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 ...
May God bless this family with strength and acceptance.
Thank you for serving us, Chris.
Godspeed, Soldier...
R.I.P., a great patriot.
Shocking. I never met him personally but I talked to him on FR. How awful. :(
May God bless him and keep him, and give comfort and strength to his courageous family.
“...however why did he do it?”
I believe, and some research shows, that the high rate of suicide in the miltary is partly due to the many vaccinations soldiers receive, which affect their psyche via altered meatbolism, to the extent of creating suicidal tendencies.
RIP Major Galloway. And thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
Prayers to your family...
Of the military suicides, they might want to look at how many had received multiple vaccines within the prior year and what the mercury content of them was. Depression and/or other cognitive symptoms setting in following such should be looked at.
I haven’t cried for anyone I didn’t know in a while. But this does hit close to home. People that suffer unbearable pain to the point where that pain consumes everything struggle to live. It is hard to imagine if you’ve never been there before, but once you’re consumed almost no one can save you.
There are some suicides that are selfish. And there are suicides that are due to an individual ending a hell that they can no longer continue.
I pray with all my heart for his soul, his wife, and his precious children and family members/friends.
Very sad. His poor family.
Very sad and ironic. That a man who gave his all for us would be driven to take his own life. He is now in the hands of the all consuming mercy of the crucified Christ
:( I’m so sorry. Prayers up over here. VERY, VERY sad.
Dang Dang Dang- This is really sad news- When I had my blog, Flopping Aces was one of my first links, and I often pointed to articles on their site- We will sorely miss Chris- He was TRULY a credit to his profession, His dedication to the blog, and to gettign hte TRUTH out htere, and was one of the best in my opinion. I wish to extend my sympathies to Chris’ family
I often visited Flopping Aces as well. I will join you in giving my condolences.
Rest in Peace.
bttt
Prayers up.
Condolences. Shocked.
Like Chris, I have an infant daughter. I can’t imagine killing myself and leaving her behind, not to mention my other kids and wife.
That doesn’t mean I’m condemning him. My point is I literally can’t imagine the pain he was in if this looked like a good idea to him. It must have been absolutely horrible.
Major Galloway, you were a hero proved in liberating strife, and I hope you found the peace that eluded you on this Earth.
May he rest in peace and may the Good Lord watch over his family here on earth.
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.