Memorial Day weekend is meant to be a time of reflection to honor the Americans who have served, so two days before the weekend the U.S. Army reached out to veterans via Twitter to ask them to share how their service had impacted their lives – and it’s easy to say it backfired.
The innocent tweet was intended to stir up stories of patriotic pride, and while some did share positive experiences about how their time gave them self-confidence, an overwhelming amount shared dark and heartbreaking tales. The stories came from both veterans themselves and people who had met or were the family of service men and women. Tales ranged from vets who had returned with debilitating posttraumatic stress disorder, to those who had ended up committing suicide.
According to reports from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, about 30% of Vietnam veterans, 12% of Gulf War veterans and 11% to 20% of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veterans are living with post-traumatic stress disorder. As for suicide rates the numbers are disproportionately affecting vets, with more than 6,000 veterans dying by suicide between 2008 to 2016 and an average of 20 veterans dying by suicide each day between 2013 and 2014.

The U.S Army reached out to vets on Twitter to ask how their service had impacted their lives

Image credits: USArmy

But instead of just patriotic pride, they received a thread of heartbreaking responses

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Mewton’s Third Paw 2 days ago (edited)
This should be number one. It’s not just about the trauma these people face but rather the fact that it’s all based on greed, corruption, lies, and hatred of the American people at large, and anyone who isn’t in the ruling class.
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Lina S. 2 days ago
This is horrible.
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Two years ago President Donald Trump tweeted “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity,” and this year the policy has gone into effect. Lt. Col. Carla M. Gleason, a Pentagon spokesperson, told BuzzFeed News, that it was not a ban but that “new recruits will be rejected if they’ve undergone a gender transition, that they cannot transition while in service, and they must conform to the uniform and fitness standards of their birth sex.” The estimated number of trans people serving in the military ranged from 2,150 to 15,000.
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Elisabeth Bergbom 1 day ago
First they experience war on the outside, then war on the inside. It all leaves scars. We need to talk more about this