Death rate higher among young vets
Mark Tyree Sr. stands inside the mobile home where he lives. Pictures of his son adorn the walls. His son Mark, a Marine veteran, died in 2011, from a single-car crash into a power pole after returning from Iraq. “He was so reckless at times,” the veteran’s father said. “He had no fear whatsoever.” (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Mark Tyree, a Marine Corps veteran who did a tour in Iraq, is buried in the Northern California Veterans Cemetery. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Mark Tyree Sr. visits his son’s grave. “I grieve every day now,” he said. “I don’t want it to go away.” (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
On the wall of his home, Mark Tyree has hung photos of himself, his father, his deceased son, and his brother -- all military veterans. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Marine veteran Mark Tyree’s grave sits among others in the Northern California Veterans Cemetery. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
A patched bullet hole is still visible in the front door of Bonnie and Danny McAlpin’s home, where their son Rusty committed suicide with a handgun in 2011, soon after he left the Army and returned to civilian life. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
The parents of Iraq war veteran Rusty McAlpin have not been able to bring themselves to clean out their son’s room, where he lived upon his return to civilian life until he committed suicide. Combat boots and battle fatigues are among the items that still sit in his closet. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Bonnie McAlpin sits with her son’s dog Scout in the place where her son killed himself with the family’s .357 magnum. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Bonnie and Danny McAlpin stand in their home, not far from the place where their son, Rusty McAlpin, committed suicide four months after he left the Army. The transition had been hard on him, Bonnie McAlpin said. “He never wanted to seem weak.” (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)