Cpl. Eric C. Schwartz / Marine Corps Naval Cmdr. Dennis Rocheford, a Catholic chaplain with II Marine Expeditionary Force, serves communion to 1st Lt. Steven Rubeo, a supply officer with Headquarters and Support Company, Task Force 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, in 2007 at St. Michael's Chapel, Camp Al Qa'im, Iraq. The Navy Reserve chaplain and former enlisted Marine died Sept. 10 of an apparent suicide in Newport, R.I.
Reserve chaplain killed himself, police say
By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 22, 2009 15:35:18 EDT
A decorated reserve Navy chaplain who served with Marines and soldiers in Iraq in 2007 died of an apparent suicide Sept. 10, according to police.
Cmdr. Dennis J. Rocheford, 60, a Catholic priest and former enlisted Marine, jumped to his death from the Newport Bridge in Rhode Island, according to Capt. James Swanberg, with the Rhode Island State Police.
Swanberg said the police were called at 8 a.m. with the report of a parked car in the bridge’s center lane.
“When the officer arrived on the scene, he went to the side of the bridge, looked over and saw a body face down in the water,” Swanberg said.
Coast Guard and fire units pulled the body from the water and unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him. Rocheford was later pronounced dead at Newport Hospital, Swanberg said, adding that he had not received results of the autopsy as of Tuesday.
He said a witness saw Rocheford walk from his car to the edge of the bridge and look over, but did not see him jump.
At the time of his death, Rocheford was on medical leave from St. Anne’s parish in North Oxford, Mass. He was also serving as a Catholic chaplain at Naval Station Newport, said Ray Deslile, spokesman for the Diocese of Worchester where Rocheford was assigned.
Rocheford served as an enlisted Marine from 1966 until 1969, when he got out as a lance corporal. A Vietnam veteran, he deployed to Quang Tri Province.
Personnel records show he earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He was also twice awarded the Combat Action Ribbon along with the Navy and Marine Corps and Army Commendation Medals.
I wrote an article about him back in 2007. The photo attached to this story was a photo I took during that time. Does anyone have any idea where his mind was at that made him do this? I'm curious because I got to know him so well during that time.
ReplyDeleteschwartz.eric.c@gmail.com
Hi Sgt.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time it is because they ran out of hope of healing. Too many of you do not know what you need to hear to heal and even more, depending on where you live, receive no therapy at all.
We can assume Chaplains have all the answers to regain hope but most of them admit they know very little about PTSD. It is harder on people of faith to come to a point in their lives when there appears to be nothing to hope for anymore. It's especially hard to think you are letting God down because you are supposed to be His representative on earth, so if you lose hope, how can you get someone else to turn to God? It is something I face all the time.
I don't have PTSD, mostly due to my faith and talking about the events in my life. PTSD does not come just from combat but comes after trauma. I question my faith all the time as it is tested by other people constantly and my own failures. If I can go thru dark times like this, I can only imagine how hard it is for military chaplains especially when most of them do not understand what PTSD is or why they have it. I have a full understanding of what PTSD is and live with it with my husband. He's a Vietnam vet with PTSD. He's the reason I do what I do because I know what is possible with healing even when it comes very late. Too many have died because they didn't get the help they needed and this is our shame, not their's.
The photo you took is a wonderful one. I am sorry you lost someone you cared about.
I was his roommate in Iraq, he shared a lot
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