Crosses at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake, Minn., reflect off the glass of a framed photograph of Marine Jonathan Schulze during his funeral services Saturday. Schulze tried to live with the nightmares and grief he brought home after serving in Iraq, but it overwhelmed him. He didn't get the help he needed to survive, his family claims. Schulze committed suicide four days after telling Veterans Administration workers he was thinking about killing himself, his father and stepmother said. The VA declined to comment.
We've got to remember that so many of the men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are young people with limited life experiences. They have a warrior's heart, but their youth hasn't prepared them for the horrors of war. We must love and care for them when they return from battle.
4 comments:
I read this yesterday, It left me so angry......angry at the protestors, angry at most civilians, just angry! God bless this young Hero. I wanted to send the article to De'on but wasn't sure if I should send something like this to her. I noticed the date he was in Iraq, April 2004 and wondered did Echo Co know this gunner? I want to know why, why does nobody care? Where are the people who put down the war but say they support the troops? I've asked people who have said that.. Oh, you do? What's the name of the Marine or soldier your sending care packages to? They look at me like I'm crazy! I have told them, you do NOT support the troops and have walked off. I'm sorry for going on and on but this broke my heart. I wish I could hug every Marine and soldier who have fought for me. This young hero will always be remembered by me!
I can't agree more, Diane. I went ahead and posted Jonathan Schulze's picture because I wanted everyone to know there are some men and women who return with wounds that aren't always so visible. But those wounds are as real and as painful as physical ones.
You're so right. Jonathan was a hero. He fought for us. He risked his life for us. He deserved better from his fellow Americans. I went ahead and posted his picture because we can't shove these stories under the rug. There are many others like him who are hurting, and we have to care for them.
They are American heroes, and I don't care if the wound is physical or mental. I'm just grateful that this young man is now healed.
I can't agree more. And this is not the exception, and it doesn't even have to be the young.
This is one issue I would like to come more to the forefront and another reason I blog.
These men and women who have the heart to go to war for us have a huge heart, and they need to know how much we love them and that they don't ever HAVE to be who they were before. I think that it would be impossible. It is something that needs to be dealt with more and more.
They shouldn't even have to come home and ask for the help. It should be there in place, but there is nothing like family and friends who can sort of just know and open doors for them that they may not even know need to be opened. And we certainly don't need to close ever a one to these precious, precious warriors who lay down their lives in ways we'll never know ... no matter how much they tell us ... even they don't realize how broken things can get.
You're so right, De'on, and you said it well. They don't have to be who they were before.
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