Sep 26, 2015 6 min read

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Veteran Mary Kreis a faculty member at Cal U, represnting team Red, White and Blue, carries a flag in the Suicide Prevention Walk, on the campus of Cal U on Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

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Veteran Aaron Dyme of Homer City and his dog Brody, participates in the Suicide Prevention Walk, on the campus of Cal U on Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

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Bobbi McHenry, left, displays her son, Chris McHenry, 24, photo along with Bonnie Celestine and her son, Tony Paci’s photo at Bobbi’s home in Sycamore. The two men committed suicide while in the military.

Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter

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Gary McHenry of Sycamore displays the 3 wristbands he wears everyday in memory of his son, Chris McHenry, who committed suicide while in the military.

Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter

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Bonnie Celestine, left and Bobbi McHenry are quiet for a moment while talking about their sons, Tony Paci and Chris McHenry suicides at the McHenry home in Sycamore.

Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter

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Bobbie McHenry, right, who lost her son, Chris McHenry, to suicide cries as listens to her friend, Bonnie Celestine of Tallmansville talk about her son, Toni Paci who also suicide fours years ago. Gary McHenry, left, listens to the two mothers talk about their lost sons.

Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter

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On a warm, autumn morning, more than 50 veterans and military boosters gathered in front of Manderino Library on the campus of California University of Pennsylvania.

The date was Sept. 22. The time, 11:22 a.m. The task: run or walk a 2.2-mile loop around the campus.

The significance of 22?

According to a 2013 Department of Veterans Affairs study, 22 veterans and one active duty member die by suicide every day.

That number, 22, has since been questioned, but what is indisputable is this: Suicide among veterans and American troops is heartbreaking and alarming.

Robert Prah, director of the Office of Veterans Affairs at Cal U. and a member of the Army National Guard who organized the walk, said the root causes of military suicide are difficult to pinpoint.

He believes a multitude of factors underline veteran and active duty suicide: mental illness, failed relationships, financial problems and trouble reintegrating into the community.

Prah is a suicide intervention officer and a trainer for the Army-approved Ask, Care, Escort suicide prevention and awareness training program.

“I think some veterans and service members feel there’s no help out there; they don’t know where to turn for help. And it’s unfortunate, but it could be that there’s a little embarrassment to seek help because of the stigma still associated with mental health, although society is getting a lot better about that,” said Prah, who served in Iraq in 2008-09. “It could be one isolated thing, it could be multiple. It’s a lot of factors. The most important piece is that number, 22. Multiply that by a year and that’s more than 8,000 every year. That’s a significant amount of what I call unnecessary and tragic deaths. A lot of those, with work across the community and military organizations, could be prevented.”

It’s troubling, he said, the suicide rate remains high despite the availability of more extensive support and prevention resources for veterans than ever before.

Services include the Pittsburgh Vet Center, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Veterans Affairs offices at Cal U. and other college campuses; the Veterans Crisis Line (1-800-273-8255, press 1), and veterans organizations like Team Red, White and Blue and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Significantly, in February, President Obama signed into law the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.

The bill, aimed at reducing military and veteran suicides and improving their access to quality mental health care, is named after Clay Hunt, a decorated Marine veteran who suffered post-traumatic stress after his return home from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was wounded in Anbar Province and saw close friends killed in combat.

“It’s very important that we provide these services. When they went into service, they signed a blank check to serve this country, and we owe them for their service,” said Jason Brosk, a readjustment counseling therapist at the Vet Center, which provides readjustment counseling and outreach services to veterans who served in combat zone and their family. The center offers individual counseling, group counseling, marital and family counseling, bereavement counseling, medical referrals, assistance in applying for VA benefits, employment counseling, alcohol and drug assessments, and military sexual trauma counseling and referral. “My goal, and the Vet Center’s goal, is to empower veterans and help them lead healthy, productive lives.”

Deployment and combat alone don’t explain the suicides. The suicide rate for veterans who did not go to Iraq or Afghanistan is 16 percent higher than those who did.

The average age of suicides is 59.6 years old, but there is a spike in suicide of veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 and an increase in the number of female veterans who commit suicide.

“There’s a misconception that deployment and combat are the key factors when it comes to suicide,” said Brosk. “But we just don’t know. If we had the answers, we would have already done what it takes to stop those suicides. We are trying to address the underlying problems of stress and mental health issues, and that’s not easy. It’s not black and white.”

The families of those soldiers who die by suicide are left to struggle with their loss.

Bobbie McHenry of Sycamore, Greene County, and Bonnie Celestine, of West Virginia, have been friends for more than 30 years, and both lost sons to suicide.

Celestine called McHenry her “life support” after Celestine’s son, Anthony Paci, who served in the U.S. Army, committed suicide in March 2010 at the age of 44.

Three years later, McHenry’s son, 24-year-old Lance Cpl. Christopher McHenry, took his life while on assignment in Okinawa, Japan.

“I live with it every day,” said McHenry, who has a tattoo, “Love you, see you. Chris,” written in his handwriting, inked near her heart (Chris signed letters he wrote to McHenry with that sentiment). “He should be here now.”

Chris, a graduate of West Greene High School, completed a tour in Afghanistan, but McHenry said she doesn’t believe her son suffered from PTSD. Both women believe their sons’ rocky marriages may have been factors in their deaths.

Neither McHenry nor Celestine saw warning signs their sons were considering suicide.

They don’t blame the military.

“Chris loved the Marine Corps,” said McHenry. “He had so many friends. He played baseball, basketball and soccer growing up; he liked sports. He loved his brothers. He was a great kid.”

Tony Paci, a Beth-Center graduate, worked as a technician at Guardian Industries, a manufacturer of glass, automotive and building products.

“At his funeral, his boss said they could be having the worst day of their life, and Tony walked in, and he’d make the whole place light up. I remember his laughter. He had a great laugh. He loved his daughters. He was a great father and a great guy,” said Celestine. “My son and her son never had a history of mental illness. We didn’t raise our boys for this.”

Prah said the most important thing that people can do is to encourage veterans and active duty soldiers to seek help.

“Probably the biggest thing for me is I’d advise them to talk to someone. It could be a professional, it could be a friend,” said Prah. “Stress is different for everybody. There’s not one person who’s the same. If you follow 100 veterans, there might be different things that are causing stress for them. There might be no signs of stress and they might consider suicide. There are emotional and psychological scars we carry, and sometimes you just don’t know how someone’s feeling.”

McHenry echoed Prah’s advice.

“Talk. Talk,” she said. “Talk to someone.”