PTSD Marine Kills Brother, Self

The Troubled Marine Had Met With President Bush Just Weeks Before Driving To The Grand Canyon To Commit Suicide

(AP)  Last month, Marine Staff Sgt. Travis N. "T-Bo" Twiggs went to the White House with a group of Iraq war veterans called the Wounded Warriors Regiment and met President George W. Bush.

Twiggs had been through four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and months of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in which he said he was on up to 12 different medications.

"He said, `Sir, I've served over there many times, and I would serve for you any time,' and he grabbed the president and gave him a big hug," said Kellee Twiggs, his widow.

About two weeks later, Travis Twiggs went absent without leave from his job in Quantico, Virginia.

He and his brother drove to the Grand Canyon, where their car was found hanging in a tree in what appeared to be a failed attempt to drive into the chasm.

The brothers carjacked a vehicle at the park Monday. Two days later they were at a southwestern Arizona border checkpoint, and took off when they were asked to pull into a secondary inspection area, Border Patrol spokesman Michael Bernacke said.

Eighty miles (130 kilometers) later, the car was on the Tohono O'odham reservation, its tires wrecked by spike strips.

As tribal police and Border Patrol agents closed in, Twiggs, 36, apparently fatally shot his 38-year-old brother, Willard J. "Will" Twiggs, then killed himself.

Pinal County Sheriff's spokesman Mike Minter said no motive has been established. But Kellee Twiggs said the decorated Marine would still be alive if the military had given him enough help.

"All this violent behavior, him killing his brother, that was not my husband. If the PTSD would have been handled in a correct manner, none of this would have happened," she said in a telephone interview from Stafford, Virginia.

Travis Twiggs, who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1993 and held the combat action ribbon, wrote about his efforts to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder in the January issue of the Marine Corps Gazette.

The symptoms would disappear when he began each tour, he said, but came back stronger than ever when he came home.

He wrote that his life began to "spiral downward" after the tour in which two Marines from his platoon died.

"I cannot describe what a leader feels when he does not bring everyone home," he wrote. "To make matters even worse, I arrived at the welcome home site only to find that those two Marines' families were waiting to greet me as well. I remember thinking, 'Why are they here?"'

Weeks later, Twiggs "saw a physician's assistant who said that was the severest case of PTSD she'd seen in her life," his widow said.

He began receiving treatment, but the Marine wrote that he mixed his medications with alcohol and that his symptoms did not go away until he started his final tour in Iraq.

When he came home, "All of my symptoms were back, and now I was in the process of destroying my family," he wrote. "My only regrets are how I let my command down after they had put so much trust in me and how I let my family down by pushing them away."

Kellee Twiggs said her husband was "very, very different, angry, agitated, isolated and so forth," upon his return. "He was just doing crazy things."

She said her husband was treated in the psychiatric ward of Bethesda Naval Medical Center and then sent to a Veterans Administration facility for four months.

Most recently, Travis Twiggs was assigned to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory at Quantico, a job he said helped him "get my life back on track."

"Every day is a better day now," he wrote in the Marine Corps Gazette. "... Looking back, I don't believe anyone is to blame for my craziness, but I do think we can do better."

Twiggs urged others suffering from similar problems to seek help. "PTSD is not a weakness. It is a normal reaction to a very violent situation," he wrote.

Kellee Twiggs said she cannot understand why her husband was not sent to a specialized PTSD clinic in New Jersey.

"They let him out. He was OK for a while and then it all started over again," she said.

A spokesman at Quantico, 1st Lt. Brian Donnelly, said the Corps is committed to providing full medical, psychological and social support to anyone with a combat-related injury, including PTSD.

"Our leaders are trained to be alert for signs of PTSD in their Marines and to provide a supportive climate in which Marines can feel comfortable seeking help," Donnelly said.

One lingering mystery in Twiggs' case is his older brother. Kellee Twiggs said she thinks the Louisiana man joined her husband in driving west "because T-Bo was hurting so bad and for so long that Will's life was a little in chaos."

"For them to both drive off into the Grand Canyon, they both apparently wanted to end their lives," she said.

Kellee Twiggs said "something needs to be fixed" in treating soldiers coming home from combat with PTSD.

"These boys and girls coming back, they need help, things need to be changed, and they don't need to be made to feel weak for asking for help," she said.

[veteran72]

Saigon... ***; I''m still only in Saigon... Every time I think I''m gonna wake up back in the jungle. When I was home after my first tour, it was worse. I''d wake up and there''d be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said "yes" to a divorce. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I''m here a week now... waiting for a mission... getting softer; every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I looked around, the walls moved in a little tighter.

Capt. Willard
(Martin Sheen)
Apocalypse Now

[sgtrds-e4]

One more soldier this administration has let down. RIP.

[allamr18]

And this is how we treat our soldiers? This is the type of care and concern they are given after we enter a bullshiit war? I hope the repubs can explain stuff like this. Its disheartening, saddening, and heart wrenching. Our government is failing us

[bobnjersey]

["something needs to be fixed" in treating soldiers coming home from combat with PTSD. ]

here''s an idea ... stop sending them back for additional tours of duty.

[jeffstersf]

More blood on Bush''s hands. So sad.

[mljohns00]

Too bad Mr. Bush doesn''t count the amputees and suicides in his "noble sacrifice" speeches.

[veteran72]

The damage done to our Military and Nation as a whole by these Neocon Criminals, can not easily be measured.
To say it is Vast and Far Reaching, Galactic in Proportion, would be in itself, a massive understatement.
To say I hold them completely responsible for this tragedy, and untold numbers like it, would also be kind.
They deserve to burn alive.

[grammawhamma]

Too many tours of duty and too many psych medications. Sad...may you now rest in peace Staff Sgt. Twiggs.

[dowjones20k]

So it seems that Twiggs received repeated medical attention and admitted that he was better .. then he snapped again?

So can someone please explain how this is the administrations fault and not the individuals for not seeking help?

Oh I get it .... I guess it''s the administrations fault when criminals continue to be released from prison and re-offend .. or is it different because they are not in the military?

Makes sense to me ....

[gce65]

Wasnt there a VA psychologist who just recently got in trouble for telling staff to try to avoid the PTSD diagnosis by calling it an adjustment disorder?

I wonder what she thinks of this? Just an adjustment disorder?

[enaudnella]

ALL of u who vote for John Mccain should not even be commenting here..........

[ontheleft]

"The symptoms would disappear when he began each tour, he said, but came back stronger than ever when he came home."

So in other words, he had PTSD but went back to Iraq again and again. Did the military know about this? Where is the psychological screening?

[veteran72]

So it seems that Twiggs received repeated medical attention and admitted that he was better .. then he snapped again?

So can someone please explain how this is the administrations fault and not the individuals for not seeking help?

Oh I get it .... I guess it''''s the administrations fault when criminals continue to be released from prison and re-offend .. or is it different because they are not in the military?

Makes sense to me ....


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Posted by dowjones20k at 08:31 PM : May 17, 2008
+ report abuse

He was sent back into combat after being diagnosed with PTSD. What don''t you get about this, dumbazz???

[ladyephesus1]

12 different medications was a bit much.

He may have had a side effect from 1 or maybe a few of them I would say. Especially, if he would go into remission and then snap again. It seemed when my exhusband was taking his medications, he got worse.

Not everyone can take the same medications.
Whoever issued 12 should be investigated I say.

[veteran72]

"These boys and girls coming back, they need help, things need to be changed, and they don''t need to be made to feel weak for asking for help," she said.

This culture of scorning intimidation against Combat Veterans by the Military Heiarcy for wanting to seek help for PTSD or other Combat related disorders, is something that has never recieved the attention it deserves from the Executive.
After all, what would an AWOL/Deserter Chickenhawk and his 5-Deferrment War Profiteering Puppet Master know or care about it???

[veteran72]

amazing how your whackjob buddy mcvet never post in any story about ptsd


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Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:21 PM : May 17, 2008
+ report abuse

Cowardly Punkazz Pusssy says what???

[element51]

dowjones20k...I''m afraid you''re the one that doesn''t get it you SOB. If it wasn''t for your precious "administration" he wouldn''t have been there in the first place. They are the ones, with support from clueless jerks like you, who started this war that should never have been started with lies and deceit. These chicken hawk bastaards who would pisss themselves the first time they saw the enemy but think nothing of sending others to face death. This brave young man had been through 5, count em 5, tours over there and was willing to go again even though he was not mentally ready. He should have received the treatment he needed but again was let down by the government. And you have the audicity to blame HIM for his illness? How very brave of you. How many tours have you served?

[element51]

veteran72...If you can stand to read any more of these chickenhawk bastaards posts you''re a better man than me. I''m getting off here before I get myself in trouble. Give em helll, man. These two are so clueless that they''ll never understand. Good luck!

[element51]

WogerWabbit....Right on! I''m tired of taking ***** from the gutless wonders. I''ll stand with you any day, any time, anywhere. I''m tired of their snide comments and snotty remarks and I''m tired of being called names because I am a moderate liberal. I have held back for so long but I''m ready to stand and say "ENOUGH". No more mister nice guy. It takes a lot to make me go off but when I do I don''t hold anything back. It''s time.

He could have done the world a favor and taken GW Bush with him.

[ranger1948]

If you havce never been in combat then you cannot uderstand. If your normal going in it is going to effect you coming out. If your not normal and go in the effect is even worse. This is another tragic event where we hacve lost a brother in arms. Yes he slipped thru the cracks. I also think there should be an investigation as to why he was sent back after being diagnoised. I will say that those giving treatmen are usually assigned way too many cases to treat at one time. May he rest in peace and his family be able to move on in time.

[roach9703]

This solder shows the modern price of war. So, as in WWI, we have lions led by the political midgets called Bush the 2 1/2 ( like George III) and a sycophant congress.
Four trips to Iraq is truly exploitive and outrageous!
Then Afghanistan too!!!!
What a Bush-wrecker!!!
People better read Bush on the Couch.

[veteran72]

amazing how your whackjob buddy mcvet never post in any story about ptsd


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Posted by jamesm12341 at 09:21 PM : May 17, 2008
+ report abuse

This is the type of Cowardly individual Cheerleading and Apologizing for this Criminal Regime.
If you ever have contemplated voting for the GOP, this should cure what ails you.
''Nuff said....

[ranger1948]

dowjones20k
He did ask for help or he wouldn''t have been diagnoised and on medications. Your comparison of our marines and soldiers and marines is ludicrous and insulting. Soldiers and marines serve with honor and live within the rules of society, criminal don''t.

[idnnsg]

"A spokesman at Quantico, 1st Lt. Brian Donnelly, said the Corps is committed to providing full medical, psychological and social support to anyone with a combat-related injury, including PTSD"

What BS! Just a day or two ago the news revealed a VA email telling employees NOT to diagnose vets with PTSD! The neocon repugs just don''t want to admit the true cost of this misbegotten war.

[dowjones20k]

He should have received the treatment he needed but again was let down by the government. And you have the audicity to blame HIM for his illness?

Posted by Element51 at 09:41 PM : May 17, 2008

I dont believe I blamed anyone unlike many of you here? And please explain HOW he was let down and by WHOM?

This brave young man was being treated, and admitted to feeling better ... then he relapsed, the report is a little vague on how that transpired .. Do you know how all of this happened?

My question is how is it ONLY the administrations fault?

Why not the entire US Congress who voted to go into this war?

Where is thier culpibility? Did they not have YEARS of intelligence and vote YES?

It kinda makes me sick how many here forget it''s not only the president ... it''s the bought and paid for CONGRESS who have taken this country down the low road ... and will continue to as long as ignorant Americans keep re-electing the same old trash into office.

TERM LIMITS

LOBBYIST IRRADICATION

NO MORE CORPORATE MONEY

[b-easy63]

It''s obvious to anyone why he was better when he was back fighting in Iraq. Twiggs was an example of what can happen once the "On" button for killing is pushed and the soldier does not have a way of turning it back off or even muting that mental/psychological command center. Killing is a thing once unleashed, it is the hardest to control. This will not be an isolated incident.

[ranger1948]

mcdazz
He couldn''t take bush with him, he went to heaven.

[ranger1948]

liberalmeri
That statemnet only proved he had mental problems and was delusional

[andrew_693]

poor dude, led to his own grave and for the wrong cause. I feel sorry for his family. Anybody who voted republican is guilty of this.

[veteran72]

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...strangers hand
In a...desperate land

Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain....

[whight]

Just another loss of life because of George Bush. A man who has no smarts at all. And we the people should also share the blame. He was elected and Congress has let him get away with killing all these young men. What a sad shame for the US.

[navyhm5683]

Reading this story is difficult for me because I knew Travis. We met while he was still being treated at Bethesda and he was a good friend to me and a geniunely good man. I have a hard time understanding how things could have gone so wrong so quickly for him. Especially since I talked with him just days before he went AWOL.
I have to say, though, reading some of the comments left here hurts more. Blame is being placed on people who don''t deserve it and people are arguing about who should be held responsible. I personally know some of the people who were treating him at Bethesda and I assure you he was getting what he needed this time. Maybe it was too little, too late, but there are people trying. The worst part of this tragedy is how many people who knew him are affected, and how many of them also suffer from PTSD. While you people are all arguing about who to blame, more Marines suffer every day. What are you doing to help them?

[DocD--2008]

"Twiggs had been through four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan"

This is what caused it. No one, and I mean NO ONE should have done 5 tours in a combat zone like this. The officers who allowed it should be held accountable. This is too much for any human to go through, and I do blame Bush for allowing it. Bush needs to put his *** on the line and see what it is like as he has no idea at all. Another death and blood on your hands Bush.

[DocD--2008]

""Twiggs was a murderer. He''''s the one to blame for these crimes." Posted by michaelt302

You''re just a clueless ***. Someone made him this way. Hey try enlisting and doing a tour or two, then come back and talk about it instead of sitting there eating your pork and talking about that which you obviously know nothing about.

[dixxson-2009]

The poster Orgone is Allgone, he wants to blame Clinton and Carter. (whew)
He should get help too!

And dowjnes20k asks;
My question is how it only the administration''s fault?

Why not the entire congress who voted to go into this war?

You are George Dubya" Aren''t Ya""?

[ranger1948]

orgone
I am sorry fr what you went thru but i think yoiu are still delusional if you believe Geirge bush is a good president.

[ranger1948]

michaelt302
Obviously you have not been in combat so you do not understand what this mans went thru. He was pushed past his limits. As to who was ro blame i do not know, but he was indeed a victim himself. He suffered from emotional problems because of his service.

[sgtrds-e4]

GW Bush is a good president who has had to make the hard choice to lead us to war.

Posted by Orgone at 01:26 AM : May 18, 2008

Your alleged experiences aside, Bush is still an as*shole and if you think he''s a great president then you obviously haven''t found the right medication. Either that or your lying here. I''m betting it''s the later.

[lwking-2009]

Well DUH! What in the world is anyone in a decision-making capacity thinking when they send anyone back to combat over and over and over again! The tragedy here is multi-faceted. He''s sent back over and again, then prescribed How many? drugs and who knows what damage that is compounding in his brain? It''s foolishness and irresponsibility and egotism and audacity and stupidity that killed that young man and his brother. I lament the utter stupidity of the leadership in our country. I mourn the loss of so many lives, the ones we''ve buried to which we will add these two, and the walking wounded that have yet to find their rest, and the families struggling to cope with all the consequences of the folly of this war and the utter failure of the mental health community to appropriately and effectively deal with its aftermath. I hang my head in shame, profound grief and pray for our enlightenment.

[the_slade_99]

More Iraq war veterans have killed themselves than have died in the war itself. Look it up.

[singingrick]

This is only just the beginning and all the "support our troops" bumper stickers aren''t going to fix it.

Thanks Bushies!

[sakm58]

He chose to do all of the things he did when he took off, he chose to do everything that he did, including pulling the trigger,%u2026.his last choice. I will say this, though, Travis gladly, and proudly served his country, and willfully went to the middle east. He told me this, %u201CI go over there [to Iraq and Afghanistan] to bring the war, the fight to them so that, God willing, no enemy, no force will bring it to my country, my home to threaten our freedoms and way of life and the lives of my children.%u201D On more than one occasion he expressed how hurt, saddened, and upset he got at some of the American people who almost violently protest the military, the President, and the war. %u201CThese people have no idea what%u2019s going on, what%u2019s really at stake here,%u201D he said to me, %u201CThe picture is a h3!! of a lot bigger than what these people can see.%u201D The last thing I would like to say is that Travis loved his children a great deal, not a day went by that he wouldn%u2019t mention them to me, and always with a great warm smile as he talked of them. He loved them very much, my heart goes out to them. Well, Travis, I hope you got what ever it was that you were after, you will be missed.

[sakm58]

Who%u2019s to say a man can%u2019t fake being well to get out of being treated, especially when the only way to tell is by his word? You can%u2019t scan for this sort of thing, there is no magic test. It is mostly dependent upon how honest he is willing to be. He was given all the tools, help, and resources to get him through, but how much did he accept, how much of it did he really, in his heart of hearts, try to use? By no means am I trying to say that this is not tragic, Travis%u2019s death and that of his brother%u2019s, no, it is very tragic. What I am saying is, %u201CStop squabbling over whose fault it is!%u201D I am sure that every person involved in Travis%u2019s treatment is tormented in some way, be it big or small, from this. Asking themselves, %u201CWhat didn%u2019t I see, what did I say or do, what didn%u2019t I say or do, is there something more that I could have done?%u201D The truth of the whole matter is this: The only one responsible for Travis%u2019s death is Travis.

[sakm58]

Doctors, nurses, spiritual healers, counselors, and clinicians can talk to patients till they''re blue in the face, send them to all manner of facilities, and hand out every book and pamphlet under the sun about the diagnosis they suffer, though; all that is futile if the person suffering is not willing to listen, not willing to continuously search within themselves, not willing to reach out and say, %u201CHey, I am thinking of doing something crazy, what do I do?%u201D Or, %u201CHey, I am having trouble again, here%u2019s what I got going on with me%u2026.%u201D. Still, after asking, one needs to be willing to listen and accept what is offered and be open to other ways of dealing with things other than the unhealthy ideas they have come up with. Well, maybe we could have locked him up in some medical ward until he%u2019s better some may suggest. Again, what good would that do for some one who is not willing to open up, listen, and accept what is offered when all they need to do is %u201Cfake it%u201D to be released? Plenty of folks fake ailments everyday to get out of work, to get drugs, or get some other benefit that serves no medical purpose.

[sakm58]

I knew Travis as I see some others who have posted comments have, too. I was heart broken to hear of this. Sad that another life is lost and one that I was close to, hurt that he would not trust in those who have pledged to help him before he decided to do this, and baffled as to what he hoped to accomplish. I am also saddened as I read some of these comments about who is to blame. Voting Republican, or for President Bush has nothing to do with the out come of Travis''s life, and any one who had anything to do with medical treatment would know that. Persons who suffer such as he can only be helped as much as they are willing to be helped. Yeah, sure, I suppose in theory physical injuries can be treated by force, but as far as the non-physical, the psychological, sociological, and spiritual injuries, treatments can not be forced, they must be accepted.

[sakm58]

The next 4 comment boxes are from one single comment that I typed but is was to big to fit so I had to break it apart in to sections.

[brianbwb-2009]

"The Troubled Marine Had Met With President Bush Just Weeks Before Driving To The Grand Canyon To Commit Suicide"

Pity he didn''t take Bush with him.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Voting Republican, or for President Bush has nothing to do with the out come of Travis''''s life, and any one who had anything to do with medical treatment would know that." Posted by Sakm58

Had the Republican president, not chosen to lie us into a war, then from where would the soldier have received PTSD?

[excoachken]

This is but one example of the horrible multi-generational damage that getting us involved in a needless war, can create. It seems, however, by recent history that each new generation has to learn that for themselves. This is why we need real leadership in Washington, from President Obama, who knows how to communicate, negotiate and re-establish us as "the true democracy" that we were before the Cowardly Cowboy started playing a real life Clint Eastwood with our foreign policy!