TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Memorial Held For Iraq Veteran Found Dead In Culvert

Sarasota Herald Tribune photo by Ed Pfueller

Justin Hall salutes and parents Kevin and Becky Hall embrace as the sound of a rifle salute fills a memorial service for their brother and son Marine Corps Veteran Eric Hall during at Faith Lutheran Church Thursday in Punta Gorda.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KATE SPINNER

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: March 13, 2008

Veterans and community members from across the region turned out today to commemorate the life of Eric Hall, the 24-year-old Iraq war veteran who was missing for weeks and found dead in Charlotte County on Sunday.

The Hall family held a memorial at Faith Lutheran Church in Punta Gorda to thank the dozens of volunteers who had helped search for him. About 200 people, most of whom had never met Hall, attended.

Hall suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that causes frightening hallucinations, and had been missing since Feb. 3.

The day Hall went missing, he experienced an apparent flashback at his aunt's house in Deep Creek. He fled the house on his motorcycle, but traveled only about a mile before he abandoned the bike and ran into the woods.

Charles Shaughnessy, a Vietnam veteran who helped in the search for Hall, had suspected that Hall had backed into a culvert to escape a brush fire. He was found inside the culvert.

The circumstances of his death resonated with other veterans because many of them also struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder or have friends fighting that battle.

During today's memorial, Shaughnessy said Hall's death is an example of what is wrong with the way the government cares for veterans after they are discharged from the military.

Standing before a large framed photograph of Hall in uniform, Shaughnessy urged the crowd to press the nation's leaders for change.

"You have no better posterchild" than Hall, Shaughnessy said.

Hall had to fight for full disability benefits after he was discharged from the Marine Corps following injuries suffered in an explosion in Iraq.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT