Suicide at Yellowstone Ex-Marine's death attributed to stress disorder

Ex-Marine's death attributed to stress disorder
By GRETCHEN EHLKE

Larry Kastner said his healthy, young son gradually succumbed to "the monster that is PTSD."

Associated Press Writer

4:11 p.m. CDT, July 21, 2010
MILWAUKEE — Strong and athletically-gifted, Peter Louis Kastner had turned to the military for challenge and structure after graduating from a suburban St. Paul, Minn., high school.

He excelled during four years of service in Iraq, helping with intelligence gathering operations in Al Anbar Province and earning a promotion to sergeant and squad leader, according to family members. Kastner led his squadron through three roadside bomb attacks and received a Purple Heart after suffering head injuries.

Along with those injuries, family members say, Kastner's war experiences left him with post-traumatic stress disorder. The psychological affliction caused him to unravel after being honorably discharged in August 2007 and eventually drove the 25-year-old to take his own life in a remote area of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, his father, Larry Kastner said Wednesday.
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Ex-Marine death attributed to stress disorder

Marine Sgt. Peter Louis Kastner didn't want to live another day