The Long, Lonely Road Home

The long, lonely road home
A local recruit's tragic death illustrates how the military
has redeployed soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan despite mental heath concerns
New Times SLO - San Luis Obispo,CA,USA
A local recruit's tragic death illustrates how the military has
BY AARON GLANTZ
On August 26, 2007, U.S. Army Specialist John Fish had already served a tour in Iraq and was training for a second deployment, to Afghanistan, when he walked into the New Mexico desert leaving a suicide note behind. “I have some things to take care of,” the 19-year-old wrote. “I won’t be coming back.”

Three days later, an Army search party found his body; a bullet lodged in his skull, service weapon by his side. Fish’s ashes were flown back to the Central Coast, to his mother and stepsister in Paso Robles and a memorial service at Camp Roberts.

“The Army was very good about showing up and trying to make arrangements,” Fish’s mother Cathy told New Times. In addition to the funeral, the military offered the family grief counseling and organized the mailing of hundreds of condolences cards from all over the country. But she hastened to add, “They can never bring my son back.”

Today, John Fish’s remains rest in a small, wooden, U.S. military-issued box on a shelf in the family living room, where a photograph of a uniformed, crew-cut soldier graces the modest home’s entryway. John’s mother works the night shift as a licensed vocational nurse at nearby Vineyard Hills Health Center.
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