Eric Hall-Combat PTSD

How one Marine's death is prompting a closer look at PTSD
Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte Harbor,FL,USA
The constant state of alertness began to wear on the young Marine. Becky Hall noticed small differences when he returned in September. Eric would sleep ...

Marine recounts war within
Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte Harbor,FL,USA
Shaughnessy turned to the other Marine and instructed him to provide covering fire. Shaughnessy never met Eric Hall, but he knew what the troubled Marine ...

I did a series on Eric as soon as I caught the report he was missing, when visiting a site where my older sister, and her family, lives. Right till his burial after they found his body in a drainage pipe when he ran off having a 'flashback'of his Iraq Tour!

Tracking a Marine Lost at Home

Chip Litherland for The New York Times
Eric Hall, an Iraq war veteran, disappeared last month after having a flashback.

Becky Hall’s son had experienced a flashback, fleeing a relative’s home after sensing that Iraqi insurgents had surrounded him. He was 24, a former Marine corporal from Indiana who had been medically discharged after a bomb ripped through his leg. Here, among the retirees and strip malls, he was a stranger.

read more | digg story

More Today on Eric

On Here and Now out of Boston.

SOLDIER'S STORY: Marine Corporal Eric Hall was badly wounded in Iraq and when he came home he said he felt like he didn't fit in anymore. He disappeared in Florida and died before he could be found. New York Times reporter Damien Cave tells Hall's story and joins us to talk about it.

You can listen with this link it's about halfway through the hour long show. They don't break down the differant segments.

They go abit deeper into the story, like about the recruiter, he couldn't search in the sand dune area's fearing he might flash back to his tour. As well as the 'Nam Vets and what they were going through.

One part discusses how Eric Indiana Friends seemed more interested in his Pain Killer Drugs than in Eric or Helping Him Out!

I'll bet none ever served nor wanted to!

We Exist in One Sick Society!!

This is the face of the war in Iraq

The mind behind it will never be the same.

The Troubled Homecoming Of The Marlboro Marine

Only one face, of the tens of thousands, radically changed by their experiance in a War Of Choice, Choice by those who don't fight them, not Absolutely The Last Resort! In Wars Of Choice most start questioning the Why? of their being ordered there, Survival becomes the 'Nobel Cause', theirs and those around them, and Survival comes with Deep Costs! Once having normal trained minds, absorbing more knowledge and experiances, the Nightmares of Death and Destruction take over, haughting many for the rest of their lives!

This happens in All wars, to Military Personal sent into anothers Country and to the Citizens of that Country either fighting the invaders or innocents trying to exist in the carnage growing daily, especially to the children! But Wars Of Choice brings on the True Trauma much faster and deeper!

Blake Miller can't stand cats. He didn't always hate them, but that was before Iraq; before he fought in the battle of Fallujah; before the first enemy soldier Miller killed lay rotting in the street for three days, his remains picked over by a hungry cat that had crawled inside the dead Iraqi's hollowed-out chest. Miller's life divides like that, into then and now. Before November 9th, 2004.

You can use another face, not as traveled around the World as the early photo of Blake and seen by millions, but of a recent Tragedy of a Marine haunted by the Nightmares of his War experiances.

This is Eric Hall who apparently, while visiting a relative, had an Extreme Flashback, a flashback similar to others he's had since returning from his service in Iraq, only this one ended Tragically as his body was finally discovered some fifty feet in a drain pipe, not far from where he left his running motorcycle in the middle of a street, by a Tunnel Rat of our 'Nam War Of Choice. Veterans joined Erics family members, friends, and others, searching for him for a couple of weeks before finally finding his body.

Eric's tragedy wasn't a National Story, at first, and has only received scant coverage since it broke and finalized with his burial, than like almost all stories disappears from the countries conscious, a country that sent him, and thousands of others over and over and Still Do, into a War Of Choice and Occupations.

I only found it visiting a site that covers an area where I have a sister, and her family, living in Florida. Than I followed the story till it's tragic end and the burial of this Marine, Eric Hall. You can find more of the reports I posted Here, Here, Here, Here and finally Here.

Two more reports have surfaced since Erics death, Eric Hall death ruled "undetermined" and Motorcycle club helps with inappropriate bill for diseased veteran

News of an unpaid bill for a towed motorcycle at a memorial service in Florida for a former marine was enough for the Vietnam Brotherhood to step in and help out.

The captain of the honor guard for the Vietnam Brotherhood, Donald Pedriali was at the memorial service for a former Marine when he learned the young man's family faced a $232 bill for towing the deceased's motorcycle from the intersection near where he died.

Rolling Stone magazine has an indepth report, link above, for it's April '08 issue now up on it's site, about what Blake, and other Veterans, of the past Conflicts to the present Conflicts are going through as they have been completely changed from what they once were and now exist trying to Survive, as they did in the Conflicts, fighting the battles, that were the reality they experianced, in their minds. As the Nation that sent them into Invasion and Occupation almost totally Ignores what it has done to them and the Countries Invaded and Occupied!

Miller's nightmares, insomnia, heightened alertness, self-imposed isolation and persistent recollections of his seven months in Iraq are all classic symptoms of PTSD, an anxiety disorder that results from exposure to an event so psychically frightening that the aftershocks continue for months or even years. Studies estimate that as many as 500,000 troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from some form of psychological injury, with PTSD being the most common. Miller hasn't been to a doctor in over a year, and, like so many vets, he seems to have fallen off the government's radar. He tried the abundance of medications — antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds, mostly — that the Veterans Administration has sent him, but they only exacerbated his nightmares, jitters and apathy. And therapy is hard to get in places like Jonancy: For a while, he tried living in West Virginia to be near a PTSD specialist, but he missed his familiar surroundings and moved back home. Besides, the VA bureaucracy is hell for anyone to navigate, let alone a guy who feels like he could snap at any moment.

"The military makes it hard for these guys to get help," says Rep. Bob Filner, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "We're letting ticking time bombs out into society. Suicides are increasing among vets, and many of those with PTSD have felony convictions. The VA and the Department of Defense won't acknowledge the incredible size of the problem, and it's yet another indictment of the war we're fighting and how we deal with these fighters."

Like many disabled vets, Miller feels betrayed by the military, neglected by the VA and misunderstood by pretty much everyone else. "People hear 'PTSD' and they think that means you're crazy," he says. "My aunt tells her kids, 'Don't go around Blake. He might flip out and shoot you.'"

The Blame doesn't only lie with the Military nor any other Government Agency, it Lies Straight In The Laps Of This Entire Nation!

A Nation of Apathy and Denial, placing same into leadership positions that Readily Back using others to show how tough it thinks it is!

Boss, whose speech has grown progressively more slurred, demands his turn, and he takes us through a country breakup song called "Left Side of the Bed." Miller makes an exaggerated sobbing sound as Boss gets to the end, and then busts up laughing. For an instant, he seems genuinely happy. He even hints that, over the past several months, things have felt a little less bleak. "I used to believe that I was gonna be just like Boss — the old vet that everyone is afraid of, who just wants to crawl in a hole and disappear," he tells me. "That's the way I felt when I first came back. But Bodean and Lita really keep me out of it."

Sitting next to each other, Miller and Lita talk about their struggles, often completing each other's sentences. "I just want people to understand what PTSD is," Miller says. "It's not that you're a wack job who needs a straitjacket. It's just that you have thoughts not exactly on the level . . ."

"And you can't stop them," Lita adds.

"Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam," Boss mutters, almost entranced.

Even more than wanting to be understood, Miller wants vets suffering from mental injuries to receive the same honor awarded to those with physical wounds: the Purple Heart. Currently, veterans receive the medal only if they have endured bodily harm during battle. "What's the difference between going into a combat zone and being injured physically versus being injured mentally?" Miller says. "One gives you a visible scar and the other doesn't. Imagine how you would feel to be completely whole and not have the mind to function — just locked inside a hell you can't escape."

Educate Yourselves, for many that surround you suffer the ravages of PTSD, not Combat PTSD but their own nightmares from tragic events in their own lives, happening in their childhoods or adult lives, Trauma's that change them forever and haught their conscious, they do so mostly In Silence!

When a Nation, especially with a powerful military machine, spending obscene amounts of it's wealth on, never questioning exactly where that money goes, looks at the option of War, right next to it being An Option Of Absolute Last Resort the four letters PTSD should not follow but be placed Right Next To or Spoken in the Same Sentence!

This is The Face

Of those who Cheer On Wars Of Choice and how they feel about those they send, Spitting not only on the Decorated Brother of my Service In but Any and All after they Return:

Don't Forget This Face, It Represents This Nation!!!

A Hat Tip to Ilona Meagher, a tireless civilian advocate, never experiancing Combat Trauma, who had the link at her site. I might have caught it at some point but a visit there gave me the headsup and trip over to read, As You Should.

And so from the spectre of the summer soldier who shrinks from the hard truths and his country's crises, comes the Winter Soldier who will not look away.

97 percent of U.S. deaths in Iraq have occurred after George W. Bush declared an end to "major combat."
Mission Accomplished

'Salute' Eric, RIP Little Brother!

Sarasota Herald Tribune photo by Ed Pfueller
Justin Hall salutes and parents Kevin and Becky Hall embrace as the sound of a rifle salute fills a memorial service for their brother and son Marine Corps Veteran Eric Hall during at Faith Lutheran Church Thursday in Punta Gorda

Memorial Held For Iraq Veteran Found Dead In Culvert

Veterans and community members from across the region turned out today to commemorate the life of Eric Hall, the 24-year-old Iraq war veteran who was missing for weeks and found dead in Charlotte County on Sunday.

As we go into the Sixth Year of a senseless illegal Occupation as of today:
U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 3988

Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 2

Total 3990

Eric Hall, Combat Marine, won't be included in the numbers of confirmed Casulties of our Occupations of two countries, along with Untold Others who have returned and became Casulties of said Occupations many due to the trauma's they lived, in War, but couldn't get the necessary Help, a Country Owes Them, on their return!

Hall suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that causes frightening hallucinations, and had been missing since Feb. 3.

And the Casulties will continue, in the Occupations and after those who served this Country come home!

Hall had to fight for full disability benefits after he was discharged from the Marine Corps following injuries suffered in an explosion in Iraq.

This Countries People, Tomorrow and Everyday After, should hang their heads in Shame for what We've Done, In All Our Names, to the Innocent People of these Occupations and to Another Generation of Our Best, those who Serve those who Won't!!

IGTNT: Missing Marine Found {Updated 2 - Video Link}

I'm not one of the IGTNT Posters, that do such a Great Honor for those who have lost their lives to this Countries Failed Policies. And I doubt they'll mind me using the initials for I bring Sad News!

Back on Febuary 21st I posted an Alert about a missing Marine, Eric Hall {that link takes you to my site}.

I started that off with this:

Missing Marine makes phone call

'CHARLOTTE COUNTY: The family of missing Marine Eric Hall says the young man made a phone call to a friend in Jeffersonville, Indiana early Wednesday morning.


Hall has been missing for nearly three weeks. His family says he was wounded in Iraq and is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.'

There is a video report at the News Channel 2 site as well

Another report about Eric explains more of possibly why he disappeared.

I've been following this since hoping that Eric would be found.

There was a reported second phone call to the same girl in Indiana which at first raised the Hopes of the Family and Friends and those of us following the story, but Phone call turns out to be prank, not from missing Marine

On the 28th this article appeared

Hall is considered 100 percent disabled, Becky Hall said, and has had several surgeries to repair his leg. He now walks with a limp. He also had some psychological treatment through the Veterans Administration, but decided not to continue it.

On March first another report came in

Family turns to homeless for help in search for missing Jeffersonville Marine The mother and father of missing ex-Marine Eric Hall are now reaching out to the homeless community for help in locating their son, who disappeared in Florida about a month ago.

With this update about that second phone call

Earlier this month, a female friend of the family received two phone calls, initially thought to be from Eric Hall. Hopes were dashed when one of the calls was traced back to Louisville and found to be a hoax — perpetuated by someone with whom the family friend used to be involved, said Kevin Hall.

A Sick Basturd Playing With Peoples Lives and Probably Not one Iota Feeling of Remorse, reminds me of a certain in charge person!!

The first phone call, to my knowledge, hasn't been traced to Eric or this hoaxer.

Than there was nothing, Till Yesterday:

Missing Marine search volunteer finds remains

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says a volunteer who has been helping the family of Missing Marine Eric Hall found human remains in a drainage pipe Sunday.
The volunteer decided to investigate a strong odor coming from the pipe off of Sulstone in a wooded area.
Deputies excavated the remains and it's unclear if it's a man or a woman.

The above has a video report as well.

Here is another that came in, which also has a Video, in this one they talk to the 'Nam Veteran who found the body.

A veteran who had been helping the family of Eric Hall search for the Marine was looking in the area and smelled a foul odor. The odor was coming from a drain sitting in a small culvert.

Some people suspect Hall climbed through this small opening of a drainage pipe. The person climbed a considerable distance though the pipe. Talking to WINK News, Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Lt. Ricky Hobbs said, "We had to excavate the pipe about ten feet under ground and then actually open the pipe up."

Some people, including Kalena, believe Hall was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and may have thought he was running from Iraqi soldiers.

Than today I had this report

Vet crawled 50 yards through pipe to find remains

Charles Shaughnessy had been inside the drainage ditch twice, but something felt different this time.

This time, Shaughnessy would crawl 50 yards through rotten sediment and bugs to discover decomposed human remains.

"My heart goes out to that family," said Shaughnessy, a decorated Vietnam veteran who specialized in tunnel searches during the war.

A tunnel rat, one of the most dangerous 'Nam jobs, who never forgot nor feared!

Hall had a flashback Feb. 3, according to relatives. He left his aunt's Deep Creek home and has not been seen since.

Shaughnessy suspects Hall got spooked and ran into the field near the drainage pipe. He probably smoked a cigarette and tried to regain his composure, Shaughnessy said.

But when Hall flicked the cigarette, he accidentally started a brush fire. The Florida Division of Forestry confirmed the small blaze occurred Feb. 3.
Panicked, Shaughnessy said, Hall likely crawled into the pipe and kept backing up to avoid the smoke.

Shaughnessy believes the situation could have been avoided had Hall received counseling.

"He was going through hell and he wasn't getting any help," Shaughnessy said.

Than just a short time ago:

Family identifies body of missing Iraq vet

The family of Eric Hall, the 24-year old Iraq war veteran who went missing last month, has stopped searching for him and is ready to take their son home.

Becky Hall, Eric Hall’s mother, said she is certain the body found deep within a culvert Sunday at the end of Partin Drive and Highlands Road in Charlotte County was her son’s.

The family is still waiting for the medical examiner's confirmation, but is going ahead with plans for a memorial on Thursday.

The Hall family will hold a press conference at noon on Wednesday to allow members of the press to ask questions of the family.

On Thursday at 12 p.m., a memorial for Hall will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Punta Gorda. The memorial will be open to the public.

REST IN PEACE Eric, you Braved Conflict Theaters only to come home and be Consumed as the Nightmares From that Engulfed You and took you from your Loving Family and Friends, Your Battle Is Over, RIP!!!




UpDate:
Body identified as former Marine Hall
(Last updated: March 12, 2008 11:14 AM)

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has notified Eric Hall’s family this morning that the remains found in a culvert Sunday was the former Marine.

A detective from the agency notified the family at 10 a.m. and relayed the cause of death has not been determined.

Becky Hall, Eric’s mother, plans a press conference at noon.

The family scheduled a military memorial service at noon Thursday at the Faith Lutheran Church, 4005 Palm Drive, Punta Gorda.

Update 2: Video of Family Press Conferance

Lets See Now, 'Supporting The Troops'

What do those three words really mean in this ever so Rich, Powerful, and Patriotic Country of Ours, not to mention Supposedly Christian as well?

Is it just the mouthing of?

If a politician, which some call a profession, is it the wearing of a Flag Lapel Pin?
I have one I wear on my Veterans For Peace ballcap Turned Upside Down!!!

Is it little cheap Magnetic Yellow Ribbons that have those words printed on them, and seem to have rapidly disappeared?

We once had a conflict, we have 'The Wall' of remembrance of 58,000 lives lost in that conflict.

The one we, as a Nation, stated we should never forget the lessons of, and Quickly Forgot The Lessons Of!

We have a Huge Collective Guilt of how this Nation treated us returning Vets of that conflict and as we Cheered on the Invasion of another Innocent Little Country we came up with 'Support The Troops' and the little trinkets along with a bunch of 'Patriotic' slogans and putdowns, for those that did and those that didn't, follow the collective mindset!

With all my brothers went through on returning, especially those suffering from the Trauma of Conflict Theaters, myself coming back unscathed physically but the experiances of having served there rarely leaving my mind, left me with the ability to be an Advocate for my fellow 'Nam Veterans.

How many, non-veterans, knew that on February 26, 2008, 2PM at 334 Cannon House Office Building , at the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, this hearing was held:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities And asked themselves why, if we 'Support The Troops', as myself and many other Veterans ask ourselves over and over, are we still having Congressional Hearings on Disability Ratings!

We're a Wealthy Country, or at least some are, Extremely Wealthy, beyond amounts that one can use in a lifetime, and we 'Support The Troops'!

With all we learned? from that other conflict, not so long ago, the one the lessons were never going to be forgotten, the one that Finally gave a name to
and an explosion of knowledge about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, i.e. PTSD, why hasn't the Veterans Affairs Department, the Peoples Representatives in Congress
and the Commanders in Chiefs since than made Military and Veterans Care a Top Priority and Budgetted at the Top of the Defense Budgets with No Questions of Cost,
after all we 'Support The Troops' and we now have a Professional Military!

The Navy Times had abit about the above hearing called, of all things, Experts: VA disability system can be fixed. Say What!!

For some reason the term 'Experts' and VA, System, Fixed just don't seem to fit together.

With the wealth of information, the fighting the system that Vets have had to do, the huge problems encountered by returning 'Nam Vets back than with the VA, why weren't these 'Experts' fixing what was already broken long ago, especially as we supposedly modernized with a professional military!

“The VA needs the right tools to do the right thing,” Hall said.
VA argued that it is already doing the right thing and has been updating the rating schedule, though officials acknowledged they could do better. From 1990 through 2007, VA had updated 47 percent of the ratings schedule, but 35 percent of the codes had not been touched since 1945. However, VA said it updated the codes for TBI in January and is working on an update for PTSD.

Working on an Update for PTSD??

“I believe the ratings schedule needs to be clarified so it has logic from the point of view of medicine and science,” McGinn said. “It has not progressed in the last five decades.”

No Shit!!

Kilpatrick said the exam for PTSD is also key. Examiners need to be carefully trained in how to diagnose and rate PTSD, and the exam should take up to three hours, rather than the 20 minutes that the Institute of Medicine found is often the case with veterans.

Send our Military Personal to create a 'Hell On Earth' than when they return take 20min. to find out how that may have effected them, 20 Minutes, think they can really spare even that, apparently it would be an even greater trauma, for the examiners, if they needed more than 20 Minutes, hell 3 Hours isn't even enough!!!

Now add to the fact that this country, who Supports The Troops, still need to have Congressional Hearings on the care of those same troops after they return we can add another travesty, the Veterans Need To Bring Lawsuits Against the Government, Us, Who They Served!

Tomorrow the following will take place:

VCS and VUFT Press Release: Court Hearing Set for March 3 in Lawsuit Against VA

MEDIA ADVISORY: FEBRUARY 28, 2008

FEDERAL COURT TO HEAR TESTIMONY ABOUT BREAKDOWNS IN VA HEALTH DELIVERY SYSTEM

Contacts:

* Paul Sullivan, Veterans for Common Sense, (202) 558-4553

* Robert M. Handy, Veterans United for Truth, (805) 455-5259

* Gordon P. Erspamer and Heather A. Moser, Morrison & Foerster, (925) 295-3341 and (415) 268-7091

* Sidney M. Wolinsky, Disability Rights Advocates, (510) 665-8644

WHAT: Hearing with Witnesses on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction

WHO: Before Senior Judge Samuel Conti, United States District Court, Northern District of California.

WHEN: Beginning Monday, March 3, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Federal Courthouse, Courtroom #1, 17th Floor, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA

Beginning Monday, March 3, and continuing throughout the week, Senior Judge Samuel Conti will hear testimony from witnesses concerning Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) neglect of veterans who have shown a potential for committing suicide. Opening statements from both sides shall precede testimony. This unusual hearing stems from the filing by Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) and Veterans United for Truth (VUFT) of a Motion for Preliminary Injunction. The motion asks the Court to order the VA to immediately screen and treat all potentially suicidal veterans.
Veteran suicides have reached an epidemic level, with approximately 120 veterans taking their own lives every week. Despite these numbers, the VA argues that veterans are only entitled to health care if the VA decides to provide it, and that veterans lack “entitlement” to any health care. The judge has convened the evidentiary hearings to assist in his decision on the Preliminary Injunction.

In January, the Court cleared the way for this major national class action lawsuit on behalf of disabled veterans to directly challenge the VA failings. The ruling affirms the rights of veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to sue in federal court over the lengthy waiting times that veterans face in receiving needed mental health care, the huge backlog of disability claims, and the inadequacy of care for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The complaint, filed in the United States District Court in July, seeks a judicial finding that the VA’s system of handling claims and appeals is so dysfunctional that it violates veterans’ constitutional and statutory rights. The suit also calls for court orders requiring the VA to provide immediate medical and psychological help to returning troops and to screen them for risk of suicide. For more information about the lawsuit, please go to this web site: Veterans For Common Sense et al. v. Peake,
Case No. C 07 3758, U.S.D.C. {N.D. Cal. 2007}.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can develop in a person who witnesses or is confronted with a traumatic event. PTSD is the most prevalent mental disorder arising from combat. The suit claims that numerous VA practices violate the constitutional and statutory rights of veterans with PTSD by denying veterans adequate procedural safeguards in VA benefits process, access to the judicial process, and mandated medical care.

Military Spouses for Change are Strong Advocates with 'Veterans For Common Sense' and 'Veterans United for Truth' on the above Class Action Lawsuit, their Newly Created Blog

Once again I'll ask, if we as a Country 'Support The Troops', why do We Make Those Same Troops and Veterans Jump through Hoops of Red Tape and Broken Promises to Seek That Support ?!!!!


An Update to an Earlier 'Alert' Post:

Family turns to homeless - Missing Marine

Eric Hall

Age: 24

Hair: brownish-blond

Eyes: brown

Height: 5 feet, 9 inches; walks with a limp

Weight: 140 pounds

Clothing: black leather jacket with patch that says "In Memory of Pops" (a memorial to a friend's deceased father), plaid long-sleeved shirt, white T-shirt, blue jeans, possibly a motorcycle helmet

Tattoos: "sinner" written on inside of right bicep, "saint" on inside of left bicep, Chinese characters on stomach, dog tags on left side of ribcage, praying hands on left side of chest, and "established in 1983" written on lower back

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at 941-639-0013 or Becky Hall at 502-500-7732.

Hall, a 24-year-old native of Clark County and Iraq war veteran, was said to be experiencing hallucinations and war flashbacks when he fled a family member’s home in Charlotte County, Fla.

There have been a few updates since I posted about Eric here, especially about the two phone calls a friend received, this update also mentions them.

Earlier this month, a female friend of the family received two phone calls, initially thought to be from Eric Hall. Hopes were dashed when one of the calls was traced back to Louisville and found to be a hoax — perpetuated by someone with whom the family friend used to be involved, said Kevin Hall.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the other phone call was real or not.

And apparently there isn't much they can do to the AssWipe who made the fake phone call, my guess a young, non-military, supporter of the war!!!

ALERT: Missing Marine!!

Missing Marine makes phone call

'CHARLOTTE COUNTY: The family of missing Marine Eric Hall says the young man made a phone call to a friend in Jeffersonville, Indiana early Wednesday morning.'
Snip

'Hall has been missing for nearly three weeks. His family says he was wounded in Iraq and is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.'
Snip

There is a video report at the News Channel 2 site as well

Another report about Eric explains more of possibly why he disappeared.

'Eric Hall, 24, left his aunt's house in Deep Creek on Feb. 3 during a flashback to his service in Iraq. He was injured while on foot patrol in Fallujah in June 2005; an improvised explosive device killed a man he was with and mangled his thigh. Eric was medically retired from the Marine Corps, where his mother, Becky Hall, said he had planned to make his career. A few weeks before his disappearance, he moved from Indiana to Florida for a fresh start.'
Snip

'Eric seemed to believe enemies were out to get him the day he disappeared, relatives said. He had previously been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and received some treatment from the Veteran's Administration.'
Snip

Updated report, today, with the following:

Eric Hall

Age: 24

Hair: brownish-blond

Eyes: brown

Height: 5 feet, 9 inches; walks with a limp

Weight: 140 pounds

Clothing: black leather jacket with patch that says "In Memory of Pops" (a memorial to a friend's deceased father), plaid long-sleeved shirt, white T-shirt, blue jeans, possibly a motorcycle helmet

Tattoos: "sinner" written on inside of right bicep, "saint" on inside of left bicep, Chinese characters on stomach, dog tags on left side of ribcage, praying hands on left side of chest, and "established in 1983" written on lower back

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at 941-639-0013 or Becky Hall at 502-500-7732.

There is also a message from his mother at above report!