A Family Tries To Cope With A Military Suicide

Danelle Hackett, 46, holds a Christmas ornament with a photo of her late husband, Maj. Jeffrey Hackett, at her home in Bethany, W.Va., on Feb. 3. Mrs. Hackett had the ornament made in remembrance of her husband of 22 years on the first Christmas after his death. The inscription reads, “1st Christmas, Jeff, 28 June 1964 - 5 June 2010, Love You.” Joe Appel/For The Washington Post

Marine’s Suicide Is Only Start Of Family’s Struggle -- Washington Post

For most of his 26 years in the military, Maj. Jeff Hackett was a standout Marine. Two tours in Iraq destroyed him.

Home from combat, he drank too much, suffered public breakdowns and was hospitalized for panic attacks. In June 2010, he killed himself.

Hackett’s suicide deeply troubled Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps. Hackett had been plucked from the enlisted ranks to lead Marines as an officer. He left behind a widow, four sons and more than $460,000 in debts. To Amos, Hackett was a casualty of war — surely the family deserved some compensation from the federal government.

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My Comment: It is a family struggle that will last a lifetime. My godfather was a Second World War Two vet who committed suicide when I was very young. Even though the war had ended 17 years earlier for him .... as my mother put it to me .... he could not get rid of the nightmares and the trauma that he had received from that war. As for my godfathers familiy .... his suicide occurred 49 years ago .... but they live with that loss as if it had happened yesterday.