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John Needham was a decorated soldier, an artist, and a man battling demons after serving in the Iraq War.

Despite surviving the horrors of war, his battle with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and moral injury led to a tragic outcome—taking the life of the woman he loved, Jacqwelyn Villagomez. Their story reveals the devastating failures in the military’s mental health care system.

This episode talks about the long-lasting impact of untreated mental health issues and the moral injuries that soldiers like John endure.

How did someone so full of potential end up in such a dark place? Could better mental health care have saved both John and Jackqwelyn?

What You’ll Learn:

• Who are John Needham and Jacqwelyn Villagomez?
• John’s military career and deployment to Baghdad.
• The mental health decline that led to tragedy.
• The concept of moral injury and how it affects soldiers.
• The tragic incident involving Jacqwelyn.
• How military failures contributed to John's fate.
• The ripple effects of trauma, both in John's life and for those around him.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “The military makes these combat warfighters weapons. They make them weapons and they don't care when they are broken because, quite frankly, it doesn't always affect their ability to be good in combat.” - Tressa Brady
• “What happens when these men don't get the help they need and the men stop compartmentalizing, and they come home and they can't turn off the war? Women die.” - Tressa Brady
• “Many warfighters experience moral injury when they're in combat, when they're involved in events that just go against their moral code while they're deployed.” - Tressa Brady

Resources

Podcast source:

• "48 Hours" Presents: Private Needham's War - CBS News

Articles referenced:

• John Needham & Jacque Villagomez: A tale of love and war (cbsnews.com)
• Troubled Iraq vet charged with murder dies (tucson.com)
• Iraq vet charged with killing girlfriend is found dead in Arizona - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

For Social Media Platforms/contact :

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthewounded13
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@healthewounded13
• Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/@tressa.brady
• Email: Healingwounds13@gmail.com