Lopez's death, by hanging, was the 14th suicide among Pennsylvania Army Guard ranks since 2003, including four in the last year.
At a time when suicides among active-duty Army troops have been on the decline, suicides among inactive Army Guard soldiers have nearly doubled nationally, from 62 in 2009 to 114 last year. (New Jersey had one Air Guard suicide in 2010.)
Guard leaders have been at a loss to explain the increase, except to note that guardsmen are left on their own when they return from a deployment. They go back to work or school, or just sit at home. Regular Army troops remain with their units and can be watched more closely for early signs of post-combat stress.
"It is my opinion that the loss of one soldier, regardless of what caused that loss, is one too many," said Maj. Gen. Randall R. Marchi, commander of the Pennsylvania Guard's 28th Infantry Division, who was among 50 Guard members in uniform who attended a viewing for Lopez on Jan. 31 at a church at Front and Clearfield Streets in North Philadelphia.
Lopez had been in combat - a Combat Action Badge awarded to him attests to that. But his wife said he never talked to her about his war experiences. His best friend and other family members declined to comment. Most of his recent Guard comrades, including his captain, were not with him in Afghanistan.
Lopez was born Dec. 21, 1987, at Temple University Hospital, to a family that had emigrated from Puerto Rico.
He graduated from Edison High, where he met his wife. Jadira Lopez, in a brief interview, remembered the date: April 18, 2006. Both were members of the school's track teams.
Lopez signed up for the Guard while still in high school. "He wanted to go to college, and the Guard, they help with that," his wife said.
His Guard record showed two years of college credit. He held a civilian job as a track-maintenance worker for Amtrak.
