Jonathon Miley Busbin US Army
June 7, 1993 – October 14, 2017
509th Airborne Regiment
Jonathon knew when he was a little boy that he wanted to join the Army, his dream was to become a Ranger. When he was little, he would always dress in camouflage, always had his shirt tucked in, always stood proudly for the flag, and always admired every soldier he would meet. His eyes would light up when he would talk about the Army, so when he came to his dad and I his senior year of high school telling us that he wanted to join the Army we were not surprised. I remember when the recruiter came to our house to talk with us, Jonathon was so proud…we knew exactly what he wanted. As a mama, I cried a lot when he left for basic training. However, I remember the first call I had with him while at basic and his first comment to me was “mama this is amazing, this is what I’ve waited my whole life for” the excitement and pride in voice did this mama’s heart good. Jonathon was a fiber optic engineer and was an electrician. He enjoyed fishing, motorcycles and traveling.
On October 14, 2017, our family was suddenly struck with a hard reality. Our son, Jonathon Busbin, became a member of the estimated 22 Veterans who died due to suicide. He was a soldier in the United States Army and a paratrooper with a deployment under his belt. Upon his return from Afghanistan and his discharge from the Army, we noticed that something was now different in him. What we did not know was that he was not the only son, husband, father, and brother who was suffering from these differences. He was aloof, quiet, reserved, and secretive with his problems. The son who joined the military and came home from war was not quite the same anymore. Things were different with him. We knew that he was fighting internal battles, but we did not know what these were and how often he was fighting them. He would tell us he was fine when we asked him about those battles. He did attempt therapy a few times, but he did not continue to go due to how he was treated there. He also felt like other veterans were more deserving of the treatment offered by the VA. Our son, brother, husband, and father were fighting battles that we were not sure how to help him with.
Shared from a website in Jonathon’s memory:
WELCOME TO JON’S MISSION FOR 22, INC.
Mission Statement: To prevent others from experiencing our pain; providing education, treatment, and support for theirs.
These amazing people made a choice to stand tall and defend our freedom. My husband and I lost our oldest son October 14, 2017, he became one of the 22 at the age of 23. I still have trouble saying it without tears filling my eyes. Jonathon was my heart and he left behind a beautiful wife and daughter.
I woke up early this morning from a bad dream. It’s a dream I’ve had the past two years a 100 times, I relive that day over and over in my head daily; the sounds, the feelings, the drive to Florida but in my dreams I see things I didn’t see. I see my baby boy laying there helpless, looking at me asking me why I didn’t help him. No mother should ever go through what I’ve gone through, no mother should ever have the dreams I do. I’m asking for you to please help us raise as much awareness and money for Jon’s Mission for 22, My dreams may never stop but maybe we can prevent someone’s else.
States he called home: Georgia and Florida
Final resting place: Waterloo Baptist Church Cometary in Waterloo, Georgia
