GI remembered for his life, not his suicide

Wife, colleague laud his devotion

By Erin Emery and Eileen Kelley
The Denver Post
Friday, March 19, 2004 -

COLORADO SPRINGS - A young widow stood in the entryway of Swan-Law Funeral Home on the eve of the first anniversary of the war in Iraq and asked a nation to remember her husband as a hero.

Inside, mourners in crisp Army dress green uniforms paid respects to the man in the flag-draped casket, Chief Warrant Officer William Howell, 36, a Green Beret with the 10th Special Forces Group.

Laura Howell, 36, could not have imagined that life would lead her here, to the doors of a funeral home. Only three weeks ago, the family celebrated her husband's homecoming from Iraq, where he'd spent 10 months.

About 9:30 p.m. Sunday, she called 911 from her Monument home and said she and her husband had been involved in a physical disturbance. He was getting a gun. Moments later, as Monument police arrived at the home, Howell used a .357-caliber revolver on himself.

"I would like Bill to be remembered for his 36 years of accomplishments and not for his final moments of impulsivity," Laura Howell said Thursday night.

"I am proud of the service he gave to this country. The role that he and his fellow soldiers played in protecting our way of life is immeasurable."

She said he was a devoted husband, son, brother and father who left behind three children and a stepchild, ages 6 months, 20 months, 10 and 13.

"Bill was my best friend. ... Bill's patriotism and devotion to his country and fellow Special Forces soldiers is beyond what most Americans are capable of comprehending," she said.

While Laura Howell asked reporters not to question her about what may have led to his suicide, military advocates and fellow soldiers have questioned whether Howell got sufficient counseling before he returned to his family. Howell is the seventh service member to die by suicide after coming home. In Iraq, 23

American soldiers committed suicide.

"If soldiers such as Bill Howell can have these problems, then there is something that we are missing as leaders, citizens, fellow soldiers and the Army as a whole," said Maj. Chad Storlie, a Special Forces reserve soldier from Nebraska. "Unfortunately, Bill probably represents the tip of a PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) iceberg, of a military culture that does not want to consider PTSD in its post-conflict population."

Storlie, reached by telephone Thursday, met Howell in 1995 while they were both stationed at Fort Carson.

They served together for five years. Storlie was Howell's commander for two of those years.

Storlie said Howell was a credit to the Army and the Special Forces, an elite fighting group that is trained to be both mentally and physically tough.

"Green Berets are expected to get past all of the physical and mental demands and be able to be heavily armed and ready for combat, and then to turn around and be affable and prudent as they mix in with the various societies and glean inside information from Iraqi school principals or a sheik," Storlie said.

"We are expected to do both things within a space of 45 minutes to an hour or less, and that is a difficult transition to make. ... It is difficult for any Special Forces guy," Storlie said.

"I'm shocked and stunned and in disbelief, because he was so able to kind of go back and forth between those different requirements ... and then to be able to be personable," Storlie said.

A military service will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 1601 Mesa Ave., Colorado Springs.

Jim Spencer of The Denver Post contributed to this report.

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