These U.S. military veterans are still helping one another survive

The day she took her life six years ago, her pockets stuffed with inspirational sayings on pieces of paper, combat veteran Deana Martorella Orellana went to a Veterans Affairs center and asked for help.

One year ago, on the day he stood before the Lincoln Memorial and shot himself in the head, Airman Kenneth Omar Santiago tried to get a counseling appointment on base.

And for months before he ripped off his helmet and ran into the massive rotors of a Seahawk helicopter to end his life, Brandon Caserta begged for mental health help.

These are three people I profiled in stories about military suicide in the past year, and they all had something in common. Each of them did exactly what the campaigns and counselors and public service announcements tell people in crisis to do: They asked for help.