Memorial Day honors military service, draws attention to ‘epidemic’ of veteran suicide

“Today is set aside for them,” Legion Post 112 Adjutant Ed Staib said during a May 30 Memorial Day observance in downtown Stanley. “Not the living, but the dead.”

Going on to say that the servicemen and women of the United States Armed Forces did what they did “to provide a strong and secure defense,” Staib went on to tell the story of one Major Davis in the Korean War, how he had died on the battlefield, and that more than one million men and women had also made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield to keep America free.

Photo by Joseph Back. MEMORIAL

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The May 30 observance, which saw better community turnout than previous years, was also a particularly somber one, however, as along with memorial bricks being dedicated there was a new theme, “22 a day is too many.” The number 22 refers to those veterans who die by suicide after arriving back from war, having come home from the battlefield with unseen but deep wounds like PTSD.

Veterans like Eric Richley, born in March 1988 and dying November 30, 2020.

Richley, a Sergeant and Master Gunner with Army National Guard Unit 2127 out of Green Bay, was a veteran of both Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan. Returning home to join the Stanley Legion, he died by suicide during the pandemic. Richley’s mom Cathy Richley was at the Memorial Day service and gave some brief remarks, with a stone being dedicated to Richley at the Memorial Day ceremony, the cost covered from contributions made by fellow veterans.

Like Josh Belleu. Belleu, who spent six years in the same unit as Richley, shared some memories at the Memorial Day observance, also participating later in the 21-gun salute.

“There’s one time we were in drill,” Belleu shared. “Fort Mc-Coy, colder than cold.” Finding metal containers for the whole company to sleep in, Belleu and Richley had shared a sleeping bag, or else tried to. As it turned out, Belleu took the sleeping bag sometime towards midnight—(learning of this after the fact)— and Richley had let him keep it for the night.

“That’s the kind of guy he was,” Belleu said. “Always put himself second to everybody.” As it turns out, though, Richley wasn’t and isn’t the only one to come back with unseen wounds leading to suicide. Mike and Linda Collison, the parents of another veteran named Logan who had deployed with Eric to Afghanistan and later died (also by suicide), were at the Monday Memorial Day event to show support to the Richley family.

“We’re here to support,” Linda said, adding that, “If you know a veteran, reach out.” Suicide was an unspoken epidemic among veterans, and support of veterans after returning is crucial to addressing this fact. Among the resources available to those who may be suffering in silence is the Veteran’s Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255, a phone number staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week to those who need to talk. The same is also accessible by dialing 988 and pressing 1.

Perhaps the most powerful resource veterans have, meanwhile, is each other, and those around them willing to lend an ear and personal time. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be on Memorial Day than with veterans,” Linda said.

Along with the lives of service members and their families were civilian lives that Richley touched, including that of Jerry Fuss.

“Eric was my best friend,” Fuss shared Monday. “We did everything together.” When it came to dinner at the bar Fuss owned, “He’d always order the same thing,” Fuss said of Richley. “A double order of cheese curds and a bottle of Miller Light.” Speaking to the crowd later, Fuss summed up the day and its lessons.

“We all need to stop fighting and just cherish each other,” he said. “Because tomorrow is never promised.”

Submitted photo.

Army National Guard Sergeant Eric Richley was amongthose with a brick placed at the Memorial in downtown Stanley May 30.