On June 25, 2018, Caserta left notes to several friends and his parents, walked out on the flight line at Naval Station Norfolk, and hurled himself into the spinning tail rotor of an MH-60S helicopter.

“I’m sorry you have to see this,” he shouted to the plane captain before he died.

Listen for the first time to eyewitness accounts of this tragic day. Some voices have been altered to protect their identities.

This podcast contains a description of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the Veterans Crisis Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255, press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255.