Posted on 08/13/2009 9:07:15 AM PDT by Starman417
Life and the internet are strange strange things. I've been trading emails and posts etc with Chris for years now. It wasn't at all uncommon for his duties, deployments, and family to make those virtual conversations sporadic from time to time. Well, Chris won't be returning emails anymore. He passed away suddenly on June 30, 2009.
Last Fall he and his wife Shannon had a baby girl, Lilly. Chris was so happy. We teased him about how awful it is to step on Barbie Doll high heels in the middle of the night, and he bragged about how his friends Mossberg and Remington were gonna help keep the boys away from his little beauty.
A few weeks later he deployed to Afghanistan. We still got emails from him. He sent pics, talked about the firefights, artillery barrages on Christmas night, and how, 'once you accept that if you step off the path you're in a minefield , and you're dead, it's not that bad. Ya just stay on the path.' He didn't love it over there in the ass-end of the planet by any stretch of the imagination, but he was extremely proud to be doing his duty-at least, that's what he told us in emails.
Chris was always brash, blunt, bold, and beautiful in his political commentary. He was in no uncertain terms not happy with the Democratic Party, its leaders or its followers. Time and again he posted here at Flopping Aces in response to DNC talking points about Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror. He would NEVER stoop to re-naming it 'overseas contingency operations in support of combat in Operations Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation Enduring Freedom. People would post that there were no WMD in Iraq, and he's show pictures and links and tell personal stories of his time there. They'd say there was no Al Queda in Iraq, and that Saddam and Bin Laden had no relationship, and he'd wig out with tales of what he had personally seen.
[SNIP]
I've been noticeably missing the past week or so for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is Army business, but I can't blame it all on work. At the end of the show, I publicly admitted that I'm having issues dealing with life.-CJ, writing on June 30th, the very day ChrisG committed suicide.
Back in March, I was about to transition to a new job and had interest in having another go at the military reserves, although I was rejected 2 years ago.
The recruiter I had begun talking to abruptly broke off contact. On March 18th, I sent an email to CJ of A Soldier's Perspective, venting frustration. He wrote back:
To their credit this time, the Army is busy with a lot of suicide prevention training lately, especially the recruiters. Maybe give them another week, but keep trying!
Just the day before this, CJ had posted on suicide prevention programs within the military.
On March 6th, about 2 weeks earlier, CJ's post began:
I want to address that Soldier, Marine, Sailor, or Airman that may have come here for answers. You may be contemplating suicide and you're seeking help over the internet. If this is your only outlet, please seek us out. My email address is on the sidebar and regardless of the time of day, you may contact me. If you need help, I will give you my personal phone number. Above all, don't go to extremes and try to kill yourself.I can promise you that this world is a beautiful place and you are an amazing part of it. Please don't leave people wondering what kind of world it would have been had you stayed in it! There is nothing in this world worthy of taking your life. Believe it or not, a failed relationship, a bad deployment experience, a failed job, delinquent bills, terrible leadership, the loss of a family member or friend – none of that is worth your life. I desperately urge you to take those issues in your life and become something bigger in spite of your problems. There are people who care about you deeply and want to help you through whatever you're facing right now. We may not understand, but we care and want help you through it. Once you take your life, it can't be taken back.
If you don't contact us for help, please go somewhere. Check out www.militaryonesource.com for people that can help. Go to your chain of command. Seek out a complete stranger. Go to a hospital or police department. Just do something besides trying to take your life. I don't know you personally, but I'd like to.
Although I've never met Chris, and had only limited contact and conversations with him, it's difficult for any of us- his friends and family members most of all- not to wonder what we could have done to have made the difference in his life that might have given him that one moment of pause he needed to get him through. I had seen CJ's post in March; around June or July, CJ himself came to grips with his own need to reach out for professional help and was diagnosed with PTSD. Chris ended his life in late June.
The "what if's" inevitably begin to swirl around in my head: What if I had followed through with a blogpost of my own, then? Even just simply linked to CJ's important post? Like so many intended posts, it never got made...Would Chris have seen it? Read it? Remembered it in his time of need? Contacted CJ? Sought help? Or would events have unfolded the way they did, anyway? What if I had bothered to correspond more with Chris? Sent him a kind word of support about how much we admire him for the hard job that he does daily for our country? Would I have noticed any possible signs that he was in trouble?
Having had an uncle who took his own life, I will say that the grief and guilt of those loved ones left behind can be enormous.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net ...
Condolences to family and friends of Chris Galloway.
In my opinion, that bitch that heads up the DHS has his blood on her head. But before it is over, she will have the blood of a lot of us on her head.
That is just the way I see it. I could be wrong. The SPLC also considers people that believe as we do terrorists.
Rest in peace Major Galloway
I think of killing myself every once in a while- I am sick and stressed and tired all the time but think of two things- my family (mom especially who I take care of) and the shock the paramedics would find in my messy apt (truthfully this crosses my mind every time). I have a brother with kids who would miss me terribly too. Also many friends who would be devastated. I also have things I want to do- paintings and maybe a book if I could get a ghostwriter. I also talk about it to friends. After giving up booze and drugs, I think of suicide before drinking. I also think of a kid I knew in school who tried to kill himself, but instead ended up in a wheelchair. Talking helps a lot. I know I won’t do it, because I don’t want to. It just pops into my head when I am vulnerable. I know a few people who have killed themselves, and they never talked about it and it devastated the survivors.
So very sad. My heart breaks for his precious children. I just took a look at his posts, and I remember his last one.
We have truly lost a dear FRiend. :^(
Prayers for his family; this is a devastating thing for a family to endure. My prayer also is that Chris has now found peace with his Heavenly Father.
I am praying for you as well. I had those thoughts as a teen, and I know the way that feels. It was a dark and icky place to be.
Would there be any way to compare the suicide stats under Bush versus Obama, trying to normalize all other factors? I wonder if some get “terminally frustrated” on account of a pants-on-fire liar Obama who seems to be saying well known problems in Iraq don’t exist or that service there is of questionable worth.
Hero
it doesn't make sense.
No it doesn't make sense. That is why I put "apparent" suicide, even though it is reported he commited suicide. Just had a young baby also.
Did you read the top of this thread? He had just recently written an article to service men who might be considering suicide.
The military reports that more and more service men are commiting suicide. I don't know why anyone would do this. I personally consider it a selfish act.
i was shocked to see chris had passed away,i met him in 2000 at walmart in kentucky,he was stationed on fort knox. we was very good friends.i was looking for him on here ,i was on facebook and i thought i found him but it wasn’t chris so this guy on facebook sent me a link and i was so sad to hear of chris’s passing.my prayers go out to his family at this hard times.R.I.P my dear friend chris galloway.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.