By Debra Sweet

It was heartbreaking to hear of the suicide of Jacob David George last week.  He had been sent to Afghanistan three times with the Marines, from the age of 19-22.  We met him in NYC on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, just on the even of OWS.  An Arkansan, he rode his bike with the Guitarmy.  I last saw him playing his guitar and singing at the Ft. Meade rally for Chelsea Manning.

Most significantly, Jacob was one of the veterans who threw their medals toward the NATO meeting in Chicago, at the 2012 antiwar protest in Chicago.

Watch Jacob speaking about throwing his medals back, and much more.

Lay this death — and those of the 22 U.S. veterans who kill themselves each day — at the steps of this government.  Damn it, for using and throwing away human beings in the service of empire.

Jacob George at Fort Meade to protest to the court martial of Chelsea Manning, 6/1/13. Photo by Ward Reilly, via Courage to Resist.