The Department of Veterans Affairs used a test group of 143 veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder in a smoking-cessation research program involving Chantix, a drug the Food and Drug Administration says has been linked to suicide, according to a Washington Times/ABC News investigative report,

The report outraged George Lisicki, a Vietnam veteran and the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “Those in the VA who failed to properly serve America’s veterans must resign their positions,” he declared. “If not, then the VA secretary must take decisive action to terminate them.”

The Washington Times/ABC News report said Chantix has been linked to nearly 40 suicides and more than 400 incidents of suicidal behavior. The drug’s manufacturer and the FDA have recently cautioned health care providers about adverse side effects that could include anxiety and depression and increase the risk of suicide.

All 940 veterans enrolled in the VA’s smoking cessation program have PTSD. The test group of 143 was prescribed Chantix, made by Pfizer.

Other drugs reportedly being used to treat veterans with PTSD are the anticonvulsant Divalproex, and the antidepressants Paroxetine, Mirtazapine and Citalopram, all of which carry warnings of potential suicidal side effects.

Said the VFW’s Lisicki: “VA Secretary James Peake is an honorable professional who has only been at VA a few months, but it is obvious that those he has entrusted to help him carry out VA’s mission are not doing their jobs.”

“The VFW and I, and probably most Americans, firmly believe that veterans have earned the right to better care than what was provided by the VA program managers and clinicians in this smoking cessation research program. These people knew for three months that the use of Chantix could produce potentially lethal side effects in veterans diagnosed with PTSD, yet they did nothing. They must be terminated because they failed to do the right thing for veterans.”

R.I. veteran to receive France’s Croix de Guerre

Leo Heroux, of Central Falls, was an Army amphibious engineer when he came ashore on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Tomorrow afternoon, he will be presented the Croix de Guerre with Palm in a ceremony tomorrow afternoon in Central Falls City Hall.

The medal will be presented by Mayor Charles Moreau on behalf of the French government in the 2 p.m. ceremony.

On a farm just beyond the beaches, the day after the landing, Heroux met the woman who would become his wife; they lived in Normandy for 40 years after the war. Their story was chronicled in Cornelius Ryan’s book The Longest Day.

Heroux was featured in the Emmy-winning film D-Day + 62 Years: Rhode Island Veterans Return to Normandy, which was released in 2006.

For more information call Bob Urquhart, chairman of the Rhode Island National Guard Retirees Memorial Committee, at (401) 884-1277 or e-mail him at boburquhart@cox.net.

Submarine vets to march in Bristol July 4th parade

The Ocean State chapter of Submarine Veterans of World War II, which will march in Bristol’s Fourth of July parade, invites submarine veterans from Rhode island and eastern Massachusetts to join it. Interested veterans should muster on Chestnut Street in Bristol between 8 and 9 a.m. For more information call Charles Mueller, the Rhode Island base commander, at (401) 377-9089.

Lowe’s discounts for vets

Lowe’s home improvement stores will offer veterans and active military personnel and their immediate families 10 percent discounts through July 7 on purchases of up to $5,000. Excluded are purchases made online as well as services and gift cards.

Correction

A previous Veterans Journal column included an incorrect Web site for those wishing to buy bricks for the National Guard Retirees Memorial planned for Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery, in Exeter. It is www.ringretirees.homestead.com.

•Military Police Regimental Association

Rhode Island chapter members will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Schofield Armory, 705 New London Ave., Cranston.

•Marine Corps League

The Kent County Detachment will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in VFW Post 449, Providence Street, West Warwick.

•Submarine Veterans-Groton

Subvets-Groton will hold a July 4 parade, starting at noon from Poquonnock Plains Park; submarine school students will carry the flags of 54 subs lost during and after World War II. For details, call John Carcioppolo at (860) 464-8770 or send e-mail to gumba700@aol.com. Members planning to march or ride in the parade should call Theresa Starratt at (860) 303-3006 or send e-mail to pao@subvetsgroton.org.

The monthly SubVets World War II social and luncheon will be held on July 8, at 11:30 a.m., and the monthly Holland Club luncheon is set for July 15, at 11:30 a.m. For more information about meetings, call (860) 445-5262.

•AMVETS

AMVETS Post 37, in Bristol, has awarded the $500 scholarship to Sara Morrison, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Morrison and granddaughter of post member Louis Cirillo.

•Veterans of Foreign Wars

The following Auxiliary officers were elected recently: president, Rosemary Williams; senior vice president, Karen Lavoie; junior vice president, Michele Silva; chaplain, Arlene Bianchi; conductress, Madeline Babbitt; guard, Christine Terpening; secretary, Helen DelRosso; chief of staff, Charlotte Oliveira; patriotic instructor, Alice Cote; historian, Emily Berndt; and, treasurer, national council member, and eastern states conference guard, Peggy Azzinaro.

•Disabled American Veterans

The DAV will have a limited outreach schedule during the summer months with no Hyannis Outpatient Clinic visits planned. Veterans needing help or representation with a VA claim or appeal can visit with a national service officer at the Warwick Vets Center on July 10, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and at the New Bedford Vets Center on July 29, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The DAV Providence office will be closed for interviews from Aug. 7 to 13 due to the national convention in Las Vegas. A full outreach schedule will resume in September.

George W. Reilly can be reached at VeteransColumn@verizon.net or by writing to The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.