Colton Puckett
Corporal, United States Marine Corps
December 15, 1988 – August 24, 2017
Age – 28
Waterford, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom
Became One of “22 A Day” on August 24, 2017
Marine Corporal Colton J Puckett on was born on December 15, 1988 in Daytona, Florida.
Colton was a decorated corporal in the United States Marine Corps, serving tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He worked as a dispatcher and trainer for Genesee County 911 where he was nominated for dispatcher of the year.
Colton was a wonderful father and husband who loved spending time with his family. He especially loved taking Aiden fishing. He was an animal lover and an avid Steelers fan.
Cpl Colton Puckett was shot and killed by police after a violent domestic disturbance while suffering through a post-traumatic stress episode. His wife wanted to make the point that Colton Puckett was a good man who suffered from PTSD. He was shot and killed by police after he went on a violent rampage. “I don’t want anybody to think he was some sort of crazy person, because he was not. That’s not him at all.”
As SWAT surrounded the area, Colton Puckett came outside the house with a long shotgun and charged at police when he was shot. The Marine veteran later died at the hospital.
Puckett’s widow and father-in-law say he suffered from PTSD and had been seeking treatment. They did everything they could for him, but the 28-year-old needed more help from the mental trauma he endured while serving his country.
He mentioned a few things he had seen overseas, and he was having a hard time for it,” said Kristen Puckett of her husband.
“He saw his friends die. He saw some of them get extremely hurt, losing limbs and hearing their screams and crying for help.”
That friend who lost limbs would become someone he spoke to regularly when struggling. Kristen says they helped each other get by as they worked to adjust to civilian life. Then, earlier this year that friend died of suspected suicide. Colton was devastated. A short time after his friend died, he came to her and told her he needed help. He wanted to check himself in for mental health treatment at the VA hospital. He underwent a week of inpatient treatment. He then was prepared to go to a three-month long inpatient program.
Kristen says it didn’t go as planned. The doctors changed his medication. He complained he couldn’t sleep, became agitated and checked himself out of the hospital. They worked to get him an appointment with a psychiatrist, but the soonest appointment was next month. He would never make it to the appointment. Last Wednesday when she got home from work, her husband who had spent the day caring for their 4-year-old son told her he wanted to commit suicide.
“I told him we needed you and would be lost without you, especially that little boy in there. He said he would be fine, that he would be better off without him,” said Kristen.
Kristen says she has been active in her husband’s care. She knows the Veterans Affairs hospitals have improved treatment in recent years. She knows there is help available if veterans pursue it. She also thinks it could be improved.
She said it would be beneficial to veterans if they had more places to go and families were allowed to be more involved. She said for her husband, making a psychiatric appointment was a trigger. When he made the appointment, he would think about why he needed it, and his mental state would deteriorate. He asked her to make appointments for him. When she tried to make some appointments for him for psychiatric care she was told he needed to make the call.
She wants to see an effort to raise awareness about Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. She says sometimes Colton was made to feel as if his issues were not legitimate, because they were wounds you could not physically see with your eyes. She feels if there is more awareness, more people will be able to get help.
She doesn’t want other families to lose a loved one, as she and her son have.
“If you are struggling with PTSD, please get help. There are people who care about you. You might feel they don’t, but there are a lot of people who care.”