Another Iraq Vet, Haunted by the War, Hangs Himself

In recent months, the issue of suicides among troops in Iraq, and returnees at home, has -- after long being ignored -- earned wide attention in the U.S. press. Many newspapers have documented tragic examples in their own backyards, the only way they can really get recognized at all, and I have been documenting this in my writings here and elsewhere, and in my new book, for almost five years.

One of the latest cases emerged yesterday, from Dennis Yusko at the Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union, and is all too typical. Haunted by his experiences in the war, he hanged himself next to a Bible, his Army uniform and a statue of an angel, said his mother, who discovered the body herself after he failed to show up to work for two days.

Yusko's story opens as follows:

The war in Iraq never ended for Jonathan Michael Boucher. Not when he flew home from Baghdad, not when he moved to Saratoga Springs for a fresh start and, especially, not when nighttime arrived.

Tortured by what he saw as an 18-year-old Army private during the 2003 invasion and occupation, Boucher was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and honorably discharged from the military less than two years later.

On May 15, three days before his 24th birthday, the young veteran committed suicide in his apartment's bathroom, stunning friends and family, including more than three dozen cousins. There was no note. He was buried in the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery just days before Memorial Day.

His death came even as Pentagon officials prepared to release numbers showing an increase in suicide and PTSD rates among active-duty troops. Some 115 killed themselves in 2007 -- a 20 percent increase since 2005.

PTSD, an anxiety- and stress-related disorder, has afflicted some 40,000 American troops since 2003. The military, in last week's report, acknowledged lengthy and repeated deployments are taking their toll.

The story relates that during the early months of the war Johnny Boucher "had the evils of combat etched into his mind. The soldier was devastated by seeing a young Iraqi boy holding his dead father, who had been shot in the head." Later, near the airport, he saw four good friends in his artillery battery killed in a vehicle accident minutes after one of them relieved him from duty, his father said.

At nighttime, he was haunted by demons. Bitterness about the war arrived, and the troubled former soldier started drinking to calm himself. Then his mother found his body.

Greg Mitchell's new book has several chapters on Iraq vet suicides. It is titled So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq.

Comments

[mooreaj2]

I must say that Veterans are not given the correct benefits and information they need when they return back and I agree with Sam above that they are under constant pressure to cut spending. To cut funding and spending to veterans is ridiculous. Out of anyone in the United States they deserve the most government funding and benefits because they HAVE EARNED IT. I joined the group www.vetfriends.com which boasts over 866,000 veteran and military members. There I have found some old contacts and friends along with being able to speak with fellow veterans about veteran issues. Hopefully we can generate enough publicity about veteran issues to the point that it cant be ignored anymore. Thank you for writing this article!

[SamThornton]

Greg, as a veteran myself and former VA employee, I have to think that the VA is not paying enough attention to returning vets who seek VA help. One of the primary reasons is that VA managers are under constant pressure to reduce costs and they typically do so by putting pressure on claims examiners to deny claims and reduce any benefits that have been awarded.

Most veterans lack the knowledge of the maze of laws, regulations, and procedures necessary to protect themselves from this predation. Most of them also don't realize that free, effective help is available if they ask for it. Congress has authorized a number of Veterans Services Organizations to provide professional representation for veterans before the VA. The representatives are extremely effective and typically know the VA system better than the VA claims examiners and managers they challenge. They will fight tooth and nail to get a veteran every benefit and treatment the vet is entitled to.

Authorized VSO's include the American Red Cross, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans. For a complete list: http://republicans.veterans.house.gov/links/ (The Democratic website lacks the information.)

To protect their interests, no veteran should file a claim with the VA without formal representation by one of these organizations. If a veteran who's been short-changed by the VA reads this, take heart. VSOs are equally effective in filing claims for back-benefits wrongly denied.

[TunnelRat]

Thanks for the info Sam. I'll keep all this in mind when Obama shoves socialized health care down the throats of American. Aaah, I can't wait.

[SamThornton]

Unfortunately, Obama has not proposed socialized medicine. Instead, he's proposing an extension of private medical insurance coverage which still faces the problem of artificially inflated costs in the name of our precious "private enterprise."