Hattie McNeill

With the Memorial Day holiday fresh in our minds, I can't help but remember how much my cousin Benton Cousar has given to this country and in some ways how little he has gotten in return.

What will it take? He needs help.

Benton was an easy going, quiet young man who was drafted into the military right out of high school.

His accomplishments there were remarkable. He was a sharp shooter rifleman, automatic weapons crewman and awarded the National Defense Service medal, Vietnam service medal with four Bronze Service Stars and Vietnam Campaign Medal.

But Benton also sent home tapes of himself and other solders talking about different instances they saw and witnessed. I remember a shocking picture he sent with dead Vietnamese bodies piled on top of each other.

When Benton returned from Vietnam, he was different. He relocated to New Jersey trying to find himself. He worked and tried to have the best life he could. Then one day, he called home, frightened and confused.

He relocated back to Laurinburg. The family could not figure what was happening to him. He was talking strangely, acting out and shouting. Being a veteran, we took him to a hospital in Salisbury.

Through the years, his problems has been give different diagnosis like Agent Orange, schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder to name a few. He was eventually diagnosed as a schizophrenic and bipolar patient.

But what happened to the agent orange and post traumatic stress disorder?

I think the horrors of war played a larger role in Benton's than the military wants to admit.

Benton has been in and out of VA hospitals for 30 years. Those three decades had been mentally and physically draining for his family and friends.

In 2006, Benton began working one-on-one with a team from Southeastern Mental Health. Benton was his old self. He still had problems but they did not completely control him. He was doing well, taking his medication and was exited about his counseling sessions.

Then he decided he wanted to go back to the VA hospitals. He knew that he was entitled to his VA benefits for health care.

Within months, he was back acting out.

I have have been trying to communicate with the VA Hospital about Benton. What could have gone wrong? He has been in and out of the hospital since January. Benton no longer takes his medication.

Benton has since been committed, but may be out in 10 days. It is a continual cycle.

The officials at the VA hospital seemed more focused on the short term rather than finding a long-term solution. And I know there is help out there.

My greatest fear is that our situation becomes one more sad — or possibly fatal statistic. I say that because our problem is not unique.

Approximately 30 percent of veterans treated in the Veterans Health system suffer from depressive symptoms, two or three the rate of a general population. More Vietnam veterans have now died from suicide than were killed directly during the war in the 1960s and 70s. Approximately 40 percent of homeless veterans have a mental illness.

Like most Americans on Monday, I honored the service that my cousin and countless others gave to this nation. But as long as the issue of mental health and our veterans remains unresolved, there is little to celebrate.

McNeill lives in Laurinburg.