Fri, Jul 03 2009
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Published May 03, 2008 07:07 pm - Dorothy Screws never could have imagined how one tragic moment would change her life forever. Family pushing for changes after soldier's suicide By Patrick McCreless The Cullman Times Dorothy Screws never could have imagined how one tragic moment would change her life forever.
Screws witnessed her only son, U.S. Army Pvt. Tommie Edward Jones, commit suicide right before her eyes six weeks ago in Colorado. She says the Army, which promised to be there for Screws and her family to deal with the loss, has yet to provide assistance. Now Screws can hardly do her job without breaking down. Just the simple act of living is a challenge. Only the memory of her son keeps Screws going as she fights to ensure another parent does not have to live through the same tragedy. “I can’t save my son now ... I want to save somebody,” Screws said with tears in her eyes. “If I can save one soldier, it will be worth it.” Screws plans to petition the government for as long as it takes until a law is passed requiring soldiers to undergo some type of psychological therapy after they return from intense combat. “If they can make them tote 150 pounds on their backs and march ... why can’t they make it mandatory to get help?” said Screws, a resident of Hanceville. Screws also plans to engage the Army itself so she and her family will get the help they need. “The Army has not helped us one bit,” Screws said. “They said a person would be in our yard when we got back to Alabama, but we haven’t heard from anybody.” One thing Screws and her family did not know until after her son’s death — which occurred March 25 at Fort Carson, Colo. — was that Jones, 27, had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from when he fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007. PTSD is a medical diagnosis, established in 1980, defining symptoms that last at least a month after experiencing a major trauma. These symptoms include remembering or reliving the trauma when one does not choose to, feeling numb and withdrawn and having forms of anxiety that interfere with daily life. Jones mentioned a few of the traumatic events he experienced in Iraq to his mother shortly before his death. “He said, ‘I wake up every morning angry,’” Screws said. “He said, ‘My body is here but my mind is in Iraq.’” Military suicides increase
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