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A lot of our veterans and their families have gone through hell -- deployment after deployment, months and years away from their families ; missed birthdays, anniversaries ; empty chairs at holidays ; financial struggles ; divorces ; loss of limbs ; traumatic brain injury ; post-traumatic stress. We see it in the struggles many have when they come home. We see it in the strain on their families and caregivers. We see it in the strain of their families when they're not there. We see it in the grief borne by their survivors. The cost of war they will carry with them their whole lives, most tragically, we see it in the shocking and stunning statistic that should give pause to anyone who thinks war can ever be low-grade, low-risk or low-cost : Eighteen veterans, on average, who die by suicide every single day in America -- not in a far-off place, but right here in America.