Afghan war suicide moves mother

An Air Force carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Airman 1st Class Austin H. Gates Benson on May 4 at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del. (AP photo)

Afghan war suicide moves mother
Hellertown airman killed himself. His mom vows to help stem rising rates.

By Veronica Torrejón

OF THE MORNING CALL

May 13, 2010


Days after Joie Gates learned that her son had killed himself in Afghanistan, she dashed off a letter to President Barack Obama.

It was an impassioned plea for him to take action to stem the number of military suicides, which last year exceeded the number of those who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a Congressional Quarterly report.

On Wednesday, after taking a week to consider her position and learn about efforts the military has undertaken to guard the mental health of troops, she penned another letter.

''What can I do to help you?'' she asked the president. ''How can we get to the bottom of why this is happening?''

Gates knows that her son, Airman 1st Class Austin H. Gates Benson, 19, of Hellertown, believed wholeheartedly in the good the U.S. military is doing in Afghanistan, but the horrors of war became too much for him. He shot himself May 3.

He was stationed at a remote combat outpost in Khyber, near the Pakistani border, where he was helping to establish communications.
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Afghan war suicide moves mother