When retired Air Force Master Sergeant Jared Bonvell was medically retired from the service in 2014, he had spent years investigating suicides as a special agent.
Then, he began experiencing suicidal thoughts himself.
Bonvell shared that experience at a veteran suicide prevention event held at Tower Park in Fort Thomas on Tuesday. The Northern Kentucky Service Members, Veterans and Families Suicide Prevention Coalition planted 660 flags adjacent to the veterans’ memorial, which serve as a visual reminder of the number of veterans who die by suicide in the United States each month.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. The flags will stay planted until October.
“When I was medically retired in 2014, I was on 13 medications, drinking about a half a gallon of whiskey every couple days just to be able to sleep,” Bonvell said. “Soon, the intrusive thoughts, suicidal thinking, began.”
Bonvell served nearly 18 years in the Air Force, first as a weapons loader and later as an Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agent, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. During his career, he said he investigated about 50 suicides.
“I’m investigating all these suicides, and then I start to feel that same way,” Bonvell told LINK nky after the event. “I’ve got all the training in the world, and I’m feeling this way. What about somebody that doesn’t have my background?”
Bonvell said it took about two-and-a-half to three years after his retirement to get off the medications he had been taking. He now advocates for veterans and supports expanding access to alternative treatments alongside traditional medical care.
For Bonvell, preventing suicide can also begin with something much simpler: starting a conversation.
“A lot of it’s just losing hope, you know, not having a purpose or feeling at a complete loss,” he said. “Just a simple, ‘Hey man, you doing okay?’ or ‘Hey, let’s go chat for a minute.’ That can open the door for a lot of change in somebody.”
That message was echoed throughout the event.
Fort Thomas City Administrator Matt Kremer welcomed attendees and served as emcee. Kremer is an Army combat veteran. He served two tours in Iraq and retired in 2018 as the 478th Engineer Battalion Executive Officer after 20 years of service.
Kremer said the gathering was about more than memorializing those who have died.
“Today is not just a time of remembrance, but also of recognition of the struggles many face in silence, and of that courage it takes to acknowledge those truths,” Kremer said.
Vyneta Bernet, a Navy veteran and coordinator of the American Legion’s Be the One program at Post 219 in Alexandria, told attendees that warning signs can include withdrawal from others, changes in behavior, increased alcohol or drug use and sudden irritability or silence. Be the One offers free suicide prevention training.
“Community engagement, not just government programs, will be the true turning point in ending this crisis,” Bernet said. “It is our responsibility. It is our job. It is our duty.”
For Deb Winkler, that mission is personal.
Her son, Marine Corps veteran Matthew Winkler, died by suicide in 2016. He served two tours overseas before returning home in 2014. Winkler said her son had a difficult time reintegrating into society as a civilian. She has since become an advocate for veterans and their families.
Winkler urged people to turn sympathy into action, even through small gestures like buying a veteran lunch.
“Service is what I want to give back, just a little bit, so another mother, another veteran isn’t sitting up here having to tell you our story,” Winkler said.
Bonvell is a commander of the VFW Post 3205 in Alexandria. He said there is a lot of division among the veteran community caused by the political climate. Still, he urged veterans to come to the VFW (a nonprofit service organization for United States war veterans) and the American Legion (advocates for veterans, service members, and military families while fighting to end veteran suicide) and join one of their groups.
Learn more about the Northern Kentucky Service Members, Veterans, and Families Suicide Prevention Coalition and get more complete data on veteran suicide below. Anyone struggling with suicidal ideation can call 988 from their phone 24/7 to speak with a crisis counselor.
