Thank you, sir. Thank you very much again. Would you please share your birthday and birthplace. My birthday is may 28, 1933, in new york city. I was born in York Hospital in new york city. Yesterday was your birthday. How was it . It was wonderful. My daughter was here and one of my grandchildren was here. He came early and we went out to play golf, which was my first time playing golf, in over three years, because of the injury to my leg. Oh. The cancer in my leg. It was a very wonderful birthday. Thank you. Please tell me about your family background, the school you went to. In york city . In new york city, yes. I went to a school that is now called the Fashion Institute of technology. You are in Fashion Institute . I tried but i never worked at it at all. I cannot sew a button on now. [laughter] but, yes. Then i went into the marine corps and i was 19 years old. The war in korea was going on. It was a calling. I had always wanted to be in the military. I had cousins and uncles and a
Them by their families you know by their by their communities or whether its just basically something they have come to on their own but you transgressed that youve committed an act so by also a pouring in your own to your own senses that you are no longer the person you once were or the person that you thought you would be. Military veterans make up 8 percent of u. S. Adult population but account for 13. 5 percent of the adult suicides in the United States data from Veterans Affairs shows among veterans that had deployed to iraq and afghanistan suicide rates are 4. 00 to 10. 00 times higher than their civilian peers but even these statistics may be understating suicide rates among combat veterans in a 2015 story a marine corps infantry unit that was tracked after coming home from war saw suicide rates among its young men for. Times greater than other young male veterans and 14 times that of civilians this high rate of suicide in veterans leads to a total number of deaths of combat tro
Service members killed in those wars since 2001 why is suicide such an epidemic among combat veterans from our wars in the middle east joining me to discuss veteran suicides is matthew hoh who served as a Marine Corps Company commander in iraq in a later as a state Department Official in afghanistan resigned in protest over the escalation of the war. So matthew and i spent 20 years covering war i didnt carry a weapon and thats an important distinction but certainly dealt with p. T. S. D. As i know you have lets 1st just explain what p. T. S. D. Does to you and i know youve fought this battle too. Yeah absolutely chris and thank you for having me on and i think that point you made is something you know well get into about the difference. As a perpetrator of war as say i was as opposed to somebody who has taken part in the war as you were but werent was not a perpetrator of the violence and i dont i want to know is it a national thats a very important distinction which ive always very ye
States data from Veterans Affairs shows among veterans that had deployed to iraq and afghanistan suicide rates are 4. 00 to 10. 00 times higher than their civilian peers but even these statistics may be understating suicide rates among combat veterans in a 2015 story a marine corps infantry unit that was tracked after coming home from war saw suicide rates among its young men 4 times greater than other young male veterans and 14 times that of civilians this high rate of suicide in veterans leads to a total number of deaths of combat troops at home that surpasses the totals killed in the war in 2011 an investigative piece in the bay citizen that examined Public Health records found that 1000 california veterans under the age of 35 died from 2005 to 2008 that is 3 times the number killed in iraq and afghanistan during the same period close to 2 af. And iraq veterans die by suicide each day on average meaning the estimated 7300 veterans who have killed themselves since just 2009 after com
Interviewer what were you doing before the war, sir . James it was so long ago, it is hard. Let me see. Working like at a store, as a clerk at a store, like at that time there were a and p and the and mutual stores, and that is what i was doing then. Interviewer i see that you joined the marine corps. What made you decide to join the marine corps . James ok. Me and a buddy were at the ymca, sitting there like we always do, and we saw two marines coming towards us. They were going to go into the ymca. And they were dressed in blues. So i said to this buddy, man, they look sharp. I think im going to join. And that is how i joined. You know, i never thought of war, nothing, just that uniform. That got me. And thats it. Interviewer it made an impression on you . James mary much, so, yes. Interviewer and still does today . James yes, it still does today. Interviewer so you joined up, and where did you go for basic . James for basic i went to paris island for boot camp. Interviewer how rigor