Parents of Iowa veteran hope legislation will help prevent more military suicides

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By Whitney Woodward | Saturday, January 26, 2008 1:22 AM CST | () comments

DES MOINES — A wall on the main floor of the Capitol bears the photos, names and ranks of dozens of Iowa veterans who died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Army Spc. Joshua Omvig isn’t listed there.

A member of the Davenport-based 339th Military Police Company, Omvig was deployed to Iraq in February 2004, served an 11-month tour and then returned to Iowa.

The 22-year-old died the next year from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his truck outside his parents’ Grundy Center home.

In the months after their son’s suicide, Ellen and Randy Omvig worked with U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, and other lawmakers to craft legislation they hope will help veterans like Joshua who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

“One of the last things he

told Ellen while he was in the truck, ‘I’ve been dead ever since I’ve left Iraq.’ ” Randy Omvig said.

Boswell and other lawmakers presented Joshua’s parents with a framed copy of the act, named after their son, in a ceremony Friday at the Capitol. Members of the 339th Military Police Company also traveled to the Capitol from Davenport to support the Omvigs.

The law requires that U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs staff receive mental-health training, and that each medical care facility have a suicide

prevention counselor.

Returning veterans will be screened and given appropriate care, Boswell said. “They will get the attention they need if they show a tendency or a sign or concern about PTSD,” Boswell said.

The law also supports outreach and education for veterans and their families.

In the year after his homecoming, Joshua showed signs of depression and suffered flashbacks and nightmares, his parents said. Shortly before he committed suicide, he told his mother he had PTSD, Ellen Omvig said.

But Joshua also repeatedly rebuffed his parents’ requests that he get help because he

was worried it would damage his career, his parents said.

Veterans like Joshua tend to be reluctant to discuss mental issues or seek help because they’re afraid it will endanger their futures, Randy Omvig said, which is why early intervention — and confidential treatment — is needed.

“If they come out and say they have PTSD, it does affect their career, it does affect their home life, and their jobs,” Randy said.

The Omvigs said they

pushed for the legislation in the hopes of preventing future tragedies.

“We did not want anyone else have to go through what we were going through,” Ellen Omvig said. “And we didn’t want to lose any more people,” Randy Omvig added.

Whitney Woodward can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or whitney.woodward@lee.net. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.