The Vietnam Veteran Suicide Study Project
DECADES OF MYTHS
Like many myths which are partially based on fact, the myth that thousands of Vietnam veterans have committed suicide since their return persists. Rumors allege that as many as half of the 2,709,965 Americans who served in Vietnam have killed themselves.
ALTHOUGH FALSE, THERE IS A LACK OF HARD NUMBERS
Although on the face of these high-number rumors there appears to be no supportive evidence, there remains a lack of hard numbers as to the actual number of Vietnam veteran suicides.
REASONS WHY HARD NUMBERS ARE DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN
For a variety of reasons actual suicide numbers have been difficult to collect. Included among many reasons like the following interfere with data collection:
Intentionally vague coroner reports
Coroner's sincere inability to exact cause of death
Professional's falsifying documents
Religious factors
Body not recovered
Refusal by family members to acknowledge suicide
Job security of surviving family members
Inconclusion the person served in Vietnam
WHY COLLECT DATA ON VIETNAM VET SUICIDES
Understandably, the reason for collecting information on any human problem is to determine ways to prevent recurrence. Are there key factors in Vietnam veteran suicides, such as biological/chemical toxins, cultural/societal reassimilation difficulties, war-related stress endurance, personal or sexual identity challenges, responsibility threshold limitations? And many other factors directly attributable to Vietnam veteran suicides?
WHERE SOME VETS 'DRIVEN TO SUICIDE'? AND BY WHOM OR WHAT?
Companion to the myth that large numbers of Vietnam veterans have committed suicide is the myth that many Vietnam veterans were driven, or encouraged, to end their lives by something or someone. Common among groups of surviving Vietnam veterans are comments like,
"(the spouse) drove (him/her) to commit suicide."
"(he/she) couldn't keep a job. Employers are against Vietnam vets."
"(he/she) knew Agent Orange (cancer) would get (him/her)"
"Too much stress"
"The (VA or Federal government) refused to help (him/her)"
DO VIETNAM VETERANS ACCEPT THE NOTION OF SUICIDE TOO READILY?
Because of the political nature of the Vietnam War and the high level of public hostility toward those who served in Vietnam, the Vietnam soldier's desire to be removed from combat or service in Vietnam was higher than other American military missions. Countless field reports written by local, in-country commander's indicate that many soldiers deliberately exposed themselves to harm in order to be sent home. Along with this acceptance to injure oneself, or accept death in combat to free oneself of intense, daily wartime pressures, a credible hypothesis asks if some surviving Vietnam veterans too readily accept suicide as a first option rather than a last option in gaining 'freedom' from post-war personal, familial, marital or social pressure factors.
DO VIETNAM VETERANS THEMSELVES SUPPORT SUICIDE AMONGST THEIR FELLOW WARTIME COMRADES?
A study of Vietnam War newsgroups, such as alt.war.vietnam reveals that some Vietnam veterans openly suggest or express a desire that other Vietnam vets of a different ethnic or political/philosophical background should kill themselves. Some Vietnam veterans have openly advocated the murder of another Vietnam veteran. Are these Vietnam veterans who express such actions, by virtue of their acceptance of death as a resolution to differences or challenges, candidates for suicide themselves? Or potential life-takers?
A NATION FORCED TO DEAL WITH POTENTIAL HARMERS WHO WENT IN HARM'S WAY
Many who have never experienced war tend to believe that men and women who endured the brutal harshness of battle and repetitive exposure to soldierly or needless wartime death would all the more cherish and seek to preserve life. In contrast, American history is permeated by deaths self-inflicted or with malice caused/committed by countrymen and women who served in war zones. Mass murders committed by former military personnel and war veterans, as recent as the Oklahoma City bombing by Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh and one or more Gulf War comrades provides reminder to the serious threat posed by those who view death as the sole resolution to human differences. Is there evidence that veterans who commit capital crimes once attempted or considered suicide?
"SUICIDE IS PAINLESS..."
Hollywood films, such as M*A*S*H*, Dead Reckoning, They Died With Their Boots On, The Blue Max, Bataan, Gordon's War, Patton, Spartacus, The Alamo, Gone With The Wind and others were Vietnam War era spectacles repeating on television or in theaters the concept that only through death does 'a hero' achieve victory. For Vietnam, a war without final victory for a number of the men and women who served there -- indeed, America's first and only armed-political defeat -- victory is mythed to come only through killing oneself or another.
MANY QUESTIONS. WORKING TOGETHER WE CAN PROVIDE RESEARCHERS THE ANSWERS
A statistical research form (button below) is provided for anyone with information on a Vietnam veteran suicide. The raw, confidential data accumulated will be made available to professional counselors, medical practioners and Veterans Administration researchers to assist them in finding ways to prevent Vietnam and other war-ear suicides and deaths.
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DECADES OF MYTHS
