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Preview: The Life and Death of Clay Hunt

March 1, 2013 9:53 AM

Suicide rates for U.S. Armed Forces and veterans have gotten so high, that more active duty military died last year from suicide than in combat. No one's story more clearly and sadly illustrates this alarming trend than Clay Hunt's. His parents, Susan Selke and Stacy Hunt, tell Byron Pitts about their son. Watch Pitts' report on Sunday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT.

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by kareneegan March 25, 2013 11:44 AM EDT
To MicekyB12 ~

So appreciate all these comments. What is happening to our veterans is nothing short of criminal.
We have just launched Bridging Warriors in Santa Cruz County, CA, to offer free services to our
vets, especially those with PTSD.

I do hope that micekyB12 reads this and contacts me. I would like ot know what he/she knows.

Thank you. Karen Egan egankar@gmail.com bridgingwarriors@gmail.com
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by messenger_Thess March 4, 2013 7:07 AM EST
So sad!
Generation after generation more and more young people are losing their lives in combat or by their own hand..For what? For Multinational companies! One war after another! And always young men and women are getting it! Its a total waste of life! And don't tell me that it is not! Don't tell me that they are sacrificing their lives for their country! My heart goes out to them and their families!
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by micekyB12 March 3, 2013 8:10 PM EST
Sorry about all the typo's. Didnt do the spell check thing. Im 55 and I can spell!!!
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by micekyB12 March 3, 2013 8:08 PM EST
Im a psychiatric nurse practioner. I was rased by a father who's entral nervous system was ruined in Belgium in the Battle of The Bulge. He was a proud man and his last words were, "I think I was a good soldier." Eigth years ago, a patient of mine who left his mind in Viet Nam, successfully committed suicide. He was also a casualty of war, as are the children and the friends of these incredibly honorable men.
In the past two years I have learned a pharmacological technique for absolutely NAILING the biological burden that these soldiers carry, and in such a way that they are restored to themselves and their neurons can re-grow receptors and its cheap, the benefit is almost instantaneous and it always, always works. Sound too good to be true? Do I sound outrageously arrogant? Im not. I feel horrible that these brave men and women are unable to access civilian psychiatric services, and when they can, they are unable to afford them.
Well, I will treat them. I will heal them and I will do it inexpensively and toroughly and with reverence.
But I am like this little child who is raising her hand in class, trying to get noticed.
I am certainly not the only one who knows about this approach. Between the veteran administration and the American Psychiatric Association's moyopic notions about the approach to treatment, nobody gets better. everybody is put on antipsycotics and what they end up losing is their soul.
So, I am here in Maine. I am raising my hand. I can help and will do so on behalf of my father and the loss I suffered of him before I was even born. I am still trying to fix it. How do I do that? How ?
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by pfdenver March 3, 2013 7:47 PM EST
I am so glad this story was aired. My son served 3 tours in Iraq, as a machine gunner, in the Marines. He has returned, graduated from college and has been working hard to make life work. He has been to the VA hospital for several things and it's always an experience in frustration and humiliation. He's a fighter and doesn't give up easily, but like so many young vets, fighting for benefits that are promised, then struggling to make a good living, and get back to the life you left, is so many times, unbearably lonely and confusing.
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by walkdogs March 3, 2013 7:30 PM EST
I was really saddened by this story. I can't begin to imagine the emotional turmoil he had to be going through and the sadness he left behind. I became very angered by the fact he had to deal with "red tape" regarding his treatment in California and ran up credit card bills while waiting for his much deserved money. I bet NO ONE in the Senate or House would have to go through that kind of Bull Sh**! Shame on the US Government for treating our soldiers with such a lack of compassion.
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by ChuckPekorJr March 3, 2013 7:18 PM EST
NOHATER - I am a US Army combat veteran. You obviously have no idea whatsoever what you are talking about. I happened to be a volunteer. We were all the same - brothers - nobody cared and it didn't matter how you got there. You need to grow up. Chuck Pekor, Atlanta, Georgia
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by moxie711 March 3, 2013 7:16 PM EST
It is not feasible to try and justify these suicides. We are not born to kill one another and this awareness is now more prevalent than ever. These soldiers are killing themselves because they've been misled to believe things that are not true. This is the cause for these deaths and for the crazed behavior of mass killers. Get to the Truth.
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by moxie711 March 3, 2013 7:15 PM EST
It is not feasible to try and justify these suicides. We are not born to kill one another and this awareness is now more prevalent than ever. These soldiers are killing themselves because they've been misled to believe things that are not true. This is the cause for these deaths and for the crazed behavior of mass killers. Get to the Truth.
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by LauraFriend March 3, 2013 6:47 PM EST
Combat Veterans are their own brotherhood. Unless you've been there, you can NEVER Comprehend what war does to a person. We prepare our Veteran's to deploy, but we don't prepare them for what they'll see, the soul wounds that will be created by war, nor how to come back to the NEW NORMALACY of Life! No matter how hard you try, you can not erase the smell, the sounds, the hyper vigilance that war creates. It's like neurons are rewired within the brain. To NOHATER - my Veteran's, as pissed off as you will have made them, will say to your face and to the public.. that's what we have fought for .. to give American's the right to free speech.. while secretly loathing you.. and I can't blame them. You take the very rights you've FREELY been given, and abuse them. You call them Volunteers, we call them Patriots. Many today, have joined the Military out of Patriotic duty.. Something that was most likely instilled in them, via the TRUE hero's of a grandparent, uncle, or parent whom served. It's important for Combat Veteran's to know that they're not alone, and while the VA does cause the majority of the frustrations for Veteran's, there are other avenues/places to turn.. people to turn to.. who've been there, and want to help, or are simply a person of strong heart, to understand's to the best of their ability what you're dealing with. The Invisible Wounds of war are often the most damning and hard to recuperate from. It takes determination, and the same skill you used while deployed. Your life is VALUABLE.. You're worthy... and while the ghosts may feel like they never will go away, and you just want to shut off your brain... suicide won't accomplish that...Reach out... It doesn't DIMINISH who you are.. it simply shows the TRUE WARRIOR within you! I am here to help, however I can!
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