Jeffrey Lucey joined the US Marine Corps Reserves in December 1999 while attending Holyoke Community College. He was 18 years old. Three years later he was driving a convoy through the desert during the initial invasion of Iraq. While he returned home physically unscathed, Jeff was mortally wounded, suffering from PTSD/combat operational stress. "Jeffrey slept little, ate little, was restless, hyper-vigilant, confused, angry, and frustrated," say his parents, Kevin and Joyce Lucey. "[He was] isolated in his mind, wracked with guilt, sadness, depression, rage; he was panicked, desperate, hopeless, overwhelmed, and full of rage, wanting to talk and yet at the same time wanting to be silent." Jeffrey went to the VA twice for help, but didn't get the care he needed. On June 22, 2004, 23-year-old Jeffrey Lucey decided he could no longer live with himself and took his own life. While his struggle has ended, his family's is far from over.