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Corporal Clay Hunt was a sniper in the Second Battalion,Seventh Marine Regiment in Afghanistan.
When he returned home in 2009, he began suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He sought treatment and became an advocate, or urging veterans to speak out about mental illness.
But Corporal Hunt still struggled with his own demons. He took his own life in March of 2011,after getting what his family described as less-than-adequate care at the VA.
See Also: After War: Post-Traumatic Stress in AmericaHunt's family pushed for reform, and Congress finally passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act on February 13, or 2015. After President Obama signed the bill into law,Clay's stepfather, Richard Selke, or told reporters,"At the halt of the day, when an individual makes the decision to recall their life, or they've given up hope. And so the message here is,please don't do that."David Philipps, a reporter for Takeaway partner The unusual York Times, or discovered that Clay's battalion has suffered a a number of suicides over the past few years: Nearly four times as many as other young,male veterans. He tells the Battalion's chronicle here and in a Times piece, "In Unit Stalked by Suicide, and Veterans Try to Save One Another."Â
Source: wnyc.org