A Glock 19 handgun on his lap, the decorated combat veteran prepared to take his own life.
“I’m telling you, I was going to become a statistic,” retired Air Force Lt. Col. Damon Friedman said.
Every day, an estimated 22 U.S. veterans die by suicide. Friedman, a special warfare officer who served four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, intended to join them.
“I had a round in the chamber, and Satan was whispering all those lies in my ear,” he recalled.
The taunts sounded like this: “Damon, you’re worth a million dollars dead, and you don’t have to come home anymore with all your anger. You don’t have to tear down another door or punch in another wall. Everybody would just be better because the monster’s not home anymore.”
But then — on that dark day in 2010 in his Florida living room — Friedman heard a different voice. This one, he’s certain, belonged to God.
“I’m not a charismatic. I’m not a Pentecostal. That’s not derogatory — I’m just not,” Friedman said. “I’m a conservative believer, a Christian, a sinner saved by grace. And I heard the Lord.
“And he said, ‘I have plans for you. I have great plans for you to win and persevere, not to lose.’ And that’s when I put the gun down. And I said, ‘God, I need help.’” Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Damon Friedman rides in a Humvee during an overseas deployment. (Photo provided by Friedman) Cost of the war on terror
Wednesday marks the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that propelled the United States into two decades of war. A 20-year military veteran — first with the Marine Corps and later with the Air Force — Friedman knows firsthand about the war’s long-lasting effects. As he tells it, “The cost of the war on terror was paid by my wife and kids.”Dayna Friedman, his wife of 24 years, said she agrees with her husband’s assessment “to an extent.”She grew up in an Air Force family, which made her familiar with military life. But her husband’s repeated extended combat deployments were new. And the […]
‘God, I Need Help’: 9/11 Military Heroes With PTSD Still Fighting A War At Home
