Rah! Rah! Fucking Rah!

After serving a 12-month tour of duty in Iraq last year, Marine Lance Corporal Jeff Lucey returned home to his relieved family with no injuries -- or at least none that were visible. "When we didn't see him tremendously traumatized when he returned, we thought, 'Oh, thank god,'" says his father, Kevin Lucey. "And then it exploded."

For months the 23-year-old battled his wartime demons; nightmares, bouts of depression and anxiety, and crushing guilt -- classic symptoms of acute post-traumatic stress.

"He told me he was a murderer," says Jeff's sister, Debra. "He said, 'Don't you understand? Your brother’s a murderer.'"

On June 22, 2004, Jeff Lucey lost his battle. He hanged himself from a rafter in the cellar of his family home.

"He did something, or he saw something, that destroyed him," ventures his mother, Joyce. "So that when he came back, he took his own life."

And he's not the only one: "A recent spike in Air Force suicides, 10 in September, has leaders scrambling to find the cause after launching prevention programs this year because of a gradual rise."

Three times as many Vietnam Veterans committed suicide as were killed in battle.

You think maybe it could be to do with the nature of their job?

Posted by Eddie Tews at November 9, 2004 05:21 PM