Marine Moms lost sons, fight to save others

Fighting PTSD: After tragic deaths of Marine sons, two Monmouth County moms find a mission
APP
Jerry Carino
March 5, 2018

In 2011, Michael Breen and James Veth died of PTSD-related causes. In the ensuing years, their mothers became friends bonded by grief and a goal — to help local veterans and their families. “There are so many proud moms and so many heartache moms as well, and that’s what Patricia and I are trying to prevent,” Dailey said. “We don’t want parents or families to go through the after part.”

Their sons died of PTSD after serving in the Iraq War. Patricia Malloy and Debby Dailey are driven to help others avoid that fate.

HAZLET - They graduated high school, one from Middletown North and one from Red Bank Regional. They enlisted the Marines. They fought in Iraq and returned to a hero’s welcome.

But Michael Breen and James Veth could not leave the war behind. It haunted them in ways most of us cannot understand.

“His sleeplessness, his paranoia,” said Debby Dailey, James’ mother. “He would borrow my car and he’d always have the sun roof closed. Or if I came home from being out, all the blinds in the house would be pulled down.”

Michael would get startled by loud noises. He started drinking.

“He never got ‘angry’ angry but he was always numbing himself,” said Patricia Malloy, Michael’s mom. “I thought, ‘You can’t tell me he’s alright. He was picking up (dead) bodies in Iraq.’”
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