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July 6, 2011

In Reversal, Admin to Send Condolence Letters to Families of Vets Who Committed Suicide 
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The Obama administration has reversed a longstanding U.S. policy to deny
presidential condolence letters to families of soldiers who have
committed suicide. Democracy Now! broke this story in 2009 when we
interviewed the parents of Chancellor Keesling, a U.S. soldier who took
his own life during his second tour of duty in Iraq. During his first
deployment, Chancellor suffered mental health issues so severe he was
placed on suicide watch. After getting back to the United States,
Chancellor turned down a bonus offer to return to Iraq in the hopes that
he would not be redeployed and could get his life together. He committed
suicide one month after the military forced him to return.



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