Brian Jones: “Today, a number of us are rising to commemorate an individual out of the now more than 2,000 who have lost their lives…”

“Today, a number of us are rising to commemorate an individual out of the now more than 2,000 who have lost their lives during Operation Enduring Freedom. I would like to submit, for the Record, 11 names of brave servicemembers who were recently killed in Afghanistan. Today, I would like to recognize a man in particular who is not counted in the 2,000. Sergeant Tom Bagosy, a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, took his own life on May 10, 2010, at Camp Lejeune marine base in North Carolina. Tom's wounds were mental, but he is no less a casualty of the war in Afghanistan. That Tom is not counted in this 2,000 number speaks to the fact that our country does not fully understand the effect that a generation of war has had on those who've fought it. We do not understand the future cost of caring for over 300,000 returning veterans with mental wounds. Tom's death, like those of the 154 Active Duty servicemembers who took their lives at a rate of one per day this year, was preventable. Tom left behind a wife, Katie, and two children. Today, Katie is working towards becoming a mental health counselor so she can support the thousands of veterans coming home today with mental wounds. We should be inspired by her efforts. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with the House a letter that Katie wrote to her husband, Tom, who had died in May. And she wrote this letter August 23 of 2011. These are her words: I wonder what life would be like if you didn't die that day.…”