Army Suicide On The Rise

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Army Suicides on the Rise

The rate of suicide in the Army has exceeded that of the general population for the first time since the Vietnam War, officials say. The number of cases reported in 2008 rose to 140 from 115 in 2007, and as many as 57 cases were recorded during the first three months of this year alone. January was an all-time monthly high, with a total of 24 suspected suicides.

Reverend Susan Turley’s son, Army Pfc. Keith Moore, shot himself while manning a desolate checkpoint south of Baghdad on Oct. 14, 2006. The day he died, Keith had quarreled with an officer because he didn't see the point of patting down the same Iraqi civilians who came through their isolated checkpoint each day.

According to Turley, members of her son’s unit told her that his last words were, “I don't know why we're doing this anyway. They're not bombing us.” She is now working on a documentary about mothers who have lost children in the war.

Read it at Mercury News:
Posted at 9:26 AM, May 25, 2009