Iraq Vet died from wounds that did not heal

Vet died from wounds that did not heal
Mother says Shaker grad never got over Iraq-fueled nightmares before he died
By LAUREN STANFORTH Staff writer
Published 12:02 a.m., Monday, July 18, 2011

COLONIE -- The last time Linda Tuller talked to her son, he had moved as far away as he could to escape the nightmare of what he experienced while serving in Iraq.

Army Spc. Joseph Scorza, a 2000 Shaker High graduate, suffered from debilitating migraines as a result of brain injuries and had become increasingly paranoid in the wake of his June 2009 discharge from the military.

Then last month, Tuller got another phone call -- the 28-year-old was found dead alone in his Honolulu apartment of undetermined causes.

Tuller said authorities do not suspect foul play, and Scorza's death does not appear to be a suicide. "To describe it, there are no words," said Tuller, 54, a secretary at Schenectady County Community College.

Scorza, once a self-prescribed fitness enthusiast who surfed, snorkeled and played in youth baseball leagues, quit his job at BBL Construction in 2005 and enrolled in the military without telling his mother first.

Tuller said Scorza suffered four concussions and took on shrapnel during his 15-month tour, much of it driving a convoy truck and serving as a gunner on some of Iraq's most dangerous roads. When he was discharged on full disability, Tuller said, her son moved immediately to Florida because he said he wanted to live somewhere warm.


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Vet died from wounds that did not heal