The heart-wrenching suicide note written by an Iraq War veteran is drawing widespread attention, even as his family questions the effectiveness of the system that was supposed to help him and other soldiers.
Daniel Somers went on more than 400 combat mission as an Army machine gunner in Baghdad, Iraq while stationed there from 2004-2005. He then ran the North Iraq Intelligence Center from 2006-2007, according to the website Gawker.
Somers, who served as a senior analyst, suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and several other war-related conditions. He sought treatment through a variety of therapies, but took his own life June 10. His suicide note (You can read the entire text here) went viral after his family released it to the local media.
In the letter, Somers said he is "sorry that it has come to this."
"The fact is, for as long as I can remember my motivation for getting up every day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this alone is not a sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is, I am not getting better, I am not going to get better, and I will most certainly deteriorate further as time goes on. From a logical standpoint, it is better to simply end things quickly and let any repercussions from that play out in the short term than to drag things out into the long term." Somers wrote.
He goes on to describe physical condition as "nothing short of torture."
"Everything simply comes down to passing time until I can sleep again. Now, to sleep forever seems to be the most merciful thing," he wrote, adding the medical system has failed him and other veterans in offering treatment.
"Thus, I am left with basically nothing. Too trapped in a war to be at peace, too damaged to be at war," he wrote.
Somers' family said they shared the 30-year-olds' last words in an effort to help other veterans. You can read more about Somers' story and efforts to improve care for all veterans here.
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