After Marine Son Committed Suicide, Mom Decided to Fight Instead of Die Too

Mother picks up the pieces after the suicide of her Marine son 
Washington Post
By James LaPorta
January 9, 2015

Janine Lutz, the mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Janos Lutz, somberly looks over his
closet at her home in Florida recently. He committed suicide two years ago.
(Photo by James LaPorta)

DAVIE, Fla. — It has been two years since Marine veteran Janos “John” Lutz committed suicide, wracked with the memories and guilt he came home with following a deployment to Afghanistan. An enlisted infantryman, he had been involved in the largest helicopter offensive that the Marine Corps had launched since the Vietnam War, taking back territory from the Taliban. And he lost his best friend in that mission.

Lutz’s death sent his mother, Janine, 53, into a spiral, she said. She, too, considered suicide before deciding that she wanted to honor her son’s memory by raising awareness about the unseen wounds that combat veterans can have, she said. In May 2013, she launched a foundation bearing her son’s name, providing a support system for returning veterans and their families here in this town just north of Miami.

“After I decided not to kill myself … I told myself, we need to raise awareness,” Ms. Lutz said. “We need to tell the families about post-traumatic stress, how to deal with and what to expect — These guys need to know they are not crazy, that what they are feeling is normal for experiencing the theater of war. They are survivors, and they are awesome.”

On Sunday, the second annual Lance Cpl. Janos V. Lutz Live to Tell Awareness Motorcycle Ride will travel 26 miles, starting here at Western High School, where Lutz was a student before joining the Marine Corps, and finishing in nearby Pembroke Pines, Fla. Its purpose is to encourage veterans to grow from their most difficult days and provide information about post-traumatic stress to their families.
read more here
OEF-OIF Marine Committed Suicide, Mom Takes Action on PTSD

9-11 PTSD Study Eye Opener For Veterans

This was one event during one day. It wasn't over in a day for the responders or the survivors. For veterans, there are many events during many days while deployed. If you are still not understanding why you have have PTSD, this is a good place to start.

PTSD and Depression in Survivors a Decade after 9/11
Health Canal

Remembering 9-11 National Georgraphic

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most commonly reported mental illness in survivors of the World Trade Center disaster in New York City.

A new study co-authored by Steven D. Stellman, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and senior author, has found a high prevalence of comorbid PTSD and depression among nearly 30,000 persons who were rescue or recovery workers, lower Manhattan residents or area workers, or passersby on the morning of 9/11 a decade or more after the terrorist attacks. Findings are published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

Participants were enrollees in the World Trade Center Health Registry who had participated in three waves of data collection between 2003 and 2012. One-fifth of those studied, or 5,896 enrollees, screened positive for either PTSD or depression 10 years after 9/11, and just over half of those, or 2,985, screened positive for both conditions. In other words, persons with either condition were more likely to have both than either outcome alone.
read more here

Ex-Army Psychiatrist Says Veterans Killed Doctors "All Too Common"

This is the most baseless claim thing in this whole appalling article!

“Although we do not know all the details, what we know of the case suggests anger at the VA for denial of benefits,” says Elspeth Ritchie, who served as the Army’s top psychiatrist before retiring in 2010. “Unfortunately, the scenario of angry patients killing their doctors is way too common, both in and out of the military.”

Yes, she said that! Imagine this person is not some average imbecile saying something that has absolutely no connection to fact, but a highly educated imbecile forever tied to stupid statements just like this one along with being connected to the worst responses camouflaged as suicide prevention and "resilience" training. They were just too stupid to figure out when suicides went up THEY BLEW IT! Suicides started going up in 2008 and kept going up even as the number of enlisted went down.

Ok, sorry but this woman has a very long history of getting plenty of attention for just saying whatever she wants with nothing to back it up with. Imagine what this kind of statement did to veterans still trying to get over stupid idiots fueling the stigma of PTSD instead of encouraging them to get the help they need and wouldn't need had they NOT RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR OTHERS!

Start with what really is all too common and that is veterans surviving combat but end up committing suicide when they come back home. That happens a hell of a lot more often than a doctor being killed by a veteran! Next would be even more common and that is veterans attempting to commit suicide.

In this report from ABC News there is a list of doctors killed by patients and it is a short one. It is also one with only civilian patients. Patient Kills Psychiatrist in Murder-Suicide

There have been military reports as well. In Iraq there was a psychiatrist killed along with 4 others at Camp Liberty.

Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, a 54-year-old psychiatrist and father of seven in the Army Reserve, was there to counsel, having requested an Iraq deployment to support soldiers struggling with the heartache and hardship of war.

Sgt. John Russell was later convicted. There was also another report about an Army psychiatrist tied to the murder and wounding of a lot more. In this case, the shooter was the psychiatrist. Remember Major Nidal Malik Hasan and what he did at Fort Hood?

Veterans killing doctors over claims is not all too common but suffering because they served is. Would have been a better article if someone thought of actually reporting some facts here. Then we should also think about why on earth Thompson thought he needed to use "killed in action" instead of anything else, like maybe in the line of duty or on the job?

Killed in Action, Far From the Battlefield
Time
Mark Thompson
Iraq Archive 2007

Iraq, 2007: Both a VA psychologist and the veteran who allegedly killed him served in Iraq that year.

Benjamin Lowy / Getty Images

VA psychologist gunned down by Iraq war vet

KIA means “killed in action,” and might not seem to apply to the death of Timothy Fjordbak, 63, allegedly at the hand of Jerry Serrato, 48, on the fourth floor of the El Paso clinic at Fort Bliss.

But, unfortunately, it does.

Serrato, 48, had served in Iraq for several months in 2007. He was discharged from the Army in 2009 for undisclosed physical reasons. He worked for a short time at the clinic in 2013, where Fjordbak, 63, was the chief psychologist.

A former employee at the clinic has told the Washington Post that Serrato was upset that the clinic had found his claim of post-traumatic stress disorder unwarranted.

“I know what you did,” Lindquist quoted Serrato telling Fjordbak, “and I will take care of it.” Fjordbak reported what he perceived to be a threat to local police.
read more here

Fort Campbell "Reboot" Gets Grant to Fight PTSD

Fort Campbell PTSD care gets Community Health Foundation funds
Leaf Chronicle
Jimmy Settle, Clarksville
January 9, 2015

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Health Foundation – a public advocacy board entrusted with disbursing public assets flowing from Clarksville Volunteer Health Inc. – approved almost $469,000 in grants this week, including $127,800 for the organization’s first-ever Fort Campbell grant recipient.

Clarksville Volunteer Health is the 20 percent minority joint-venture partner in Gateway Medical Center, and is an entity that exists to transfer revenues and receipts from publicly owned assets in Gateway to the Community Health Foundation for distribution to various health-related initiatives.

Sarah Schwartz, the local Health Foundation’s grant coordinator, said applications were due Nov. 1 for the organization’s January cycle of grants.

“We had quite a few new applicants,” Schwartz said. “We awarded $468,873 in this round.”

Reboot Combat Recovery this week became the organization’s first recipient on post. “We just added Fort Campbell to our grant area last year,” Schwartz said. “They are quite an impressive group and have become so successful in their approach to (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) that they have military bases all over the country calling them. They are going to Washington, D.C., in February to train a group there.”

Reboot exists “to help servicemembers and their families heal from the spiritual and moral wounds of war associated with PTSD and combat trauma.” It was founded in 2011 in Montgomery County, and since that time has served over 400 individuals, at no charge, through a 12-week combat trauma healing course, one-on-one mentorship meetings, monthly reunions and biannual retreats.

Reboot currently has locations at Fort Campbell, Nashville, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. “This grant request for $127,800 was fully awarded and would specifically be for Montgomery County and Fort Campbell citizens,” Schwartz said.
read more here

The best within some defeats the worst a few can do

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 9, 2015

It always seems to end this way. Someone decided to use their time and energy to make the world a worse place but they end up making it better. How many times have we gone through  horrific acts only to rediscover the best of what we can offer each other?

It happened right after the first bomb went off in Boston at the marathon. One bomber was killed and the other is getting ready to go on trial.

The Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent related shootings were a series of attacks and incidents which began on April 15, 2013, when two pressure cooker bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon at 2:49 pm EDT, killing 3 people and injuring an estimated 264 others. The bombs exploded about 12 seconds and 210 yards (190 m) apart, near the finish line on Boylston Street.

Instead of running away after the first bomb went off, people ran to help the wounded.

Twelve seconds later, another bomb exploded. More ran to help not knowing if there would be another one or not. The will to help overcame their fear.

It happened in France. The murderers didn't get away with it. Oh, not just the crime itself but they didn't get away with what their goal must have been. Sure people were afraid but they overcame that fear, gathered together while the murderers were still running around and they sent a message. "Not Afraid"

I Am Charlie’: ’Je Suis Charlie’ goes viral after France attack People gather in solidarity of the victims of a terror attack against a satirical newspaper, in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. Masked gunmen shouting "Allahu akbar!" stormed the Paris offices of a satirical newspaper Wednesday, killing 12 people, including the paper's editor, before escaping in a getaway car. It was France's deadliest terror attack in living memory. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

I have a feeling they were at least a little afraid but their need to show they were not willing to live in fear was remarkable.

Now it looks as if there has been some closure.

France: Raids kill 3 suspects, including 2 wanted in Charlie Hebdo attack
CNN
By Greg Botelho
Updated 3:01 PM ET, Fri January 9, 2015

(CNN)A pair of dramatic raids Friday in France led to the killing of three terrorists -- one suspected in the fatal shooting of a policewoman, the other two in the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine -- and to the freeing of at least some of those they were holding hostage.

The French government's work is not over. There's still a lot of healing to do, a lot of questions to answer about how to prevent future attacks, and the fact that a woman wanted in the policewoman's shooting remains at large.

Still, as Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said, "The nation is relieved tonight."
read more here

Closure for the murderers anyway. As for the people, this will go on and on long after the names of the murderers have slipped off memories of the days people stood up to murderers and said WE WIN! Not defeated. Not forced to hide their love for other humans, the need to be connected with mercy and compassion.

That is what murderers never really understand. They can take a life but they can't take the best we have out of the living.

Average people do it all the time. Some run to help while others, understandably, run away. It is just the need to help is stronger than self-preservation.

It happens in the military when average men and women decide they want to do whatever they can to be of service to others. Among the many careers they could train for, they pick the hardest one of all.

They join during peacetime like they did between the major wars Gulf War (1991) and Afghanistan (2001) and Somalia (1993) Haiti (1994) Kosovo (1999) They did it all even after veterans of Vietnam were mistreated by the public for years.

There were many examples of compassion in Vietnam. Because brave photojournalists we were shown exactly what that looked like.

For everyone of the wounded, many more decided to risk their lives to help them survive. In this picture there are at least 7 others risking their lives for this 1 wounded soldier.

It is the depth of their ability to care for others more than themselves that causes so much pain and grieving.  The more they feel, the more they feel it all.

It is by that same strength they can overcome the worst that is happening inside of them.  That same strength can help them heal.  They just need to look at things in a different way because while they were focusing on the worst man was capable of doing to others, the best man was busy doing all he could do for others.

There is no cure for PTSD but no one is frozen the way they are today.  They can heal.  They can get better and live happier lives.  They still have a lot more to give to others and thank God they do because the best that is within them has not seen the end of their story.