First Name: Daniel
Last Name: Lewandowski
Middle Initial:
Date of Birth: 1949
Sex: Male
Martial Status: Divorced
Number of Children: 1
Home Town: Unknown
Education Completed: Not Sure
Other Occupations:
Branch of Service: Army
Highest Rank: N/A
Serial Number: N/A
Platoon: N/A
Age at Start of Service: Not Sure
Years of Service: Not Sure
Combat Veteran: Yes
Time in Combat: 1
Place of Combat: Vietnam
Awards:
Date of Suicide: 03-2003
Suicide Method: Overdose on anti-depressant an
Veteran’s Story: In Dec. 2002 just a few months prior to his suicide, he was admitted into the psych ward at the VA in Ann Arbor Michigan. When they decided to discharge him he begged them to let him stay, and told them he felt very unsafe. They forced him out anyway, really for no reason, they weren’t hurting for bed space or anything like that. Myself and a fellow vet who I also met in the psych ward actually got him admitted on that last hospital stay. He had been off his meds for a month and was drinking almost a case of beer a day. He had severe PTSD as well as bi-polar disorder. I spent that last Christmas with him, as I was also in the hospital. I am not a Vietnam vet … too young, but I am a Somalia vet. 93′ I also suffer from severe PTSD, so Danny and I got along well and spent many hours together talking, laughing, and crying. I believe that the VA is at fault for his death because they discharged him when he wasn’t ready, and was still very unstable emotionally and psychologically.
Submitted By: Cleo Riley
Relationship to Veteran: Friend
