Barnes Raises Awareness for Veterans Suicide Prevention
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WHEELING - The true spirit of Memorial Day ran deep with a number of patriotic participants in the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine, and one veteran runner - in both senses of the word a "veteran" - once again took to the course in memory and to help raise awareness of military veterans who have lost their lives to suicide.
Tiffany Barnes could be seen proudly carrying an American flag and toting a military backpack decorated with the photos of fallen veterans - some of whom died in service to their country and others who died by their own hand, often suffering silently with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Barnes, originally from Barnesville and now a resident of Colerain, also carried a symbolic gas mask. The gas mask emerged as a symbol of service men and women who hide their struggles while putting on a very different public face - an unhealthy facade behind which a veteran may be too ashamed to seek the kind of help they need.
It’s a mask that needs to be removed, and veterans need to return to a society where they feel comfortable enough to talk about these issues that can weigh so heavily on them, Barnes noted.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in 2012 released an alarming statistic showing that an average of 22 U.S. military veterans die by suicide every day. In 2013, the mission known as "22Kill" was started as a way to help raise awareness of this statistic.
"’22Kill’ actually is a veterans suicide prevention situation - that’s what the gas mask if for," she said. "It’s the mask of people struggling from the aftereffects of war and PTSD. So I wear memorials of veterans that either died during the war or from suicide afterwards."
Barnes, a military veteran herself who spent 13 years in the U.S. Army and served two tours in Iraq, actually has the "22Kill" gas mask tattooed on her arm.
"It’s really important," she said. "When we’re running, and people see the flag, I want them to take a little moment to think about what it’s for."
Raising awareness for veterans suicide prevention is something Barnes has been doing for six years. On Saturday, she ran the Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic.
"I run lots of other races, but this is the only one where I wear all of this," she said. "It’s Memorial Day weekend, so this is what it’s for."