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The following is shared from Run For The Fallen New Hampshire:<\/p>\n
“Seth was born in Great Barrington, MA, son of Richard A. and Linda R. Briggs Haapanen. He attended Berkshire Christian School of Lenox, The Master’s Christian School of Pittsfield, and was home schooled during his high school years.\u00a0For most of his life he attended Hope Church in Lenox and was active in the Boy’s Brigade and youth programs there. A devoted son, brother and friend, he loved being in the company of those he loved and cared for and was always available with encouragement and compassion to those in need. Seth was very down to earth, enjoyed traveling, and the outdoors. Seth had a passion for children and loved making them happy. His sister Gabriele, likes to tell the story about Seth\u2019s youthful idea of fun – which included practicing his paintball aim by putting his little sisters in bright sweatshirts and telling them to \u201cstart running.\u201d The night before he left for basic training in the spring of 2007, his mother, Linda asked him, \u201cSeth, are you sure you want to do this?\u201d Seth replied, \u201cI\u2019d rather fight them over on their own soil than to be fighting them here on our streets.\u201d He was a protector, said his mother. \u201cHe liked making sure that people\u2019s rights were carried out.\u201d When the company was sent to Iraq in June of 2007, Seth left with the prayers and the pride of his family. He had just turned 20.<\/p>\n Seth\u2019s unit joined the 1132nd MP Company of the North Carolina Army National Guard in Rustamiyah and began training Iraqi policemen. Their schedule was grueling, with their day starting at 0400 at Iraqi police stations. There they worked on presence patrols and were often in the streets on foot, until their day ended around 1800.<\/p>\n After four and a half months, Seth and three others moved to Taji to fill out a platoon and support police training efforts there. The forward operating base, north of Baghdad was more rural than Rustamiyah. There, Seth\u2019s unit was attacked several times. On a routine route to an Iraqi police station, the vehicle in front of Seth\u2019s exploded. The detonation blew out the front tire of his vehicle and injured team leader, Sgt. Robert Tabares, sitting to his side. The blast rocked Seth\u2019s head and ears. Tabares had to be medically evacuated with severe wound. He was eventually sent back to the states. A second attack only four days later, killed Seth\u2019s roommate, NH Fallen Hero medic\u00a0Sgt. David \u201dDJ\u201d Stelmat Jr.<\/a>, of Littleton, NH.. His vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device. Stelmat, Sgt Thomas C. Ray II, the gunner, Sgt. David B. Williams, the team leader, and two Iraqi translators were all killed in the blast, which lifted the truck off the road, rocketing it into the air and igniting the vehicle\u2019s pyrotechnics. Seth arrived early at the scene and became part of the team that later dealt with and collected the five men\u2019s remains.<\/p>\n Within a 24 to 48 hour period Seth again went through the Army protocol for soldiers after an attack – a visit to the aid station for medical assessment and a unit debrief. When Seth finally got a chance to call, he told his parents that his roommate had died. \u201cI can\u2019t do this anymore,\u201d he said to his mom. \u201cI can\u2019t go out on another mission.\u201d<\/p>\n His family encouraged him to get help. Eventually he went to the Chaplain who told him he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and probably a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) and he should see a doctor. Seth was waiting to see someone, but in the meantime he continued his combat duties.<\/p>\n Taji continued to be a hostile and dangerous area, casualties in his unit also continued to mount. \u00a0Staff Sgt. Emanuel Pickett died. Then under a week later, Sgt. Lance Eakes, who had moved to Taji to replace Sgt. Stelmat, was killed. The emotional toll was devastating for the entire unit. Seth\u2019s friends said that his ever-present smile faded the day that Stelmat died.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Seth is survived by his parents Richard A. and Linda R. Briggs Haapanen, four sisters;, Rachele Sleep, and husband, Michael; Michele Hawks, and husband, Robert;\u00a0 and Gabriele and Noele Haapanen,\u00a0 maternal grandmother, Ruth Briggs and his extended family.”<\/em><\/p>\n Specialist Seth David Haapanen US Army National Guard The following is shared from Run For The Fallen New Hampshire: “Seth was born in Great Barrington, MA, son of Richard A. and Linda R. Briggs Haapanen. He attended Berkshire Christian School of Lenox, The Master’s Christian School of Pittsfield, and was …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memorial-wall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nSeth spent his high school year\u2019s homeschooled by his mother Linda in MA, then moved to Alton in the summer of 2006. He always had dreams of joining the military and then becoming a local police officer or state trooper. He sent away for anything the Army offered – free duffle bags, hats and T-shirts. His goal was to join the recently formed 237th Military Police Company at the NH National Guard. The 237th MP\u2019s became one of the youngest units deployed in NH history; at least half of the soldiers in the company were 21 or younger.\u00a0When Seth found out he made it into company, he was thrilled.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nSeth returned home, in time to surprise his sister Gabriele at her graduation from Prospect Mountain High School in Alton. He walked up on the stage in his uniform, shielded by sunglasses, to a standing ovation from the crowd. Seth took a post-deployment mental health screening with the VA where his Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) was noted and he was also diagnosed with PTSD. Seth was being treated for both, with his family\u2019s love and support.\u00a0\u201cThe cycle, that we understand was happening, was with the headaches,\u201d said his father. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t getting good sleep and the times when he would fall asleep he would wake up many times with nightmares of what he saw.\u201d \u00a0He continued to struggle with headaches, blurred vision, pain and light sensitivity. His memories, dreams and flashbacks were overwhelming him and he had begun using increasing amounts of alcohol to cope with his feelings and inability to sleep. His VA records state in an \u201cassessment of danger to self\u201d that he posed \u201cno significant risk.\u201d\u00a0After being home from Iraq for only four months, and despite under-going treatment for TBI and PTSD, Seth took his own life.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRun For The Fallen :<\/a><\/h6>\n
Add your loved one to the wall<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"