While war and serving in the military have always been highly stressful, we found that throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, periods of war were actually associated with decreased suicide rates in the U.S. Army, something that flipped with the long war in Vietnam. More broadly, we found that throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries U.S. Army suicide rates were well above today’s rates. Then, beginning with World War II, rates dropped precipitously. From 1941 until 2004, these numbers were comparable to or even below civilian rates. The military suicide rate overtook its civilian counterpart between 2007 and 2008, upending a paradigm that had stood since World War II — and no one has been able to discern why. But history may provide insight into how to tackle this tragic problem.
U.S. Army active-duty suicide rates increased over the course of the 19th century, eventually peaking in 1883 with a reported rate of 118.69 per 100,000 soldiers. Then the rate declined in a series of three successive waves, each occurring with the end of a conflict, specifically the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. Notably, the U.S. Army officially reported its lowest suicide rate of 5 people per 100,000 in 1944-45.
During World War II, total civilian mobilization and new legal and financial protections and opportunities for service members coalesced to significantly reduce the suicide rate. These included measures such as the G.I. Bill and a program that provided starter loans to service members and veterans for education and buying a home. This helped them to secure their finances, start a family and reincorporate into American society. New legal protections also helped to keep them from being evicted when deployed. And service members’ retirement benefits were improved.
Following World War II, to maintain commitments abroad, the United States drafted a standing army larger than ever before in the nation’s history. To enhance retention and keep the U.S. military competitive with the private sector, President Dwight Eisenhower championed expanded access to housing and health care for service members and their families in his 1954 State of the Union address. Improvements to both followed in the years ahead.
Nevertheless, as the Cold War began, the suicide rate began gradually rising until it stabilized at 10 to 15 per 100,000 people — less than half the pre-World War II rate — where it remained for more than 50 years, excepting a brief spike following the end of the draft and the shift to an all-volunteer force. The latter coincided with the end of the Vietnam War, when U.S. Army morale plummeted, and alcoholism, drug use and insubordination rose servicewide. Antiwar sentiment also rose among civilians.