GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two Michigan veterans are on a mission for the next 30 days— looking to end veteran suicides by bringing awareness to the issue.
"22 crosses a day, and we'll be placing them in this field for 30 days," American Legion Post 2 Commander Scott Harvey told FOX 17 Friday.
The crosses represent the men and women who served our country, and ultimately, took their own lives.
"We need to be more proactive as a community to do something to kind of stop that and bring it to an end," American Legion Post 2 Historian John Boylan added.
Boylan and Harvey are both veterans themselves. Starting Saturday, July 15, they, along with other veterans from American Legion Post 2, will put up white crosses in the grassy field along U-S 131, just north of I-96.
"At the end of the 30 days, there'll be 660 crosses in this field. That just a number that we can't, we can't sustain in this country. We have to stop it," Boylan said.
It's part of an awareness campaign started by three Michigan combat veterans who share the bond of losing a loved one to suicide.
"Once their name goes on the cross, it doesn't get taken off, and it will be there forever," Boylan said. "Suicide is something that is almost like a pandemic in our country, and it's hitting veterans harder than most."
Some of the crosses they place in the field are blank. If you know a veteran who took their own life, you can add their name to a cross.
"I would like not to see any names on it. I would like not to have to set up crosses again in my life," Boylan said.
** If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, help is available. Call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for 24/7, free and confidential emotional support and crisis counseling. **
Click here for additional, veteran-specific suicide prevention resources.
