Lance Corporal Mills Bigham

Anna Bigham was a supportive sister. Her brother, Mills, was like many freshly-graduated high school seniors.

He enlisted into the Marines and graduated from Parris Island and moved up in the ranks to lance corporal.

"I was incredibly proud of him, watching him march and everything he went through," said Anna.

The Bighams were just like the families of countless other American soldiers. Mills was a large source of their pride.

Mills went through four years of service and two tours in Iraq. Anna and his father, John, supported him every step of the way.

However, after the fighting stopped for Mills and he returned home from war, Anna noticed his smile fade in civilian life.

"He couldn't concentrate or function," said Anna. "He didn't want to go anywhere or be social. He'd always say to me, 'Everyone can see what I've done.'"

The horrors of war were haunting him. For many of America's fighting brave, the journey home after war is often darker and more perilous than the battlefield itself.

Mills wrote of one particular moment that stuck with him through the war in a journal entry.

"I pulled the trigger, quickly, twice. Pop...pop. We approach the person, carefully. He is suffocating on his own blood. He is crying. Death took him. He cried no more. I checked his ID. He is 12 years old. I wept that night. It is true what they say, the first is the worst, and then it only gets easier."

Mills was sleepless, restless and scared.

John also noticed the erratic behavior, even as Mills was going to counseling sessions.

"He was acting in ways that wasn't my son, he was just different," said John.

That difference has become Anna's hindsight.

"He never said, 'Anna, I'm gonna kill myself,' but the signs were all there," said Anna.

On Oct. 19, 2009, Lance Corporal Mills Bigham killed himself.

"He was a casualty of the war in Iraq," said John. "He did his duty, what he was asked and he didn't take a bullet over there, but he got one here by his own hand."

Mills got counseling and treatment from the Dorn VA Medical Center where he was also diagnosed with PTSD. His family said he received some, but not all of the help he needed.

"They never returned my phone calls," claimed Anna. "I would go down there and in appointments with him or by his side."

"We have politicians who want to spend trillions of dollars on cash for clunkers and the Veterans Administration needs more of everything," said John. "They are overwhelmed by people coming back from deployments.

Dr. Gloria Neumann is the suicide prevention officer at Dorn VA and worked with Mills.

"The demand is greater than the supply," said Dr. Neumann. "We don't have enough people to work as rapidly as we'd like."

It's estimated about a third of veterans have PTSD and the Army reports record high suicide rates. In 2008, 133 Army soldiers committed suicide along with 41 Marines.

"If you are physically wounded, people can see and have empathy, it's the invisible wounds we see that are most difficult," said Dr. Neumann.

Those invisible wounds claimed the life of Mills Bigham. His family now wants to help others suffering.

"The more I talk about my story and my brother's story, maybe I can save another soldier's life that's hurting as bad as my brother," said Anna.

It's estimated nearly five American soldiers or veterans attempt suicide a day.

And in January of this year, suicides out numbered combat deaths.

The military is putting more resources into its PTSD programs and Dorn VA breaks ground next year on its PTSD Treatment Center.

Until then, if you need information or help for PTSD, call the Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK and let them know you're a veteran.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.