Mary Corkhill Kirkland, 49 of Indianapolis holds a photograph of her son Spc. Derrick Kirkland, who committed suicide while serving in the Army. (MATT DETRICH/The Indianapolis Star)
A Military Base 'On The Brink' -- L.A. Times
The toll of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is catching up with the Washington state communities near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the form of suicides, slayings and more.
Reporting from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. — Mary Coghill Kirkland said she asked her son, 21-year-old Army Spc. Derrick Kirkland, what was wrong as soon as he came back from his first deployment to Iraq in 2008.
He had a ready answer: "Mom, I'm a murderer."
He told her how his team had kicked in the door of an Iraqi house and quickly shot a man inside. With the man lying wounded on the floor, "my son got ordered by his sergeant to stand on his chest to make him bleed out faster," Kirkland said. "He said, 'We've got to move, and he's got to die before we move.'"
Read more ....
My Comment: The paragraph that caught my attention was the following ....
.... "At 24 years of age, a soldier, on average, has moved from home, family and friends and has resided in two other states; has traveled the world (deployed); been promoted four times; bought a car and wrecked it; married and had children; has had relationship and financial problems; seen death; is responsible for dozens of soldiers; maintains millions of dollars worth of equipment; and gets paid less than $40,000 a year," Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said in a report last year.
Quite shocking .... when you think about it. And when you think about it .... it is not a surprise to then realize why many soldiers are having problems adjusting to civilian life. Mentally unprepared for war .... mentally unprepared for after war.
1 comment:
Does anyone know how I can contact Mary Corkhill. My husband would really like to get in touch.
Thanks.
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