How tragedy led to Des Plaines veteran's mission of suicide prevention

Vietnam-era Air Force veteran Tom Strossner of Des Plaines had been steadily increasing his post-retirement service to fellow veterans last fall when tragedy struck the American Legion post where he was serving as commander.

A younger member of the post who was in crisis took his own life in November.

Ever since, Strossner has made it his mission to make himself and others as well-prepared as possible to help those in such pain.

“I'll be honest with you, I never, never thought I would face a suicide in my lifetime,” Strossner said. “Now I'm all on board with making people aware.”

Only weeks after suffering that loss, Strossner saw a presentation in River Grove on veteran suicide prevention training.

This month, he brought the same program to American Legion Post 36 in Des Plaines.

The program highlights the complexity of suicide and the factors that play a role in whether a person in distress will attempt it. It's delivered by Kristy Bassett, community engagement and partnership coordinator at Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Carmona Caravelli, the hospital's lead suicide prevention coordinator.

Several factors make veterans a distinct population, they said, including their likelihood of owning and being trained in the use of firearms.

While stressing that neither they nor the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are anti-gun, they said firearms more commonly are used by veterans than the general population in suicide attempts and can narrow the time frame a person in distress has to reevaluate his or her decision.

Persuading at-risk veterans to voluntarily separate themselves from their firearms is just one targeted prevention measure, they said.

Staying calm, avoiding mirroring the at-risk person's mental distress and not shying away from the direct question, “Are you thinking about killing yourself?” are other important strategies for others to know and exercise.

“You don't need an advanced degree to be able to help someone,” Bassett said.

Strossner likens the training to CPR instruction - something most people might hope to never need but would find invaluable in the unexpected moment they do.

This month's one-night training event is not the end of the prevention measures the post intends to take, he said.

In some ways, Strossner considers himself an unlikely person to be leading the post through such a challenging time - or at all.

“I lived in this town 30-some years and didn't even know this post was here,” he said. “I joined this post six years ago. I made the mistake of telling them I wanted to get involved.

“I don't know how I could get more involved than I am now,” he said with a smile.

After retiring, Strossner believed it would be good to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow veterans again, something he didn't have much time to think about while working. Now, part of what he sees as his role as post commander is to persuade others in the community to not wait as long as he did to join.

Strossner graduated from Lake View High School in Chicago in 1966 and immediately went to work for the construction firm that would build the house in Hoffman Estates his family would move into.

“Then I decided I was going to join the Air Force because I really wanted to work on airplanes,” he said.

He became a crew chief on an airplane at 19. That's where he learned many of the organizational skills that would quickly prove valuable to his American Legion Post.

Though Strossner spent the majority of his service in the U.S., he was in Iceland for some months at two different times and at an Air Force base in Vietnam from June of 1968 to June of 1969, shortly after the Tet Offensive.

The fact that he got out of the Air Force in 1971 made a big difference to the rest of his life. Airlines were laying off workers rather than hiring, and he ended up supporting his young family with a truck driving job that became a career.

But his main focus now is helping fellow veterans and making sure American Legion Post 36 is accessible to them.

“We have all served,” he said of the bond he feels with other members. “It's the same military, just a different era. You are a family, no matter what era you served in. It's a great post. I felt that after I joined here.”