By ccspglobal@gmail.com Articles May 30, 2022

A Deadly Toll: Memorial Day is a Reminder of Vet Suicide on the Home Front

SCOTT BOURQUE MAY 30, 2022 6:59AM

Shortly after 6 p.m. on June 25, 2018, two U.S. Navy chief petty officers clad in crisp white dress uniforms were driving from Luke Air Force Base west of Glendale to a house in the far northern reaches of Peoria.

There had been a “flight line mishap” involving a junior sailor and a helicopter at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and the chiefs had the unenviable task of informing that sailor’s parents about the accident. The two chiefs — casualty assistance calls officers (CACOs) — had been instructed to tell the parents that their son was gravely injured, but still alive and in the hospital.

By then, though, news of the mishap had already been leaked to the Navy Times: The sailor was dead. When the CACOs saw the article, they pulled their car over to the side of the road and called Norfolk just to confirm.

Again, they were ordered to tell the parents the sailor was alive but seriously injured. After the chiefs mentioned the news article that already had been published, the helicopter squadron finally admitted the truth.

Brandon Caserta, a 21-year-old aviation electrician’s mate third class, was dead, and the chiefs now had to inform Caserta’s parents that the Secretary of the Navy wanted to express his condolences because their son was gone.

Caserta’s parents, Teri and Patrick Caserta of Peoria, already had an inkling that something was seriously wrong. Through no fault of his own, Brandon had suffered some serious career setbacks and was working for what investigators would later call a toxic, abusive supervisor. His mental health had deteriorated to the point that he sent a final text message to his parents: “Just know I love you.”

Read entire article: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/a-deadly-toll-memorial-day-is-a-reminder-of-vet-suicide-on-the-home-front-13714661