A retired soldier who served with Lionel Desmond during a 2007 tour in Afghanistan says he’ll remember his friend as “a hero who put it all on the line for his country.”
Desmond, a military veteran, was found dead in a rural Nova Scotia home after an apparent murder-suicide Tuesday evening.
READ MORE: Military veteran among 4 family members shot in apparent Nova Scotia murder-suicide
Trevor Bungay served with Desmond in the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment based in CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. They toured together in Afghanistan in 2007.
“There was a lot of death and destruction during that tour. The last three months we fought every single day, we were in gunfights with the Taliban and lost many brothers and sisters,” Bungay said during a phone interview.
Desmond’s body was discovered along with three others by RCMP officers inside an Upper Big Tracadie home Tuesday evening.
WATCH: Military veteran among 4 family members shot in apparent Nova Scotia murder-suicide
Global News confirmed the other victims as Desmond’s wife, 31-year-old Shanna Desmond, their 10-year-old daughter, Aliyah, and his mother, Brenda.
Bungay spent 17 years in the Canadian Armed Forces serving as an infantry soldier.
WATCH: Four people found dead in murder-suicide in Nova Scotia
He’s since retired and helps run Trauma Healing Centres, an organization that supports soldiers, first responders and civilians suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma and other issues.
READ MORE: Canadian military members more likely to attempt suicide – and get help: study
Bungay says most of the soldiers he served with in Afghanistan are now living with PTSD.
“A lot of us suffer from depression, anxiety and some withdrawal from their family members,” Bungay said.
“The Canadian public needs to realize that this is something that controls you to a point where things no longer seem real anymore. And obviously, Desmond was in that state.”
Bungay said Desmond reached out to him this past summer, saying he was seeking help for PTSD symptoms and would be spending several months at a treatment facility, arranged through Veterans Affairs.
READ MORE: At least 54 Canadian military members have committed suicide since 2014
According to Bungay, Desmond seemed to be on track to receive “much needed help.”
“When he got back from treatment I checked in with him and he said things were going great. I told him I’d reach out to him again later on to make sure things were still going well and told him if anything changed to call me. That was basically the last conversation we had,” Bungay said.
Former long-time NDP Veterans Affair’s critic Peter Stoffer said Wednesday that while the government is making moves to improve services for the country’s veterans, the process is “excruciatingly slow.”
“There is absolutely no reason at all why the government can’t be moving much, much quicker,” Stoffer said.
READ MORE: Ottawa not moving fast enough to prevent suicides among Canada’s soldiers, veterans: advocates
“They’ve had recommendations after recommendations, year-in-year-out, from the ombudsman, from committees from individuals, from veterans organizations and we still aren’t there yet.
“We simply do not have enough human or financial resources in place, in order to assist our men and woman who suffer from (PTSD).”
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911. 911 can send immediate help. For a list of available mental health programs and services around Canada, please refer to the list here.
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