First Name: Kevin
Last Name: O’Neal
Middle Initial:
Date of Birth: 03/09/1952
Sex: Male
Martial Status: Married
Number of Children: Yes
Home Town: Knoxville, TN
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: 18
Years of Service: 3
Combat Veteran: Yes
Time in Combat: Not Sure
Place of Combat: N/A
Awards:
Date of Suicide: 06/1971
Suicide Method: self inflicted gunshot
Veteran’s Story: My dad lied about his age and served in Vietnam as an infantryman. He was in a unit that went behind the lines several times. I was only a baby when he committed suicide. My mother said he went to Vietnam a happy, patriotic young man wanting to serve his country. He was wounded in December 1969 and spent several weeks in a hospital before coming home. He came back severely depressed and hooked on heroin. He beat the addiction but not the personal demons. His suicide letter expressed deep regret at all the killing he did in Vietnam and he couldn’t live with the pain anymore.
Submitted By: Karla
Relationship to Veteran: Child
