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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

In Reversal, Admin to Send Condolence Letters to Families of Vets Who Committed Suicide

from Democracy Now! 06JUL11

The Obama administration has reversed a longstanding U.S. policy to deny presidential condolence letters to families of soldiers who have committed suicide. Democracy Now! broke this story in 2009 when we interviewed the parents of Chancellor Keesling, a U.S. soldier who took his own life during his second tour of duty in Iraq. During his first deployment, Chancellor suffered mental health issues so severe he was placed on suicide watch. After getting back to the United States, Chancellor turned down a bonus offer to return to Iraq in the hopes that he would not be redeployed and could get his life together. He committed suicide one month after the military forced him to return.
Posted by Kim Carlyle

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