Cheers and thank you to a group of volunteers who planed hundreds of flags in Zelienople on Friday, to raise awareness for the issue of veteran suicide.

The 660 flags, which were planted at St. Peter’s Reformed Church, were part of work by the group A.J. 22 Too Many, which was founded in memory of Army veteran A.J. Smith, who served in Iraq from 2006 through 2010 and took his own life in 2016, after struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Smith’s mother, Deb, has vowed to work to prevent other families from having to go through what she has endured — quite simply one of the noblest goals we can think of, and also a task of herculean proportions.

Veteran suicide is a serious and pervasive issue for this country, which as of last year boasted an all-volunteer military with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 865,000 in reserve, according to the International institute for Strategic Studies. The New York Times reported at the time that America had about 200,000 active duty troops deployed in more than 170 counties worldwide.

And yet, one of the deadliest foes our fighting men and women face continues to be themselves. An average of 20 veterans die by suicide every day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs — 16.8 of those daily suicides are veterans, and 3.8 are active-duty service members, according to a report the VA release in June.

That amounts to 6,132 veterans and 1,387 active-duty service members every year. And although we are finally getting a better understanding of what the veteran suicide rate means (2018 was the first year the VA acknowledged that its suicide rate included active service members of the military) we have been largely unsuccessful in changing it.

And so this genuine emergency has endured. Veterans comprise only 8.5 percent of the American population, but accounted for 18 percent of the country’s suicides in 2014; veterans are 21 percent more likely to commit suicide than other American adults; between 2001 and 2014, the suicide rate for civilians rose by 23.3 percent, for veterans it rose more than 32 percent.

Deb Smith’s message — and the message of those like her — is something that we hope can help change this problem. At its core, that message is: this is everyone’s responsibility. Every community — including ours — has an urgent need to address it.

Whether we do that by urging and helping veterans in our lives get the services and support they need, or participating in events like the one organized Friday by A.J. 22 too Many, everyone should seek to do something. Everyone can do something.

Our veterans are too important to sacrifice to suicide through inaction and inattention. This issue must remain a national priority.