In July, Christi and I attended the funeral of a very close family friend, Matthew Brennan. Matt was the son of Michael and Maria Brennan, who have been in our lives for nearly 20 years. Matt and his brother Scott used to come over to the house and play with Legos with our kids. The family moved to Oregon when the boys were young, but they still came to visit and we enjoyed watching the kids together. In later years, when Mike and Maria came to visit, the older boys didn't always come as older kids tend to do, they don't necessarily want to hang out with the folks. I remember what was probably the last time I saw Matt, watching him laugh and joke with my boys at the table in the Denny's where we all met. He was a smiling, freckle-faced kid, probably 14 or 15 at the time, and he looked like he had not a worry in the world.
But then he grew up, became a soldier and went to war.
When he came home, he was no longer the Matt that everyone knew. He had faced some horrible situations while in Iraq and they had left him forever scarred. If given permission by his family, I will share more of his story at another time. It only needs to be said here that he suffered from PTSD
On July 16th, 2011, we lost Matt to PTSD. While he did not die in Iraq, he was a victim of the war as surely as if he had stepped on a land mine. Although his was not a combat death, we cannot afford to forget those who lose the battle with PTSD. For more information on Matthew, please go here, here or here.
Please visit Christi's facebook page for more links about Matthew.
God Bless you Matthew Brennan. You are a hero.
You are OUR hero.
But then he grew up, became a soldier and went to war.
When he came home, he was no longer the Matt that everyone knew. He had faced some horrible situations while in Iraq and they had left him forever scarred. If given permission by his family, I will share more of his story at another time. It only needs to be said here that he suffered from PTSD
On July 16th, 2011, we lost Matt to PTSD. While he did not die in Iraq, he was a victim of the war as surely as if he had stepped on a land mine. Although his was not a combat death, we cannot afford to forget those who lose the battle with PTSD. For more information on Matthew, please go here, here or here.
Please visit Christi's facebook page for more links about Matthew.
God Bless you Matthew Brennan. You are a hero.
You are OUR hero.
I am so sorry for your loss and his families. So sad to hear these stories as I know 1st hand (my husband) what the soldiers go through for our freedom. I realize this is an old post however I just ran across your site.
ReplyDeleteI am so sad to read your story, i am feeling very depress.
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I am very sorry for your loss. My husband is a soldier of 11 years, and works with soldiers injured in the line of duty, both physically and mentally. Too many of us have seen up close the toll that these wars have taken on an entire generation of Americans and troops around the world.
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