Police: Fort Hood soldier from Schenectady commits suicide By DENNIS YUSKO Updated 7:17 pm, Wednesday, January 8, 2014
FORT HOOD, Texas — A decorated soldier from Schenectady who completed three tours of duty in Iraq died Monday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Floyd Vedder Jr. died at around 12:30 p.m. in his residence in Killean, Texas, according to a Fort Hood spokesman. Vedder, 38, entered active duty in 1993. His listed his hometown as Schenectady and lived off the Fort Hood military base, Army officials said.
A signal support systems specialist, Vedder was assigned to Fort Hood's 1st Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division since December 2011.
Vedder served a total of 41 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, having been deployed in Iraq from March 2003 to March 2004, December 2005 to November 2006 and November 2007 to February 2009, according to the Army.
The military is investigating Vedder's death, but a Killean Police Department spokeswoman said Wednesday he committed suicide.
Vedder received several awards and decorations throughout his more than 20 years of service, including the Meritorious Service Medal, five Army Commendation Medals, nine Army Achievement Medals, six Army Good Conduct Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, Iraqi Campaign Medal with campaign stars and others.
What a shame. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there used to be a limit of two tours in the Viet Nam era. It was thought that more than two was too much for an individual.
What a shame. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there used to be a limit of two tours in the Viet Nam era. It was thought that more than two was too much for an individual.
When I was in Vietnam, there was no limit for the Marines. Tours were generally 13 months and you were supposed to get a year in the States between combat tours.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
I know of a couple of individuals who were turned down for a third tour, but I guess it was on a case by case basis, then. Fort Hood was where they had the insane muslim terrorist in charge of the counseling, wasn't it? I wonder who they got to replace him. I also wonder if the publicity from the release of the Gates memoir had a negative effect on the man. How sad.
Our friends daughter is married to a guy in the air force....he goes every year for 5 months. He's there now. This is his 4th time. altho he is in intelligence...not the same as combat.
Our niece is married to a marine. He served twice...just came back last year. He said it was his last tour. He's been in for 5 years so far.
Prayers for the Vedder family.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
I also wonder if the publicity from the release of the Gates memoir had a negative effect on the man. How sad.
What's sad is the fact that you made this statement. How totally disrespectful and shameless you are. You have NO idea what was going through this soldiers mind, yet you feel perfectly fine to make an ignorant statement. Ah, but that's what I've come to expect from the posters here. SHAME SHAME SHAME.
What's sad is the fact that you made this statement. How totally disrespectful and shameless you are. You have NO idea what was going through this soldiers mind, yet you feel perfectly fine to make an ignorant statement. Ah, but that's what I've come to expect from the posters here. SHAME SHAME SHAME.
It is someones opinion.....relax!!! geeezzzzz
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
No, I didn't mean that in a disrespectful way at all. What I meant was, here is a man in a fragile mental state, and from other suicidal people I have known, I know that they sometimes have a heightened sensitivity to issues going on around them, because suicidal people tend to be very, very depressed. Soldiers with PTSD, in particular, are affected by the idea that they have been forgotten, that what they are doing doesn't matter to anyone else. I know this from someone who works with veterans. This Gates book has to have gotten a lot of publicity in military circles. The timing, coinciding with this man's decision, there always tends to be a trigger that pushes someone to take that final step. How is that disrespectful? This is a topic, or rather two topics, that have affected me very up close and personally. So I would like to understand all I can about it. Sipps, you don't know what was going on in MY mind, either, at least visitor gave me the chance to elaborate before the personal attack. None of us know what was going on in the poor guy's mind.
As it turns out, this young man was a classmate and friend of one of my younger family members. He was reportedly a nice guy, a bit on the quiet side. The cemetery at Rotterdam Square Mall is the old Vedder family burial site. This man was a black man, the old Schenectady families often seem to have a black branch.
The number of suicide deaths in the U.S. military surged to a record 349 last year — more than the 295 Americans who died fighting in Afghanistan in 2012. The numbers were first reported by the AP; NPR has confirmed them. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetw.....ombat-deaths-in-2012
The article about the Marines goes on to say that they are getting in touch with the families and loved ones, as part of 'autopsies' conducted on these suicides, to better understand the problem, and that they are finding that the families are often feeling guilty, and find that talking about their loved one is healing for them. So, the military is actively looking into this situation, and everyone involved is in agreement that discussion of the factors that might contribute is a positive thing, not negative or "disrespectful" at all. When suicide happens, what you hear most often is, "if only I'd known". I'm choosing not to remain ignorant.
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