Honorable Service, Dishonorable Treatment

A Marine's Struggle: Honorable Service, Dishonorable Treatment
By KARIN MARINARO
COMMENTARY
The Hartford Courant
July 13, 2012


To lose a child is one of the worst tragedies in life. I have almost lost my son, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Marinaro, 26, twice — once in Afghanistan and once here — by suicide.

My son was raised with strong morals. Upon graduation from high school, Rob received scholarships to college and was nominated to attend theU.S. Naval Academy. Although an issue with his eyes medically disqualified him from the academy, he received a Navy ROTC scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University and excelled. Rob was commissioned at the top in his ROTC class, received honors from Carnegie Mellon in 2008 and graduated with distinction from the Marine Corps' Basic and Intelligence schools.

In 2010, Rob deployed to Afghanistan where he collected intelligence from Afghans. In one particular situation, Rob was in a firefight with enemy forces when one of his Marines was lost, dying in my son's arms.

"Please don't die!" the Navy corpsman said to the mortally wounded lance corporal.

Every day since, my son deals with that memory.

With his tour complete in September 2010, Rob returned to Camp Pendleton in California. Soon thereafter, Rob began to struggle.

I watched my beautiful, bright, loving son, wrestle with his mental demons and implored him to get help. Unfortunately, as a military officer, he faced an even greater stigma for those seeking psychiatric help than that experienced by younger Marines or junior leaders. The tough culture of the Marine Corps is harsh on those who seek help.

Nevertheless, I told him that a true leader recognizes his own weaknesses and seeks help.

Sadly, Rob did not receive the help he needed until it was too late.
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