On Aug. 19 at about 10 in the evening, a 29-year-old Army police officer at Fort Belvoir in Virginia parked his patrol vehicle, walked into a wooded area of the military post and shot himself.
His death came days after July was shown to be the worst month for Army suicides in years. During that month 26 active-duty soldiers killed themselves. In all, the Army recorded 116 suicides among active-duty soldiers between January and the end of July.
Looking at suicides across all four branches of the military is just as striking. In June the Associated Press obtained an internal Defense Department document showing that there had been 154 suicides in the first 155 days of 2012. That marked the fastest pace of active-duty suicides in the nation?s decade of war.
Military suicides are often related to cumulative stress from combat duty. Other factors are marital problems, financial problems and health issues. But no matter the reasons, behind the rising numbers are families left with only stories of their deceased loved ones ? like the Fort Belvoir police officer who killed himself last month.
WANTED TO BE A POLICEMAN
His name was Derek Ryan Smith and he was born to Jacksonville parents wanting a son.
They did not have a sonogram because they wanted a surprise. With two girls already, they hoped the surprise would be a baby boy.
?It was just such a thrill to have a little boy,? Derek?s father, physician L. Alan Smith, said. ?I was so ecstatic.?
Derek was introspective and creative. He went to University Christian School, was an average student and was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder. Once, driving Powers Avenue on a rainy day, his Ford Escort hydroplaned into the median and took out a row of trees. A policeman picked him up and while riding to the station, Derek quizzed the officer on all the buttons and levers in the cruiser.
?He had always talked about being a policeman,? his mother, Lavonne Smith, a nurse, said. ?That was always his ultimate aim.?
After graduating in 2002, he bagged groceries at Publix on San Jose Boulevard and went to St. Johns River Community College as a law enforcement basic recruit. He finished the school but failed a written exam to become a Florida police officer. His mother blamed his ADD. He was disappointed but had a plan: join the Army, become a military policeman and use that to springboard into a police job.
In 2007 he joined. A year later he went to Iraq for 15 months. His letters home would be to the point, nothing elaborate. He had always internalized and kept things to himself.
?All he really said about Iraq was there was sand all over the place,? his father said laughing.
He re-enlisted in 2010 and was stationed at Fort Belvoir as an Army police officer. He lived alone on base and enjoyed his job. At some point he began dreaming of being sheriff of Fulton County, Ga., and then governor of Georgia.
In August he had 13 months of active-duty service left and was ?counting down the days? when he could begin working as a civilian policeman, his mother said.
Willing to go anywhere, he had plans to send his resume to Maryland, maybe Toronto, maybe Atlanta. Whatever it took, his family said.
He visited Jacksonville in May, seeing friends and taking his mother to dinner for Mother?s Day. Then he left home for the last time.
He called his parents on the afternoon of Aug. 19. Things seemed fine. It was a quick conversation, the kind he had made hundreds of times before. He told them his Toyota 4Runner was in the shop getting a new engine belt, and then he was gone.
He shot himself on duty that night.
?MORE THAN HE COULD COPE WITH?
Derek did not leave a note, something that doesn?t surprise his mother.
?I know it?s not something he would have planned,? she said. ?He took his work too seriously.?
The Smiths do not believe their son was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. They said he had never shown signs of depression. They believe it was a specific problem at a specific time.
After Army officials came to the Smiths? home and hard phone calls were made, they learned he had recently been in a bad relationship. He had met a woman online. It ended and it haunted him. In the woods where he was found, his phone had been thrown. He was a person who always internalized what he felt and no one knew the extent of it.
His 66-year-old father, sitting on the family couch this week, said, ?It was a permanent solution to a temporary problem.?
His mother teared up.
The funeral was at Mandarin Presbyterian Church. At visitation, where he laid in an open casket, ?he looked at peace,? his mother said.
September is Suicide Prevention Month. According to the Army?s website, the theme for this year?s observance is ?A Healthy Force is a Ready Force.?
?The Army Suicide Prevention Program focuses on minimizing suicidal behavior by training soldiers, leaders, Department of the Army civilians and family members to recognize signs of suicidal behavior, intervention strategies and how to refer individuals for care,? the website states.
The Smiths do not blame the Army for Derek?s death. He loved serving, they said.
?He smiled all the time, was happy-go-lucky, didn?t have a care in the world except this situation he found himself in,? Lavonne Smith said. ?It was more than he could cope with. I don?t think he knew how to handle it.?
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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William Browning: (904) 359-4619
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