ABSTRACT
Among the casualties of war are so-called “hidden casualties”. This contemporary term is sometimes used to describe the physical or mental harm not directly inflicted by an armed enemy. One prominent example of “hidden casualties” are suicides among former military personnel. After the Vietnam War there were accounts in the popular media of an excessive number of suicides among Vietnam veterans. Estimates reported at the time ranged from 58,000 to 100,000 Vietnam veteran suicides (Langone 1985; CBS News 1987). However, subsequent research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that the real number of Vietnam veteran suicides was only 9,000 through the end of 1983 (Pollock et al. 1990). In a 30-year follow-up of a cohort of Vietnam veterans, CDC reported that the risk of suicide among Vietnam veterans was no greater than that observed for the US general population or for veterans who served in the military during the Vietnam War but did not serve in Vietnam (Boehmer et al. 2004).
