OP-ED COLUMNIST

A Veteran’s Death, the Nation’s Shame

Leila Denmark dies at 114; pediatrician practiced until she was 103

Denmark was the world’s fourth-oldest person when she died. She did pioneering research on whooping cough, which killed many babies, during a 1932 epidemic and helped develop a successful vaccine.

Dr. Leila Denmark examines a child in Athens, Ga., in the 1990s. She practiced medicine for more than 70 years. (Lynn Johnson)

April 5, 2012

Dr. Leila Daughtry Denmark, a Georgia pediatrician who was the country’s oldest known practicing physician when she retired at 103, died Sunday at her daughter’s home in Athens, Ga., her family announced. She was 114.

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Suicides among Army personnel up 80% in four years

The study authors estimated that 25% to 50% of the suicides were directly related to the combat commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. (M. Ryder / Tribune Media Services)

By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blogMarch 8, 2012, 9:56 a.m.

Suicide among young Army personnel is among the saddest tolls of the country’s two long wars this century. A report released Thursday found suicides among U.S. Army personnel rose 80% between 2004 and 2008.