No Way Home…
It has been said that one can never go home again——this was never more evident than in the death of Marine Staff Sgt. Travis N. “T-Bo” Twiggs.
Sgt. Twiggs had served his country well. Four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, but when it came time for the debt to be repaid, it seems as if the country, he fought so hard for … let him down.
Last month Staff Sgt. Twiggs and a group of Iraq war veterans (Wounded Warriors Regiment) went to the White House to meet the president.
“Sir, I’ve served over there many times,” Sgt Twiggs said, “and I would serve for you anytime.”
He concluded his statement by grabbing the president and giving him a big hug. Sadly, Sgt. Twiggs loyalty was not returned. When he needed help to combat his affliction with PTSD, the medical treatment he received was gravely inadequate.
Sgt. Twiggs wrote of the ordeal of trying to win the war against PTSD in the January issue of the Marine Corps Gazette. http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/
“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.” http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
The symptoms would disappear when Staff Sgt. Twiggs began his tour of duty, but came back stronger each time he returned home.
His wife Kellee Twiggs stated in a telephone interview:
“All this violent behavior, him killing his brother, that was not my husband. If the PTSD would have been handled in a correct manner, none of this would have happened.”
Mrs. Twiggs went on to say that her husband was treated in the psychiatric ward at Bethesda Medical Center and then sent for four months to a Veterans Affairs Department facility.
After so many successful tours of duty … Marine Staff Sgt. Twiggs, perhaps unable to deal with the alienation he felt towards those closest to him——took his and the life of his brother after an 80 miles chase on Interstate 8 in southwestern Arizona.
Perhaps, Sgt. Twiggs is finally at peace. He served his country valiantly——but discovered too late that when he needed help, to win the war that raged within him … there was no place to call home.
