Erin Trieb

The War In Afghanistan: The War At Home

Between the tree and the mailbox, US infantry soldier Specialist Dirk Terpstra, 26, (Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment) committed suicide in Kalamazoo, Michigan; photgraphed March, 8, 2010. After serving a 12- month deployment in Afghanistan in 2009, Terpstra committed suicide while on leave near his home in Kalamazoo on Feb. 24, 2010. The night of his death Terpstra visited a local bar with friends where he became intoxicated and shot himself in the head in a friend's front yard. Terpstra's family said that although before his deployment Terpstra experienced deep depression and had previously made suicidal attempts, they believe that his condition worsened after serving in Afghanistan.
Between the tree and the mailbox, US infantry soldier Specialist Dirk Terpstra, 26, (Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment) committed suicide in Kalamazoo, Michigan; photgraphed March, 8, 2010. After serving a 12- month deployment in Afghanistan in 2009, Terpstra committed suicide while on leave near his home in Kalamazoo on Feb. 24, 2010. The night of his death Terpstra visited a local bar with friends where he became intoxicated and shot himself in the head in a friend's front yard. Terpstra's family said that although before his deployment Terpstra experienced deep depression and had previously made suicidal attempts, they believe that his condition worsened after serving in Afghanistan.