Death in Las Vegas - The Wars Come Home

PTSD and the Death of a Young Decorated Veteran

Matthew Livelsberger - Linkedin

Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

… The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

- Bob Dylan

Matthew Livelsberger wrote in a note that he needed his mind to be cleansed of the lives lost of people he knew and the burden of the lives that he took.

"Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues," FBI special agent in charge Spencer Evans said at a news conference.

CBC News January 3, 2025

Tesla Cybertruck - Las Vegas Sheriff’s Office

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are a hazy memory for most of us, although, the chaotic retreat from Afghanistan will be a memory we may wish to forget. We often forget the cost paid by our active duty soldiers.

Matthew Livelsberger was 37, with an impressive record of achievements as a special forces officer. He received the Bronze Star with Valor and three other Bronze Stars for conspicuous courage on the battlefield. Retiring at a young age with the rank of Master Segeant is its own significant achievement. Yet all of his service and his patriotism came at a price. Perhaps the greatest tribute we can pay to Livelsberger and other veterans with PTSD is not to forget the sacrifice they made. It is the loss of fellow soldiers, the horror of remembering the people they killed, the terrors, the night sweats, the violence against their loved ones, and the searing pain that never goes away.

Although the term was coined in the 1970s, the reality of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder did not begin with Vietnam. In the 1970s, PTSD referred to returning veterans with symptoms of flashbacks, rage, and emotional numbness. Previous terms were soldier's heart, shell shock, and railway spine caused by civilian railroad accidents affecting the spine. Descriptions of exposure to military trauma go back to ancient times, including Homer in the Iliad and Herodotus describing the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Shakespeare presents it in Henry IV.

According to the National Institutes of Health:

Estimates of PTSD prevalence rates among returning service members vary widely across wars and eras. In one major study of 60,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, 13.5% of deployed and nondeployed veterans screened positive for PTSD,¹² while other studies show the rate to be as high as 20% to 30%.^5,13 As many as 500,000 U.S. troops who served in these wars over the past 13 years have been diagnosed with PTSD.¹⁴

According to a study conducted by the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research, less than half of returning veterans needing mental health services receive any treatment at all, (emphasis added) and of those receiving treatment for PTSD and major depression, less than one-third are receiving evidence-based care.⁵

PTSD is not limited to soldiers. It affects 8 million non-military members of the civilian public in any given year. PTSD became a recognized psychiatric diagnosis in 1980. PTSD can be caused by “experiencing or witnessing a terrorist attack, violent crime and abuse, natural disasters, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults.”

Many of us Baby Boomers who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s experienced the destructive effects of PTSD in our fathers and other veterans. Given the trauma of the war on the general population, PTSD was something like background noise. The cycle repeated itself in Vietnam in our generation. One man told me that his father, who was a decorated veteran, would “just go off” at times. Another talked about the violence and fear he experienced as young child. A decorated military chaplain who served in both the European and Pacific theaters and suffered with rage and paranoia self-medicated with alcohol. Domestic violence, alcholism, drug addiction / substance abuse led to divorce or entrenched family trauma.

In the wake of civilian opposition to the Vietnam War, an all volunteer Armed Forces replaced “the draft.” The end of conscription led to a more professional sevice member who was largely invisible to the general public. The past 25 years of fighting in the Iraq and Afghanistan did not have significant visibility in the news of the day. However, in the days of conscription, the number of casualties in Vietnam and Cambodia was published daily on the evening news.

Mental health professionals are using various types of cognitive therapy, written exposure therapy, and present-centered therapy to help veterans come to terms with their symptoms.

Ayahuasca, an ancient Peruvian brew, provides relief, as do psydelics such as psylocibin (mushrooms), and MDMA.

Matthew Livelsberger was a strong Trump supporter with no ill will toward Elon Musk. He did feel that there were things that were wrong with the country, but mainly he wanted relief from the loss of his friends in combat and the horror of killing people. His marriages and relationships had failed. He had a newborn son and his marriage was in crisis. He was in treatment in Germany for PTSD and the staff considered it safe for him to come home for Christmas. Fortunately, only 7 people had minor injuries at the scene of Matthew’s death by suicide at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. He chose the spot to draw national attention, which he did.

Is his message about the physical, psychological, and moral injuries of war? Is it about the war combat veterans bring home? Is it about the great silence surrounding military PTSD, after the blast goes upward and outward but does not damage the glass doors a short distance away? For Matthew, there was no leaving the battlefield.

May he find the peace that eluded him in life.