First Name: Lester
Last Name: Sundstrom
Middle Initial: K
Date of Birth: 12/17/1943
Sex: Male
Martial Status: Married
Number of Children: Yes
Home Town: Sacramento, Ca
Education Completed: Not Sure
Other Occupations:
Branch of Service: Army
Highest Rank: Captain
Serial Number: N/A
Platoon: N/A
Age at Start of Service: Over 21
Years of Service: 5
Combat Veteran: Yes
Time in Combat: Not Sure
Place of Combat: N/A
Awards:
Date of Suicide: 04/2001
Suicide Method: gunshot
Veteran’s Story: My dad was a good man! I think of the accomplishments he had in his life and wonder what went wrong. My Dad was a victim of reality and never accepted nor wanted to accept himself. Ever since I was born in 1984 my dad has used alcohol in front of me and drugs while I was not around. My dad was a drug addict and an alcoholic who refused to accept so. My dad’s death has been the hardest most challenging thing I could have ever imagined put in front of me. My father served in Vietnam for 3 years and in my opinion was a hero. He committed selfless acts of heroism and put his life in danger to save another. The United States Army awarded him the Medal of Honor and wrote: August 7, 1971, For heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force: Captain Sundstrom distinguished himself by heroic action on August 7, 1971 while serving as deputy Senior Advisor for the 4th group, Military Region4 Ranger command, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. On this date, he was performing the mission of airborne advisor near the Ranger lake area, An Xyuen Province, which was heavily populated with enemy forces. During the fourth of a series of missions, the trail light observation helicopter was shot down by enemy small arms fire and rolled several times through a rice paddy. Captain Sundstrom took immediate action and directed the command and control helicopter down to the crashed aircraft while directing the door gunner to neutralize the enemy’s fire. Once on the ground he left the command and control helicopter and with the assistance of a gunner, pulled the pilot onto the command and control ship for a quick dust-off. After the pilot was safely in the hands of medical personnel, Captain Sundstrom directed the helicopter back to the area of operations and directed gun ships and artillery strikes on the enemy location. He exhibited total disregard for his own personnel safety throughout the operation. Captain Sundstrom’s heroic actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.In 1997 my dad had to be taken to the Emergency room because his pancreas was failing on him due to the excessive amount of alcohol he was consuming daily, he was in the hospital for a week and dismissed and went right back to drinking shortly after. He was in the Emergency room 3 times during 1997-2000 for pancreatic problems, the last time he was in there the doctor made it very clear that if he did not stop drinking he was going to die. He ignored this because he refused to accept he was an alcoholic or a drug addict. He had been doing a good job taking care of his pancreas up until March 2001 when he began drinking tequila again. He got worse and worse over the course of 3 weeks and the fourth week he was unable to do anything but sleep, not even move. I was oblivious to all of this due to my drinking and drugging. On April 4th I came home at about 10:30pm from my friends home and saw my dad in the family room alone with a very different expression on his face on that I had never seen before, he was scared. But I did not know that at the time, because I was afraid he was drunk and was going to hurt me or say something mean to me. What sticks out to me the most of this is that he told me “I Love You Son”; I feel that this signifies our relationship because although we had really hard times the love was always there, no matter what. I ran down to my room and 5 minutes later I heard my dad coughing outside and a single gunshot. I knew what had happened but sat in my chair helpless and shocked not saying a thing. 10 minutes later I was woken up by 3 sheriffs and told my Dad had just committed suicide. Having to go through this tragedy had been awful for me, I have many feelings connected to all this and miss my dad a whole bunch. This is one of those experiences I would not wish upon anyone and have my prayers out there for any family who has had a lost veteran. God bless
Submitted By: KJS
Relationship to Veteran: Child
