'I can't do barbecues:' Veterans say Memorial Day time to discuss suicides in ranks

While Memorial Day may invoke tales of heroism in battle and the memories of those lost in combat, the holiday is increasingly a time some veterans remember those that took their own lives — often after struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder or other insurmountable internal strife. In Tennessee, Sgt. John Toombs, who hanged himself a day before Thanksgiving last year in a building under construction at the VA medical center in Murfreesboro. Toombs' story has inspired some lawmakers, such as Rep. Desjarlais, who represents Murfreesboro, to rename a rehab center at the Murfreesboro campus after Toombs to serve as a "constant reminder that mental health must always be a priority issue of VA health care," Desjarlais said in a statement.