Cpl. Gavin Kopponen was more than a number

More than a number being released every month from the Marine, from the Army, from the VA, they all had two things in common. The fact they were willing to lay down their lives at one time in their lives serving this country, and at another point, not able to stay alive back here in this country.

The families are still asking why we just don't seem to be wining the battle to help them heal.

Stress And Suicide In The Corps
SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
by JTOZER

After Barbara Christianson got off work on Jan. 24, she picked up her 4-year-old grandson Nate, ran by the grocery store and McDonald’s, and headed home.

Christianson’s neighbor hated when anyone parked in the street in front of her house, but that day as Christianson pulled into the driveway of her rambler home, she noticed a blue van parked there.

As soon as Christianson parked her truck, her son-in-law came out to unbuckle Nate.

He seemed in a hurry and said someone was there to see her and nodded toward the van, where she could make out people inside. Christianson’s first thought was that it was the Internal Revenue Service. Then she saw two individuals dressed in green military uniforms get out of the van and begin walking up the driveway toward her.

When Christianson saw their faces, she knew they were there to report her son’s death. She kept yelling at them, “Don’t tell me my son is dead! Don’t tell me my son is dead!”

But her only son was dead – and not from a bullet or an improvised explosive device.

Christianson screamed, ‘No!’ and dropped to her knees.

Although Cpl. Gavin Kopponen had returned from Afghanistan months ago and was only months away from completing his time in the Marine Corps, he had given his life battling the enemies within.

“My world crumbled that day,” Christianson said. “And it’s still not back together. He was my only son. He meant the world to me. I didn’t know what went wrong. We made it through Afghanistan. Why now? What happened?”

When her son came home from his deployment with 2nd Marine Division at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Christianson knew she had lost her little boy and that her son was troubled.

The things Kopponen had done and seen in Afghanistan had changed him – but he refused to talk about it.

Being a Marine had been Kopponen’s life goal and, as the end of his active service neared, he didn’t know what he was going to do after the Corps. On top of all that, personal problems crippled Kopponen even more. The pain was too much for him. The 25-year-old took his life in his barracks room Jan. 24, 2012.

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