Koplin said there have been 13 veterans who are confirmed to have committed suicide in Utah since about October 2006, when the VA at the federal level began requiring individual medical centers to track suicide data. Ten of those suicides in Utah, Koplin added, were veterans over the age of 40, implying that they were probably Vietnam veterans.

The national VA wants more data so that researchers are better able to predict which veterans might be at higher risk for suicide.

Koplin said there are currently 32 veterans in Utah who have attempted suicide and are actively seeking help through the VA or private sources. Within the past six months, the VA at the federal level has put at least one suicide-prevention coordinator like Koplin in each of the nation's 150 VA medical centers.

The national hotline, staffed by mental-health professionals in Canandaigua, N.Y., will help connect veterans or their family members with local mental-health resources, Koplin said. In cases such as one Koplin experienced a few days ago, a hotline worker can call for police to be dispatched to a home where a veteran appears to be in a more desperate situation and closer to making a suicide attempt.

Even one suicide, McIntire said, is too many, which is why troops are told over and over to keep an eye on their buddies, to watch out for dramatic changes in personality or if they start to withdraw from others.

"You can tell when something's not right, usually," he said. "Just listen to your gut."

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com