Honoring War Veterans

On May 22, the Remember our Heroes group hosted a memorial service for Veterans who commit suicide. It was at the Lubbock War Memorial http://www.americanlegionpost575.org/lubbock-area-veterans-war-memorial.  It was well attended and it was a moving ceremony.

One of the few statistics they mentioned was that most Veterans who commit suicide are in their 50's or older. They related this to some Veterans who were in Vietnam, but not exclusively. And they acknowledged that there are many others who also commit suicide.

One of my maternal uncles committed suicide: Edward Crochier was my godfather http://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/edward-crochier_27468357. He died when I was 18, and away at college. I remember calling home in the middle of the week (usually my calls home were on weekends, because the rates were cheaper during the weekend day.  But sometimes, I called home late on a week night, or even during the times when the rates were more expensive in the early evenings on a week night.) My mother was guarded when she asked why I called, and said she was going to wait until we talked on the weekend, to tell my about my uncle's death.  I could not get home in time for the funeral.

The blessing was that we had a pastor who was immensely ingrained with the ecumenism and liberalism of Vatican II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vatican_Council. He told my family about the "assumption of remorse," the sense that someone who attempts suicide, and is successful actually is remorseful for their act before they die, but too late to save themselves.  My uncle was buried in a consecrated cemetery and his military service was acknowledged.

This is all vague to me.  I remember that my mother's brothers were in the military, but I thought they were all just in the Korean War.  Apparently, my Uncle Eddie, and maybe his brothers, were in World War II. I know my paternal Uncle Voss was in World War II.  If we asked him about the war, he said "I went to San Diego" or "I was in England."  He would not talk about the war. After he died, we found a letter of commendation to him from Admiral Nimitz for his service during D-Day!

I have no real idea why my Uncle Eddie committed suicide. I know he had physical pain, that my mother related to his work as a painter: he hurt his back and was in ongoing pain. I wonder how much of his pain was also emotional from the war. I will never know. I know he had problems with alcohol. All this happened in an era when the emotional and psychological impact of war was not recognized.

I am only grateful that due to the mercy of our pastor, my uncle can be honored as a war hero.