Veterans marching to raise awareness of suicide

IOWA CITY - Will Hanchett, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, stands over his bulky green rucksack holding a piece of paper in his hands. Printed on that paper are 10 photos of his military friends who have died - either in combat or by their own hand.

It's Friday, Nov. 18, and Hanchett says he'll have to add one more picture because he'd lost another friend to suicide that morning.

Hanchett packed his bag as he prepared to embark on a march to raise awareness about veteran suicide, something that happens at least 20 times each day in the United States, according to a recent study by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

'One is too many,” says Drew Wherry, president of the University of Iowa Veterans Association, a student run organization that serves veterans and members of the military.

Last year, UI veterans organized a ruck march from Minneapolis to Iowa City to raise awareness of the issue. This year, they're marching again - this time more than 300 miles from Nebraska to Iowa with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Student Veterans Organization.

They hope to lower the number of suicides by recognizing the issue and building a support network throughout the state. They'll also hand out fliers with information about veteran resource fairs as they march.

The ruck march began in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Thursday, Nov. 17, where more than 130 student veterans from that state began marching from Lincoln toward Menlo, Iowa, where they met more than 100 of Iowa's veterans at Freedom Rock on Monday, Nov. 21.

UI veterans picked it up from there and plan to march through Iowa until Friday. All participants are to meet at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville that morning to complete the final leg of the march to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City together, finishing at the Iowa-Nebraska football game.

Participants are carrying rucksacks filled with 22 pounds - one pound for each veteran that commits suicide each day, according to older statistics - of symbolic personal mementos to honor their military service or the service of a loved one, as well as the game-day ball, an American flag and the UI Veterans Association guidon.

Kris Latorre, a Marine Corps veteran, is carrying a 22-pound sandbag, which represents all of the sandbags he filled to protect himself and the rest of his unit from shrapnel while serving in Iraq.

Scott Daly, an Army veteran and professor in chemistry at UI, said he's carrying the dog tags that belonged to his grandfather and great grandfather, as well as his own Ph.D. thesis - an educational opportunity he said he wouldn't have had without his military service.

Hanchett is carrying his first blue infantry cord from his dress uniform, a guidon from his last unit, a physical training belt, a helmet, jump boots from airborne missions and the photos of his 11 friends who have died.

'All of us know people who have committed suicide and have had those kinds of thoughts ourselves,” Hanchett said.

'The military trains you for a million things, but it doesn't train you to retire,” added Latorre. 'People really struggle.”

'Once you're out of the service, you have feelings of being lost,” Hanchett said, explaining that returning to civilian life can sometimes cause military servicemen and women to lose their sense of purpose.

'The military has such a unique culture,” Wherry added. 'Coming back can be a big culture shock. ... It's a night and day difference.”

The transition can be especially difficult in an academic setting, he continued, describing the change in personality and maturity from serving in the military that doesn't translate well when stepping into a lecture hall filled with hundreds of young people whose 'worst fear is not having enough beer money,” he said.

'We hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Latorre said. 'Trying to reintegrate with people who don't have that mind-set is difficult.”

In addition to feeling isolated, Latorre said many veterans also struggle with guilt - wondering why it wasn't them who died rather than other unit members, for example.

'It eats you up,” Latorre said. 'I was like that for years. ... I understand now that I can't blame myself. But I was pretty messed up.”

Latorre said he didn't 'find himself” until two years after his return. He drowned himself in alcohol and worked as a bouncer, getting into fights outside clubs, he said.

But one day, he realized 'festering at the bottom of a bottle was not going to help,” he said. 'I needed to find an outlet besides alcohol.”

Latorre enrolled himself in school, started doing yoga and CrossFit and got involved in the UI Veterans Association, which provided a place for socialization and camaraderie he struggled to find outside of the military.

'We're a family,” Latorre said. 'We're really loyal to each other.”

Having a support network like the UI Veterans Association was crucial, he said. But sometimes finding support, or admitting you need help can be difficult, he added.

'In the military, we're trained not to exhibit weakness,” Daly said, adding that many veterans worry talking about issues they're having shows weakness, rather than strength.

With the ruck march, UI Veterans Association members hope to 'make people a little more comfortable talking about this,” Daly said.

They also hope to spread awareness of how veterans can get help and show that 'people out there care,” Latorre said.

'People are willing to help,” Daly emphasized.

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