Silent Angels

By RU Rob

Every day people work behind the scenes for veterans and their families; these volunteers dedicate their free time to the well-being of others for no other purpose than to help those who deserve assistance.  Sometimes the simple action of reading can save a veteran’s life.  This is the story of a volunteer who did so much with very little.

Deb Boyce is a volunteer with GallantFew, Inc., an organization dedicated to helping in the transition of veterans from active duty to the civilian world.  Deb compiles the weekly newsletter for GallantFew, spending hours roaming various veteran and military Facebook groups, chat-rooms and websites in search of articles and information for her readers.  At the request of Karl Monger, Executive Director of GallantFew, she also monitors those pages for veterans in need of immediate assistance.

Recently, Deb was perusing a particular Facebook page for content when she came across the following post:

“The Veterans System has put me in a simple place, their “Committee” issued my Death Warrant. That is OK! They woke up one of the most dangerous Men in America. I have decided to commit Suicide and take a few of these assholes, when the Committee decide they were right and I was wrong and that I am not worth saving for a little while longer why should I just sit down and die. The field of battle has never worried me, I can only die once! The Cowards in the VA die a thousand times. Your great Brother’s and Sister’s love you all! Oh! Yeah! The Suicide line of the VA is to say they tried, so when you die it is you and only you that caused it!”

Immediately recognizing the potential for a disastrous situation, Deb reached out to Karl Monger and Boone Cutler of National Warfighter Program. Boone and Karl had recently presented this situation to the Western States’ Hostage Negotiators Association and had trained on how to deal with the situation.

Then, a multi-pronged response began.

Using the available, open-source information obtained from the internet, Deb began trying to get ahold of the 911 in the area where veteran was thought to reside.  After four different calls starting in her local town in Mississippi, she was finally able to connect with a dispatcher in the town where the veteran lived.   A police response was initiated and after hearing that the veteran had a wife at home with him, the situation quickly escalated into a hostage negotiation.

Boone Cutler and his wife Malisalou were also working frantically trying to get in touch with the veteran in need.  After receiving the copied information of the veteran’s Facebook page, Boone sent the Veteran a direct message and included his telephone number. The immediate response from the veteran was chilling, “…it’s too late, my house is already surrounded.”

Yet, a couple minutes later, Boone’s phone rang; it was the veteran.   Boone then started a conversation with him, veteran to veteran, brother to brother. Simultaneously at Boone’s side, Malisalou was luckily able to connect with the police via phone and was transferred to the senior police officer on the scene.  This was vital in the situation as Malisalou was able to relay information directly from Boone to the police which painted a true picture of the situation, and removed a lot of the anxiety and tension from the police outside the residence.

This communication was also the primary reason the police changed their posturing status from “lethal” to “less than lethal”; a move that ultimately saved a potential suicide-by-cop.

After a long, two-hour, dilemma, the tense and potentially deadly situation came to a peaceful end.  The caring hearts of these volunteers saved not only a veteran but possibly the lives of many others in the process.

The 911 dispatcher in the veteran’s town who took the initial call from Deb Boyce sent her a Facebook message the following day that read:

“I am the dispatcher that took this call & sent [redacted] help. I can’t thank you enough for contacting our local law enforcement and giving all the information you had. It was greatly helpful & appreciated. I will say after a 2 hour stand-off with SOU called to the scene it was a nerve racking situation that ended very well. None of this could have been done without you help. My prayers to the cause and all those who serve.”

“I will not take my own life by my own hand until I talk to my battle buddy first.  My mission is to find a mission to help my warfighter family.” –Boone Cutler – The Spartan Pledge

 

 

 

 

7 Comments

1. 

   Steven Harder

   July 8, 2012 at 8:31 pm

   A big thank you to Rob for posting this story!

   A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Deb Boyce, Boone Cutler, and his wife Malisalou, Karl Monger, and GallantFew, Inc. Many do not know or understand, some don’t even care, I and many of my fellow Vet’s DO CARE about our brothers and sisters in arms.

   Now the ball is back in the VA’s court, but the Vet will have his back covered by someone who can help him through the lies and BS the VA is well noted for.

   Thanks again to all involved!

   Harder

   Reply
2. 

   Vic Duphily

   July 10, 2012 at 7:45 am

   Great job by all concerned. Glad the cops involved were not forced into a lethal response. A lot of concern and outreach between Veterans’ Groups and Law Enforcement now trying to reduce the potential for an escalation of violence between someone who is hurting and trained in application of violence with the badge wearers who are trying to identify what they are dealing with on the fly. A lot of tragedy and arrests in the wake of bureaucratic mental health shortfalls.
   “Now the ball is back in the VA’s court, but the Vet will have his back covered by someone who can help him through the lies and BS the VA is well noted for.” I am a vet (Cold War-no bleeding) and a retired cop. I am finishing up a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with the intent to work for the VA upon graduation because there is obviously a need for some more folks to step up for those vets that need some help. In the last couple of years I have met several impressive individuals; returning OEF/OIF vets who got the education and entered the VA ranks to be stalwart activists fiercely guarding the rights of their clients. I can only hope that whatever institutional bureaucratic BS that has so tainted the VA’s reputation can be addressed as more folks seek to serve their country’s wounded warriors by bringing the values and intensity of their uniformed service there.

   Reply
3. 

   Peter D

   July 16, 2012 at 2:36 pm

   great story, and what a great job that they did saving lives.

   Reply
4. 

   RC6

   July 16, 2012 at 9:55 pm

   Knowing these men and women, I’m not surprised to hear how well they responded to this situation. A great debt of gratitude is owed to them for the work that they do daily, and this veteran is thankful that they continue to serve the community. Great article Rob – thanks for sharing the good news.

   Reply
5. 

   CJ

   September 12, 2012 at 5:16 pm

   These are the stories that need to be told. So glad that this ended the way it did.

   Reply
6. 

   MP

   September 17, 2012 at 6:04 pm

   This is an amazing story. We hear so much negative from shootings to suicides in the military. It is so nice to hear of a veteran receiving help in time! Thank you!

   Reply
7. 

   Ernest Stull

   October 7, 2012 at 5:23 am

   Attention all Soldiers, who are still serving those of us who have Veteran status.There is no problem that cannot be resloved without taking a life to draw attention to it. We all must stick togather and and help one another.

   Reply