So CBS News did an investigation – asking all 50 states for their suicide data, based on death records, for veterans and non-veterans, dating back to 1995. Forty-five states sent what turned out to be a mountain of information. And what it revealed was stunning. In 2005, for example, in just those 45 states, there were at least 6,256 suicides among those who served in the armed forces. That’s 120 each and every week, in just one year.

Dr. Steve Rathburn is the acting head of the biostatistics department at the University of Georgia. CBS News asked him to run a detailed analysis of the raw numbers that we obtained from state authorities for 2004 and 2005. It found that veterans were more than twice as likely to commit suicide in 2005 than non-vets. (Veterans committed suicide at the rate of between 18.7 to 20.8 per 100,000, compared to other Americans, who did so at the rate of 8.9 per 100,000.) One age group stood out. Veterans aged 20 through 24, those who have served during the war on terror. They had the highest suicide rate among all veterans, estimated between two and four times higher than civilians the same age. (The suicide rate for non-veterans is 8.3 per 100,000, while the rate for veterans was found to be between 22.9 and 31.9 per 100,000.)

“Wow! Those are devastating,” said Paul Sullivan, a former VA analyst who is now an advocate for veterans rights from the group Veterans For Common Sense. “Those numbers clearly show an epidemic of mental health problems,” he said. “We are determined to decrease veteran suicides,” Dr. Katz said. “One hundred and twenty a week. Is that a problem?” Keteyian asked, “You bet it’s a problem,” he said. Is it an epidemic? “Suicide in America is an epidemic, and that includes veterans,” Katz said. Sen. Murray said the numbers CBS News uncovered are significant: “These statistics tell me we’ve really failed people that served our country.” Do these numbers serve as a wake-up call for this country? “If these numbers don’t wake up this country, nothing will,” she said. “We each have a responsibility to the men and women who serve us aren’t lost when they come home.”

An update: Another member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, responded to the CBS News story Tuesday. “The report that the rate of suicide among veterans is double that of the general population is deeply troubling and simply unacceptable. I am especially concerned that so many young veterans appear to be taking their own lives. For too many veterans, returning home from battle does not bring an end to conflict. There is no question that action is needed.”