Anne Katherine Vassas
Corporal, United States Marine Corps
September 16, 1998 – August 18, 2019
Age – 20
Macomb Township, Michigan
Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan
Became “One of 22 A Day” on August 18, 2019
The family of a 20-year-old Anne Vassas who died by suicide while serving in the Marines is sharing the story in hopes it will raise awareness about PTSD and military suicides.
Anne Vassas’ family said she was a beautiful person battling some ugly issues. They shared the story of these private and painful moments with Local 4 to try to remove the stigma surrounding PTSD.
Bob and Jan Vassas, and their son, Bobby, said they found out about their daughter’s death just like it happens in the movies.
“The doorbell rang,” Bob Vassas said. “There were two Marines at the front door. Right away, we thought something was wrong.”
The Marines told the Vassas family that their daughter, Cpl. Anne Vassas, would never come home.
“I’ll never see that smile,” Bob Vassas said. “I’ll never get that hug. That’s the most difficult.”
Anne Vassas was found in her barracks while serving in Japan. She took her own life, her parents said. They didn’t see a single warning sign.
“We spoke with her a week before for an hour and a half,” Bob Vassas said. “We had a great conversation.”
But Anne Vassas was quietly fighting her own battles. After suffering some very serious injuries at boot camp, she was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. Her parents said she was diagnosed by a private clinician, not someone in the military.
“She was worried about the consequences of opening up too much,” Jan Vassas said. “She was worried about being discharged.”
Nearly a month after she passed, her body returned home.
“I was hoping they ID’d the wrong person,” Bobby Vassas said.
Anne Vassas would have turned 21 years old this month. In high school she had a lot of friends, was incredibly involved and constantly smiled, her parents said.
In the Marines, her friends said she acted like a mother, always trying to take care of everyone.
Now her parents are left to ask why she took her own life.