Family sues government over Iraq veteran's suicide

David Edwards and Muriel KanePublished:
Friday November 2, 2007
A recent study by the Veterans Affairs Department showed that since 2001, 430 combat veterans have committed suicide either while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq or after leaving the service. Others died after returning from combat but while still in uniform.
One of those veterans was Marine Lance Corporal Jeffrey Lucey, who died by his own hand in June 2004. His parents, Kevin and Joyce Lucey, are now suing both the government and the former Secretary of Veterans Affairs over their son's death. The Luceys are members of an anti-war group, Military Families Speak Out, and hope their lawsuit will help force an overhaul of the VA system.
Jeffrey Lucey returned from Iraq in 2003, profoundly depressed and drinking heavily to handle the pain. Lucey's sister Debbie told CNN, "He looked at me and, as he took two dog tags off of his neck and tossed them at me, and said, 'Don't you understand, your brother's a murderer.'"
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