CHARLOTTE- Every day, Twenty Two veterans and service members die from suicide and PTSD. In 2013, 23-year-old Lance Corporal Rory Dalgliesh became one of the 22. His parents remember their son as a fun-loving loyal marine. Five years ago they got news they never wanted to hear, their son took their own life.
“I just want the entire world to come together,” Mike Dalgliesh said. “And recognize the Veterans that are losing their lives on a daily basis, this has got to stop.”
Rory had been just months away from completing his service, a difficult time for many.
“They’re going to transition out of the military,” Janice Dalgliesh said. “And they’ve been so close to their brothers and that kind of stuff, and they don’t know what they’re going to do when they leave.”
Rory didn’t have a plan. He thought he may go to nursing school. After seeing how important medical training was overseas. As a team leader, he encouraged new recruits to attend combat medic training.
“He stressed that to these guys,” Dalgliesh said. “Whatever you do, you have to do that, and they didn’t really want to do it, but one Gene he took his advice and he took the training.”
Because Gene took the training, he saved a life overseas and was awarded the medal of valor.
“When he got back,” Dalgliesh said. “He was deployed while Rory passed; he came back and gave us his medal of valor.”
Mike and Janice now honor Rory’s memory by advocating for mental health services for veterans, and encouraging veterans to talk to each other.
“They see a lot of horrors,” Dalgliesh said. “They come back and they don’t want to talk to anybody about it. But they may talk to their buddies about it.”
They want veterans to see seeking help as a strength not a weakness. Dalgliesh says veterans fought for our freedom, and someone needs to fight for them.