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Danny Facto 1979 – 2009
Post 911 OEF ARMY COMBAT VETERAN 2001 & 2003 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION
Danny passed away in the late evening of Wednesday July 15th 2009 from injuries sustained in an adrenaline seeking, excessive speed related motorcycle accident.
The audiobook, Transitioning Veterans and the acompanying Self-Study Guide was co-created by Danny and his father, John Henry Parker during Danny’s transition home from his military service and while attending Syracuse University to obtain his Masters in Social Work.
In the fall of 2003, then, Sgt Danny Facto was stationed at Shkin Fire Base, a mud fenced Alamo also known as “The Evilest Place” in a Time Magazine article. Shkin is in the Afghan border region approximately three miles from Pakistan. Then, Sgt. Facto, Danny was interviewed on a special segment of Peter Jennings’ “World News Tonight“ when General Abizaid the commander of troops in Afghanistan visited the forward fire base for a first hand assessment of the battlefield.
Media Interviews
In early 2004 Danny was featured in a CNN news segment with Paula Zann and Dr. Sanjay Gupta featuring Dr. Charles Hoge’s groundbreaking research on the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with returning military from Afghanistan. Fortunately, through a personal introduction From Dr. Jonathan Shay, author and documentarian of “Achilles in Vietnam“and “Odysseus In America“, we were introduced to CNN producer, Chris Cajilian, who was preparing a documentary on newly returing soldiers from Afghanistan.
Danny was selected for the interview to show a recently returning Combat Veteran seeking help for PTSD within the military health care system.
John Mason
Vietnam ARMY COMBAT VETERAN
John was always generous with his time and we shared a passion for helping Veterans in transition.
I think our conversations, and the insights he shared about what transtioning Veterans go through was John’s way of getting outside of his own experiences. Our calls were always lengthy and insightful and I appreciated them very much. We would talk about what would have been helpful to him during his transition, but like many Veterans, John hid his deep suffering from his experiences in Vietnam from everyone except those closest to him.
On August 26, 2013, John lost his battle from his hidden wounds of war.
John’s passing was a shock to everyone and we are not alone. More Vietnam Veterans have died from ending their own lives then were killed in Combat. And, our current generation of Veterans are repeating this horrific cycle.
This audio book for was created to reach these “at risk” Veterans who are reluctant or incabable of asking for help. My son Danny, and John’s passing have greatly influenced this work and the urgency to share it with others.
Thank you John for your generosity of spirit and your constant encouragement, rest in peace.
Trigger Warning:
The following video is the reading of a Vietnam Veteran’s suicide note left for his family and his lifelong friend Joe. This is a touching video Joe wanted to make to bring