Daniel Somers

Daniel Somers was the son of a physician and a health-care administrator. He married Angeline Roth, his former high school sweetheart, in 2001. By 2008, a year after the end of his second deployment, he had been diagnosed with PTSD, traumatic brain injury (suffered in combat), fibromyalgia, and a host of other medical problems. After returning from the war in 2007, Somers founded a band in the Phoenix area called Lisa Savige. He served as guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader for the group. Lisa Savige performed at various live events in the US Southwest and on KWSS-LP, the independent radio station in Phoenix, frequently donating its proceeds to benefit people wounded in the Middle East. Lisa Savidge disbanded in 2011. Somers sent a letter to the VA in October 2011, describing his symptoms as worsening in several ways, including nightly panic attacks and auditory hallucinations. In that letter, he said his situation "drives me to consider suicide very seriously on a daily basis." ==Death and aftermath==

On June 10, 2013, Somers died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the age of 30 in Phoenix, Arizona. Somers' parents, Jean and Howard Somers, have become strong advocates for the well-being of returning soldiers and for PTSD awareness. They met with Congressional and VA officials in August 2013 and authorized the release of their son's records to the Washington Post in an effort to document publicly how the VA failed him, hoping they might help others in the process. Steve Vogel of the Washington Post described Somers' death as "a case study in how federal agencies continue to fail veterans." In May 2014, one month after initial reports of the Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014 were aired on CNN, and nearly a year after their son's suicide, Jean and Howard Somers announced "Operation Engage America," their own plan to raise awareness and educate Americans about the special needs of veterans returning home with what they had begun to call "moral injury." The plan included advocating for an easily accessible online resource for loved ones of returning soldiers that would help them understand the special problems the veterans might be dealing with, such as PTSD. The plan also included advocating for a contractual requirement with health professionals working for the VA to give 90 days notice before leaving the VA. The purpose of this was to preserve continuity of care for veterans who were currently being treated. Operation Engage America was launched on June 7, 2014, with two "resource fairs", one in San Diego, CA, and the other in Des Moines, IA. Their website indicates their intention to make it an annual event. On Thursday, July 10, 2014, they testified before the US House Veterans' Affairs Committee and proposed a number of specific reforms. On July 23, 2019, US Senator Kyrsten Sinema paid tribute to Sergeant Somers in her maiden speech in the Senate chamber. ==See also==