One Taliban Bullet, Two Lives Lost

COMBAT OUTPOST MARGAH, Afghanistan—Spc. Keith Benson, 1st Platoon's medic, liked to joke with the soldiers in his care: "Don't mess with me or you're on the no-morphine list. Really make me mad and you're on the no-tourniquet list." On his arm he wore a tattoo of a hyena. On his chest was inked: "Why so serious?"

On Jan. 18, about halfway through his first combat tour and shortly before a scheduled home leave, the 27-year-old soldier sat in his room at an Army base in the snowy mountains near the Pakistan border. He held a 9mm pistol, the weapon medics carry to protect their patients in battle. He put the muzzle to his head and pulled the trigger.

He left behind a two-word note. "I'm sorry," it said.

For many in the military, some of the toughest blows aren't from battle but its aftermath. In the field and at home, many troops wrestle with depression, trauma, anxiety and substance abuse. Sometimes, combat veterans struggle to overcome the guilt of outliving their friends.             More