Flag display raises awareness of veteran suicide

Joint Operation Mariposa set up its first set of American flags for the annual display on the greenway along Railroad Street in Plains last Thursday.

It took the handful of volunteers only a few minutes to place the first 22 flags at the site of the display, created by Plains resident Ed Foste, a member of Joint Operation Mariposa (JOM), a nonprofit organization designed to help veterans in various areas, including getting help for PTSD. Foste was helped on the first night by Devin and Ahna Coonan and their two children, Lilah Jo, 7, and Coralynn, 3, who recently moved to Plains. Foste used a cordless drill to put a hole in the ground and the Coonan family took turns putting the flags in place, 11 in each of the two first rows.

Each evening, 22 additional flags will be placed. The flags represent the 22 veterans who die by suicide each day. Flags will continue to show up each morning with the last batch goes up on September 30. By then, the display will be comprised of 660 flags. JOM erects the display this month because September is National Suicide Prevention Month, said Foste, who retired from the Navy in 2002.

Suicide among veterans continues to be a serious problem in the United States, said Foste, who had been affected by it on a more personal level, when in 2014 his younger brother, Alan Jay Foste, committed "suicide by police," where he deliberately behaved in a manner to provoke law enforcement to shoot him, Foste stated. This is the fifth year for the display, but the first year Foste has incorporated a photograph of his brother in his Army uniform into the display.

The display includes two kneeling soldier silhouettes - a man and a woman - along with a custom 6.5-foot tall wooden cross. Attached to the cross is a Green Star flag, which represents the families that are impacted by the suicide of a veteran. The purpose of the display is to make the public aware of the tragedy of veteran suicide.

"Veterans are at 50% higher risk of suicide than their peers who have not served," said the nonprofit organization "Stop Soldier Suicide." The organization believes that by the year 2030 veteran suicides will be 23 times higher than the number of post 9/11 combat deaths. Since 2001, it states, over 120,000 veterans have completed suicide.

Foste wants residents to see the display and think about what it stands for. "I'm just showing them the statistics in a way that most people can understand after they find out what it's all about," said Foste. He said most people are afraid to talk about suicide. "There's a stigma around it, and that's why it's such a powerful demon because people ignore it," said Foste.

"I changed it up this year because it's a living memorial to the families and it's the families that really suffer and it shows the families we still care," said the 60-year-old Foste, who served in the Navy for 20 years and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time on the flight line of a carrier. This year, Foste installed new solar lights in front of the display. The lights flicker, giving the look of a candle. He also gave the wooden soldiers a distressed look to illustrate the distress of the active duty military members and veterans. In addition, the flag is tattered and worn with the bottom strand gone, also designed to illustrate veterans' stress. The display includes ceramic "helping hands" to signify there is help out there and to guide the way for veterans. He added two more ceramic hands, molded from his own hands. "The hands guide you to that light to help you fight that demon - PTSD," said Foste, who believes the suicide problem among active duty military personnel, as well as veterans who have been out of the military, sometimes continue to experience depression and stress due to their time in service. He hopes that the display will prompt someone who is experiencing difficulties to seek help.