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Coming Home Project
The Coming Home Project was launched by WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil in 2011 to tell the stories of veterans in transition and the issues that matter to them and their families.

Afghanistan War Veteran Takes Own Life

Connecticut Public Radio | By Lucy Nalpathanchil
Published October 30, 2013 at 3:54 PM EDT

Early Wednesday morning, WNPR learned of the tragic death of 31-year-old Justin Eldridge of Waterford. He was a Marine who served 8.5 years in the military including a deployment to Afghanistan. 

"Even after he returned home from Afghanistan, Justin had a long fight ahead of him."
Senator Richard Blumenthal

After he returned home, friends say Eldridge struggled with post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. On Tuesday, police were called to his home where they found him dead from a self inflicted gun shot. He leaves behind a wife and four children. 

Joanna Gallup Eldridge spoke about his struggles in a Patch article this summer. She helped raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Eldridge formed the Marine Corps League Detachment in southeastern Connecticut and served as Commandant. Friend, Jim Reid, says U.S Senator Richard Blumenthal was a member of the detachment. Blumenthal was also a friend of Eldridge. He spoke about him on the Senate Floor Wednesday.

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Lucy Nalpathanchil
Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.
See stories by Lucy Nalpathanchil

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.