On average, sometime in the next 72 minutes, a veteran of the U.S. military will take his or her life.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and founder of Samaritan’s Purse, which provides assistance to wounded veterans and their families, said recently he is “heartbroken” by that statistic. In a public message to his followers, he urged them to pray for veterans.
“In 2014, more than 7,000 veterans died at their own hands—that’s more than the entire 15-year war on terror,” he wrote. “This is incredibly tragic …
“Many of our veterans are in trouble—they need our prayers. They need to hear ‘God bless you’ and ‘thank you’ for their service to our nation. I would encourage everyone to reach out and show your gratitude to a veteran today and every day.”
Samaritan’s Purse offers Operation Heal Our Patriots each week during the summer in which 10 couples—wounded veterans and their spouses—are brought in to Alaska to “enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, get to go fishing and bear watching, and most importantly receive Christian-based marriage counseling.” He said the program has restored marriages and brought several participants to salvation.
“Day after day, week after week, we are going to do what we can to help these veterans and their spouses,” he wrote. “And when they return home from Alaska, we don’t stop—we have an incredible aftercare team that stays in contact with them and is available 24/7.”
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