It was very upsetting to see this video report. The CNN footage showed an image familiar to me, and a story of "invisible wounds." The wounds that lead a man to take his own life. He was one of the men covered in a recent IGTNT diary. Those diaries, to honor our fallen military, are usually limited to recent deaths announced by the US Department of Defense.
I have had the privilege and the pain of being one of the team of writers, who bring the news about lives lost, to this compassionate community. While researching one of "my" casualties for an IGTNT diary, there were several stories that also mentioned the death of another man from that hometown. It seemed right to cover his story too even though the DOD didn't announce this death because he was retired.
That man was Raymond Rivas.
Below is the section of the IGTNT diary which covered Rivas. There was also a recent diary by Jimstaro that talked of the man.
Lt. Col. Raymond Trejo Rivas
Army Reserve Lt. Col. Raymond Trejo Rivas had retired and settled down in New Braunfels, Texas with his family after returning from Afghanistan. The 53-year-old was a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also served in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Africa.
He had suffered for nearly three years from traumatic brain injury and other ailments after an October 12, 2006, mortar attack in Afghanistan. Rivas lost his battle for life on July 15. He was found dead in San Antonio near Brooke Army Medical Center's emergency room.
Retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. Raymond Trejo Rivas is survived by his wife and three children. The KSAT News site quotes a friend of the family:
Lt. Col. Raymond Trejo Rivas, a retired member of the U.S. Army Reserve from New Braunfels, died last week from injuries suffered during a mortar attack in Iraq three years ago.
"He was a very happy person, he always had a good thing to say about everything," said friend Ken Wilder. "(He was) very positive, a hardworking engineer and a very good soldier."
The picture above is of Lt. Col. Raymond T. Rivas receiving a Purple Heart. The original and an article can be found on the Herald Zeitung site.
Lt. Col. Rivas was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on July 22nd. The My San Antonio site carries a story about the services.
The Raymond Rivas was survived by his wife of 23 years, Colleen O'Brien Rivas; son, Brian Michael Rivas and his wife, Rocio; grandson, Donovan; daughters, Blaire Anne and Erin Renee; parents, Daniel Trejo and Emilie Schmelzer Rivas, of Alto, N.M.; four brothers, Daniel Rivas Jr., Qatar Middle East, and wife, Christine, Ralf Rivas and wife, Isabel, Mesilla Park, N.M., Frank Rivas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Andrew Rivas, Flagstaff, Ariz.; sister, Yolanda Rivas Marquez, Las Cruces, N.M.; and many nieces and nephews.
Often, we hear little news about the fallen after the initial report of their death. This is one of rare times that more is made public, and unfortunately it is because the ending was sad.
Lt. Col. Rivas (retired) was honored for himself, and as a representative of all those wounded in body, heart, mind, or spirit because of their service to our country. All those lost to our country might not make the DOD list but they also are casualties of war and deserve remembrance from a grateful nation.