Military and Defence Policy Archives - KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show · Burt Cohen

Twenty Years Ago Today 3/20/03: The Price Veterans Still Pay

March 20, 2023·1 hr·5 clips

Over 30,000 veterans have died by suicide, four times more than those killed in combat—why is this happening?

This episode of Keeping Democracy Alive examines the concept of moral injury among U.S. military veterans and its connection to American war culture. Host Bert Cohen interviews guest Kelly Denton-Borhaug, a scholar of global religions and author of "And Then Your Soul Is Gone: Moral Injury and U.S. War Culture." Denton-Borhaug investigates the collision of religion and violence in justifying war. The discussion cites a Military Times study finding over 30,000 Global War on Terror veterans have died by suicide, compared to 7,000 killed in combat. Denton-Borhaug traces her research to the post-9/11 era, noting how leaders like George W. Bush used sacrificial language, often eliding military service with Christian theology. She defines moral injury through psychological frameworks as perpetrating, failing to prevent, or witnessing acts that transgress deep moral beliefs. Chaplain Chris Antal describes it as the collision between a person's conscience and the harsh realities of war. One memorable story involves a veteran named Andy, who participated in an airstrike killing 36 Iraqis, including a child with a singed Minnie Mouse doll. Denton-Borhaug references drone operator Daniel Hale, who was imprisoned under the Espionage Act, and a nuclear weapons officer who described a loss of innocence. She notes moral injury also affects war correspondents and healthcare workers who witness violence. The conversation mentions programs like the moral injury group at the Michael Crescenz VA Hospital, which uses community testimony for healing. A surprising insight is that valorizing veterans can be a distancing mechanism that exacerbates their isolation. Denton-Borhaug argues modern warfare elements like drone strikes and traumatic brain injury may worsen moral injury, not prevent it. She connects individual suffering to structural issues, like over 800 U.S. international bases and more than half the discretionary budget funding war culture. The episode critiques presidential rhetoric from both parties as consistently disingenuous regarding war objectives. The tone is educational and conversational, blending personal anecdotes with scholarly analysis. It adopts a reflective and critical perspective on national policy and cultural narratives. Listeners interested in veterans' issues, the psychology of trauma, or critical studies of militarism would find this episode compelling. Those seeking celebratory military history or uncontroversial policy discussion might prefer to skip it.

As heard by us

A sober critique of war culture that links remembrance to the wounds war leaves behind.

The episode treats Veterans Day less as ceremony than as a question of what the country owes the people it sends to war. Bert Cohen traces the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day and reads that shift as part of a push toward a more nationalist celebration of war, then…

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Why you'd press play

If Veterans Day feels too polished, this conversation goes straight at the wound underneath.

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