My God this is so sad. I will certainly pray. My family has been plagued with suicide- and all of them have been veterans. We need to help them, but I have no idea how.

Amen. And in my prayers I have gotten the message that your friend is with the Lord. Peace and comfort.

CaptMermethyl said:

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My God this is so sad. I will certainly pray. My family has been plagued with suicide- and all of them have been veterans. We need to help them, but I have no idea how.

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It is a serious problem. Will was the 3rd from the unit that he deployed with to lose this battle since November. Sadly, in my experience, they will medicate the soldier so he can pull the trigger (they had me on 3 anti-depressants at one time). They don't treat the underlying issues, but just get them sound enough for the fight. Once they're discharged, it becomes an even lower priority. On top of that, the VA system is so utterly broken that most just give up on seeking out resources to help.

War is such an evil that once you fight it, you never stop. It continues to claim God's beautiful image bearers long after the last bullet is fired.

dermdoc said:

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Amen. And in my prayers I have gotten the message that your friend is with the Lord. Peace and comfort.

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Brother, your email last night was so uplifting. Thank you for that. I trust that Will is in the Lord's presence and no longer feeling the pain that led to this.

That sounds very similar to the stories I hear from my buddies going through the VA system. Throwing myself into my faith has helped me tremendously, but it's something with which I still struggle mightily on occasion. I don't trust medications for the psychological pain, I don't trust myself with medications for the physical pain, so there are days it just seems so overwhelming.

I had a very close friend (my son even called him "uncle") who had 2 traumatic brain injuries. After the first, while we were deployed together, he was back on mission within 5 days. After the 2nd, they sent him to Ranger School. At 27, he was then diagnosed with early onset dementia due to the TBI and took his life, leaving his wife and 2 small children. Part of me wants to be mad at my friends who lost this battle, but I get it. Sometimes the pain seems too much to bear.

So terribly sorry RA. It is one of the most pervasive and powerful issues veterans face these days. I am all to familiar with the phone calls with news I have been dreading.

It does sound like y'all tried everything to get to him in time. My thoughts are with those who were left behind. Friends and family. Especially the kiddos.

Didn't check this thread until just now. Sorry

Just wanted to post one last update. We said goodbye to Will this past Friday at DFW National Cemetery. It was a tear-soaked farewell. I had the honor of delivering the eulogy, which was far more challenging than anything I could have expected. For all my thoughts on my former line of work, the camaraderie is one of those aspects I miss dearly. Meeting guys he deployed with for the first time and walking away with new brothers that will drop everything to help if needed is one of those things that still leaves me in awe.

War has claimed another life, created another widow, and left 2 children fatherless. I know this was not God's will, but am also confident that God will shine brightly through this and will be present with Alaina, his children and those who loved him, in their grief.

Quote:

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

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Goodbye Will. You weren't a friend. You were, and always will be, my brother.

Prayers continue brother