Dozens gather to remember Marine, Missouri State student
Eric Hilt Eric HiltOct 22, 2015
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.
Friends, family members and fellow servicemen and women gathered at Missouri State's campus Thursday night to honor Kindall Johnson. Johnson shot himself in the Springfield Police Department parking lot on Saturday.
Johnson was a Missouri State student and a Marine. People close to him say he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday people lit candles in his honor and wore teal ribbons to raise PTSD awareness. Several people close to Johnson spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people.
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Weekend suicide is chilling reminder of veterans' struggles
Springfield News Leader
Jon Swedien
October 21, 2015
The suicide this weekend of a 22-year-old military veteran brought home to Springfield a statistic that has caused alarm nationwide.
Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day, a 2013 Department of Veterans Affairs study found.Kindall Johnson(Photo: Kindall Johnson's Facebook page)
Kindall Johnson, a Missouri State University student fresh out of the Marines, joined their ranks when he killed himself Saturday afternoon while parked in a car near the Springfield Police station on Chestnut Expressway.
The quiet young man who grew up in Willard struggled with his return to civilian life and was reluctant to seek help, said his longtime friend and pastor, Jeffrey Chavez.
"He would never admit he had (post-traumatic stress disorder)," said Chavez, the senior pastor at The Catalyst Church, who knew Johnson since he was in the eighth grade.
Friends will hold a vigil for Johnson at 8 p.m. Thursday on the MSU campus The vigil will start on the campus's North Mall and people will walk to Trottier Plaza. In case of rain, the location will be in the Plaster Student Union Club.
More than 300 people have said they will attend on the vigil's Facebook page.
Stigmas associated with PTSD are a big part of the problem, said Debora S. Biggs, executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southwest Missouri.
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*Reminder, it is not "22 a day" but in general veterans commit suicide double the civilian population rate. Most of them are over the age of 50.
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