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Show Fine Dining - Online Ordering • Take Out - .Catering HILLTOP TIMES Parents of suicide victim share story ~ 1rvw. 4 8 'jljno , Members of the 5th Combat Communications Group listen to a presentation about the suicide of Airman 1st Class Austin GatesBenson. GatesBenson served with the 54th CBCS. LAYTON . WEST JORDAN WINNER BEST OF STATE IVY Best Indian Restaurant BY WAYNE CRENSHAW 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs R OBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. 4 On May 3, 2010, Joie Gates' boss entered her office and abruptly ordered a coworker she was chatting with to leave with him. Three uniformed Air Force officers then entered the room and Gates knew she was about to get some bad news. They told her that her only child, Airman Austin Gates-Benson, had died in Afghanistan of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. To hear the news he was dead was shocking enough, but to learn he had committed suicide left her in disbelief. "I pulled the bottom of my shirt up over my head, wanting desperately to hide from his words, wanting to disappear," she said. She and Fred Boenig, Airman Gates-Benson's father, traveled to Robins Air Force Base, Ga., Feb. 8 from Pennsylvania to share their experiences with their son's death to about 500 Airmen at the base theater. Most of the Airmen were members of the 5th Combat Communications Group, the parent organization of the unit to which Gates-Benson was assigned. In a voice often shaky but never halting, Joie Gates urged the Airmen to consider the impact suicide has on others and seek help when they need it. "May 3, 2010, is the day that life as I knew it came forever to an end," she said. "Living it first hand is an endless ride of pain and confusion. There are no answers to my questions. There is no day you wake up and return to the way things were before your child dies by suicide." Much has been said at Robins Air Force Base in the past couple of years about recognizing the warning signs of suicide, but by all accounts, Airman Gates-Benson displayed none of those. He smiled so commonly that one fellow Airman compared him to a game-show host, said Lt. Col. Donald Cournoyer, the commander of the 54th Combat Communications Squadron. He said Airman Gates-Benson was an outstanding Airman who worked hard, showed initiative and was thrilled to learn he was deploying to work with special operations troops. "Throughout all of this, he never let anyone see anything other than that smile and that `gitr-done' attitude," Cournoyer said. "He didn't open up to anyone." Fred Boenig, a morning radio host, went on the air the day after he got the news. For two weeks, he choked back tears as he gave weather and traffic reports and talked about his son's death. His show became a lightning rod for people who had been impacted by suicide. He recently mentioned on his show he was going to Robins AFB to talk to 500 Airmen. "In that room, statistically there's one person who is going to die from suicide, and I don't know who that person is," he recalled telling his radio audience, "because if I did, I would go over to that person and say 'Talk to someone." Joie Gates admitted she knew little about suicide on the day she got the news, but she went home that night and started reading about it, particularly the high rate among those in uniform. Three days later, she penned a letter to President Obama asking him to address the problem of suicides in the military. "I will gather the greater forces of love and create a whirlwind to bring what is hidden to life," she wrote in the letter. Joie Gates' and Fred Boenig's message also is going beyond their talk here. It was videotaped and was used by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy during his presentation Feb. 17 at the Air Force Association's Winter Symposium in Orlando. Cournoyer ended the event by urging all Airmen in attendance to seek help if they need it. "If you are considering suicide, reach out to someone," he said. "There are a lot of people who are there to listen and help you out, no matter what the problem is. It's the fight of your life." Editor's note: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached at 800-273-8255. WEST JORDAN LAYTON Tel: 801-618-2200 Tel: 801-614-0107 1664 Woodland Park Dr., 9200 S. Redwood Rd. (behind Winger's) Layton, UT 84041 WWW.TASTEOFINDIALAYTON.COM West Jordan, UT 84088 WWVV.TASTEOFINDIAWJ.COM • 27 Point Inspection & Car Wash I I I I I I zr; g ,~ Best Masala In Utah In Ogden (Voted) SAVF NOW! • Oil Change WELLNESS CORNER E 2nd Best Restauran UTAH 2010 SUE SAPP/U.S. Air Force Father of victim: 'Talk to someone' d1111.111 81 95 Only Up to 5 quarts of oil. Excludes synthetic oil. Expires 3-31-11. 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But with good stress management skills, you can cope with stress in a healthy way. This class will help you get a better understanding of what stress is, how it can affect you, and some techniques to prevent and reduce the effects of stress. Back Care class, Wednesday, April 6, noon-1 p.m., Building 533, Warrior Health and Fitness Center, HAWC Classroom — almost everyone has back pain at one time or another. The good news is that most back pain will go away in a few weeks with some basic self-care. This class will focus on how to manage back pain and more importantly, how to prevent chronic back pain and maintain proper care of your back. To sign up for classes contact Ellie or Jen at (801) 586-9584 or e-mail Jennifer. sedgwick.ctr@hill.af.mil . The Best Local News, Sports, Ads & Entertainment — And Over $100 Coupon Savings Each Week *Offer valid for new subscribers only. Includes print & online subscription for 20 weeks. Regular rates apply after promotional period. 801-625-4400 |