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die by suicide will never be able to. I couldn’t relate personally, but what I could do was use this opportunity and my ability as a writer to tell these important stories with the hopes that maybe, just maybe, some of my fellow DC-insiders are listening.
The story of the Veterans suicide epidemic is actually a story about how real people struggle to deal with real feelings in the face of a culture and society that encourages them to simply suppress these feelings. Feelings such as hopelessness, helplessness, isolation, and overwhelming pain. Feelings that are negatively stigmatized or viewed as weakness.
Preventing Veterans’ suicide is the story of how to ask for help to overcome these feelings. It is not a story about government programs, nor how good or bad the Department of Veterans Affairs is or isn’t.
And, Rieman’s story is one that shows that, with the proper community support and interventions, these uncomfortable feelings and thoughts of suicide can indeed be overcome. Rieman’s story is a story of hope for other Veterans who may be struggling, to let them know that they are not alone, and that they, too, can defeat the enemy within. It’s also a story that enables those of us non-Veterans know the types of things we can do to help.
Rieman’s personal story, as it relates to his suicide attempt, begins with his deployment to Iraq in 2003. Rieman was shot in the arm and the chest while using his body as a shield to protect his gunner. He kept fighting through his injuries and lead his team of eight to safety. Afterwards, Rieman was hailed as a hero, receiving a Purple Heart and Silver Star. He was also being recognized by President George W. Bush at the State of the Union address, where the President described him as “earn[ing] the respect and gratitude of our whole country.” His face was featured on the cover of an
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