Since the Iraq conflict began, 20 GIs have taken their own lives in the theater. Military and outside experts, alarmed by the high number, hope to find out why.
By Michael Martinez
Tribune national correspondent
Published December 26, 2003
LUFKIN, Texas -- Army Spec. Joseph Suell had been distressed before. He missed his wife and their daughters so badly last year that he was granted a short visit home from his yearlong assignment in South Korea.
It was a different story this year. In March, five months after completing his Korean tour and right after re-enlisting, the 24-year-old was sent to Kuwait and then Iraq.
The day after Father's Day, Suell died in Iraq, reportedly after taking a bottle of Tylenol. His death was classified as "non-hostile," but a military chaplain told Suell's wife, Rebecca, it was a suicide.
Suell's death comes at a time when the military is investigating the growing number of suicides by U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf region. Since the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in the spring, 18 soldiers and two Marines have committed suicide, most of them after major combat was declared over May 1, the military said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0312260174dec26,1,6709671.storygreataunt's comment: I find it interesting that this article appeared in the right-wing Chicago Tribune. Although it is on today's paper's front page, it is hidden on the Trib's website. This is an important part of the whole Iraq invasion story that needs to be told -- why are these people killing themselves in such numbers?
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