Veteran helps place final flags in Plains display

Another veteran suicide awareness month has come and gone, but the message is spreading, said Ed Foste, who has been putting up the flag display every year for the last six years.

The retired Navy veteran added 22 American flags to the display each day, usually at dusk, to illustrate the 22 veterans that pass away each day from suicide. Saturday was the last day to add to this year's awareness exhibit, but it was the first time he had a World War II veteran assist with the flags.

It took less than five minutes for Tom Charleton of Plains to help Foste with the flags Saturday morning. Also on hand to assist was Sally Miller, Charleton's daughter, who carried the batch of flags, handing one to her father after Foste drilled a hole in the ground for planting. At 97 years old, Charleton is also the oldest volunteer to help with the exhibit, said Foste.

"Tom was a wonderful person to finish with. It was an honor for me to have him finish it up," said Foste, who said a lot of generations have taken part in the awareness program and he said he's humbled at the amount of support he's received this year. Numerous times through the years he's had to search for volunteers and sometimes it wasn't easy, but this year they came to him, getting one to three each night with about 20% of them being military veterans.

Charleton said he was honored to participate with Foste's program. "I think this is important," said Charleton, a Marine Corps machine gunner with the 1st Marine Division during the battle of Okinawa in 1945, the largest battle of the Pacific Theater. Charleton said he saw some horrible sights and lost friends during his near four months in battle with the Japanese and after the war he had nightmares about his time there.

"I saw some bad things when I was there, but the last thing I'd think of was suicide. When my time comes, Jesus will take me," said Charleton, who believes there are alternatives to suicide. Charleton went to a Veterans Administration counselor in Missoula only once and that was only some seven years ago when others prodded him to do so. But though he talked to the counselor about his time in battle, he never felt he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He also noted that he knew of only one of his fellow Marines who had committed suicide during the war and that was while he was in basic training. One thing that helped Charlton deal with the terrible memories was his counselor's advice that he record his battle experiences, which Charlton said "lifted a big burden off my chest."

"I think a lot of people from his era came home and went right back to work and life and wanted to just forget about it," said Miller, whose son, Brandon, served in the Marine Corps and was stationed at an American base in Okinawa.

Foste was pleased to have Charlton help with the flags. This year, Foste got larger flags for the final display placement. Also for the first time, local businesses and organizations from Plains and Thompson Falls bought banners that were attached to the chain link fence behind the display to show support for the program. Foste started with only six banners at the beginning of this year's program and as of last week he had a dozen.

The Navy veteran said the banners are a testament to it being a living display, growing and changing. He also believes the banners are a big help in getting the message out about the veteran suicide problem. "As for the message being spread, that is the whole reason for the display. If just one life has been saved, that is a bigger win than anything else. That's all that matters. Just making people think and talk about the demon," said Foste, who added that it means a lot to him that the message is spreading. "The whole meaning of the display is to spread the word. That's what I love about it."

"It's really an emotional time for me," said Foste, who will leave the display up for the first week in October before dismantling it. He added that the veteran suicide issue is a never ending battle and he feels he needs to continue the program every year. "We live in a higher suicide area because of the isolation here and we don't have any facilities for veterans here. The closest ones are in Missoula or Kalispell," he said.