Monday July 14, 2008, 10:47 am
Really sad..rest in peace..You are in a better place..Our goverment don't care!

Monday July 14, 2008, 10:55 am
Thank you, MZ B. His face is haunting in that old photo that became for me the "Vietnam Photo" of the Iraq war.

Monday July 14, 2008, 11:04 am
We can't begin to know or understand what these brave men and women have gone through and what memories haunt them upon their return home. It sadens me to know that we as a society failed him upon his return when he had so selflessly given so much to each of us and each of them. Every soldier goes into combat with the sure knowledge that it is not going to be a pretty time but there is no way to prepare for the reality of war. I was born into a family of career Military- my own son-in-law has completed three tours in Iraq as a combat medic. *sigh* My heartfelt Prayers go out to all of our Servive men and women.

Monday July 14, 2008, 11:20 am
Good observations, Doc Angel. My cousin has been over there 4 times now, and his wife has finally gotten him into a group 'just to talk' as going into therapy becomes a black mark on their 'jackets' i.e. the papers that follow them around all of their career in the military.

Monday July 14, 2008, 1:49 pm
rest in peace,sad story

Monday July 14, 2008, 1:52 pm
When is the military going to realize that ALL returning troops should be screened for mental distress? It should not be a black mark on their record that it was caught in time.....way too many suicides are happening! My heart goes out to his family, and shame on you, VA, for not helping this fine young man. Thanks, LadyGayle

Monday July 14, 2008, 2:02 pm
Sad way to Go; A medic Must have So Much More To Deal with As they See the Violences Results over and over and can Do Little To Heal or Save SO Many of the victims; So Many Images to Try to Escape; But Then, Inhalants are a Common choice of Kids Trying to Shut out the Horror of thir Lives Too.....

Going To Therapy Should Be Required of all Returning Soldiers; So there is No Shame or Black mark in thier Jacket. The Military Indoctrination is Bad Enough; But To Face the Horrors of Being a Hated Occupying Force; Watching your Friends Get Blown Away; Feeling like everything that moves is a Threat, and any Piece of Junk or Freshly Disturbed Soil; by the roadside Could Kill You.
Not Being able to Trust Your Contract to End When it is Supposed to; Is all incredible Pressure; and anyone that Doesn't want Counseling is In Denial.!..

Monday July 14, 2008, 2:14 pm
Yeah... "they" speak so highly of heroes, but when the "heroes" come back and suffer from PTSD (they all do... don't let anyone tell you otherwise), they are ignored. Nice...

Monday July 14, 2008, 3:13 pm
I was one in my family who didn't go into the service, but others did, and their children followed them..., there is nothing I can say that hasn't been said very well by the comments, before mine. Thank you Rod, for your reply is what "feelings" are expressed from the members, in my family. Some I am concerned will never be the same.., because of the lack of what this government does for our troops when they return home, after multiple tours. Noted..with a very heavy heart..thank you.

Monday July 14, 2008, 7:00 pm
This is the crux of the PTSD issue, what grotesque visions have been left in the memories of those soldiers and what can we do if they awaken to the horror of those visions and their potential illegality!

Monday July 14, 2008, 8:07 pm
EVERY dang war..same thing..send a young person in, then no help for what it does to them. It is sickening and horrific. My heart goes out to them ALL.

Monday July 14, 2008, 8:34 pm
... Noted ..& God Bless this dear man and his Family.Our Government should be ashamed of themselves.

Tuesday July 15, 2008, 12:25 am
This is so sad...trying to kill the pains of his memories killed him.

Tuesday July 15, 2008, 3:47 am
This is a sad story, but one that occurs on a regular basis. I lost a family member the same way. An older brother killed himself to stop the nightmares, because he didn't want the black mark on his jacket. As well my father served in the 2nd WW & he too had a mental break down. Thankfully he survived to the age of 85. However he refused to ever speak of the war again. These men & women give their lives for us, and those they don't even know. They are proud of their time in service. When will our governments care enough about their mental health to make counseling a must on returning home?

Tuesday July 15, 2008, 7:29 am
News Flash - the government will probably never care enough. They sent them to Iraq without even giving them adequate body armor. They bring them back and treat them like they are just more of the collateral damage.

I hate war.

Sunday July 20, 2008, 7:56 am
True, Elizabeth. They'll never care because war is always a move based on greed, if you get back to the beginning, at the point the seed was planted. There's never a real thought of what they're sending our troops into, and even less thought of what they come home with. Easy to send people off to die when you can sit comfortably in front of a screen and view it as something akin to a virtual game.

I hate war, too. I never wish ill on anyone, but if I did, the perpetrators would have an afterlife of perpetual war.

Sunday August 17, 2008, 7:31 pm
It is truly sad that our valiant veterans, most of them reservist and Guardsmen who don't have fulltime benefits who are coming home with this terrible disease. However, it is not just our soldiers that suffer from PTSD. My wife had it when we met 6 years ago. She if finally getting treated for it...Well, she got diagnosed, but how she will be treated remains to be seen. Shes one of the millions with no health insurance and we live is a region where that matters. Vote for Obama in the name of the God of Peace and Justice!