GREEN BAY (WTAQ-WLUK) – The public was invited to pay its respects to a soldier Friday.
Johnathan Whitt was laid to rest in Green Bay. More than 50 mourners showed up to honor the 31-year-old Army veteran.
He served at Fort Riley, Kansas, from 2005-07. He died on Sept. 5.
At a memorial for Whitt, the honor guard fired off three volleys from their rifles.
Whitt does not have any family in the area, and his funeral was open to the public. Funeral attendees said he was estranged from his family.
“As a veteran, military, we’re all family. We all fight the same fight. We are re-programmed,” said Troy Fowler, a veteran from Oconto Falls.
Whitt only served for two years before he was injured, but when he was released from the Army, he struggled.
“He was suffering,” said Mathew Franklin, the senior benefits officer with the Brown County Veterans Services.
Before Whitt died by suicide earlier this month, he was alone. He was estranged from his family. He was homeless for a time. He also had some trouble with the law. He was convicted of making a bomb threat, but court records show Whitt didn’t have a bomb.
“I think he struggled to find himself for a long time,” said Franklin.
Whitt wasn’t alone. A 2018 report released by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs shows, on average, more than 16 veterans die a day by suicide.
“Any time a fellow veteran takes their life, and you know there’s help for them, it’s hard to see that happen. Sure, I didn’t know Jonathan very well, but to me he was family and it’s a piece of you leaving this earth,” said Franklin.
Veterans who showed up to mourn the loss of Whitt say his story is more common than it should be.
“I would just like to say, if you know any veterans out there that you think are having issues, have them reach out. They can go to the V.A. There is crisis numbers they can call,” said Fowler.
“Today was a testament of what he thought he was… isolated,” said Franklin. “All these people would’ve been there at any moments notice.”
A military headstone will be placed at the cemetery for Private Jonathan Whitt with his branch number and the words “proudly served.”
