Marine Eric Hall's family seeks PTSD Awareness

Becky and Kevin Hall, parents of Eric Hall, address the media with Eric's brother Justin, center, and confirm that the human remains found in a culvert on Sunday were those of their son Wednesday, March 12, 2008.Sarasota Herald Tribune photo by JASON MCKIBBEN

Parents Of Marine Found Dead Seek PTSD Awareness
By John Davis

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: March 12, 2008

Becky and Kevin Hall addressed the media in front of the Deep Creek home where their son, Eric, was living when he disappeared. The Halls and Eric's brother, Justin, came out at 12:20 p.m. to speak in front of eight television crews and other media.

Kevin Hall talked about his son's injury in Iraq, which required 17 to 20 surgeries, noting that, regardless of their opinion on the war, "it seems like the American people is in favor of the warriors."

"Being his advocate, I tried to do the best that I could do."





Eric Hall


"He was on pain medication for a long time."

"Supposedly when the mind-changing, altering drugs are not there, the bad dreams start to come back."

Kevin Hall talked about a vehicle wreck Eric caused in Indiana when he hallucinated a road block in front of the jeep he was driving.

"I'm almost positive now that there was several other episodes that I'm not aware of.

"It would come and go. He would have real good days. He would have bad days.

"He was hurt in Fallujah. He was carried off the battlefield."

Kevin related how Eric Hall passed through hospitals in Iraq and Germany before returning to the United States.

"PTSD is real. Believe me. Everybody believe me.

"The motorcycle was still running, by the way. It was not wrecked."

Kevin Hall said he thinks his son stopped the motorcycle to smoke a cigarette, and that the cigarette caused a brushfire that Eric tried to escape by crawling into the culvert, where the 24-year-old succumbed to smoke inhalation. Kevin Hall thinks that water pushed his son's body about 60 yards into the culvert, where Eric's Hall remains were found.

"He was overwhelmed by smoke in that pipe.

"When we found a body, we pretty much knew it was him."

To other parents of soldiers returning from Iraq: "Even though your child didn't get hurt, he's traumatized.
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