I have several family members who are Marines. Only one is, or was, still active. 25, wife, 3 young kids. Afghanistan. A recruiter for the Corps in Colorado Springs. Good kid, great sense of humor, hard worker. Last Thursday morn, grandson Justin went into the home's bathroom, held a gun to his head, and pulled the trigger.
I have been thinking about this constantly, day and night.
Why do some people do the things they do? Who knows what demons were running around that racetrack in his head?
NOT, NOT, NOT looking for sympathy. Just thinking out loud, I guess, tryin' to figure it out.
Dennis in Colorado, USMC 1967-71 Father to 2 Marines Grandfather to 5 Marines (including a young lady who put in 4) Uncle to 2 more
Semper Fi
May God rest their souls.
Unfortunately, I've known a handful of friends who have made the decision to end their lives, but none were family. If you want my opinion, mental illness is under reported and even less treated. I think people think of it as a character flaw and resist addressing it. If they had a broken bone, they wouldn't think twice about seeing a doctor, but admitting mental problems and seeking help is probably pretty hard; coupled with the fact that you might not be thinking clearly makes it even more difficult.
My best friend hung himself June 5, 1995 after a long battle with a bi-polar disorder presumably from a head injury sustained from a bicycle crash 7-8 years earlier. I wish I could say you forget and don't think about it after a while, but I'd be lying.
Take Care,
ben
Nobody would ever know your pain but that which I feeling right now for yourself and your family has overcome me with sorrow. I will pray this night for your grandson and your family and ask Our Lord for your and your families future blessings and protection. Your story has shaken me to the core.
The Rock
May God give you and your family peace!
God Bless,
Scar.
but you will receive prayers from all of us
bill v
I'd love to be able to say that it gets better, but sadly, that is not the case.
My Dad with 24 active years as a Navy SeaBee, with 3 Vietnam Tours, decided that was the only option 11 years ago this March 2nd at 12:47 in the afternoon. For reasons only he knew, and we will forever speculate on.
My thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of need. Just know that you are not alone Brother. This is a problem that we all need to fight and help those who might ponder this as an option.
Brotsky's Link
If any of you fine gentlemen would like to get involved and help out our vets battling these issues, I urge you to look into the 22Kill organization at the link above. They are dedicated to raising awareness of the Veteran battle with suicide and helping out returning vets with battle buddies and other programs to help prevent things like this from happening as they all too often are to those we owe the most to. God bless.