Cathy Sprigg (CS)

CS: He was a happy-go-lucky kid. When he was in tee-ball, one time he hit the ball, went to second base, and then turned around and said, ’Mom, I made half of a home run.’ That was kind of how he looked at life — his cup half-full.

He always wanted to be in the military, even back then; I mean, we’d pass a convoy and he’d just go nuts. So when he was 24, he enlisted and then was sent to Iraq for a year. And he told me some stories, but he said, ’There’s a lot of stories that I can’t tell you, Mom.’ He didn’t sleep well; he had nightmares. And that twinkle in his eye was gone.

He took his life August 2, 2012. And, you know, as a mother, when your child’s heart is full of joy, your heart’s full of joy. And knowing what a dark place he must have been to do this is almost more than I could bear.

Since then, I have his two sons that I help care for. His first son is 8 and, not long ago, he asked me, ’How did Daddy die?’ And I said to him, ’Daddy died from war because he had a very sad heart.’

You know and hindsight is 20/20 but, when he got back from Iraq, he got off the plane, and I thanked God that he made it home safe. I didn’t realize that he didn’t.

And, um, I feel like he’s not looked at as a hero because his wounds weren’t immediate and they weren’t physical. And, aside from losing my son, that’s probably one of the most painful things.