DYING DOESN'T STOP AFTER WAR

DYING DOESN'T STOP AFTER WAR

Many of the troops in Iraq have been drawn from the TA
History recounts the awful cost of war - the dead, the maimed and the destruction. But we are now learning more of a hidden cost that often only shows itself when soldiers return home. Battlefield trauma can come with a heavy price.

Peter Mahoney was a long distance lorry driver. He enjoyed his job, his family and friends.

He was, as his wife Donna says, "a loving father and a loving husband".

But he was also dedicated in his commitment to the Territorial Army (TA) as a specialist truck driver.

With the TA comprising a quarter of the British Army, he was always on the call-up list to join front-line actions with his regular army colleagues.

In 2003, his call up came for action in Iraq.

He already had experience of active service with the TA in Bosnia, so his family and he were aware of the implications.

But in August 2004, he died.

He was immaculately turned out in his army uniform - smart as he always was.

But he didn't die on the front line in Iraq. He died in his car, in his garage.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northeast/series6/ptsd.shtml