Losing Keith, Keeping Faith

A chaplain who ministers to veterans mourns the loss of her son, who committed suicide in Iraq. (San Jose Mercury News)

Rev. Susan Turley is a chaplain at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital where her work ministering to veterans often taps into her own personal grief. In a nightmarish twist of fate, Turley became a military mom in despair herself when her son died in Iraq in 2006.

Turley’s only son Army Pfc. Keith Moore committed suicide just two months after deploying to Iraq. The Army now calculates that for the first time since the Vietnam War, its rate of suicide exceeds that of the general population.

This touching story by the San Jose Mercury News incorporates still images, video and interviews with Turley. Turley’s work with veterans helps her understand what her son went through, but the young men she meets often remind her of Keith. She hopes telling her son’s story will help raise awareness about the growing problem of military suicide.

CHANNEL: San Jose Mercury News

Length: 10:25

By Pauline Lubens
Music by Kevin MacLeod

VIEW:
http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/blog/2009/05/22/losing-keith-keeping-faith/

SEE ALSO:

“Palo Alto VA chaplain copes with her Army son's death in Iraq”
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12431500?IADID