Iraq war legacy: high suicide rates and PTSD among vets
- 11 years ago
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL
Thousands of white grave markers glimmer along the hillside at Arlington National Cemetery across from the nation's capitol, a sobering reminder of the human cost of war. It is the final resting place of more than 400,000 servicemen and women.
United States Marine Corps Col. Todd Hixson is one of those veterans interred. Hixson, a 27-year veteran of the Corps, died in October 2009, committing suicide just three months after he returned from deployment in Iraq.
For his widow, Denise Coutlakis, dealing with not only Hixson's death, but his choice to take his own life, was something she is still coming to terms with.
(SOUNDBITE) Denise Coutlakis, saying (English):
"There's always that nagging sense that it shouldn't have gone this way, it could have not gone this way."
The statistics on veterans, mental health and suicide are striking. Nearly 1 in 5 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTS
Thousands of white grave markers glimmer along the hillside at Arlington National Cemetery across from the nation's capitol, a sobering reminder of the human cost of war. It is the final resting place of more than 400,000 servicemen and women.
United States Marine Corps Col. Todd Hixson is one of those veterans interred. Hixson, a 27-year veteran of the Corps, died in October 2009, committing suicide just three months after he returned from deployment in Iraq.
For his widow, Denise Coutlakis, dealing with not only Hixson's death, but his choice to take his own life, was something she is still coming to terms with.
(SOUNDBITE) Denise Coutlakis, saying (English):
"There's always that nagging sense that it shouldn't have gone this way, it could have not gone this way."
The statistics on veterans, mental health and suicide are striking. Nearly 1 in 5 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTS