Joshua Vanwormer

Kelly Turnbeaugh
English 1010
Annoted Bibliography

Annoted Bibliography
I chose to write about Veteran suicides for this assignment. It is a subject that hits close to home for me,
and I wanted to learn more about it. While researching for this paper, I found myself being
overwhelmed by emotions and almost changed my topic, but decided it was important so I stuck with it.
In doing my research on this subject I have come across a lot of good reads and many informational
articles that will help me write my paper.
Pilkington, Ed. "Us Military Struggling to Stop Suicide Epidemic among War Veterans."
Http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/01/us-military-suicide-epidemic-veteran. N.p., 1 Feb.
2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
Summary: This article talks about how suicide rates are rising in the military. In 2012 there were more
death from suicide then from combat. In one instance instead of the army giving the soldier counseling
and the help he needed, they pumped him full of drugs and medically discharged him from the army, he
later committed suicide. Studies have shown that a veteran commits suicide about every 80 minutes.
Evaluation: The military is struggling to handle the rise in suicides among veterans. In all I thought it was
a good article, and I will probably use some of the statistics from in my paper. The military needs to do
more for its veterans than just write them a prescription, which will probably make their suicidal
thoughts worse, and kick them down the road.
Reflection: I found this article disturbing. I hate to see that the suicide rate among veterans is so high
and climbing. Even though I find this article disturbing it was still informational, and it will help me write
my paper. It is a sad statistic that there were more suicides in 2012 than deaths in combat, but it is a
sobering truth, and highlights the problem the military is facing.

Joshua Vanwormer
Kelly Turnbeaugh
English 1010
Annoted Bibliography

Rieckhoff, Paul. "22 A Day Is Unconscionable: Preventing Veteran Suicide." 22 A Day Is Unconscionable:
Preventing Veteran Suicide. N.p., 09 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
Summary: this article talks about how 22 veterans committing suicide a day is out of control, and how
the group IAVA is helping to control it. IAVA has went to Washington, to bring this issue to their
attention. The group has also started a nationwide tour to bring awareness to the public. The article also
brings to attention that by December 2014 we will have lost 8,030 veterans to suicide, this year alone.
Evaluation: I found this article very interesting. I like that they talk about the number of veterans that
have committed suicide this year, and that they are starting a movement to bring attention about
veteran suicide to the public.
Reflection: This article had some good information that I may use in my paper. I will probably use the
number of suicides that is stated in the article. There wasnt really much more info I found useful, but
the article was a good read.
"Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide." Http://www.mccl.org/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide.html.
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Summary: This article provided information on euthanasia. The article seems to be biased on the issue,
but still had some good points. Euthanasia is assisted suicide. The article talked about where assisted
suicide is legal, and talked about the different ways euthanasia is performed.
Evaluation: The article was informational but seemed biased. There is a section in the article titled Why
Euthanasia is Wrong. Although this piece seems biased, it has good information about where assisted
suicide is legal, the ways that it is performed, and the dangers of it. This piece also has information that I
found disturbing about the Netherlands euthanasia laws about killing disabled babies.

Joshua Vanwormer
Kelly Turnbeaugh
English 1010
Annoted Bibliography

Reflection: This article had some very interesting information on euthanasia, and I will most likely use
some of it in my paper. I found out where euthanasia is legal, the ways that it is performed, and some of
the risks of it. This article seems to be pro life, so they have a negative look on the subject, but all in all it
was a good read and had good information.

"DrugFacts: Substance Abuse in the Military."

Http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/substance-abuse-in-military. National Institute on
Drug Abuse, Mar. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Summary: This article talks about the rise of substance abuse in the military. The article talks about the
rise of addictions to prescription drugs along with alcohol and tobacco addictions. The article also
mentions that with the rise of deployments came the rise of substance abuse. This piece also talks
briefly about substance abuse and suicide and that in 2009 one third of the veterans that committed
suicide were on some kind of substance.
Evaluation: This article had good information, on a growing issue. The statistics used in the article were
informational, and come from a credible source. The information is not current but it highlights the
problem of substance abuse in the military. I found the tie between multiple deployments and
substance abuse to be interesting, but it makes sense given the stress that multiple deployments bring.
Reflection: Although the information in this article is from a couple years ago, I found it informational,
and I may use it in my paper. The article does a good job at showing the rise of substance abuse, and
also has a piece in it about substance abuse and suicide. Even though this article has disturbing
information, it is the truth and sheds light on a growing problem.

Joshua Vanwormer
Kelly Turnbeaugh
English 1010
Annoted Bibliography

"Why Modern Soldiers Are More Susceptible to Suicide."

Http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/02/17148761-why-modern-soldiers-are-moresusceptible-to-suicide. Nbc News, 2 Mar. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

Summary: This article talks about the difference in suicide rates from past war veterans to todays
veterans. The article has statistics and has a possible reason. The article talks about how soldiers now
are not as mentally resilient as soldiers from ww11 era. The article states that back then we were
coming off of the great depression, so the people of that time were used to dealing with stress.
Evaluation: This article offers interesting statistics and maybe an explanation on why the suicide rate is
so high among todays veterans. The article comes from NBC news, so its a credible source. This article
offers a interesting explanation on why the suicide rate is so high in todays military. The article states
that the reason that the suicide rate is higher now is because todays generation dont have to deal with
as much stress and problems of previous generations, therefor todays generation is less resilient.
Reflection: I think that this article has some useful information, and it was a good read. The article has
good statistics comparing suicide rates from past wars to present. I also like the explanation purposed as
to why the rate is higher today than in previous wars. I will most likely use some of this information in
my paper, and even if I dont, I still found the article interesting.