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The Uncounted Casualties of War
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey is not counted among the Iraq war dead. But he did die, when he came home. He committed suicide. His parents are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs and R. James Nicholson, the secretary of veterans affairs, for wrongful death, medical malpractice and other damages.
Kevin and Joyce Lucey saw their son's rapid descent after he returned from combat in Iraq in June 2003. Kevin said: "Hallucinations started with the visual, the audio, tactile. He would talk about hearing camel spiders in his room at night, and he actually had a flashlight under his bed, which he could use to search for the camel spiders. His whole life was falling apart."
Jeffrey told his family that he was ordered to execute two Iraqi prisoners of war. After he killed the two men, Jeffrey took their dog tags and wore them until Christmas Eve 2003, when he threw them at his sister, calling himself a murderer. A military investigation concluded the story is without merit, but Kevin Lucey says: "An agency investigating itself, I have a lot of problems with that. We fully believe our son." Joyce Lucey added: "It really, to us, didn't make a difference what caused Jeffrey's PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]. We know that he came back different, so something happened to him over there."
Jeffrey got worse, secluding himself in his room, watching TV and drinking heavily. Jeffrey was reluctant to seek care, fearing the stigma that he felt accompanied mental-health treatment. Finally, on May 28, 2004, the Luceys had Jeffrey involuntarily committed. The Veterans Affairs hospital released him after three days.
On June 5, 2004, Jeffrey had deteriorated significantly. His sisters and grandfather brought him back to the VA. Joyce said the VA "decided that he wasn't saying what he needed to say to get involuntarily committed. Later we were to find out that they never called a psychiatrist or anybody that could have evaluated him. And they have this all on the record. It said that the grandfather was pleading for his grandson to be admitted."
The Luceys later learned from staff notes that Jeffrey talked about three ways to commit suicide. His father explained: "He told them that he would suffocate himself, he would overdose or he would hang himself. He also shared with the psychiatrist how he had bought a hose. And, of course, on June 5, when we tried to admit him the second time and the VA declined, Joyce and I went through the house, we took everything that he could hurt himself with, but we never thought of a hose."
Turned back by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Jeffrey spent his last two weeks alive at home. Kevin Lucey describes the night before his son killed himself: "It was about 11:30 at night, and I was exhausted, Jeff was exhausted. He asked me if he would be able to sit in my lap. And so for 45 minutes we rocked in silence, and the therapist told us after Jeff died that that was no doubt his last place of refuge, his last safe harbor that he felt that he could go to."
The next evening, after returning home from work, Kevin raced inside: "I went to his bedroom, and the one thing I noted was that his dog tags were laying on his bed." He made his way to the cellar, where he found his son Jeffrey dead, a hose double-looped around his neck.
Three years later, his parents have filed suit. They are not alone. A separate class-action suit was filed by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been denied medical benefits.
Jeffrey Lucey's suicide note begins, "Dear Mom and Dad, I cannot express my apologies in words for the pain I have caused you but I beg for your forgiveness. I want you to know that I loved you both and still do but the pain of life was too much for me to deal with."
28 Comments so far
Show AllOn D Day the Airborne troops were instructed to not take prisoners in the first few days as they had no facilities for them and had to move fast. General Piper had about 50 American prisoners shot during the battle of the bulge for the same reason and was tried as a war criminal along with several of his soldiers. I am an Australian and have been brainwashed by many US movies etc. that the yanks are the good guys. I feel toward the troops in Iraq the same way as the SS in Warsaw. I see the attack on Faluja and its virtual razing as no different from revenge village razings by the nazis. I blame Bush but the troops are committing the attrocities.
During and after the many US wars against Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries in the period from 1955-1975, as many military people died from suicides and accidents after they came home as died in theater. Some reports say that this number is actually double combat deaths.
This does not include death by disease and other "unknown" causes. Warfare and occupation kill and maim and the nation does not give one rats ass about the warriors, once they have "done their job." The draftees of the Vietnam Era and other wars understood this. The "volunteer" military and much of the general public don't seem to get it this time around.
The best way to support the troops, maybe the only way, is to work to prevent imperial wars and occupations. It's that clear, and that hard. In the meantime, take care of your family, neighbors and those you love because nobody else will.
If the military was used in the interest of TRUE defense, I would feel that soldiers deserve some respect. Given that this Iraqi debacle is an unapologetic war of aggression that stands in violation of a number of treaties and thus constitutes an international crime it's tough to feel sympathy for its enablers. The statistics of soldiers falling apart is tragic for them, but in the end may at long last demonstrate in no uncertain terms that WAR IS FOLLY. The price is never worth what is illegally or illictly gotten. When we count the loss to US infrastructure, related perhaps to yesterday's bridge collapse in Minn (Nader spoke about the need for major U.S. rehab on bridges, schools, for the past decade) the broken lives, the ruin that is our treasury, the karmic deficit, the ill will that will rebound as MORE tragic terrorist and/or war events, the PAY OFF only goes to those who have designed war FOR profit. It is diabolical. The after effects this soldier struggles with demonstrate that there is no karmic free pass. When nazis were asked why they did atrocious things to fellow human beings, some said "we were only following orders." Yeah, and who do the orders serve? A disgusing excuse for a leader who's lied over and over again and never met an ideal he would not s--t upon, or THE authority in our universe who through a number of masters made it abundantly clear: thou shalt not kill. IF an individual faces a life-threatening circumstance (not one orchestrated as such), then fighting for his or her life is more understandable. According to the Buddhists, to kill is to kill, although penalties vary in accord with the conditions that set the act into motion.
If the military was used in the interest of TRUE defense, I would feel that soldiers deserve some respect. Given that this Iraqi debacle is an unapologetic war of aggression that stands in violation of a number of treaties and thus constitutes an international crime it's tough to feel sympathy for its enablers. The statistics of soldiers falling apart is tragic for them, but in the end may at long last demonstrate in no uncertain terms that WAR IS FOLLY. The price is never worth what is illegally or illictly gotten. When we count the loss to US infrastructure, related perhaps to yesterday's bridge collapse in Minn (Nader spoke about the need for major U.S. rehab, i.e. financial investment in bridges, schools, for the past decade) the broken lives, the ruin that is our treasury, the karmic deficit, the ill will that will rebound as MORE tragic terrorist and/or war events, the PAY OFF only goes to those who have designed war FOR profit. It is diabolical. The after effects this soldier struggles with demonstrate that there is no karmic free pass. When nazis were asked why they did atrocious things to fellow human beings, some said "we were only following orders." Yeah, and who do the orders serve? A disgusing excuse for a leader who's lied over and over again and never met an ideal he would not s--t upon, or THE authority in our universe who through a number of masters made it abundantly clear: thou shalt not kill. IF an individual faces a life-threatening circumstance (not one orchestrated as such), then fighting for his or her life is more understandable. According to the Buddhists, to kill is to kill, although penalties vary in accord with the conditions that set the act into motion.
If the military was used in the interest of TRUE defense, I would feel that soldiers deserve some respect. Given that this Iraqi debacle is an unapologetic war of aggression that stands in violation of a number of treaties and thus constitutes an international crime it's tough to feel sympathy for its enablers. The statistics of soldiers falling apart is tragic for them, but in the end may at long last demonstrate in no uncertain terms that WAR IS FOLLY. The price is never worth what is illegally or illictly gotten. When we count the loss to US infrastructure, related perhaps to yesterday's bridge collapse in Minn (Nader spoke about the need for major U.S. rehab on bridges, schools, for the past decade) the broken lives, the ruin that is our treasury, the karmic deficit, the ill will that will rebound as MORE tragic terrorist and/or war events, the PAY OFF only goes to those who have designed war FOR profit. It is diabolical. The after effects this soldier struggles with demonstrate that there is no karmic free pass. When nazis were asked why they did atrocious things to fellow human beings, some said "we were only following orders." Yeah, and who do the orders serve? A disgusing excuse for a leader who's lied over and over again and never met an ideal he would not s--t upon, or THE authority in our universe who through a number of masters made it abundantly clear: thou shalt not kill. IF an individual faces a life-threatening circumstance (not one orchestrated as such), then fighting for his or her life is more understandable. According to the Buddhists, to kill is to kill, although penalties vary in accord with the conditions that set the act into motion.
Sorry... CD screwed up my post by repeating it! Not mea culpa!
How would YOU like to find out that you, a decent, caring person could take pleasure in murder and torture? Nobody should be sent to fight a war without some introduction to Jungian psychology.
Lance Cpl. Lucey could find no one who could sentence him for his criminal act, so he sentenced himself and carried out the punishment.
The insanity here is that he was regarded as mentally unstable for considering himself guilty of murder. There was no one there to tell him that he had done so, out of the fear and ignorance inculcated by his society, and that he OUGHT to feel remorse, but remorse that would lead to a life of reparation in some way or other.
Therapy is useless where the culpability is real. None of us in the US are guiltless; it's our work, our money, our intractable national system, which infallibly produces these wars. Conservative and liberal war-mongers refuse to accept culpability; it's reflected in the sloganeering of their candidates.
The soldiers who carried out the orders of their superiors were told they could do anything because their country was innocent & morally superior to every other country -- that they had an obligation to destroy.
Neither the military nor the government, no matter which "party" is at the top, are capable of an act of self-accusation & acts of real reparation. It is the essence of American identity to be unable to process such admissions or such actions.
War sucks.
I saw Democracy Now! when Kevin and Joyce Lucey were on, and I was moved to tears. A lot of tears actually. I was also helped that morning by their sincerity, when so many people we call Americans seem not to care about anyone at all, it can really get to a person. For a former military member, Iraq has been a horrible thing to watch.
Bless their hearts, I wish I could tell them not to blame themselves, because it sounded like they did so much to help their son, but I think they do blame themselves. I'm not sure they could have done any more, I'm certainly not sure I would have been able to think of what else to do, as a parent, in their situation.
What they're doing now is wonderful, I hope they get results. I just know their son is proud of them, I sure as hell would be.
There's a documentary "Hidden Wounds" that covers Jeff Lucey's story that is very moving and details how his family pleaded with the VA to admit him.
http://fanlight.com/catalog/films/446_hw.php
Amy is right- supporting the troops means taking care of them when they come home. What a shameful thing.
The United States lost the Vietnam war outright. There is no "he said-she said" debate about the outcome of the Vietnam war. This nation's elites, not merely the bloodthirsty and crusading Christian imperialists of the Republican party, but Democrats and the puffed-up closet throat stickers of the MSM, cannot stomach the thought of yet another such loss in yet another bullshit act of outright aggression. So we are going to stay in Iraq in some manner, no matter what. As a result, more people like Jeffrey Lucey will die for nothing. This is what George Wanker Bush calls Victory. America's shame apparently has no end.
Mordechai, The US has lost this war and everybody including the neocons knows it. The American People will not stand for a US presence in Iraq with the accompanying human carnage merely to allow the Idiots in Charge to avoid the humiliation of concession.
Nor will they much longer allow congress to postpone impeachment.
Dear Nietzsche: I sincerely hope you're right and that I'm just too much of a pessimist. But living in America since the assassination of John Kennedy has been like being sewn inside heavy woolen blankets and slowly suffocating. Somewhere in time, we all hope, there has to be a stop to it.
"Therapy is useless where the culpability is real. None of us in the US are guiltless; it's our work, our money, our intractable national system, which infallibly produces these wars."
Excellent comments, Dichterfreund.
There is no reason for any US soldier to have been killed in war since the end of WW2. Was Korea a threat to Alaska? Was Vietnam going to invade California? Was Manual Noriega going to invade Texas? Was Greneda going to invade Florida? Was Iraq ever planning to attack the US?
Want to support the troops? Ensure they are only used for defense and not as business or idealogical hit men.
We should bring our troops home now and attack Mexico. It's closer to home and the fuel savings would be significant. Mexico has oil too, they have clean beaches, decent weather, wonderful food and better water than we have. The Mexican people love Americans. This war with Iraq costs too much, it is going to be difficult to make it pay.
The Mexicans are harboring terrorists and are a distinct threat to our security, remember the Alamo.
What struck me most about reading this story is Kevin's father rocking him in his lap the night before he died. As a parent, it rings so true - our babies are always our babies. Such an enormous loss, but I hope his father can find some comfort in knowing just how much he gave his son by that simple act of love, reaching back to Kevin's long-ago innocence. I believe that act on his father's part must have given Kevin the most comfort any of us can imagine as he faced his own tortured heart and headed towards death.
I agree with the article 100% and I love Amy Goodman. However
War is tough on anyone with a conscious. Which is why only sociopaths create phony wars like the one in Iraq. I wonder how many former prisons we have captured and tortured suffer mental health problems. But why; we only need to worry about American lives' because God loves America and we love God. Let's make sure the brutal psycho-nuts conducting the crimes on humanity receive thousands and thousands of hours of mental health costing endless amounts of money, after all we are Americans.
Killed by conservatives.
My father was a bronze star disabled ww2 vet. He opposed war at least from the Vietnam war on (my memory goes back only that far).
No one in the family knows how he got the bronze star. We found out at the funeral planning that he would have military honors.
I support all the vets of all these wars that I have opposed and I have no problem paying taxes for their medical and psychological care. I learned that from my father's example.
War is not a glorious adventure for any of the participants but it works for the leaders who send them off.
siouxrose: Three times is a charm! Very well stated in one paragraph. My hat off to you.
tj: As the first "poster" you hit a homer on the first pitch.
Dichterfruend: Excellent points. All countries which glorify "combat" and "hero worship" in battle are just as guilty. By this knight in shining armor image, the powerbrokers psych up the young ones by promoting the macho man who is going to rescue the damsel in distress and protect the world from the never-ending enemy.
In supporting what you've stated, look at this Obama character, talking about invading Pakistan like it was his/our divine right to do so.
If the majority of our men and women in the military understood the oath they took regarding the Constitution, they would cease combat operations in Iraq and make peace with the Iraqi people once they realized the enemy is in Washington,D.C., and not in the craddle of civilization.
whatever4: I saw the same show and felt as you did.
topainca: Right on! None of them were threats, but the public falls for it all the time.
marthaefay: This is the consequence of a corrupt, war-mongering government that uses other people's kids but not their own.
ezeflyer: Yep!
If Bush hadn't been sinking billions and billions every month in Iraq for the past 4 years in a war for lies, this horrible tragedy would not have happened. Oh, and there would be some money left to repair and replace bridges in Minneapolis and elsewhere too. But for Bu$h, his crime family, and for his moronic voters, giving money to non-bid contractors in Iraq is what matters.
Why didn't Bush and Cheney just write a check to Halliburton in 2003 instead of sending Americans to die in an illegal war? At least thousands of troops and a million Iraqis would be alive today. And what about Neocon Nancy, what has she done, except lie to voters last year? Impeach the witch.
Undercounts, lies, etc, par for GWB/NeoConner agenda. If I recall, troops would be greated as liberators, the war would pay for itself, the Jessica Lynch/Pat Tillman feel good hero stories, and I forgot freedom will spread through out the Middle East. There is daily count of how long we've been there, but I do recall the "liberal" media back during the Iranian Hostage situation, a daily count of how they were held, this gave birth to Koppel's Nightline. Too bad the Mainstream Media (aka Bush fellow cheerleaders) don't show real news about the war, the coffins, the burials, the maimed, and the dead, not to mention how much 12 billion a month could be betters used for the US domestically as opposed to bombing/killing/maiming others overseas. Troops home now, impeach the lying crooks. And let's not forget a classic, "I did not have sex with that woman." At least it's replaced by "insurgency on last throes.....end of major ground/combat operations....heck of a job brownie" Hilary/Obama on the "get tough" talk, too bad. Kucinich and Edwards seem like the only sane ones left.
Joe Toxic: Excellent post! And you don't have to be Einstein to understand what you have written.
Wake up America!
I just can't understand how a person could murder two POW's. Given an order or not, I just don't get it. I don't know what combat is like. But I do know what the military is like. And I know what being human is like. While I sypathise with Cpl. Lucey, and don't condemn him, I wasn't there. I am very disturbed by this behavior. Seriously, what does it say about us.
"Show me a country with a large military and I'll show you a country at war."
Thomas Jefferson
the young are so impressionable. they are easy prey.
Too bad I can't say the same for the Democratic Party leadership, bunch of cowards.
the young are so impressionable. they are easy prey for recruiters.