You can't twist a guy's arm to make him admit he's ailing."

Pte. Couture's mother had said "something wasn't working right" with her son, Mr. Dumont said. "It's possible he was in denial. You can't twist a guy's arm to make him admit he's ailing."

Withdrawal and moodiness are warning signs, said a psychotherapist helping military PTSD sufferers. "You feel like you're nobody and absolutely nobody understands what you went through," said Rob Tyler, a retired army captain.

AFGHAN MISSION: SOLDIER LOST LOWER LEG

Soldier dies of apparent suicide
Questions raised over combat-related stress
TU THANH HA

With a report from Rhéal Séguin in Quebec City

November 17, 2007

MONTREAL -- A Canadian soldier who had a foot blown off in Afghanistan has died of an apparent suicide, raising questions about the distress faced by combat troops.

Private Frédéric Couture of the Royal 22nd Regiment died on Wednesday at his parents' home.

His left leg had been amputated below the knee after he stepped on a land mine in December. His mother felt that he wasn't acting the same after he was sent home, according to former army sergeant Georges Dumont.

Mr. Dumont is part of a veterans support group that sued Ottawa for failing to provide proper treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

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