.

Veterans aged 18-34 have the highest suicide rates, though most veteran suicides occur in individuals aged 55 or older.

Firearms are the most common method used in veteran suicides.

Veterans with diagnosed mental health or substance use disorders have higher suicide rates.

Military sexual trauma is associated with an elevated suicide risk.

Veterans who have recently separated from the military, especially younger veterans and those with short service periods, have a higher risk.

Veterans who received only community care or a mix of community and VHA care had higher suicide rates than those receiving only direct VHA care.

Veterans with other than honorable discharges have a significantly higher suicide rate.

Some research suggests initial military training may pose a risk. Factors like depression, PTSD, alcohol misuse, bullying, and sexual harassment can increase risk in military life.

And we, along with our government, look the other way. Out of sight, out of mind.

And every year, approximately 146,473 people enlist in the US armed forces, a 12,000 increase from the previous year. We just keep getting new ones to replace them, like a broken and discarded toy.

Shame on us.

$892 dollars.

The government elite spend far more sending celebrities into "space." We burn and eat our way through recruits like cotton candy at the fair, with our ego fueled appetites. Everyone and everything is replaceable.

When does it end? When we've broken every trust and are destined to go out in a ball of nuclear flames?

For the sake of humanity, stop and listen, look into the eyes of a stranger and smile. Stop screaming at the car next to you, stop pushing in line and put someone else's needs above your own. You could be saving a life. You will be changing the world.

In this fast paced, me first world, slow down. You've got one life to live, make it count. Find the good in another by sharing the good in you. And if you've lost it, let me help.

Let's leave a world of kindness behind.

*

No, it doesn't even have to be a coke...

Life is hard, we struggle to keep up with the Jones'. But who says that's where we find happiness?

Let's be our brother's keeper and let him be ours. Together we can.

Brian Brown-Easley’s story paints a deeply disturbing picture of how veterans are nearly forgotten in the United States: Struggling with mental illness, receiving limited support from the VA, and with apparently nowhere to turn, being pushed to the edge.

We can be their lifeline.