Army major found dead in national cemetery[d]
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BY Terry Bankert 6/6/08
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REFLECTIONS; As our country prepares to realign itself politically we are daily reminded of the two front war with our troops at risk. That risk is physical on the battlefield and emotional later. With respect we express the loss of Major Lance Waldorf.[TRB]
SUICIDE IN THE MILITARY The roll call of Iraq and Afghanistan vets who have committed suicide... continues to grow in an utterly disturbing and rapid manner. [h] We, on the out side of the military hope that there are programs in place for troubled soldiers.[trb] "The war had a great deal to do with this," said Lana Waldorf, about her husband's death. Waldorf said her husband suffered from post-traumatic stress and increasing depression after returning home from serving as a civil affairs specialist in Afghanistan. [d2] "We see a lot of things that are going on in the war which do contribute -- mainly the longtime and multiple deployments away from home, exposure to really terrifying and horrifying things, the easy availability of loaded weapons and a force that's very, very busy right now," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie, psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general.[A]
MILITARY SUICIDE IN OAKLAND COUNTY The body of an Oakland County U.S. Army major, an apparent suicide, was found about 2 p.m. Monday by a Great Lakes National Cemetery caretaker.[d] "Anyone coming back from a war where they have seen killing, where they have seen death, where they have feared for their own life, is going to come back with emotional wounds," she told the AP. "Those wounds need to be treated with loving care -- through a church, through the Veterans Administration, through their families. And the government needs to orchestrate this."[h]
A NOTE LEFT Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Gary Muir said Lance Waldorf, 40, of Bingham Farms, dressed in his military camouflage fatigues, left behind a suicide note and then drove to the 544-acre veteran's cemetery off Belford Road. Waldorf sat down under a tree within view of a lake and ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. [d] "It is a sad, tragic story," said Muir. "He left behind photos and notes to his wife about what he planned to do but with no explanation for his actions or what prompted them. [d] WHY Lana Waldorf, 51, said her husband of seven years suffered from depression as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. She only learned of it when she found a document on their printer he had prepared for an appointment at a Veterans Administration hospital.[A] "My husband kept all of this from me," she said. "I read it and was stunned because I had no idea what he was going through."[A]
SCHEDULED FOR DEPLOYMENT "He was scheduled for a deployment to Iraq but there was no indication it -- or anything else for that matter -- played a role in his suicide." [d] Family members could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He is survived by a wife and stepson. [d] Waldorf said her husband, who served with the 414th Battalion out of Southfield, never wavered in his support for the military's mission. She said as a civil affairs officer in Afghanistan, he was responsible for rebuilding roads, schools, hospitals, villages and orphanages.[A] "One of his favorite things was when they would visit the orphanage," she said. "Children just clung to the soldiers. They would hold onto their hands for hours."[A]
20 YEAR COMMISSIONED OFFICER Waldorf was a chartered financial consultant with Merrill Lynch's Auburn Hills office and spent 20 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army and Army Reserve. He returned home in 2007 after having served two tours in Afghanistan as a civil affairs officer coordinating humanitarian assistance and as a diplomat to the Afghan government. Waldorf was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service for his accomplishments. [d]
SUICIDE IN THE MILITARY Military officials said last week that Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007 at the highest rate on record. The toll is climbing ever higher this year as long war deployments stretch on.[A] The 115 confirmed suicides among active-duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops who had been activated amounted to a rate of 18.8 per 100,000 troops -- the highest since the Army began keeping records in 1980.[A] The 115 confirmed suicides in 2007 among active-duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops activated amounted to a suicide rate of 18.8 per 100,000 troops, the highest since the Army began documenting such statistics in 1980. And the numbers are growing higher this year with extended deployments.[d2] Visitation for Waldorf will be from 1-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Friday at the McCabe Funeral Home, 31950 W. 12 Mile in Farmington Hills. Services will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the NorthRidge Church, 49555 N. Territorial in Plymouth. [d]
MILITARY SHOULD BETTER TREAT THE EMOTIONAL WOUNDS Lana Waldorf believes her husband's depression kept him from aggressively seeking help. She would like the military to institute monthly evaluations for returning soldiers.[A] "Anyone coming back from a war where they have seen killing, where they have seen death, where they have feared for their own life, is going to come back with emotional wounds," she said. "Those wounds need to be treated with loving care -- through a church, through the Veterans Administration, through their families. And the government needs to orchestrate this."[A]
HE SERVED HIS LORD, FAMILY AND COUNTRY "He was a diligent worker and he was a servant of the Lord and always sought to do the right thing," she said. "It is a tremendous loss to my family, to my friends and to my country, and it is a tremendous gain for heaven."[h]
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[d] Detroit News http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/METRO02/806040451/1361
[D2] Detroit News http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/METRO/806050384/1409
[a] AP http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/soldiers_wife_says_husband_cou.html
[h] Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/another-shocking-vet-suic_b_105255.html
[trb] Comments of Terry Bankert http://attorneybankert.com/
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