If you know a veteran, ensure they’re treated like family.

Consider adding a seat to the holiday dinner table.

Look past whatever flaws they may have. They fought for you. They risked their lives.

You owe them.

Although the world seems to be at war, America has been able to keep the vast majority of our Armed Forces off the frontlines. But despite the nation’s peaceful status, we’re losing our veterans at abysmal rates — not to war, but to suicide.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 17 veterans took their own lives each day in America in 2021 (the VA released the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report last week).

It’s as if we’re fighting a war against ourselves.

The nation lost 6,392 veterans to suicide in 2021. That was 114 more veteran lives lost than 2020.

Stop to think about that number. That’s nearly 50 percent more deaths, annually, than the United States lost in Iraq since 2003.

More than 6,000 American veterans killing themselves — each and every year.

We’re doing something wrong. It’s time to admit it. And it’s time for drastic action.

The nation has fewer veterans each year due to technological war innovations and U.S. draw-downs from Afghanistan and Iraq. But more soldiers are dying, by their own hands, than ever. And female veterans are killing themselves at staggering rates (the VA reports a 24.1% increase in the age-adjusted suicide rate for women, compared to an increase of 6.3% among male veterans).

U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Denis R. McDonough visited Johnston’s Operation Stand Down Rhode Island (OSDRI) on Monday. He called the most recent veteran suicide data “startling.”

Let us go further. This data point represents a failure by the American government to protect and support its men and women in uniform.

Organizations like OSDRI step in to fill the gaps left by a woefully underperforming federal government. Both the U.S. and the Ocean State need to show thanks for the sacrifices made by its veteran servicemen and women.

They stepped up for us. Now it’s time for the government to step up.

The food pantry at OSDRI stays pretty well stocked through the holidays, but the shelves often empty by January. Give all year-round — not just on Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.

And ensure the veterans in your life have a safe, supportive place at your dinner table throughout the next few months. This time of year’s rough on all of us, but it can be a particularly dangerous time for anyone who’s considering suicide.

Don’t just give your thanks. Show your gratitude.