Honoring the service of soldiers who commit suicide

By Greg Jaffe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 18, 2010

There was only the subtlest hint that this memorial service was different.

The Baker Company first sergeant called his men to attention in front of a ragged rock wall, built to shield troops from incoming mortar fire. A chaplain read an invocation, followed by a brief recitation of Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery Jr.'s biography. He had spent three years in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Humvee gunner, a sniper and infantry squad leader. He loved reggae music, camping and fishing and wore his hair in dreadlocks before enlisting.

"Monty was someone I could talk to when things got tough," said one of his men, according to a video of the ceremony, which was held early this year in eastern Afghanistan. "He brought laughter to the squad and a bright outlook on life."

He was a "fearless leader," his company commander said.

"I'll never know why Monty did what he did on the 20th of January," said his best friend in the platoon.

On that day Montgomery, 29, aimed his gun at himself and pulled the trigger, Army officials said.

The Pentagon doesn't tell units how to mourn soldiers who commit suicide in combat, but it makes distinctions between suicides and other war deaths. The families of those who die of combat wounds or in noncombat accidents receive condolence letters from the president. The families of suicide victims do not.

To read the rest of the story, click here.