Veterans Struggle After Darrell Almond's Suicide

Final goodbye to local Marine
KRIS TV 6 News
By Jane Caffrey
July 15, 2016

Although friends say Almond did suffer from PTSD before he died, his fellow Marines say his story was so much more than that.

Darrell Almond's funeral was attended by family, friends, and his fellow Marines.

Darrell Almond was laid to rest today at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery. The Marine took his own life just over a week ago as he sat in a truck parked at an Agua Dulce area baseball field.

Almond's family, friends, and fellow Marines bid their final goodbyes at a funeral in Alice and interment at the Veterans Cemetery Friday. They are stunned by the death of one of their own.

"For all these guys to see this...it just stung," said Joshua Hadley, who served with Almond.

"We would never expect to be burying one of our brothers this soon, you know outside of combat," former Marine Brad Pack added.

The 33-year-old had completed two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He worked as a Combat Engineer to clear mine fields of explosives, one of the most dangerous jobs in the Marine Corps.

"We always had a good time. Always hard worker, never backed down from a challenge," Hadley said. "Darrell Almond was a genuinely good person. Almost used to think of him as kind of a man-child type person. He'd do anything for you, the most selfless person you could ever meet."

Some of Almond's friends did not realize the magnitude of his battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"I know he struggled with it, but we didn't think it was this bad," Hadley said.
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