Truth about troops, PTSD and responsibility

Spc. Christopher Journeau took his own life in 2010 about six months after leaving the U.S. Army. The Iraq War veteran, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to his combat-zone service, was 23 when he died alone and broken in his New Hampshire apartment. /Family photo

The suffering of our country's combat veterans is not fodder for scoring political points or deceiving the public.

Recently, an American politician made comments directed to a national audience designed to deceive the public about who bears responsibility for her son's struggles with the psychological impact of his service in the U.S. military.

Here is the truth about troops who suffer the effects of PTSD: The commander-in-chief and the branches of the armed services guard the front lines in the battle against this treatable psychological condition, but every family member and friend of a veteran needs to be on guard, too.

I learned this truth in a way that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I learned this truth sitting face-to-face with a stranger in her home for two hours as she shared in agonizing detail the story of her soldier son's PTSD-fueled spiral into desperation and suicide. After his death, this mom did everything she could to investigate the Army's response to her son's mental health problems, and she has been working with military and government officials in New Hampshire to try to spare other families from enduring her family's torment.

This mom, who I deeply admire for her courage in the face of adversity, does not hold anyone in the Army chain of command solely responsible for her son's death. This mom is incapable of looking for any individual  to blame for the loss of her son because her share of the responsibility for Christopher Journeau's death will haunt her for the rest of her life.

This mom could not see that Chris was fighting a life-and-death struggle with PTSD in his final months. She did not know enough about the symptoms of PTSD to see the warning signs that Chris exhibited in her home after his honorable discharge from the Army. She was not prepared to help her son fight the most daunting battle of his all-too-short life.

This mom, who was transformed from a stranger to an unforgettable figure in my life after sharing Chris' story with me, will never forgive herself and never look for someone else to blame for what happened to her son.