How a simple phone call can reduce veteran suicide rates

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A 2023 report from the Department of Defense shows that military suicides had increased from the previous year. 

On Sunday, it was National Warrior Call Day. It’s a call to action for the public and those who have served, to reach out and connect with service members and veterans.

Larry Balderston, who lives in Highlands Ranch, is a World War II veteran. He talked with 9NEWS about the importance of checking on our military veterans. 

“Since my wife passed away, my kids and my grandkids, they call me all the time,” Balderston said. 

He joined the Navy when he was 17. 

“We stopped off in Okinawa and unloaded our ship because the war ended on the way,” Balderston said. 

Balderston said he has 55 grandchildren, including Kelly Dolman, who lived in Florida. 

“Sometimes you are like, ‘Yeah, I’ll get to that later,’ but it’s important to make that phone call. Then you feel good and they feel good too,” Dolman said. 

On Sunday, Dolman told 9NEWS she believed calling her grandpa has helped him over the years.  

“That is where he gets his joy when he talks to his family,” Dolman said. 

Balderston said he does not deal with mental health issues, but knows he can always count on his family to stick by his side. 

“That’s the reason I bought [property] at Jackson Lake. I bought the property so my kids would have a place to go,” he said. 

Dolman said with her grandpa being just a phone call, she would always pick up and answer. 

“He has the best attitude so we all just think that’s why he’s still going strong because he lives every day if someone asks him to go do something, he goes,” she said.