Veteran Takes His Own Life, Others Continue His Mission Saving Afghans

Former Navy Corpsman Michael McCarthy took his ain beingness successful his L.A. flat successful August, conscionable arsenic Taliban troops were rolling toward Kabul successful what ended successful the country's collapse.

"We each cognize the horrors of war, you know, and a batch of the details Michael kept from us," McCarthy's stepfather Bob Dyl said. "He knew it would interruption our hearts and helium kept it wrong and helium buried it there."

"We're each inactive successful a small disbelief," McCarthy's sister Rebekah Dyl said. "I deliberation helium knew that they were going to instrumentality implicit Kabul good earlier they really did. And I deliberation that was benignant of ... that was excessively overmuch for him."

Corpsman McCarthy had spoken with Newsy conscionable weeks earlier successful the midst of a hopeless and idiosyncratic ngo to rescue 2 interpreters helium had worked with successful Afghanistan. 

"I personally enactment my hopes successful the hands of God astatine this point," McCarthy said.

Before helium died, astatine property 39, McCarthy got to spot 1 erstwhile interpreter escape. "Wolf," arsenic the Marines called him, is present surviving illegally successful Turkey and fears helium could beryllium deported by a authorities that doesn't privation Afghan refugees. 

"The Turkish radical telephone america 'spies of America.' I don't cognize why," Wolf said. "They said, 'You guys moving with Americans and present Americans permission Afghanistan. Why you guys travel here?'"

The different interpreter McCarthy was trying to evacuate said helium couldn't get out. 

"Hopefully — we privation — 1 time we tin alert retired and flight from this hellish country," erstwhile Afghan interpreter Danny said.

Newsy is utilizing his subject nickname for security. "Danny" and his household faced Taliban beatings and chaotic crowds arsenic they tried to participate the airdrome successful Kabul with the militants present controlling the city. He hadn't heard from McCarthy successful days, truthful helium opened his phone, turned to Facebook, and saw a Rest In Peace connection connected his wall.  

Suicide is each excessively acquainted to the Second Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment, wherever McCarthy served. 

"My youngest brother, Elias Reyes Jr., served successful 2/7," McCarthy's person Margarita Reyes said. "He did 3 deployments to Iraq, 1 to Afghanistan; the past 1 being with Michael McCarthy. My brother, successful 2014, took his life. After having truthful galore suicides from 2/7, it doesn't get easier. I deliberation it's getting harder and harder."

Veterans of the 2/7 said they had six-hour firefights successful Afghanistan and often ran retired of ammunition with nary aerial support, medivac oregon capable water. Calling themselves "the Forgotten Battalion," they'd ticker their comrades dice determination and past astatine home. 

At slightest 37 person ended their ain lives, according to a database kept by a seasoned of the unit. Some, similar McCarthy, besides struggled with addiction and homelessness.

A 2015 New York Times study recovered the 2/7 has a termination complaint 14 times the mean for Americans. Surviving veterans person made a signifier of coming to each other's assistance erstwhile different termination occurs. But aft McCarthy's death, a radical of vets is trying to decorativeness what helium started.  

Former squad person Dustin Batson had been moving with McCarthy to effort to get the interpreter Danny retired of Afghanistan. Batson said helium formed a enslaved with Danny connected the time of a termination bombing successful 2008.  

"A termination bomber had jumped connected the hood of the Humvee and blew himself up successful the mediate of the bazaar," Batson said. "So each the Marines were fine, but it killed and maimed a full clump of civilians. And truthful we arsenic a speedy reactionary unit showed up and responded to it. And so, Mike, being our corpsman, treated each the wounded. A batch of them were tiny kids and it truly affected him. He was ne'er rather the aforesaid aft that day."

Danny was by McCarthy's broadside helping him dainty the wounded. Danny aboriginal became a doc due to the fact that of that experience, and McCarthy paid for his aesculapian schooling successful India. Danny and his household lone returned to Afghanistan truthful that his ailing parent could dice successful their homeland. 

SASHA INGBER: "How are you, from the United States, present successful Texas, capable to enactment connected getting him retired of Afghanistan?"

DUSTIN BATSON: "I don't cognize however overmuch I privation to accidental due to the fact that it's similar a information thing. But we person secured harmless houses that are protected — and I accidental protected disgustingly capable — we person to wage disconnected the Taliban to conscionable fundamentally not messiness with them."

INGBER: "So what needs to hap present for Danny to permission Afghanistan?"

BATSON: "Permission from the State Department. That's it."

Batson is waiting for support to enactment Danny and his household connected a plane, with Doha agreeing to instrumentality them, but precedence has been fixed to Americans and greenish paper holders.  

INGBER: "What if you don't get Danny out?"

BATSON: "There is nary contingency wherever we don't get him out. If I person to spell implicit determination and get him retired myself, I'll spell implicit determination and get him retired myself."

Batson says helium owes it to Danny and to McCarthy's memory.