Jonathan Michael Boucher succumbed to wound of war

At home, but locked in war
Haunted by what he saw in Iraq, a former soldier takes his life

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
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First published: Monday, June 2, 2008

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The war in Iraq never ended for Jonathan Michael Boucher. Not when he flew home from Baghdad, not when he moved to Saratoga Springs for a fresh start and, especially, not when nighttime arrived.

Tortured by what he saw as an 18-year-old Army private during the 2003 invasion and occupation, Boucher was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and honorably discharged from the military less than two years later.



On May 15, three days before his 24th birthday, the young veteran committed suicide in his apartment's bathroom, stunning friends and family, including more than three dozen cousins. There was no note. He was buried in the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery just days before Memorial Day.

His death came even as Pentagon officials prepared to release numbers showing an increase in suicide and PTSD rates among active-duty troops. Some 115 killed themselves in 2007 -- a 20 percent increase since 2005.

PTSD, an anxiety- and stress-related disorder, has afflicted some 40,000 American troops since 2003. The military, in last week's report, acknowledged lengthy and repeated deployments are taking their toll.

"I (have) been shot at by AK-47s, rocket launchers, mortars and tanks," Boucher wrote to his family in May 2003. "I didn't think I was going to make it."

Boucher's short but intense life was marked by an adventurous spirit and a love for his family, his country and its military. He grew up with a zest for the outdoors and snowboarding and often visited family in the Saratoga area. He had an enormous work ethic and moral compass, family members said.

"He really loved angels," said his mother, Janet Boucher, 50, of Corinth. Mom and son spent weekends walking together in downtown Saratoga Springs and admiring his favorite art piece, the Spirit of Life statue in Congress Park.
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When they come home and commit suicide, we just simply call it suicide. Some of us will dare to call it non-combat death, but usually that is reserved when they take their own lives while deployed. For years, I've wrestled with the right word and now I think I've found it. Succumbed. He was carrying a wound that penetrated into every fiber of his being. He died as a result of that wound and that wound was caused by combat. There is no excuse to keep using non-combat wound or non-combat death, other than it's the lazy way out. Who will do a search for succumbed or put out an alert on that word? No one.

We've all grown so accustomed to reading about them and slapping the label of non-combat death associated with their name. Does this help the family when they know full well that their sons, daughters, husbands and wives would not be suffering had it not been for the trauma war created?

How many times do we need to read their stories and see "they suddenly changed" or "they didn't come home the same" before we let any of this really sink into our own brains, once and for all allowing us the opportunity to do far more than we have ever thought of doing? How many more lives will be sacrificed to this wound that far too few are trying to treat?