by: Chris Horne
Posted: Nov 25, 2019 / 10:35 AM EST

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — They lost their U.S. Navy son in the most horrific way, but Patrick and Teri Caserta are determined that his death by suicide will make life better for other troubled members of the military.

The Casertas say a series of setbacks and an abusive superior led their son Brandon off the edge. It started with Navy SEAL training in San Diego.

“He trained his whole life for it. He collapsed on the beach holding one of those rafts,” said Patrick Caserta.

He was told it was just shin splints.

“It was a broken leg and they refused to do an X-ray. They threw him in the back of a pickup truck, they took him to the famous bell everybody knows about. He refused to ring it, so they rang it for him.”

Ringing the bell — a symbol for when a SEAL candidate gives up — dropped him from the SEALs program. For Brandon Caserta, that was the first slap in the face.

View entire article: https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/parents-of-norfolk-sailor-who-died-by-suicide-fighting-to-change-military-culture/