Mentally Unfit, Forced to Fight
"My head was in a scary place. I remember thinking, `I can't believe I'm working on a $14 million aircraft. I just don't care about this,''' he said. "When I'd come out of my daze, I was worried about messing up and endangering the life of my guys.''
Denton, 30, said his depression was easy to keep secret -- pre- and post-deployment health screenings were self-reported, and commanders hustling Marines through six-month rotations never probed his mental state.
Now back home, Denton, who is being treated for depression, isn't sure whether he managed to stay below the radar -- or whether there was any radar to stay below.
Monday: Ignored
"They talked about how he had a history of mental problems. No kidding. ... I mean, if you're flat-footed, you don't go in. So isn't there a clause in there if you had mental problems?''
-- Margaret Brabazon, mother of Army Spec.
Edward W. Brabazon
Tuesday: Drugged
"Bobby is on a mind-altering drug, with a loaded rifle, and he is requested to guard an Iraqi detainee?'' -- Ann Guy, mother of Marine Pfc.
Robert Allen Guy
Wednesday: Recycled
"It just floors us that they'd send him back. To be in a psychiatric hospital last summer and now back to a war zone.'' -- Larry Syverson, father of Army Staff Sgt. Bryce Syverson
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2007 Dart Award Final Judges