Suicide awareness display grows

It started with a kneeling soldier, a cross and a tattered flag, but the next night, two rows of American flags showed up, and every night for the last week, 22 American flags were added to a Joint Operation Mariposa display on the Plains greenway along Railroad Street.

Within a week's time there were 154 flags and by the end of September there will be 660 flags to represent American military servicemen and women lost to suicide, said Plains resident Ed Foste, vice president of the Joint Operation Mariposa and chief coordinator of the display.

Joint Operation Mariposa, a nonprofit organization, was created in 2015 by Navy veteran Dave Williams, Foste's brother-in-law, to help veterans through education and advocacy. The role of the display is to make people aware of the high numbers of veteran suicides. The group erected the display this month because September is National Suicide Prevention Month, Foste said. According to a study by the Department of Veteran Affairs, an estimated 22 veterans commits suicide each day, which is why 22 flags are added each day.

On the first night, Foste and Plains residents Mimi Foste, his stepmother, and friend Marilyn Carey helped him place the first set of two rows of 11 flags, one foot apart. Each evening, Foste, sometimes alone and sometimes with help, places the next 22 flags at the display. He likes to put out the flags at night when there's no one else around so they'll be surprised the next day that the flag numbers have grown. He calls it an "awe and shock" value. "This is very important because it brings awareness to suicides of veterans," said Carey, who helped Foste with the flags last year, too.

Veteran suicide is more personal for Foste, a Navy veteran of 20 years, whose brother, Jay, an Army vet, committed suicide in 2014. "I try to get people engaged and talk about it. It's a really bad problem, not just for the military, but for all of us," said Foste. He also placed small solar lights to illuminate the flags and the display, which includes the wooden soldier and a 6-1/2-foot tall cross with an attached Green Star flag, which represents the families that have been-touched by a veteran's suicide. The tattered Green Star flag also stands for the wars American soldiers, sailors and Marines have fought since the start of this country, according to Foste, who did much his Navy career on the flight lines of aircraft carriers. He placed ceramic "helping hands" at the two lights in front of the display to signify there is help out there and to guide the way for veterans. He also put a ceramic rendition of clasped hands that represent the past and future helping each other. Foste checks on the flags twice a day to make sure none have fallen over.

He wants community members to realize that suicide continues to be a problem among former service members. "It's important for people to know veteran suicide is a problem," said the 58-year-old Foste. "People are afraid to talk about it, but I'm not. I know how they feel. I lost somebody," said Foste, who believes a lot of veterans confront additional stress during their active duty and have trouble readapting to civilian life. "We have seen things that would destroy some people, but we keep on going. Part of the oath we took was to lay down our lives, if needed, to defend the people we care about," said Foste, who retired from the Navy in 2002.

This is the third year for the organization to erect the display, but there is no plan for a presentation and Foste didn't to want to include a lot of statistics. This year he'd like to see community members become more involved by placing flowers and other items in remembrance and respect of vets who took their own lives. "They can put something there in memory of a loved one that completed suicide. It's a way of healing for us that have felt that pain," he said. "I believe that would show people that are in distress that there are people that care about each and every life," he added.

Foste said he uses American flags for the display because as a veteran, it's a symbol of respect. "I think using the flags brings a big meaning to what this display means. It's a living display. It grows day by day. But it impacts people more when they find out that each one of those flags represents a life that was lost. "I can not think of any other thing in the world to show respect to fallen veterans than the United States of America flag."

Williams, also a Plains resident, is hoping to get a veterans service office opened in Sanders County to help vets in different aspects, such as with their benefits, making medical appointments, online education, or just helping vets participate in community projects, according to Williams. He had looked at a place in Thompson Falls, but it fell through. His organization is looking for funding to purchase a building. "This is something that should be in this community already due to the size of our veterans here in the valley," said Williams. The nearest veteran assistance facilities are Kalispell or Missoula.