Hey,c'mon....that's wrong!! Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain that sometimes gets so bad that it causes its victim to kill him/herself.Do you also call those with serious heart disease "selfish" because they can't walk up a flight of stairs? He had a brain disease that wound up causing his demise.
Of *course* you should be proud of your service but might it be that the fact that you've been able to "get on with your life" simply means that you're one of the lucky ones and that M1 Tanker was one of the very *unlucky* ones?
Hear me out.
On the one hand, suicide is often (not always, but often) caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that clouds and darkens both the intellect and the will. This kind of brain impact makes it difficult or impossible to make truly rational choices. God alone can look into the interior life of a man, but He knows exactly the degree to which the suicide's cognitive function and personal responsibility were limited. God's insight is perfect and His mercy is sure.
On the other hand, suicide IS the ultimate selish act IF the person had a significant degree of rational control. That is important to know, too. When I was going through a bad depressive bout (this would have been in 1984-85) one big thing that STOPPED me from destroying myself, was the realization of how damned selfish it would be, how it would impose an agony of suffering on the very people who loved me most.
May God protect and sustain this poor man's widow and children, and may He gather to Himself the soul of our brother Chris.