Military suicides are causing civilian casualties, too

[unhappycamper]

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wimmer's daughter Alex holds her sister Mi-Na at his grave.


Military suicides are causing civilian casualties, too
By Halimah Abdullah | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wimmer charmed potential Army recruits with a movie star's smile, but somehow it never quite reached his eyes, even when he was cradling his newborn twin daughters.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he dreamed of his own dead body swinging from a rope, his feet dangling just above a chair.

When those nightmares eventually blurred, the Persian Gulf veteran and former Army recruiter began trying to recreate their grisly images. He tried to kill himself with pills in the woods, and a razor blade a hotel room, and every suicide attempt drew his wife, Jennifer, and their four daughters deeper into his dark world.

Jennifer learned that his fourth suicide attempt, on July 23, had succeeded when she got a text message: You'll "find his body hanging like a Christmas ornament from a tree across from the range on base. If he knew I was sending this he would be pissed. Hope you understand. Bob."

Jennifer doesn't know who "Bob" is, and the military is preparing to close its investigation into his death pending more evidence.


Rest of article at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/02/28/88864/military-suicides-are-causing.html



unhappycamper comment: I lost my father in a military plane crash when I was 9. I kinda know what Alex is feeling.