"Mr Oddie was a casualty of war," and a Royal Marine who drank himself to death

A CASUALTY OF WAR: EX-MARINE DRANK HIMSELF TO DEATH


A former Plymouth Royal Marine drank himself to death after watching his friend die from gunshot wounds in Iraq, an inquest has ruled.

Steven Oddie was described as a 'casualty of war' after he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following his service in 2003 in Operation Telic.

The 38-year-old was also diagnosed with the mental illness bipolar disorder, and the inquest heard he drank heavily to blank out flashbacks from the war and his mental health problems, at one stage consuming up to a litre of vodka a day.



The married father of two, from Plympton served with 539 Assault Squadron but, after three separate periods in rehabilitation failed to cure his alcohol problems, he was medically discharged from the Royal Marines in October 2006.

The inquest, held in Plymouth, heard that he was devastated by the decision, having spent 11 years as a Royal Marine and went through a period of heavy drinking at Christmas last year.

Mr Oddie went to bed on December 27, and when his wife Naomi, 29, went to wake him the next day he was dead.

The inquest heard he died from acute alcohol poisoning and Plymouth assistant deputy coroner Robert Newman recorded a verdict of accidental death.

"Corporal Oddie served in Iraq; he was a witness of the very distressing event leading to the death of one of his friends," he said.

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For 11 years he served his country but where was his country when he needed them to return the honor?