Tyler Girardello decided that Veterans Day was the day he would give up being one

Where were you before he decided to die?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 12, 2019

Tyler Girardello decided that Veterans Day was the day he would give up being one.

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. --- A veteran who died by suicide on Veteran's Day was remembered as a great guy.

Those close to Tyler Girardello say they knew of his inner pain that plagued him since his time in combat with the Army serving in the Middle East.

“He just opened up he said his mind is dark, He attempted suicide in the past," said Chris Hatcher.

But friends had hoped he was getting better.

He was loved around the Trinity community of Pasco County and was most recently working at the Starkey Market.

“Just a great guy willing to help out it seemed like everybody. Which was a beautiful thing about him," said owner Aaron Derksen.

But in the early morning hours on Veteran's Day, a final Facebook post alarmed his friends. They would soon find out, Tyler was gone.

He knew he needed help and had gone to the VA. He was on social media, so it was not as if he did not try to heal.

The trouble with veterans like Tyler is that while they seem to get the fact that veterans are killing themselves, there is very little of the healing getting through to them.

What if Tyler tried to find something hopeful in that last dark day, but only found reference to all the sites and groups raising awareness that other veterans were killing themselves?

Not much hope offered there. And that is the biggest problem out there but too few have noticed it. Too few bothered to know what was real, what had already been done and what was missing in all of this. He had no idea how to heal for real so that his last worst day would end because all other days to come would be better ones. What pisses me off the most is the too few cared to learn a damn thing including what was in the suicide reports they grabbed a headline from.

Reporters suck at their job and never bothered to read any of the reports while they seem all too willing to jump on what they think will be a good story about yet one more fundraising stunt without ever once asking where they money is going on what the hell they are basing their "efforts" on.

As for the government, they just passed yet another bill and pat themselves on their own backs while veterans like Tyler decide they do not want to spend one more day in this country as a veteran.

He deserved to live but what should really get your blood boiling too is that when a veteran commits suicide, they do it after they were willing to die to save someone else! How can any of us find any of this acceptable?

If you still think that any of this is "better than nothing" and that letting veterans know they are killing themselves is a worthy thing to support...MAY GOD FORGIVE YOU FOR NOT BOTHERING TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING!